The Events of Saturday, May 7, 2011

                This morning began with a hike to Jubilee Tower. The hike took us on a moist, wide trail, through the foggy mist that had settled into the hills after yesterday’s rain. When the mist cleared up a little, the views were immaculate. Because all the grazing fields for the livestock were lined with bushes, from high up, it looked like a quilt of green bordering light green fields and yellow or brown fields of grain. Of course, the quilt was spotted with houses and livestock. We encountered a large number of Welsh, hiking early in the morning like us. One of these was a runner who was running down the hill. He was very jubilant and said, “Good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, and good morning,” and made sure that he had said ‘good morning’ to all six of us as he ran past.

                After about an hour of hiking straight up, we encountered some sheep on the trail. On either side of the trail was just luscious green grass, so, we chased them around for a little bit. (I accidently stepped into some sheep poop. Yuck!) From here, we could see Jubilee Tower, looming above us, surrounded by swirling gray mist. Just a few more minutes and we had conquered the mount. Huzzah! We took pictures, even though the fog was so thick that you couldn’t see very much anyway. Daddy set up his camera to take a timed family shot, and it was so windy, the camera was shaking back and forth on its tripod. But, the picture turned out okay. We ate chewy granola bars to renew our energy, hugging close together against the fierce wind, and then, it was time to start the journey down.

                While Abby and I sang Veggie Tales songs on the way down, Mommy, Caitlin, and Ben discussed student loans, scholarships, financial aid, and mortgages. Then, Abby and Daddy discussed the true meaning of friendship. We rode home, this time downhill, pressed against our seatbelts. Upon our return to our humble abode of Tyddyn Isaf, we donned comfy clothes and settled in for a relaxed day. We divided our time on the computer between the six of us, so as to have equal internet time. During a PB&J lunch was the only time when the computer was not being used today. When it wasn’t our turn on the computer, we were reading, listening to music, sleeping, showering, doing laundry, or packing up for our early departure tomorrow morning.

                Then, at about 6:30, we all started making preparations for our evening festivities, a medieval banquet in Ruthin Castle. Abby made a paper crown out of graph paper. The rest of us got dressed in the most medieval-looking clothes we owned. Daddy didn’t shave, so as to give his face a scruffy look.

                We arrived at Ruthin Castle (which is also a hotel), and walked up the steps and between two yellow marble lions to the entrance. The Court Steward, dressed in traditional medieval court garb –stockings, a thick, colorful, medieval-looking shirt, and wooden shoes – greeted us. He led us past the public rooms of the hotel, where a wedding reception was taking place. A lady of the court, dressed in a purple velvet dress, offered us a piece of bread dipped in salt to assure our “safety” during our stay in the castle. She also gave us papers on which we could write limericks starting with “A knight who was valiant and true …” There would be a contest later in the evening. We filled these out in the “waiting chamber”, where we sat by a roaring fire upon wooden benches. Here, I will quote them:

 

BY ABBY

A knight who was valiant and true,

a beautiful lady he did woo.

She turned him down,

for he wanted the crown.

and left him sorry and blue.

 

BY LINDSEY (me)

A knight who was valiant and true,

so true, he knew not what to do.

He got in a jest,

with a daring countess,

and now he has got a boo-boo.

 

BY BEN

A knight who was valiant and true,

tasted bitterness in his beef stew.

To warn the king,

or let the sword swing.

He wanted the crown – Wouldn’t you?

 

BY CAITLIN

A knight who was valiant and true,

except he refused to wear blue.

He thought he was witty,

to try to be pretty,

and therefore, he couldn’t wear blue.

 

BY PAM/MOM

A knight who was valiant and true

once needed to go to the loo.

His armor was jammed,

so therefore he crammed

a bedpan into his shoe.

 

BY JIM/DAD

A knight who was valiant and true

had a mum back in Kalamazoo.

He thought - and thought hard,

and he bought her a card

that said, "Happy Mum's Day to You!"

 

                The Court Jester, Steve, came by, and showed us some clever card tricks. A large group of people, dressed in medieval garb, entered the room and The Court Steward announced himself. He recited a clever poem about proper behavior in a banquet hall. Then, he proceeded to say the family names of those in attendance. Each name was followed by thunderous applause and a hearty “Huzzah!” by order of the Court Steward. When our name was called, we followed the First Lady of the Court into the banqueting hall. She seated us at a long wooden table near a large fireplace. We sat facing each other, three on each side. There were three other parties at our table, all celebrating birthdays.

                So, our table held a total of thirteen people (none of us in costumes). There were four other tables, equally as long as ours (filled with costumed guests), and a table perpendicular to the rest, at the “head” of the room (also with costumed guests). Here were two chairs that looked like they were higher status than our lowly wooden benches, and, for now, they were empty. On the tables at each of our places were small, dark-colored plates, small glasses filled with a mysterious liquid, and each of us had a dagger. In the center of our table were three dishes with water with slices of lemons, bowls of grapes, oranges, and apples, and three tall candles. That was it. In a little corner of the room were two musicians, one on harp and the other on spinet.

