Lonesome or Blind?

Burma Vita felt a responsibility toward the driving public to encourage automobile safety.  But they didn’t lose their sense of humor:

Is he lonesome
Or just blind,
This guy who drives
So close behind?
Burma Shave

Busy weekend.  On Saturday we (Ellen and I) went to Twelfth Night, a Society for Creative Anachronism event.  The King and Queen of Northshield were there – I spoke with her twice; she is an amazing person, kind and personable and noble, the very essence of a real queen.  Sometimes it happens that a “make believe” situation will produce a “for real” participant.  The SCA has made a habit of producing such people.

I haven’t been active in the SCA for a big number of years, so it was interesting to see how it had changed and not changed.  Two big things I noticed at once: the numbers have grown, and the garb (costumes – but we don’t call them costumes, it’s too real for that word) has become even more authentic.  My own garb, a nun’s black underdress and overdress, white wimple and black veil, was okay – but it could use some spiffing up.  A row of fancy buttons up the close-fitting underdress sleeve would help, for one thing.  I saw some old friends and made some new ones.  The feast that evening was huge and delicious, about as good as feasts from the old days.

The baron and baroness of Nordskogen (the local group) held a court in the late afternoon, followed by the court of Their Majesties.  At the latter a man was knighted, a solemn and beautiful ceremony.

On Sunday Becky and I met to go over our plans for the trip to England.  We added a day at the front end of our reservations in Leicester, and found a relatively inexpensive bus fare to that city from London on the ‘Net.  Then I watched two Public Television shows on Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth II, so I went to bed feeling excited and almost like I know what we’re getting into.