Ah, the price we pay for partying a wee bit TOO hearty the night before!

Just as I finished, I heard the sound of geese honking overhead once more. Sure enough, when I looked up there were five or six "V's" -- perhaps 200 birds in all -- winging south toward the Gulf across the bright morning sky. But even better: flying in the opposite direction was a low, ragged skirmish line of some twenty Great Blue Herons!!! Immediately I knew then that this day was going to be extraordinary.

Herons, you see, are my totem bird. It's a good omen for me just to see one -- even better if one crosses my path. So to have TWENTY herons do a flyover...!!!

Spectacular! But right then what I really needed was some breakfast -- and a hot cup of strong coffee. First thing in the morning, give me COFFEE!!! Unfortunately for me, we had forgotten to bring either a Coleman stove or breakfast fixings to our campsite, so I quickly donned my garb and headed off to the faire. In my haste to break fast, I forgot to wear the favors (Photo, right) which Mike and Pam had so graciously bestowed on me earlier. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Hey, I told you: I NEED my coffee first thing in the morning!

Of course I missed Gate. I always miss Gate at TRF: it's a tradition with me. But first things first! First, a Scotch egg from "The Queen's Pantry" -- a hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage, then rolled in dough and deep-fat fried, for those who don't know. Eat one of those and you can actually feel your arteries clogging up with cholesterol. But verdammdt, they taste so good! Especially smothered in honey mustard and washed down with a cup of good, hot espresso!!!

Maybe it's a nostalgia thing with me, but I love the espresso at TRF. They serve it thick and hot, almost syrupy, at "The Pavilion" near the New Market Music Gazebo just within the Main Gate. Methinks you could pour it out on a table, let it stiffen and cool, then cut it into strips and carry it around all day, chewing on it at your leisure. Much like Navy coffee, if memory serves.

Feeling much more human after that, I was now ready to do TRF!

Stepping away from "The Pavilion" into Eagle Hollow, I immediately ran into the Scotish contingent playing a rousing good game of "Spin the Scot", naturally enough (Photo, right). A combination of "Spin the Bottle" and "Blind Man's Bluff", the object of the game was to let loose a blindfolded and bedizzened Scotsman into a circle of patrons and players and let him try to find the love o'his life for the favor of a kiss. This took awhile! On his first attempt, he stumbled into the arms of a female patron who was willing enough -- but her husband intervened. On his second try, he accidentally chose a fellow Scotsman! They were both game, but the Laird o'the Game objected to that match. Ah, but third time is always a charm (Photo, left, where the happy couple seem to be asking "Can we kiss now???!?"). There was much applause from the audience then when he threw her over his arm and bussed her well and soundly in public. The only surprise was that there were no sheep in the circle that day...

Hey, these are SCOTSMEN, right???

As is my usual wont, I then leisurely wandered the grounds seeking the new and unusual. Wandering is, after all, what I do best -- which's why my Nom de Faire is "Ryleh the Wanderer"! On my way to Sherwood Forest along the outer perimeter of shops, I noted that "The Magic Cauldron" (occult supply shop) was new and well worth a return visit; and checked out the gardens -- the Rose Garden behind the Chapel, Titania's Bower (English garden) and the Water Garden (Fons florida Aeterna) -- all of which were new to me. A group of madrigal singers were entertaining a small audience in the Water Garden as I passed. Nice touch!

My next objective was the line of new tents and shops across from the Royal Mint and the Gutenberg Press, with a stop at "The Gypsy Hart" along the way. On my way back, I passed the Mockingbird Music Gazebo and peered into the Sea Devil Tavern, but failed to spot either Mike or Pam in the crowd. Moving along, I wandered past the Mud Pit, swung by the Maypole and headed for the Moroccan Bazaar. There were lots of fine arts, sculture, handcrafted wares, jewelry, ceramics, costumes, armor, weapons and other accessories on display all along this route, but alas! Nothing cried out to me: "Buy me!" on my initial walkabout.

Coming around by the Axecutioner, I spotted Aviana and Ben, one of the Lady Regina's "court" (Photo, right: here shown striking a menacing pose. In this costume, he was a dark, vampiric Fey much in the tradition of Dobber!). As usual, Ben was resting on one of the many tree-shaded benches provided for the comfort of TRF patrons. He looked really great, especially when he grimaced, drawing back his lips to reveal his sharp, vampire fangs. I was not aware of it at the time, but his costume was extremely uncomfortable -- if not downright painful -- to wear. Talk about your test of endurance! For one thing, each "shoe" must have weighed close to ten pounds as each hoof was constructed out of a single, massive block of solid wood. For another, he essentially had to walk on his toes in order to achieve the "crooklegged" look of a hoofed and shaggy-shanked satyr. Imagine trying to lift that heavy weight with each and every step and carry a LARGE pair of off-balance wings on your back all day long!