                The Court Steward came forward and introduced our hosts for the evening, Baron Brian and Baroness Eileen! Baroness Eileen was celebrating her fiftieth birthday and was hosting a large party (Baron Brian was her husband). They took their places of honor at the chairs at the head table of the hall.

                Then, the Court Steward excitedly told us that tonight was a night for celebration … HUZZAH! … for music … HUZZAH! … for drinking … HUZZAH! … and for feasting … HUZZAH! (You could tell that people were starting to get into it). Then, he called forward the Ladies of the Court, and they sang us a lovely court song about being merry (in Welsh). Next, the Court Steward asked Daddy to say grace and Daddy blessed the meal, the banquet, and the evening in Jesus’ name. And with that, the feast began.

                The First Lady of the Court came forward next and explained the mysterious drink. She said that it was mead, which is fermented honey and water. In medieval times, they thought that this drink helped vertility. So, young men would drink it for a month or full cycle of the moon after their wedding, hence, the word honeymoon. We all pushed our glasses of mead towards Daddy’s plate and asked our waitress, oh pardon, lady-in-waiting, to replace ours with soda. Lady Charlotte willingly got us authentic looking new cups and a clay pitcher of Coca-Cola and another of lemonade, which kept the drinks nice and cold. Then, the First Lady of the Court introduced us to our first course, thick vegetable soup. It was thick, all right, and really good too. As we had no utensils other than our daggers, we dipped bread instead. Then, when the soup was cool enough, we drank from the bowl. As we ate, there was constant music, talking, and laughter.

                The second course served was Welsh lamb roasted in herbs and spices. The lamb’s bone was your fork, so I held it like an ice cream cone! It was not only very good, but very filling as well. Between second and third courses, Steve, the Court Jester, came over and taught me a few tricks. (I don’t know why he picked me; I guess I’m easy to tease!) He taught me how to make a card and a penny disappear. It was fun.

                Lady Charlotte next brought us the third course; half a young chicken roasted in honey and oranges with mixed salad and a jacket potato. It was first presented to the baron and baroness, but before they could have some, he had to pick a volunteer to make sure it wasn’t poisoned. (The man the baron selected was obviously one of his party and a good friend). The volunteer put a piece of chicken into his mouth and chewed it very slowly … and then fell dramatically to the ground. Then, he spit the piece of chicken out of his mouth, and it went shooting across the room. The Court Steward asked if it tasted all right, and the man sat up straight and shouted, “Tastes like chicken!” So, after a round of laughter and applause, we continued the banquet. As I said before, we were already full from the first two courses, so I barely ate half of the third course. However, what I did eat of it was amazing! The chicken was the most tender I have ever had, the salad was drowning in really sweet vinaigrette, and the gigantic potato was swimming in butter.

                Daddy was enjoying the Court’s red wine, when out came the dessert course, fruit crumble and cream. It looked like vanilla ice cream, but the first bite almost all of us swallowed with difficulty. The cream was made without sugar, and the combination of that with the very sour berries at the base of the cup made for a very sour dessert. But, what came after the dessert course made up for it. The Ladies of the Court as well as our Court Steward sang to us. Now, we had been disappointed on Thursday when we couldn’t see the Welsh choir, but this performance was so amazing, it made up for it. Their voices are clear, loud and beautiful. They sang Welsh folk songs, ending with the National Anthem of Wales. They came to the tables, and all of the people in the banquet hall joined hands and swayed to the music. (There were a couple of people that had drunken too much mead that didn’t participate).

                The Court Steward subsequently started the limerick contest. After reading through several, and setting several more aside as inappropriate for a family audience, he read three limericks, two of which he declared were the runner-up and, in his mind, the winner. Much to our surprise, he read Ben’s and Daddy’s limericks. The crowd chose Ben’s as “top notch”, and he went up to receive a box of chocolates as a prize. Then, the Ladies of the Court sang and danced a Welsh song about different colored sheep; white, black, red, and blue. For each color, while they sang the first verse, they went up and picked a person wearing that color. That person then danced with the lady who had chosen him. The person chosen for white was the groom-to-be at the bachelor party at the other end of the banquet hall. He and his lady-in-waiting dance partner really got into it and were fun to watch. Then, Mommy was chosen as the red sheep, and she danced with one of the ladies. The blue and black sheep were both older and drunk, and therefore not as fun to watch.

                Then, the First Lady of the Court sang a Welsh folksong similar to the American one, The Green Grass Grew All Around, and then all the lords and ladies that had worked on making our evening so spectacular, came together and sang, wishing us a good night’s sleep in Wales (which of course they sang in Welsh). They invited us into the next room for coffee to sober up some of the folks, but we just headed home.

                On the way out, however, we had been told by the Court Jester to go check something out in the library of the hotel. So, we literally crashed the wedding party that was still going on there, and looked. On one wall was a painting of a young lady. The mirror that sat on the opposite wall reflected an image that made us glad that we weren’t staying there tonight. It was scary. The reflection had transformed her face from beautiful to the creepy face of a phantom. On that lovely note, we rode home through the Welsh countryside in the dark rain. Exhausted and stuffed to the seams, we flopped onto our beds, only to wake up seven hours later.