Our first Deeds: Stage Combat event of 2009 is finally over - and what a scorcher!
The threatened rain and thunder never materialised and after a brief rain shower on Monday morning the weather was simply scorchingly hot and in true English tradition we all complained about the heat as much as we would have done the wet.
The two days represented a full schedule for us with us doing one (sometimes two) acts in front of the Pegleg Parrot, our building, on every hour. This show saw us bring three popular acts for the public and members to enjoy alike.
Act One: Cutlass drill and children's fight.
Based upon the Royal Naval cutlass drills of the 18th and 19th century we demonstrate the Guards, cuts, thrusts and parries taught every sailor in the HM Navy over these periods. After a few Corporal Jones' moments the children are brought out from the crowd and shown the same techniques in a mini generation game moment after which they get o pit their new found skills against six salty sea dogs in a pitched battle with foam weapons and a lot of shouting and screaming - the children always seem to win unilaterally.
Act Two: Prize Fight
Creating a late 18th Century county fair atmosphere we present Big Bill the Bullying Pugulist from Peckham who will take on all comers for a few pennies. Quickly knocking his way through some itinerate dead beats; although his day is quickly ruined when Tom Cribb roles in and takes him apart punch by punch.
Act Three: The Press
The tavern, the Pegleg Parrot, becomes the scene of press gang gone horribly wrong as two different worlds collide. A couple of con men determined to make a few shillings through fixed arm wrestling bouts, interrupt the drunken press of a local lad with disastrous results for most involved as the ensuing fight see's three people killed in an argument about the arm wrestling competition, one man pressed into service and another arrested for the killing of the tavern tart ... *ahem* lady.
Our final event for the day was being involved as the forlorn hope storming a pirate barracaide and getting a face full of shot and steel from a monstrous deck gun and littering the battlefield with dead and dying seamen.
All in all we thoroughly enjoyed the event and would like to extend our thanks to the following people:
The Paladin's of Chivalry and the other people (sorry we did not get group names) for filling in the background of the pegleg parrot during our fights and getting stuck into the spirit of the shows in the nature they where intended, you where great!
PASTE for showing us it is possible for living history events to be organised well.
Bucket for letting us litter his otherwise clean(ish) battlefield.
Gary and Chris for shouting themselves horse over the weekend.
We are already looking forward to next year.