Welcome to the Online Clann Tartan Newsletter for April 2007

Charles City Military History Days! Charles City Iowa, Friday, April 27 to Sunday April 29

That said, the event itself is very enjoyable. There is a very low-key school day on Friday—if you've never interpreted for school groups before, this is a good event to start at. The event as a whole is fairly low key, as the weather has usually prevented very heavy flow of public. We participate in a mock battle on Saturday and a parade on Sunday, with all of the other military groups. Most periods of Western military history are represented, starting with the Vikings and going through World War Two and sometimes Vietnam.

Parking is available on site, and drive-ons are okay up to an hour before public hours start. The ground is fairly hilly and uneven, so bring lots of padding if you plan on sleeping on the ground and be careful of your bumper when driving on. There are no showers available at this event, and the bathroom facilities and water are located downhill of where Clann is camped. Other than the check-in tent and perhaps a tank or two, Clann's encampment will be the closest camp to the parking lot.

Scottish Fair Rescued from Heat! A breath of fresh COOL air!

Dues are due again.

Some tax time things to consider. Because Clann is a nonprofit charitable organization, donations made to Clann might be deductable expenses on your income tax return, Donations can be monetary, in kind, or expenses. Examples of expenses are mileage to and from events, parking expenses, and costuming expenses. You cannot claim a deduction for donated volunteer time. If you have questions whether this could apply for you, consult your tax professional.

Bruce (Your CT Treasurer)

Alternative Transportation

He plans to keep on doing this.

However, we can plan all we like, but Stuff comes up. After the trailer accident last October, we came to realize that, either the trailer might be broken, or Marty's pickup truck might be broken, or Marty himself might somehow be indisposed or unable to attend an event. We need alternatives.

Renting a truck is a viable option, once in a while. We did rent a truck for the last two October shows; it worked well for us and the price was not outrageous.

We need other options, too.

If any of you have hauling capacity, be it an unfilled van or truck, a small trailer that you can pull, or even a pickup that can pull a 3,000-lb trailer, please advise the Chief of Staff, Mia McDavid (mia_mcdavid@comcast.net). It may be (and soon!) that we will need to be scrounging around for hauling capacity, and it would help a lot if we had a list of people to conscript ask for help.

To kick things off; I have the following at present:

Mary Dean, a van
John Debnam, a small trailer
Herb Lindorff, at least a small trailer
Maeve Kane, a light pickup

The fact that you give me your name and haulage capacity does not commit you to any show. /It just gives us a place to start looking.

Your staff thanks you.

Mia McDavid

Stand to your . . . kettles????? The expanding role of camp drill

Please also note that this month, drill will be EARLY. Drill will be on April 14th at Laurie Ford's house, Noon sharpish.

Driving Directions:

1) Find France Avenue South on a map (there are direct exits from both I-494 and Highway 62)
2) Go to 44th Street. There's a traffic light.
3) Turn west.
4) Laurie is the 4th house on the right.

Parking:
On street is OK at or West of her house. If the dentist is closed, it should be alright to park in that lot.

Also on April 14th, Laurie will be hosting a sing, so if you feel like sticking around, bring something to share, pot luck style, and hang out! Your staff thanks you.

Captain's Authoris Award

Best Research Article

The award for Best Research Article will be awarded to a research article on any topic in Clann's period related to Scotland or the Thirty Years' War. Topics can include social, military, religious, or any other subject. See the members' manual or past newsletters for ideas—research articles can be on very narrow topics like the history of the fork or very broad topics like religion in the Highlands. Articles in this category should use a minimum of three primary sources and can have an unlimited number of secondary sources. (A primary source is one produced in our period, like a song, picture, or document, and a secondary source is one produced by a modern writer analyzing our period.)

Best How-to Article

The award for Best How-to Article will be awarded to a non-research article that clarifies how to do or make something, or how some part of our organization works. Topics can include anything from how to cook a period dish, documentation of a personal project, how to belt and wear a plaid, or anything else. Articles in this category may use primary and secondary sources, but the primary purpose of these articles should be original writing of the how-to sort.

