Sunday, April 26, 2009

Lithgow Ironfest

Yesterday we hauled ourselves out of bed at 6:15am and headed off to Lithgow for a day at Ironfest with my mum in tow. The Huscarls had a paid gig there to provide a living history display so a bunch of them were camping Friday and Saturday nights but we decided it was all too hard and that we'd just come up for the day. I packed my bead making stuff but didn't end up using it as the club trestle table hadn't made it to the camp. When we arrived I couldn't wait to get into my dark ages kit, it was cold and windy and woollen clothes, a blanket cloak and a furry hat were just right. But I don't have a photo of me dressed up. Sorry.

Huscarls Encampment

Huscarls encampment

Does he look cold? It was cold!

One lonely Huscarl

I went for a wander around the show and found someone doing wood turning using a pole lathe. Awesome! Adam has been wanting to make himself a pole lathe so I was going to send him over to have a stickybeak, then I saw the sign offering a 1 hour workshop each day, 2 people only. I asked and he still had one place free so I booked Adam in.

They started with logs, complete with bark, and had to split and trim the log with an axe and then shape the blank using a draw knife. Then it was turned using foot power and carved with chisels.

Shaping the timber with a draw knife

Using a draw knife

Fitting the blank into the pole lathe

It takes a bit of fiddling

Turning wood

Turning wood

And here's the end result!

The final result

Don't ask me what we're going to do with one chair leg though....

Here, have a video of Adam in action.


Half-way through the day my brother and his family turned up unexpectedly so the kids got to spend time with their cousins which was nice. We watched jousting, and I failed to get any decent photos of it.

Jousting


We headed home about 5pm, it was starting to get a bit grey and the temperature was dropping. Here's what the Sydney Morning Herald says about Lithgow right now:
Lithgow Current Conditions
  • Current temp: 6.7°C
  • Recorded min: n/a
  • Recorded max: n/a
  • Feels like: 0.9°C
  • Humidity: 69%
  • Rainfall since 9am: 0.0mm
  • Wind: W 52km/h
  • Wind gusts: 94km/h
  • Pressure: n/a
I can not begin to tell you how glad I am that we were there yesterday and not today! At least they're not being rained on.

5 comments:

Mel said...

What a lovely time. Now about that amazing chair leg - I would oil it and use it as a rolling pin!

Ariane said...

Uh, Adam, you have heard of Ikea right? I mean it can be frustrating, but I can usually still walk when I leave there. :)

That definitely would have been a pleasant night's sleep in a tent. Excellent decision on your part.

Libertine said...

Oh wow! I'm so jealous I love dark ages! My hubby used to play Fantasy Live Roleplay, so we would have a blast there.

yodaobi said...

you could sharpen one end for your very own mr pointy?

Sophie in the Moonlight said...

Every time I come here, this gives me a happy giggle: "... They won't give me two at once you know."

And, then, this: "Don't ask me what we're going to do with one chair leg though...."

I embrace ((((((your wonderful spirit)))))). Thank you for the pictures and for always providing a unique perspective. I'm going to be thinking of things to do with one chair leg for a while now.