Newark Muster 2-4 May 2015

It was a fine weekend... some showers, to keep the camping interesting, but on the whole the weather held and in fact it was warm on both the Sunday and the Monday for the actual battles.

Much beer was imbibed, and it was great to meet Andy (a regular commenter on this blog, also Elder Sergeant in The King's Lifeguard), who I bumped into at the beer tent, and who was kind enough to ensure I had a full glass, whilst we passed a while chatting about wargaming, re-enactment and life in general. Next one's on me, Andy!

Anyway, here are some photos from the weekend...

First up... Our regiment was detailed with creating the authentic camp in The Queen's Sconce...

 

and maintaining a guard/ presence there all weekend...

 

Many interested folk visited the site over the weekend, and we chatted about all things civil war and re-enactment in general.

On the Saturday afternoon we went mob-handed into the town...

 

Below... The pubs of Newark were full all weekend! This photo is just prior to us getting a special tour of the new National English Civil War Museum, situated in the town. A good visit, and I'd encourage anyone to pop in. They have a neat diorama of the sconce there, as well as many artefacts and so on.

 

 

Final shot, below, shows members of the regiment preparing for battle.

 

 

The battles themselves were great fun, and seemed to provide ample entertainment for the plentiful crowd, who all applauded throughout and showed their appreciation as we marched off at the end. I wish I could capture the action on camera, but ... you'll just have to join up if you want to get that "troops' eye view".

 

The highlight of the weekend for me was in being able to do some training musketry with black powder, under strict supervision on both Sunday morning and Monday morning, before the main events of the day. So far, just running through the drill has been fine, but loosing off those first "real" shots was great... a real buzz (well, more of a "bang" than a "buzz"!)
Having fired both matchlock and flintlock weapons, it's time to start considering the options on which I want to purchase.

Talking of purchasing things, one retiring member of the regiment arrived with a load of kit to sell on. A lovely sword caught my eye, and I swooped. Really pleased with it.

 

Roll on next event... Stamford Hall, Leicestershire, 23-25 May. The battles are taking place on the Sunday 24th and Monday 25th.

I'll be there!