Best New Writer

As I mentioned above, we've had a number of good articles in the past few years. To encourage newer members or older members who've never written for the newsletter before to put out new work, this category will give an award to a writer who has never before been published in the newsletter. The winning article can be about anything, and be research or how-to, so long as the author has never before published an article in the Clann newsletter.

To be eligible to win, the article must be submitted to the Clann newsletter editors by October 15, 2007, so that they may appear in the November newsletter. Articles may be submitted at any time between now and then. At the heading of each competing article, the author should state whether they are submitting it for the Research Article category or the How-to Article category. All articles by new writers will be automatically considered for that category.

After all articles have been submitted, everyone who submitted an article will be invited to the Captain's Award Banquet, which our VP Cate Hesser has graciously volunteered to be in charge of cooking for. Date, time and location to be determined, but good food, good company and good conversation are guaranteed. All winners will be announced at the banquet.

GAFFNEY'S SUTLER SEEKS WARES

You can either bring your goods to Heidi at events, or entrust them to her beforehand. We ask that items be small and not terribly fragile if Heidi is to transport them.

Thank you for your support of Clann Tartan.

Staff Announcements

Schoolyard Play

Lisa McCanna, whose son Hunter attends this school, says the school is very keen and that this might turn into an annual, paid gig if we want it to. We are allowed to light things on fire and make things go boom, so we have a lot of scope to have a lot of fun.

The address is Viking Middle School: 500 Southside Dr Woodville, WI 54028, US; we do not have a start time yet; we will start to tear down when the school day ends. Clann will be serving a cold lunch.

Your staff thanks you.

The online store can be found at www.cafepress.com/clanntartan.

Board Minutes

Clann Tartan Board and Members Meeting.  February 3, 2007

Board Members Present: Mary McKinley, Bruce Yoder,  
Glenn McDavid, Diana Steben, Herb Lindorff, Sean McCanna

Staff Present: Maeve Kane, Mia McDavid, Julie Yoder, Eric Ferguson

Other Members Present: Lisa Gillstrom McCanna, Marty Byers,
Mark Hansen, Ann Peters, Margaret Kirkpatrick, Hellen Ferguson,
John Debnam, Mary Dean

Minutes of the January meeting were accepted as corrected.

BOARD ELECTIONS:

Marty Byers was elected Vice President

Glenn McDavid was re-elected Secretary

Sean McCanna was elected Quartermaster

Cate Hesser was elected Company Rep.

REPORTS:

VP -- No report

Quartermaster -- No report

Camp Rep -- No report

Company Rep -- No report

Music Guild -- No report

Dance Guild -- Still looking for a new Wednesday site.  The old site in
Inver Grove Heights is available again, but the issue we had with it
before (dependence on the availability of one specific member) is still
there.

Fiber Guild -- Working on hand-combed, hand-spun, hand-dyed wool.  Will
have woven wool to be waulked the Scottish Ramble on May 19.

Sword Guild -- Meeting monthly on a Monday night at Corcoran.  This may
change to accomodate some interested members who cannot meet on that
schedule.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Charles City is scheduled.

Twig -- negotiating about money.  We would like more, but things are
tight everywhere.

Big Muddy (Winona) may be back under new organizers.  Same dates, but
possibly shorter.

Milwaukee Highland Games -- No response yet, but it is still early.

COMMUNICATIONS

John Debnam is working on the web site.  Bruce suggested that a review
committee be formed to give him consistent feedback.  This was approved
by all (especially John).  The Committee will consist of Bruce, Lisa GM,
Marty, Maeve, and Mia.

MUSTER COMMITTEE

This consists of the three top staff positions, the Quartermaster, and
the VP.  They need to meet, since we have a new QM and a new VP.  The
quizzes for the second and third level need to be updated.