No wonder he rested -- and often!!!

Although he was resting, he was not necessarily wasting time. Their Majesties, Lord Oberon (played by Gene Landry) and his Queen, Titania (as played by Martha Burgess), along with the rest of the TRF Faerie Court were just passing by as I arrived...and Ben was teasing the Fey Folk something terribly. You see, one of the props he carried around with him constantly was a complete length of vertabrae with a pair of fairy wings attached (the odd object dangling from his left hand in the photo, above). He had also attached several strips of red cloth below the wings, obviously representing the raw, red muscle tissue of his supposed "victim". So while he was resting on the bench, he also sat there chewing on the end of one of the strips, worrying it like a dog with a bone. Sure, it was utterly grotesque, gruesome and grisly....

But it was also completely "in-character" for Ben's persona. Not to mention it drove the Fey Folk into an absolute frenzy! (chuckle)

They milled around him just out of reach, making noises of disgust and trying to drive him away. At Aviana's urging (she was, of course, playing on their side), they even threw pinches of Faerie Dust at him in an effort to dispel his presence. Ben just grinned his toothy grin at them...and kept on chewing.

Once he finally had their undivided attention, however, he put down his, er, "morsel" and motioned with one, long, metal-sheathed finger for them to approach closer. Needless to say, the Fey were extremely reluctant to trust him at that point. That's when he put on his "innocent as a newborn lamb" look, complete with batting eyelashes and winsome smile.

Innocent as a lamb???!? Yeah. Right! More like a wolf in sheep's clothing, I'd say...!

It was all I could do to keep from bursting out, laughing!!! Still, it won over the Faeries, who approached him cautiously. At that point, he carefully dug into one of his belt pouches and produced a variety of baubles and trinkets -- mainly necklaces with pendant stones -- which he passed out, one-by-one, to the assembled Fey. Now wasn't that sweet??? (all together now: AWWWWWW!).

But his generosity did have the desired effect. For the rest of the day, the Faerie Folk at least accepted Ben's presence -- cautiously! -- around them.

It was fast approaching noon by that time. The Fey had to hurry off to get ready for the daily Noon Parade of TRF players, performers and merchants, even as we needed to find a good spot to view the parade. Aviana suggested the corner near the King's Arms Feast Hall, so we made our slow way there, stopping every so often to give Ben a chance to rest...and have his photo taken by regular Faire patrons.

As usual, the Noon Parade was excellent. It's always a great photo opportunity, not to mention getting an "overview" of what TRF has to offer! There were, of course, many old faces and new alike in the parade: Sholo the Nubian (as played by Hilton Jackson) and Merlin the Magjcian (who retired at the end of the 1999 season) were there, as was "Ded Bob" with his handler (Photo, right). Among the newcomers was "To The Hilt", the comedy swordfighting duo whom I first encountered at Hawkwood (Photo, below left); and Theo, AKA "DarkAngel", who came all the way from the Bristol Renaissance Festival to play his part at TRF (Photo, below right).

For me, the most memorable point in the entire parade was the Scots with their "smile and wave" routine. If you're not familiar with S&W, that's the phrase all the players and performers use as they march through TRF, trying to whip up more excitement and enthusiasm among the assembled patrons. Over and over you'll hear them call, saying "Smile and wave! Smile and wave!". The Scots, however, do it one better...

As they rounded the corner by the King's Arms, the entire contingent suddenly stopped. On the count of three they turned sideways across the lane in unison, bent over nearly doubled and shook their bekilted butts with great gusto and enthusiasm in full view of the patrons while shouting "SMILE AND WAVE! SMILE AND WAVE!". It was absolutely hilarious and got a great laugh with applause from everyone -- especially from those patrons who had the golden opportunity to determine just how "regimental" the Scots REALLY were that day!!!

With the passing of the noon parade, the rest of the afternoon at TRF was all ours. I turned to Aviana at that point, grinned and said: "Methinks 'tis time to Raise the Stones in Sherwood Forest!"

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