William Brand

I really like the page layouts and photographs. Top notch work.

It boils down to the little things now that you have your base outfit. A good sailor's knife. A seabag or market wallet. A good walking stick/cudgel. I pick and whisk tool for the pistols. Maybe a cartridge box. A monmouth cap.

You need to go to an event where the temperature exceeds 100 degrees in the shade. A good event with rain, mud, and filth will put a kit right in a matter of days. And sign up for a cannon crew. That will get the white right out of a shirt in no time. And trip from time to time. Just stop watching where you're going and you'll weather the elbows and knees of your kit in nothing flat. And never use a napkin when you can wipe your greasy hands on your clothes.

That's really good news. I wish I lived locally. I'd love to help with the move.

Seconded. The Batavia's Graveyard is one of the most chilling stories of madness and mutiny you can find. http://www.amazon.co...t/dp/0609607669

The Captain does have a point there, mister Quartermaster, sir. Do you collect surgical instruments with the intention of actually taking off a leg...? Please tell me you aren't giving yourself mercury enemas.

I cannot attend Fort de Chartres, and I think more people are considering Put in Bay as the alternative.

WANT.

Bosun's pipe decorated with sea creatures and thought to belong to the wreck of 'Ann Francis', lost in 1583. It was found on Margam beach. ca 1550-1600

I've seen this same style called a bosun's whistle and a falcon whistle.

An example from the 16th/17th century... From the wreck of the Santa Margarita of Key West in 1622...

We all empathize. Everyone who flies, drives or even walks to events are hindered by the same list of variables. Time. Money. Health. Family committments. Even tentatively?

I just found another eyeglass provider. Sorry if it was mentioned before now. http://www.reenactors-shop.de/product_info.php?info=p2157_Medieval-Spectacle-Frame.html

We couldn't hear you knocking for the noise made by everyone else. Welcome aboard.

Will do. I'm headed up to Mike's place today to shoot images of the shop and setup. With events coming up this Summer I'm also going to talk a little shop about some knife projects. Maybe I can convince Mike to make me a cutlass.

They were used in the long-haul trade in the East Indies.

Jeeeealous.

The 'campaign chests' they offer and the sea chest are virtually unchanged in design despite being 100 years later the the GAoP.

A very hearty birthday, Mate.

I've actually written to Christopher Clarke directly with questions about a few period items. They're great. I've seen a number of 'campaign furniture' suppliers that have nothing of 'the sea', which is one of the primary forms of travel for campaigns, so Christopher Clarke is more well rounded in what they offer. I want the sea trunk they have in stock.

The definition from the Food and Drug Administration... Jelly is a clear, bright product. It is generally made by cooking fruit juice and sugar with pectin as a jelling agent and lemon juice as an acid to maintain a consistent texture. Jelly is firm and will hold its shape (it shakes). Generally, jelly contains no pieces of fruit, although specialty jellies, like pepper jelly, may include pieces of jalapeo or other pepper. Jam is made from crushed or chopped fruit cooked with sugar, and often pectin and lemon juice. Jam can be a pure of fruit or have a soft pulp, but it does not contain chunks of fruit. Preserves are fruit cooked with sugar to the point where large chunks of fruit or whole fruit, such as berries, are suspended in a syrup base. The texture of preserves is not smooth like jelly or jam. Marmalade is a soft jelly, often citrus-based, that includes both the flesh and peel of the fruit suspended throughout the jelly base. The bitterness of the peel offsets the sweetness of the jelly. Conserve is a mixture of more than one fruit, often with added nuts and raisins, that is cooked until it becomes thick. It is used as a spread for breads, pastries and meats, and in the latter use is closest to chutney. Chutney is a spiced condiment of Indian origin (chatni is the Hindi word for strongly spiced) made of fruit or vegetables. It is typically served as an accompaniment to food, not as a spread. The spice level can range from mild to hot, and the consistency from a fine relish to a preserve or conserve. Fruit chutney consists of chopped fruit, vinegar, spices and sugar cooked into a chunky sweet-tart-spicy mix: according to one explanation, it blurs the Western distinction between preserves and pickles. Fruit Butter, such as apple butter or prune butter, is fruit pure or pulp combined with sugar, lemon juice and spices, slowly cooked down to a smooth consistency. The butter refers to its spreadability: there is no actual butter in the product. Fruit Curd is a creamy spread made with sugar, eggs and butter, generally flavored with citrus juice and zest.

Conned!? You loved every sweltering minute of it. The dense clouds of bugs. The droning cicadas. I am most definitely going to Fort Taylor.

Even if you can't 'vend' you can 'display'.

We are considering NorCal as one event in a longer vacation to California. This would be my first event west of the Mississippi.

A happy birthday, Jon.