PAPER DOLLS

Lisa GM will have a presentation at Ramble, coordinated with the rest of
the Sutlery.

FINANCES

Bruce gave the Treasurer's report.  In the current fiscal year both
income and expenses are below budget.  Trailer-related expenses are over
budget for the reasons we all know.

The checking account currently has about $1700, and we have $5000 in a
CD, which can be tapped if necessary.

There was some discussion of increasing the membership fee, but even if
it were agreeable to all members, it simply would not help a lot.

We might get $350 from the Minnesota Scottish Fair & Highland Games.
Mary will look into this.

We might be able to get some donations.  Staff will look into this.  We
have had some donations of meat (venison).

The budget as presented says nothing about the trailer repair or
replacement plans, since they had not been settled as of when the budget
was prepared (see below).

The budget was accepted.


TRAILER

We cannot afford to replace the trailer with a van, even if the van was
free.  The insurance would add $1000-1500 to our budget.

Bruce has looked into a van rental contract over an extended period.
Rates vary a lot, but he was able to find a good price and made the
deal.  We can back out if necessary.

We might be able to get a 2nd axle on the current trailer for about
$1000.  This would increase its safe payload to the 3000 lb. range
we need.  Currently the trailer can safely haul about 1700 lbs., while
staff estimates that the absolute minimum we need for even a small show
is about 2000.

Marty indicated that he would consider hauling the trailer with this
upgrade and if it were properly maintained.  He further said that 
Herb could do this, and should be appropriately reimbursed.

We cannot rent a truck that could tow our trailer.

The possibility of using multiple personal vehicles to haul stuff to
shows was considered.  It might work in the short term, if suitable
personal vehicles were available when needed.  In the long term it
presents difficult management issues.  We would need to keep track of
what was travelling in each vehicle, and make sure everything got back
to the garage--we have a lot of stuff.

The options came down to repairing and upgrading (second axle) the 
current trailer vs. renting a vehicle.  We decided to go with the
trailer option, though the rental option is available as a back-up.

The budget (see above) was amended to fund this choice.

LIVING HISTORY BALL

Mary presented a proposal to host a Living History Ball at Minneapolis
Community and Technical College, where she teaches.  We would have
classes during the day, followed by a dinner and the ball itself.  We
are looking at Saturday, Dec. 1 (St. Andrew's day is Nov. 30).  MCTC is
willing to give Continuing Education Units.  We will need people to
teach classes.  All local living history groups would be invited.  We
looking at a $30 per person charge.  MCTC will do all the logistics for
space, dinner, etc.  Everybody liked this idea and voted to pursue it.

AWARDS

Marty Byers was awarded his 4th Level Muster, to general applause.
__________________________________________________________________

Meeting adjourned at 1:45 PM.  Next Board meeting Tuesday, March 20 at
the Yoders'.

Board & Staff

If you need to contact someone associated with Clann Tartan, here is where you find out how. If you are unsure who to contact, you can always email us at: info@clanntartan.org

Guilds

Contact:
Marty L. Byers
orthodoxdruid@gmail.com
651-483-1173

Dance

The modern distinction between the civilian and the military is just that—modern. And while the period Col. Gaffneyis portrays is academically classified as Early Modern, that distinction between the civilian and the military had not yet developed, at least along as rigid of lines as we now think of.

The military in our period, quite simply, could not function without a civilian support structure. There was no military infrastructure to speak of, and without civilian support the military would often collapse. On the other side of that, Scotland's economy depended in part on its export of soldiers and had a long history of strong military men.

This is why it's foolish for our group to talk about a show being “just for the Company” or “just for the Camp.” There is no such thing. In our period, and in our group, the military and the civilian are intertwined to a point that it's nonsense to try to separate them. We have separate staff members designated to make it easier to coordinate things like transportation, food, and presentation simply for those staff members' sanity and clarity of responsibility. These designation of roles are in no way reflective of a mentality we should adopt or encourage.

