The words of Queen Elizabeth Gloriana as taken down by her faithful scribe Mistress Rose:
This weekend we were pleased to have a variety of new experiences to talk about. On the first day of the weekend in Port Deptford we had quite a laugh; Sir Philip Sydney dressed as cupid in all rose, including wings and a sash. He then proceeded to spout poetry. We have an idea that our own sweet Robin put him up to this, as cruel as that sounds, it was very humorous to watch.
We were also delighted on this day by the young inquiring minds of our people. We had the pleasure of talking to quite a few young people who were inquiring about us in Court Glade. It was our pleasure to answer their questions, with the help of our adoring court.
There was a wedding on this beautiful day as well, and we happily gave our blessings to the happy couple. It was wonderful to greet them and see how they were enjoying their nuptials and trip to Port Deptford. May they have a most joyous and prosperous marriage.
Today was the Fantasy portion of the Costume Contest; we gladly awarded the prizes to the winners. Their costumes were creative, well thought out and beautiful.
We were pleased to watch the awarding of the Free Scholars’ Prize to Sir Thomas Radcliffe, the Earl of Sussex. It was awarded by the Bankefied Schole of Defense for three years of training and achievement. Our congratulations to Sir Thomas.
To end our day we went to a very well attended Poxy Boggards show! It is always a pleasure to watch a drinking group with a singing problem.
The second day of the weekend we happily celebrated Mothering Day! We salute the wonderful mothers visiting and living in Port Deptford and sincerely hope they had a wonderful Mothering Day.
On this day we were entertained at Court Glade by the Dread Crew of Oddwood. They entertained us with their music, danced with our court, and played the game of Shuttlecock. The Dread Crew won against Lord Dearby’s team. We were certain to keep a close eye on those handsome swashbucklers lest one of our ladies were too taken with them.
We also hosted a Knight Ceremony at Court Glade today. We presented Sir Jacob Peachbottom with his Knight’s chain. As well as handed out several of our Queen’s Champion Awards. We are so very proud of all those we awarded. It pleases us to no end to have such wonderful, hard working and talented subjects!
The second half of the Costume Contest took place today, the Historical portion of the contest. Mamma Zini and Sir Robert Dudley handed out the awards for the contest on this day with our blessing. It was a delight yet again to see the creativity of our loyal subjects.
We enjoyed an afternoon at St. Ives playing the Shakespeare game. In this game various members of the court, ourself, or the members of St. Ives would recite a line from one of Master Shakespeare’s work and the rest of the players would guess what play it was from. It pleased us that our own sweet Robin played very well.
Our favorite part of the day was a Tea Party in the afternoon with the orphans of St. Nick’s. They hosted a tea party for us and delighted us with a rendition of “Long May She Reign” in thanks to us for attending.
We look forward to next weekend, the last weekend of the faire in Port Deptford with jubilation and a slightly heavy heart. We have had so much fun visiting the faire this year and can hardly wait for the opportunity to do so again next year!