My first stop was to Kryll's Keep to check on the arrival of my roommates, and to pick up a new strap for my mug, the previous one now being used to hang my dirk from. From Kryll's I made my way around the path to the shining Mecca of Wezows & Otters, whereupon I spoke with Dano; Eric, the Chainmale Guy; and of course, the Sadistic Shopkeeper, Greg Grindstaff, himself (Photo, left: the Dark Rose Armoury, with an impromptu stage set up out front for a pair of wandering minstrels. In the background, Eric may be seen hard at work at another new chainmail creation, while Greg (in white shirt, far left) shows their wares to an "off-screen" patron).

Well, off again running around after picking up a Guinness from the pub, I ran into one of the members of the Regiment (Angry Mark), who was showing off his new kilt. I grabbed him, and we then proceeded on a quest to find some of the other Rogue Scots (not to be confused with the Rogues of Scotland). During our trip, we ran into several friends, and formed a decent contingent to visit the "adult pub", and of course wait for the others to show up.

In the interest of keeping this short, I'll simply say that I also ran into Ivy, Mandolin (you're still in trouble, girly), Rhea, and who knows whom else. We watched The Blarneys, and then beat a hasty retreat back to the patron campgrounds to prepare for the night's activities. What activities you may ask? Well dear readers...keep reading...

During Scarborough, when we learned that patrons were allowed to camp on site at Hawkwood, we decided that that was exactly what we'd do, now mind you that we only live about 45 minutes from the site, but it also means we don't have to drive home Saturday night, and for the $5 charge, it is certainly worth it.

During the day, we had set up my tent (Red, white and blue should you be looking for it), and staked in some tiki torches, as well as icing down plenty of beverages (or so we thought). When faire ended, we went to the campsite, changed and lit the torches in preparation for visitors. We were quite overwhelmed by the number of people who showed up, and were admittedly a bit short of adult beverages, but as faire folk are wont to do, they were happy to share with us. the party turned into a bit of a drum jam, with my roommate Dave playing his guitar as well, and Angry Mark cooking hamburgers on a small charcoal grill.

Everything seemed to be going well, until a gentleman in a blue baseball cap with the word "SECURITY" embroidered on it suddenly stepped into the light, things grew to an uncomfortable quiet. He looked at as us and said "You people know better than this.......You can't have any open flames, you have to put the tiki torches out". We quickly extinguished our mosquito repellant fires, and waited for his next statement which was (to paraphrase) "Okay, go back to what you were doing", and then he left.

I would at this point like to say thank you to James and the rest of the Hawkwood staff for being so understanding, I imagine that they could have ended things rather quickly had they wished. The party continued on for a large portion of the night, and in the morning, there were people waking up in tents, on the ground, in cars and ON cars...Obviously, a good time was had by all!

Sunday was more of the same, and it was a disappointment to have to leave, but also good knowing that myself and my friends will be back together in a couple days. Some notes:
1. The crowd did seem to be a bit thin, which most people seem to attribute to a lack of advertising, hopefully things will get better.
2. The Clan McCrack is doing a large portion of security, if you know them, this almost amounts to the fox guarding the hen house. It also does a wonderful job of setting the mood for the faire, and I have no doubt that they could subdue most any problem that could arise.
and 3. We'll be back at the campsite each weekend, ready for another party, so stop by and say hello!

Marq Dobhran MacDuff AKA MarQ Kaplan

Standard Disclaimer: These webpages are strictly an *Unofficial* look at the Hawkwood Medieval Fantasy Faire held near Fort Worth, Texas in 1998. The author of these pages is in no way, shape, manner or form connected with the Hawkwood Medieval Fantasy Faire, Past Times Productions and/or any of the sponsors associated with this event. All opinions expressed are strictly this author's own. Unless expressly noted otherwise, all photographs are copyright ©1998 by George Laking.

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