Col. Gaffneyis appears at a few shows which advertise themselves as “military history” events. Part of our job at those types of shows, both for ourselves and the public, is to remember and make clear just how intertwined the military and the civilian are in our period, and how that is different and similar to other periods.

When presenting to the public and in dealing with each other, remember that both in Col. Gaffneyis and Clann Tartan, we are all part of the same group. Col. Gaffneyis portrays part of a society in flux, in which national, religious, and societal lines are sometimes not very clear. Read up in your manual, readings suggested by the bibliographies in the manual, or ask more experienced members for good sources of information if you're unclear about anything.

Your Captain,

Maeve Kane

17th Century Rapiers, by Marty Byers

"The pen is mightier than the sword".

Or at least I have been told. However, a well placed rapier blade, across the writer's wrist, will stop the pen, or at least make it's scratching unreadable to most.

The rapier, or epee rapiere, was first mentioned in a French document on fencing, in the year 1474. And by the end of the 15^th century, the rapier was a common sword for the well-to-do man.

Though the sword, at the time, was much heftier than the 20^th century weapon that we are accustomed to, with a blade usually an inch and a quarter wide and straight quillons, it was much lighter and faster than its predecessor, the broadsword.

By the early 17^th century, the cup-hilt rapiers began to make a showing on the hips of gentlemen, usually under their robes, hence the Spanish name, espada ropera, or "sword of the robes".

The cup-hilt was much more than those cups of today's standard, often 3 to 4 inched deep, with straight and often extremely long quillons. The blade often exceeded lengths of 45 inches. So, together with its lightness, length and hand protection, the rapier was a "modern" weapon fit for any man of wealth.

At the time, the rapier of 1630 cost a small fortune, approximately the cost of a Cadillac, in today's money. So, any peasant or common townsfolk that held a rapier probably found it.

The year 1630 was placed in the midst of a great war, happening on the Continent. King Gustavus Adolphus II, ruler of Sweden, entered the Thirty Years War. And, in doing so, brought many changes to the battlefield. One of these changes was arming his soldiers with swords, the modern ones, rapiers. These swords were issued to both foot and musket soldiers, probably because they were lighter and much easier to carry on the long marches ahead of them.

The sword probably used by the armies under Sweden's command, was the Schiavona, issued to the soldiers. Schiavona, coming from the fact that the guard caring this sword, originally, in the Venetian Doge guard were primarily made up of Dalmatian Slavs ( Schiavoni).

With an overall length of 39 inches and a blade length of 33 inches ( well under the common sword length of rapiers), and a blade width of 1 3/8 inch at the shoulder and 1 inch at the tip, this blade would be a terror on the battlefield if facing one. The sword only weighed 2.9 pounds, with a hand guard of 5 inches, plenty wide enough to protect a soldier's hand.

The Kings sword, probably made in Germany, (a country only second to Spain in sword making), had an overall length of 42 7/8 inches and a blade length of 37 ˝ inches, with a weight of 3.1 pounds and sported 10 inch quillons. The quillons are the cross pieces that help protect the hand and arm, found on most swords, with the exception of the Roman Gladius and Spatha.

You may ask, what good is a smaller sword, against the greater, more powerful sword used on the battlefields? This is a good question, and deserves a good answer.

The greater swords, in advantage combat where the wielder of the greater sword is more advanced that his opponent, has the edge – no pun intended. That being, if the larger sword strikes the smaller, i.e. the rapier, the smaller sword will be broken and completely useless.

However, if it is even combat or the advantage is to the smaller sword, then the holder of the greater sword will surly fall victim. But why?

The rapier is a faster sword, where, through "scientific" experiments, a single pass of a larger sword, allows 3 passes of a rapier. Also, if the larger sword misses its target, momentum will carry it beyond range to provide any kind of protection, thus presenting the upper torso to the rapier point.

