On the 7th of May this year we attended the Gumeracha mediaeval festival. It was an interesting affair with lots of displays. The fair is organised by conglomeration of local clubs that have an interest in mediaeval things. Some of the stalls were people who undertake various forms of handicrafts and blacksmithing and not necessarily associated with the organising group.
Notably there was a Viking style village set up with tents. Each tent had a display of some form of handicraft and sometimes just domestic activities. All the stall holders were very friendly and keen to talk about what they were doing. We were also impressed by the knowledge of the participants at these stalls. The displays ranged from weaving basket making through to cooking.
Also present were people who were undertaking various forms of handicrafts. Whittling was quite prominent as were various forms of woodworking. This included spoon making, barrel making and a number of people demonstrating how to carve wooden swords in the style of the Vikings, etc. A number of stalls were also demonstrating iron work and blacksmithing. I almost forgot to mention leather work . There were lots of things for sale. And of course food. Lots of food.
There were several groups present who were there for combat. They were dressed in regalia for fighting. They represented various groups including Roman legionnaires, Byzantine fighters and of course Viking fighters so it’s all sort of middle ages. We did witness a fight between two groups using weapons of the era, there were no casualties.
It certainly was a friendly and enjoyable morning. Also present were people representing the current conflict in the Ukraine so there was a fundraising store for that as well which was well supported .
