Hawkyns

and one more http://sniff.numachi.com/~rickheit/dtrad/p...ttHOWSTAND.html Hawkyns

Start here http://www.lukehistory.com/resources/ballads.html then here http://www.contemplator.com/sea/benbow.html That's would be a good start. I've tried singing many of these at various 18th c pirate gatherings. It generally has little success- people are more interested in singing OOP stuff, which I have little patience for. these are good stories, and good bawdy stuff. And a few more on CD http://www.premieremusic.net/catalog/cd.php?cd=RRC1175 And I fully expect that very few people have ever heard most of these, unless you are seriously into period music. Hawkyns

Paddy West is obviusly OOP, too, just from the wording. I guess that begs the question- is the singign going to be just any old sea chantey, most of which date from 19th century whaling period, or are we making an attempt to keep our songs pre 1740?. It's on of my big candy colured buttons that GAoP pirate musicians do little to stay period and sing any old song that is nautical in nature. Hawkyns

Anyone heading out to B09 has to pass B08. Look for the shrine to St. Barbara and the guns, and stop in. Hawkyns

Mad Eye- it's more a social thing than actual law. Back in the before times, there was something published called "Queen Carol's Guide". It was basically a guide to the Society and it was, for a long time, the standard for what we do. In that guide it said that the Society extends to 1650, even though the incorporation documents clearly state pre-17th Century. Years ago, the BoD took a poll and advice from the populace, and at that time confirmed 1600 as the cut off date. Some kingdoms and groups turn a blind eye to the 1600 date, particularly to include the Cavaliers of the 1640's. It is not 'approved' by the Society, but depending on where you are in the Knowne World, it will gain varying levels of acceptance. Hawkyns

William- a question--does the fort have any barrack space available? When I go to Ft Mifflin, or Ft Fred, I am frequently able to set up in one of the sejeant's rooms, since I have the military kit. Is that any kind of an option in KW? Thanks!! Hawkyns

Well, (stepping up) I've been a BP safety officer for a number of groups and a musketeer, gunner, and carbineer for the last 23 years or so. If you want, I can do the job. Fair warning to all, though. I'm a hardass when it comes to safety, if there's any question, my answer is always to down check weapons and loads, or to remove a gunner from the line. Safety first, and I'm not picky about who it offends or how far they've come, only to be told that their weapons or handling practices are not safe. Oh, and if it makes any difference, I'll likely be in a 1690's Royal Artillery kit, rather than pirate. Hawkyns

Is that an issue then? Been skinny dipping at night in Grand Cayman and St Martin and was never told it was an issue. And it's fairly common here in New England. Hawkyns

Moonlight skinnydipping-- now there's the best idea I've heard yet. Hawkyns

Not at all, Gunner. I remember them well and still bear some of the scars. My point is that we all have things that we do best. I do not deal well with children, except one on one with kids I know. I don't do street theatre, feel relatively uncomfortable at ren faires, and absolutely hate to do the 'arrgh' thing for the kids. Others do it, I do not. I work with the adults and the interested kids (otherwise known as nerds). My background is hardcore re-enactment and museum displays. for those who wnat to do the theatre, be my guest. I will sit with the guns, swords, and cannon and explain the why and the how. But giving things away, pandering to the hollywood image, and acting like a cartoon in order to distract a kid for a few minutes is not something I'll be doing. Hawkyns

Bo- we all have our priorities. I don't do this for the kids, i do it for myself. Most of what I do is weaponry based or historic. Weapons are not able to be handled by the kids, and the truth of this is not generally for the kiddies. I don't sugarcoat the reality of history and play hollywood games. For those who can handle it or have a real feel for what we do, i will take the time and make the effort. For those kids who just want to shout arrgh and wave a plastic cutlass, there are other people for them to play with. I'm not interested. I don't have kids and I have very limited contact with them. I inteeract with just a few, and all of them serious about learning about what we do. I'm not interested in being an entertainer. I don't have any need or reason to apologise for that. Hawkyns

I suppose that depends on what we're looking at here, then. I don't give things away, and I spend more time with the adults than the kids. I'm a re-enactor and that's how I see the camp, certainly the portion that I set up. This is not street theater or a renfaire to me, it's history. there are some kids that get it and I spend time with them and talk with them. But I'm not into bribing them with geegaws so that they might hear something or have a good time. Did a muster last weekend that was a mix of re-enactors and renfaire pirates. Most of us re-enactors sat around doing little all day, talking with a few folks and showing the interested people the weaponry and the camp. the pirate camp was full all day and had lots of kids laughing and hanging around shouting argghh. I'll take our camp, where something more was accomplished than amusing a kid for a few minutes. Hawkyns