The rapier is a cut and thrust weapon, meaning, that it is capable of cutting/slicing an opponent and being pushed into the body. Up until this time, swords were predominantly one or the other. It could cut or it could be thrust. The rapier could do both, and do it very well.

From the late 1400's, through modern times (1630), schools are found everywhere on the use of "fencing" swords. Though the Schiavona was not a fencing weapon, the drills were pretty much the same.

Ain- A cut to the head, from the center or from either side.

Twa - A cut to the opponents right side (horizontal), at about elbow height.

Tri- Same cut to the left side.

Ceithir- To the right side, from about the hip to the upper arm on the left side.

Coig- Same cut to the left side.

Se- A cut, to the right side, from about the hip, angled up to the left ear.

Seachd- Same cut, but to the left side.

On the battlefield, there was no real call for the use of fencing moves. There was no need to display honor or valor, just get through the fight and earn your pay.

In his text on fencing, Sir William Hope writes …" The directions I am to give be also very useful in Pickeering ( which altho' now a-days much out of fashion, yet a man may come to be engaged in it), and therefore upon that account, they are not to be contemned nor neglected, especially by those who serve in the Army, whether Horse or Dragoons, as well officers as others."

Pickeering, as defined in the Webster's revised Unabridged Dictionary, means "making a raid for booty, marauding, skirmishing in advance of an army." Which any commanding officer would order done, to check the defenses and readiness of his opposition.

On this skirmish, the cavalry would draw their sword and hang it , by a riband on their sword hand, then ready their pistols or carbines. Then after the powder weapons had all been discharged, the sword, at hand, would be used as the last weapon.

The Foot would have their sword on their hip and ready to be drawn after their shots had been fired and time was too limited to reload. Though the muskets were very valuable, they could be picked up as the troops returned from their raid. Swords were much more effective at killing the enemy, than using the butt of a musket. On the battlefield, this was a different matter.

Also, on horse, the rider would be able to recover from a swing of the sword, if it were light and fast, as the rapier, as well as being able to thrust into the upper body of the enemy, using less effort, and not opening up the upper body of the rider to other swords.

Officers found that the smallness of the rapier offorded them better movement, either in the camp or on their mount. As the armies grew in size, the spacing of the encampment grew tighter and tighter.

And, as the sword came more into favor with the wealthier, it allowed them places to show their wealth. Many hilt cups were adorned with various jewels, granting everyone the right to see how rich they were. Then, if an officer "needed" to advance to the farthest rear, then he would be sure to know were his riches were, at least some of them.

Common soldiers would move about camp wearing their rapier pretty much all the time. This would be a sensible defence when a raid or skirmish presented itself and the muskets were yards away. With the light sword at hand, the camp would stand a better chance of thwarting a raid, if not totally destroying the attempt.

Soldiers would have practiced the combat use of the rapier for several hours a day, for a few days a week, in order to stay fit, wise and supple of arm. It did not take strength to fight with a rapier, just wits and practice.

A picture of the Battle of Rain (1632) shows (in the foreground) musketeers marching into combat with swords on their hips. From the description I have provided, it is easy to tell that these must be the early rapiers. So, yes, musketeers were issued swords, and healthy ones at that.

Though the rapier does not seem to be much of a weapon compared to the claymore, its speed and double edged blade proved its worth on the field of combat.

King Schianova

Gustavus Adolphus

Sword

Parker,Geoffrey. The Thirty Years War. Military Heritage Press,1987

Andrews,Larry L. The Cutting Edge: A Practical Guide to the Use of Scottish Highland Weapons, The Complete Edition. Forgotten Frontiers Publishing,1995

Rector,Mark. Highland Swordsmanship: Techniques of the Scottish Swordmaster. Chivalry Bookshelf, 2001

McAsh, Braun. Weaponry: The Rapier. Weider History Group, 2007

Wager, E. Cut and Thrust Weapons. Hamlyn,UK, 1969

Hope, Sir William. 1660-1724 A NEW, Short, and Easy METHOD OF FENCING: Or, the ART of the Broad and Small Sword, James Watson, 1687

Reenactor Fest

In a nut shell, this event is an indoor event centered on the living historian/re-enactor (read this as "alternative educator"). This is a convention for re-enactors including vendors, speakers and social events. The prime focus for this event is to help alternative educators improve their kits, techniques and contacts.

