Claydon House - adventure

What a Bank Holiday weekend that was, we're still recovering. I've had a cold since we arrived back.

When we arrived on the Friday, it was warm and sunny, we had a view of the lake and the house.

The Living History camp started to fill up around us, woodturners, cooks, musketeers,dragoons, even The King himself!

Setting up and locking up and going back to the plastic camp for the night

The beer tent and traders lane.

Our little abode for the weekend as we left it on Saturday afternoon.

On Sunday all hell let loose with the weather, horizontal driving rain and high winds tore through the camp ripping the smaller tents from their pegs. Lord and Lady Verney pitched in with my husband Andy and many others to peg the tents down. I was holding the tent flap closed on our tent and got soaked from the nape of my neck to my ankles. I managed to lace it up and sit inside.

I lit a candle more for atmosphere than anything else. The heady fragrance of lavender garlic and savory filled the windblown tent. Outside, the wind and the cannon roared, shots were fired, shouts heard. I closed my eyes, would this have been a tiny taste of the war? Trying to survive the weather, listening to our army fight the enemy. Sitting soaked, freezing, wondering what was happening outside, and too afraid to go and look?

 Luckily the weather the following day was fine, and as the Goodwyfe I could again cater for the troops with food and my musket ball remover. The crowds came and talked to us, we showed them the Jumble biscuits made from a recipe found on a battlefield. Hard as rocks but like biscotti as they were made to be dunked in warmed wine or ale. Welsch cakes that I made on the skillet, and pears from our pear tree. 

All in all a brilliant weekend, leaving me with a rotten cold, and dear Andy with sore shoulders from putting tents back up.

Happy 50th Anniversary to The Sealed Knot and long may the adventure continue.