22.08.2005 | 08:24
At the Medieval Fair in Hämeenlinna
This weekend we went to Hämeenlinna to visit the Medieval Fair at the Häme Castle. The trip was very educational in many ways.
On Saturday we participated in the Häme History Seminar and heard four lectures of four important persons in Häme in the Medieval times. It took almost the whole day, and in the evening we went to the Medieval Eve for Common People. The education continued...
We had dinner at the artillery tower when a magician came and asked if he could perform a trick with cards and nuts. We said yes - and during it got robbed by his assistant. (Well, not really robbed, but we had to pretend we were.) The lesson was that in the Medieval days the magicians had to earn their living in the hard way, so while one caught people's attention the other pickpocketed the money and all other possible things. Well, at least we got to keep the nuts.
I also got the plague - but a good thing is that Jussi got a good deal on my coffin. A man dressed in black came to talk to us later that evening and said that I look a bit pale. He asked if I felt OK and if he could take some measurements. "Do you feel dizzy? Does your head spin? Do you have fever?" He turned out to be a grave-digger and while he started to make a deal on the coffin and the burial with Jussi (I told him that my husband should take care of such things), the vicar came with the plague doctor and tried to chase the grave-digger away.
The vicar offered me a drink and the lesson I learned was never to take a drink from a stranger because that would give me the plague. I could possibly trust the vicar but I'd never know of other people. The plague doctor also said that he's wearing a mask filled with herbs so he won't get the plague.
While I got robbed and ill with the plague, Jussi was just cheap because he did not give a beggar woman a sausage from his plate when we had dinner. Yes, we did hear about that many many times when we ate, so the joke started to get a little old.
So, after all that did I have time for knitting and yarn? For yarn, yes. So this is then where yarn comes from? But from which end?
Here's yarn at the Hämeen Taidekäsityöläiset booth. From different sheep, I'd say. There was also some vegetable dyed yarn available at another booth. (I didn't buy any.)
We had the time to visit the Wetterhoff shop during lunch break on Saturday, too, and that was what I had been waiting for. I bought the gift for my Nordisk Hemmelig Venn there (I won't show it here) and I got two hanks of Sofia for me.
Sofia is the new wool and silk blend yarn, 30% silk and 70% wool. Wetterhoff has already had two similar yarns, Sivilla and Silvia, and now Sofia which is thicker and comes in 10 colours. In fact there are 11 colours available at the moment but they'll sell the pale yellow/cream colour (if I remember correctly) as long as it lasts and there won't be any more of it.
On Sibeliuksenkatu there was also another yarn shop called Nappitupa ja Nappis which we didn't have time to visit.
I'll leave you with a tip: if your husband (or boyfriend or child or blog cat) does not behave, a two-handed sword comes in handy.
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Kommentit - Comments
Well, too bad that the sword isn't mine. Maybe I should get one? And a cape?
oh gotta get one of those!! (two handed swords) and go to a medieval fair! you are so lucky ;)