I am using diaries, letters, troop movements of the time to weave a story of one woman's life during the War and the Protectorate. My main character is loosely based on Lady Anne Halkett, the words, the deeds my Anne performs are my imagination not history, the battle of Naseby, the hot muggy day it was fought on, is real history, research told me the weather, where the troops mustered, what hymns the Parliament soldiers sung.
Re-enactment with the Sealed Knot taught me the life of a 17th century woman, wearing hot restrictive clothing, cooking over a live fire. The fragrance of bread baking in the morning, how to use herbs for cooking and medicines.
On the Knot camp I don't feel it's really much different from the armies of the time except we all camp together, and usually no-one dies. I say usually, because it has happened. Not through fighting, but through 21st Century illnesses.
Our troop numbers are around 2-3 thousand, at the timeof the war the troop numbers would have been in the hundreds of thousands. It amazed me how many men actually fought and died in the English Civil Wars.
As for real life, it creeps in as it does after a holiday, I came back feeling great. It didn't last, it's only Wednesday today and already this week we have had our shower unit replaced as it had stopped working, I have had holes drilled in my toes to rid me of an infection, and one of my cats has fallen ill, can hardly move poor boy, so it's off to the vets later today.
My poor sister rang yesterday suffering from food poisoning, then having an allergic re-action to the medicine to help her, scary, making her tongue, toes and fingers go numb.
Allergies. Seems to run in our family, but that's another story.
So back to work, hubby is fighting with computers that have lost him three days work as they wiped the memory as they fell over and died.
The peace and tranquillity of Cornwall seem a million miles away - here's another lovely photo to get me through the day. Have a good weekend everyone.
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