I'm with Blackjohn on this. I'm a living historian and a re-enactor, but I don't need the public for what I do. while I enjoy a good battle and punch up as much as the next guy, I enjoy more experiencing as much of the lifestyle as I can. At 3 am on the deck watch of the Half Moon, there's not another soul to see me, but I doing the same thing that some other sailor in a past age did- watching for hazards, watching for fire, staving off boredom, and fighting to stay awake. No radar, no alarms, just me, the sound of the wind and water, and the stars. I've spent more hours than I can count talking about weapons to the public and it is a definite part of the game. Somebody has to educate people, the schools surely aren't. but it's not all of it. Finding the way they did it, living with no more than they did, putting up with the hardships as they did and learning how to get around them. The sense of accomplishment of living without 20/21st technology is my greatest joy here. That's where I think LARP fails. There is too much back up, too many safety nets, too many places where modern life intrudes into the game. The risk, and therefore the adrenaline and the accomplishment are missing, when you know that you'll be sleeping in a warm barracks, that breakfast is likely to be the same food you normally eat for breakfast, and that the sword being swung at you is foam and will do no real damage if you miss the parry. Every LARP I've dealt with is designed mostly for people who want to play at the game, rather than taking the real risks of living the life. Hawkyns

It really depends on what you are doing. My crew has developed a style based on the Sealed Knot's re-enactment sword manual. All cuts, no thrusts, which works well for cutlass play. It's a meld of re-enactment style. some stage combat techniques for the kicks and punches, and some Silver thrown in as historical leavening. it works, draws good crowds, lets us play unscripted and not knowing who will win, and is a hell of a lot of fun. We play with combat blunt blades, no armour other than gauntlets to protect the knuckles. We know going into it that this is dangerous and we could get, and have been, hurt. It's a martial art, after all. All that said, this is not something you wnat to try for yourself. I've got nearly 30 years of swordplay behind me and been through a lot of different systems, from collegiate to SCA, to re-enactment, to escrima to kendo and other stuff besides. It also takes the temperament that you don't care who wins and it's all for fun. Find your local SCA group, WMA group, dojo, or re-enactment unit. Talk to them and see who's involved with what. Hawkyns

I shall be there, and thank you! Always nice to see more pieces in the arsenal.

Well, for something like that, I'd go to Dale Shinn out of California. But you are looking at 1000 dollars plus, and a 6 month or better wait. Custom quality and inexpensive just do not belong in the same sentence. He does lovely work, his inlay is top notch, and he does lots of the earlier period pices. Hawkyns

Kathryn and I will be there on Saturday. Is the black powder limited or can I bring my matchlock and play, too? If you need, I've been a cannoneer for 20 plus years and am master gunner for a couple of groups. Be glad to help. Hawkyns

OK, maybe it's just me, but I guess I can't imagine a living history camp that does not have campfires buring all day and food cooking over them. I guess it had not occured to me that we would be doing other than cooking over the fires. I was certainly planning to do 2 or 3 meals a day in camp for my crew. A living history camp witout the smells of smoke and cooking food just ain't right. Hawkyns

I actually have reservations and been juried in for the camping. I should have been leaving in a bout an hour. But family garbage has prevented me from going this year. I am not pleased. Hawkyns

OK, guys. I made the decision and I'll take the heat for it. On the other adult threads, I see no problem with the post. Hell, it was a good photo, even if she is too skinny. But Twill is supposed to be the bastion of authenticity on a board that is getting raunchier by the day. I've been at hotels and been able to get to Twill, even when I can't get to half the board because the Net Nanny programs block all the adult threads and a bunch of the others. Even the word 'nipple' will block this thread from most of them. I'm walking a fine line here, as are most of the mods. I've caught heat for being too lenient and now for not being lenient enough. Can't win, but that's the path the mods have to tread, I guess. So I made the decision to err on the side of keeping this thread scholarly and G rated. So shoot me. Hawkyns

Gentlemen Appreciative as I am of the female form (few more so), I received acouple of complaints about the pic being in this thread. I have edited the post and removed the link. Sorry, chaps, but we do have a certain level to amintain on this forum. I now return you to cocked hats. Hawkyns

OK, that's pretty damn sad. Is there a way to note who they were and advise the fort that some people may not be the best people to have? I have no problem disinviting problem people. I think that is what a good jurying process is for. Hawkyns

William, I am assuming (hopefully) that these were some of the local homeless? If they have that kind of access, then I would say we need a anchor and fire watch, for all watches at the camp. It's not fun, but if we were on ship we'd have to do it anyway, so there should be no cause for complaint. Hawkyns

That's one of the reasons I prefer 17th C battles. We load from the bandolier, so we don't have to roll cartridges. We can also get into combat with musket butts, blunt swords, and wood pike and halberd heads. We still check pouches, ring barrels, and don't use scouring sticks, but at least we are allowed to close, something that the 18th and 19th century folk seem to be very scared about. I've also defended a cannon with the gun tools, rather than having to give up when the opfor gets with 25 feet. Hawkyns

I use both glass and horn paned lanterns. Glass gives more light, but horn is more correct and gives a nicer light. I've even converted a couple of glass lanterns to horn, to make things look better. Night firings are fun. I've done them at Fort Niagara and Fort Mifflin. Even more fun when you wad with 4 ought steel wool to make tracer rounds. Both of those places have water for a down range, so it makes the safety issues much simpler. Night battles can be fun, but you need a lot of safety people. I've had a lot of fun doing them for different periods but I've also seen some awful accidents, like when the SS officer came around the corner unexpectedly and caught the Browning Hi-Power on the cheek, just as the Brit fired. Nearly lost his eye on that one. Hawkyns