Link of Honor
Rob Bernhard, Cetan Inc.
|
Bristol Renaissance Faire Rob and I were sitting around recently, wondering what to do, when it hit us! We should become time travelers! We thought the Renaissance sounded interesting, so we decided to check it out. We pulled his mom and dad in on the deal, and headed out to the Bristol Renaissance Faire, dressed in 21st century T-shirts and shorts, so as not to be confused with the locals. It was a hot day, but we had lots of fun. We got there around 11:00, and saw our first show right away. It was "The Mud Show". Imagine...two guys and one judge, standing around a big mud puddle. Each side of the crowd is rooting for one of the mud guys. Basically, whichever mud guy could do the craziest thing (eat mud, belly flop into mud, give girls muddy kisses, etc.) would win points. It all ended in a tie, and the judge had to eat mud. It was very funny. After the mud show, we walked and shopped and ate...very relaxing. Rob and I sahred lemonade and
garlic mushrooms for lunch. The mushrooms were stewed in a broth, and we ate them with wooden picks!
We saw a hawk and falcon show next. Unfortunately, the hawk flew off into a nearby tree and refused
to come back and do the show for the next 15 or 20 minutes. By that time, I was bored, so I went to
go walk around. Rob stayed, though, and he was smart enough to have brought his camera, so he got
some great pictures of the rest of the show. Apparently, I missed the falcon flying really REALLY
fast, and catching lures held by the trainer. I'm sorry I missed it...it sounds like it got very
exciting. On my way back to meet up with Rob and his folks, I bought the MOST delicious toasted
cashews. Mmmmmmm...they were yummy! They had a sweet coating of some kind...maybe honey? I don't
know what it was, but everyone agreed they were scrumptious. By far, the best show of the day came next. On the Globe Stage, a group of three Taiko drummers performed a wonderful drum routine. Taiko drumming is a traditional Japanese art. I have heard that this style of drumming was originally created as a ritual to scare away ghosts. The drummers work together to make intricate sound patterns, with higher and lower pitched drumms playing off each other. Each drummer hits the drums in exactly the same way, with arms at the same angles... it's very stylized. There's drumming and shouting and choreograhpy! It's very loud, and very intense, and it was a very exciting show! Rob and I decided to get henna tattoos on our hands near the end of the day. I chose a celtic symbol that represents the three aspects of womanhood (maiden, mother, matriarch). Rob chose an Egyptian eye for wisdom. To do the tattoos, they put a brown paste on your skin, in the pattern you want. The paste has the dye in it, so as it sits, the dye soaks into the layers of the skin. The longer you keep the paste on, the longer the tattoo will last. To keep it from cracking and falling off, they dab your tattoo with a mixture of lemon juice and sugar. At the end of the day, you are supposed to scrape the paste off and then you're all set! They told us to expect 1-3 weeks of tatooed loveliness. After the henna tattoos, it was time to head for home. We'd had a long and hot, but thouroughly
enjoyable, day at the faire.
To see more of Rob's awesome pictures from the Renaissance Faire, click here. |