"What is Reenactor Fest? It is a convention for people interested in military history, as well as historical reenactors of all time periods, spanning from the days of the Roman Empire through WWII. It will be completely unique in this regard... a celebration of the hobby of historical reenacting as a whole. A chance to learn about other time periods, as well as your own!" (http://www.reenactorfest.com/)

This event is put on yearly at Sheraton Chicago Northwest in Arlington Heights, IL.

One of the aspects of this event I loved so well, was the opportunity to see alternative educators from ancient Rome all the way up to WWII era military. A person could meet Vikings chatting with SS officers, buckskinners playing cards with RAF enlisted WWI infantry.

What follows is an abbreviated account of my experience at this show. I highly recommend it!

2 Feb, Friday

When we get to the hotel, we check in, unload and set up everything. Then we shuck our 21st century gear for period dress, ready to open shop 5-8pm. Chris as WWII, Beth as medieval, Charles as colonial and me technically as 17th century in the big dress. Yeh. Got the corset on ok, with much pulling and tugging and exhaling. Got the skirt on and then the jacket bodice. Remember I said I took it to the dry cleaners? Well, the lining shrunk. Like almost a 1/4 inch worth of shrinkage. Good thing Beth brought an extra jacket. I kept the corset on and the skirt and wore the black jacket instead. I was hot! Dripping pearls. MacGregor Games is, after all, a full service gaming hall. I was the tart. $40/hug, $100/tight lipped kiss and you can't afford the rest.

I'd have to say I was at geek fest extraordinare. I was in the dork forest and surrounded by my own kind! Not one bunny fur barbarian or chain mail bikini. In fact, people were really keen to talk about each seam, bead and piece of trim about their costuming as authentic or excellent replications, more often than not hand made by that person. And they could produce the research about it virtually on demand, or at least cite their references! The Roman soldiers could justify each rivet on their armor! Heaven, I'm in heaven! I was a geek surrounded by geeks!

Friday night was a trivia contest. Teams participated in history trivia ranging from Pirates, Sex in History, Games, Field Flags, Rondells and many more topics.

Chris and I sat with the SPQ-ARRRRRR (pirates & Romans) team. Love that name! One of the categories was Christopher Walken. We got all four questions, but missed the fifth. We did get extra points for saying answers in unison within the group, like a chorus. What a hoot! I stayed until almost 11.30, Beth and I left while Chris stayed and played. Charles had gone up earlier.

On the way to the elevator, we ran into a really incredible Nazi pilot. Complete with authentic/artifact black leather shearling lined and wired boots. They still had the snaps where the boots were hooked into the plane to keep the pilot's feet warm.

Like I said, authenticity ^100! We talked to this guy about his outfit (pants, shirt AND flight jacket with all appropriate patches, pins, snaps and zippers). Then, off to bed!

3 Feb Saturday

You know that thing Ben Franklin said "early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise"? We definitely weren't any of those things. You know, surrounded by geeks like us, unlimited topics for conversation and networking. Yep, makes for an extremely late night.

Booth open at 9, the boys were down there by 8 setting up. We girls were a little more slacking what with the makeup, primping and oh, yeh, LACE THE CORSET! We got it down to a science, though. Since it only had to produce a partial shelf, it didn't have to be so tight. I make a great 17th century tart.

We were situated in the lower hallway right outside two lecture rooms, a WWI museum and the lower exhibit hall. The parade walked right by us. DROOOOOOOLLLLLL! Not one stupid costume. There were some partials, but definitely works in progress.

