At our usual club, we had a special day called Saxon Day – and you can guess what that’s about: Saxons! I dressed up as Lady Morgana, who was King Uther’s (the tale of Arthur’s father) ward. I had a lovely, flowing green dress with pretty broaches and things. And I had a amethyst hairband (well, not real amethysts, but you get what I mean). Tilly was dressed like Guinevere, my maid. She had a beautiful broach and a sheet of shiny paper for a cloak and plaited hair. Kendall Bear was also dressed as a Saxon bear 😉
We had a Saxon lady come to teach us, all dressed up with broaches and things, about Saxons. She was really nice. Because Tilly and I had already studied them, we helped the little children understand and that sort of thing. However, we did learn quite a few new things during the talks. For instance, I didn’t know there was a huge chain going right up to the ceiling holding the cauldron, and that people had to have a long spoon to reach the cauldron so they didn’t get burnt!
She showed us lots of different weapons and things, and how each spear and dagger was made and how it was fought with in battle. There’s a small one with a oval-like ending she told us about, which you throw at your enemies. There’s an in-the-middle-length one which you spike and chop and slice, and a nine-foot tall spear, which isn’t very good, because you can’t hold your shield – that’s because it’s so heavy it needs two hands.. so they you get clawed to death. I tried on a helmet which was actually really heavy on my head! The lady, Cathy, had accidentally put the foam in the wrong place, so the metal leant and dug sharply into my scalp ;D
There were a few activities, like designing shields, and arranging cards in the most important places and things like that. We looked at Saxon place names, and read what they meant – where Katie lives, her town means ‘stream’! Lillian, Gracie, and Niamhy were there to play too. We had lunch in the parky area and ran up and down the skateboard ramps, which are probably the highest I’ve ever been on!
Lastly, we had a battle with sticks and shields, but pretty much everyone on our opponents’ side didn’t obey the rules, and kept poking people and jutting at people with their sticks..! But before the battle ‘commenced’, Cathy sshowed us different types of deaths and stabs, and the last one was being slashed right through the belly! (Head, shoulder, shoulder, leg, leg, belly)!! Then the battle really did commence, and we stabbed and slaughtered and slashed and smashed and spiked and swiped and died.
We had hot chocolate too, and, having Brownies later on that day, and after my Thursdayly promise of hot choc afterwards, I had two hot chocolates in one day! Then, when we went to the park, one of my LLL ‘members’, Kyra, said she wanted to do it again! So I brought out my conference folder and Isla and Nina came too, and I taught them how to write stories and things! So far, they all have great characters, and they also know now what ‘characteristic’ means, which is pretty cool for five- and six-year-olds!
