19 August

Party last night... bit of dancing, bit of fun, bit of helping out. A bit like in the SCA I just can't help myself. That said, I actually really enjoyed myself. Welcoming people at the door and taking cash always was fun at events: you get to meet everyone and help set the atmostphere for a great night. Later on I wandered around the party snapping photos (of very poor quality I must admit). My good camera is dead, so I only have my small one, and in the dark, understandably, it can't focus very well, so pretty much all my pics are blurry. It was interesting to find as I wandered through the crowds, how many people when I took their photos then immediately offered to take a photo of me, or asked for a photo with me in it. This photo taken with a complete stranger is quite cute... maybe because someone else took the pic!

12 August

Wow. my friend Tony just sent me a dvd of Rowany festival AS21. Yep 21. Boy did I feel old watching it. Very cool to see Robbie G's knighting ceremony again... There is even a section at the end showing Jade's fighter training session, smacking around the pillars of the old tavern.

Mind you, I may be older, but my dress sense and sewing skills have improved out of sight! I had completely wiped out of my memory that bright yellow tudor-esque number. The fashion trends were for Cavalier in Stormhold, Landschknecht in Innilgard and pretty much T-tunics for the rest of the Principality, so in my canary frock I was a fashion standout in my own special way. <grin> I think that this might have been the festival of the infamous coal-wash elizabethan, but it wasn't captured on film: probably best that way, some things are best left in memory.* Spider and Marguerite had brought horses as fashion accessories and looked appropriately spectacular riding around the list field.

It was interesting to be reminded too of how much our levels of expectation from an event site have changed. AS 21 was pit-loos, water brought with you on site and I think there were a total of 2 period pavillions in existence. It rained for pretty much the whole festival (although the year before was much wetter) and we just kinda slogged through the mud. Showers? There were probably three showers total in private campsites. The rest of us bathed standing in a tub or oing for a swim at the swimming hole. All good fun.

Kiriel

* For those far less ancient than me who might be interested in the tale - this frock was a gigantically hoop-skirted elizabethan in white, peach and grey, with pearls sewn on it. The road on site was washed out by the rains, and Rowany called for volunteers to spread coalwash on to the road. Noone wanted to volunteer because they would get both muddy and grotty from the coalwash. I figured that if I could dig coalwash in my white Elizabethan, then noone had an excuse not to help! Somewhere out there is a photograph of me, hooped and hatted, heaving coalwash. Eventually I did cave in and lifted up the hoops so they sat on one shoulder, allowing me to shovel more easily.

A few people commented later on seeing me in the distancewearing this dress, seemingly floating above the water and mud. From this event came the cheerful toast "God bless Kiriel and all who sail with her!".

5 August

How I do love the first week of August in Geneva. The weather has been glorious this weekend, glowingly bright and sunny, just the way summer should be. The edge of the lake comes to life, with people strolling around the edge of the water, visiting the food stalls, and dancing through the evening.

I feel so lucky to live as I do, only a few blocks away from the lake, so I can easily wander back and forth from the lake to my home as I please (avoiding the temporary toilet blocks is a blessing of its own!).

My friend Claudio is back again with his caiprinha stand, and this time with wife and baby in tow.

and check out these action shots of a parachutist who jumped from a helicopter and landed on a pontoon in the lake. It really did look like he would land on top of us rather than making it onto the lake, but nope, he had the stop perfectly.

Most of the stands are simply selling food - the usual range of empanadas, hot dogs and chinese food. There are a few jewellry stands that no doubt make a killing, and some more unusual ones like this drink stand:

and this Geneva stand, which has a rather funky swiss 'clock'.