Both exhibit halls were LOADED with vendors selling kit bits and research books. Located nicely next to Viking items just across from WWII stuff (Axis & Allied) and up the way from WWI. Over in the corner was F&I, 1821, colonial, buckskiner, pioneer and the very cavalier stuff. Hats. We of the later centuries just don't have any kind of chapeau sense. I mean, look at how boring our hats are: baseball & cowboy. Maybe the occasional pinch brim or panama jack hat, more of them than a fedora or bowler hat. And the ever androgynous knit hat. Boooring. And boorish.

Now a grenadier's hat, that is a cool hat! Or maybe the hat that Polish guy was wearing. Ahh, it was a tall, round fur cap lined in velvet with three large feathers attached by a LARGE silver, jewel encrusted brooch. Nice! One guy had a cavalier hat with most of a garishly coloured ostrich on it. Chris didn't know if he should salute or laugh. Tricorns, Centurion helmets, calvary officer helmets.

There was this one table. Did I mention there were two ex-halls? One up stairs and one downstairs. So anyway, this one table was loaded with out of print used books. This for me was the ultimate display table. The book I took with me was "Dining with William Shakespeare". Thirteen complete Shakespearean feast menus, spiced with essays and comments on the food and social customs of Elizabethan England. It's by Madge Lorwin. Published by Atheneum, New York, 1976. It is currently out of print. Yeh, it predates Clann Tartan, but guess what? The Bard was eating turkey! Hmmmmm, makes you think, don't it?

I also got to meet Ben Franklin. What a guy! If you haven't read a biography, do so. This guy was really incredible. The guy playing him was pretty good at it, too.

The dance was touted as having a dance for every era represented. As far as I could see, it did! I danced some country dances with Chris and a bunch of others. I had a dance with General Grant (add that to my list of famous dance partners like General George Washington and Ben Franklin's autograph). Did some swing dancing with Chris (note to self, sign up for swing dance lessons).

Then the DJ called everyone on the dance floor. All of us, every one. Also understand we are all in costume. RAF, SS, Doughboys, Caligula, Wyat Earp, George Custer (happy birthday, btw), General Grant, assorted 1942 dance hall girls, southern belles, gypsies and many others. Very few in post WWII clothes. Ok, keep that image in your head, all those costumes. Now, hear the opening strains of "Time Warp". The crowd went nuts! We were all doing the time warp! Those not doing the Time Warp were busy taking lots of pix and video. No one would truly believe the RAF officers would do the time warp.

The night degenerated from there. YMCA (Caligula is a hoot), Paradise by the Dashboard Lights, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, and many, many more. Just before I left, they played Safety Dance. RAF officers, an SS guy, a Soviet officer and Caligula were all out doing the Safety Dance. I SWEAR I was mostly sober!

Ah, yes! I am with my own kind!

Sunday 4 Feb

Back at it again, the tart at the table. No stays today, though. Need to have the extra time to shuck the costume so we can pack up shop and get on the road. I did break down and buy new socks, though. 5 pairs and all of them period for 17 & 18 century. Neah, neah, neah. I think we've already established the geekdom here.

I have to say I LOVE THIS SHOW! Chris an I plan on doing it next year. Possibly taking some vacation time if B & C agree to go early and see the Cantigny museum (www.mccormicktribune.org/firstdivision/firstdivision).

It's called Renactor Fest and I think any higher order geek would be comfy attending. I do also think it would be in a person's best interest to book the hotel rooms long before next January for the show. For those of you interested in doing a demo, in about two weeks contact the appropriate people. Remember, this is not a general pubic event, it's geekdom educating itself.

Renee Peterson

Calendar of Events

Event Schedule for the 2007 Season:

The following is a list of the dates of the events that are currently on the schedule for this year. The staff has met and decided to keep this running list of events in the newsletter to give you a chance to get an idea of what is going on this season as well as keep you updated to changes in the schedule.

