Friday Dawns early. It's not the alarm clock it's the sound of hoof against door. I twitch and then groan as the previous night's excess hits. The after tournament drinking competition was a great sucess untill about 2am then Silke opened her flat window and shouted at all the knights to shut up and bugger off home!
So we did. I duly stopped singing the dirty song about goblins which I only can somehow remember with a skinful of alcohol inside me and staggered off to the house and all the other knights were poured into their respective horseboxes to await a somewhat decent hour before waking the entire neighbourhood with loud engines. the travelling staff of these guys (and now girls!) are used to dealing with the intoxicated, happy, unconcious and comatose states that we get into after tournaments and it's not uncommon to see a man being dragged across a field by two or 3 girls who are swearing at him with uncommon vigour. One morning on camp my somewhat delicate state of defence that it is a stress release was greeted by a derisive laugh and a loud "Bollocks!" from my travelling staff!
I missed morning excersise. Silke looked at me and promptly stated "You are not riding any of MY horses this morning!" I didn't dare to argue with her as my brain pounded its own painful samba beat and the inside of the mouth had a taste in it like the bilge of a U-Boat and the toungue was a yard of unmown astroturf. Instead I just went in to the office and tackled the coffee pot.
I went across to the school later looking cleaner, shaved, alert, and alive. Apperances can be deceptive! The headteacher thanked me for the previous day and gave me a bottle as a thank you from the school. We spent a good half hour discussing future days and I said that I have lots of connections with people for historical things if they were interested in future days. More discussion in the new year about that!
the rest of the day passed without normally. training, riding, polearms against sword work for the girls.
Friday night is concert night the first of two concerts in York Minster.
Tonight is a special performance of Karl Jenkins' "The Armed Man - A Mass for Peace" It's specially poignent to perform this work at the moment as it is actually dedicated to the victims of Kosavo, but also with the War in Iraq still unfolding and casualties daily it could be a cry out from the victims and soldiers from every armed conflict to those who cause it. It's a stunning performace by the Orchestra, Choir and soloists. There are lots of uniformed solders in the audience who have just come back from Iraq as well as fromer solders and there are quite a few familiar ex-service faces that I know in the audience. It's a highly charged emotional night in York Minster. Lawrence is there both in her official and unnoficial capacity as are all the girls from the stables. They've come to support me and I'm really glad. it's a full house and a standing ovation at the end of the performance.
THere's a bit of mingling after and shaking of hands. most of the squaddies have glistnening eyes and one of my girls slips a small spirits flask in my coat pocket as she hugs me and a whisper of " you need a drink after that"
Lawrence takes me back in her official car. She has a couple of guests with her who congratulate me on a fantastic performance. It's the players who deserve the praise and he composer is my reply and Lawrence pulls the flask out of my pocket and tells me to drink. She doesn't miss a thing and has seen what it has taken out of me and I'm thankful for my bed after the whiskey. the Flask only contains enough for two mouthfulls but it is enough.
Snap