The column titled status will include the following information.

Tentative- this means that an event organizer or Clann has expressed a strong enough interest in doing this event that it warrants reserving space on the calendar for the event.

Pending- this is the next stage of an event. This means that Maeve has entered serious discussion about Clann doing an event but we are still not committed to the event. You should however if possible think about wether or not you may be able to attend this event.

Scheduled- this level means that the board and staff have approve the event and we are committed to providing manpower to making the event happen. When an event is assigned this level please let Julie know as soon as possible if you can or can not attend this event.

Canceled- This means that for various reasons an scheduled event has been removed from the current season. We will try and give as much notice as we can prior to canceling an event.

If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact me regarding this matter

Thanks,
Maeve Kane.

Maps

 

Map to Board Meetings Bruce and Julie Yoder's Home 4736 12th Av S, Minneapolis, 55407	Map to St. Paul location St. Christopher's- Dance
Map to /Quarterly/Annual Meetings Corcoran Neighborhood Center, 3334 20th Av South, Minneapolis, MN	Map to the Mpls Comm & Tech College 1st & 3rd Wednesdays dance location
Map to Marty & Judy Byers home 2821 Churchill, Roseville MN	Map to Laurie Ford's Home 3936 West 44th St. Edina, MN 55424 Find France Avenue. Go on France Ave. to 44th St. Turn west. 4th house on the right.

Charles City Military History Days has been a very wet, cold show the past two years running. This is not to say don't attend; just be sure you have extra clothing, bedding, etc. A cot or at the very least a tarp or two for under your bedding is strongly recommended, as are sealable plastic containers to keep spare clothing dry. Bring lots and lots of socks, underwear, and if possible, shirts or shifts. Nothing will keep you warmer than being dry, and nothing will drain your body heat and energy faster than being wet.

That said, the event itself is very enjoyable. There is a very low-key school day on Friday—if you've never interpreted for school groups before, this is a good event to start at. The event as a whole is fairly low key, as the weather has usually prevented very heavy flow of public. We participate in a mock battle on Saturday and a parade on Sunday, with all of the other military groups. Most periods of Western military history are represented, starting with the Vikings and going through World War Two and sometimes Vietnam.

Parking is available on site, and drive-ons are okay up to an hour before public hours start. The ground is fairly hilly and uneven, so bring lots of padding if you plan on sleeping on the ground and be careful of your bumper when driving on. There are no showers available at this event, and the bathroom facilities and water are located downhill of where Clann is camped. Other than the check-in tent and perhaps a tank or two, Clann's encampment will be the closest camp to the parking lot.

Directions from the North:

I-35 South to US 18 E/IA 27 S via Exit 190 toward Mason City/Charles City
Exit CR B35 via Exit 212 toward Charles City.
Left on CR B35
Stay straight to go onto US 218 BR.
Turn Right to stay on US 218 BR.
Left onto IA 14/Main Street. Follow Main Street.
Turn a slight left onto CR T64.
Address of the event is 1505 N Grand Ave, Charles City.

R.s.v.p. as soon as possible to Mia mia_mcdavid@comcast.net or call 651-490-1842. Remember, if you don't R.s.v.p., you don't eat!

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Minnesota Scottish Fair and Highland Games - Dakota County fairgrounds, Farmington, MN, May 19, 2007

Mark your calendars! Saturday, May 19, Clann will be participating in the Minnesota Scottish Fair and Highland Games. Here's the website: http://mnscottishfair.org.
We can camp Friday and Saturday nights, although the fair is at the Dakota County fairgrounds in Farmington, only about a half-hour drive from the center of the cities, so it's also very easy to day-trip. There are flush toilets and showers on the grounds and lots of free parking. This was a really great event last year, and this year promises to be even better!
R.s.v.p. as soon as possible to Mia mia_mcdavid@comcast.net or call 651-490-1842. Remember, if you don't R.s.v.p., you don't eat!

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