The Medieval Costume Ball December 30, 1999

Given the grandeur of the setting, it seemed befitting we begin our celebrations in earnest with a costume ball. After all, we'd been invited by the Count & the Countess of the castle to a reception and dinner in the Grand Ballroom the night before New Years Eve, where they promised entertainment with skits and dancing provided by the Court Troubador and a band of local actors. So our group decided to join in the fun. We outfitted ourselves in raiments recalling a bygone age of elegance and intrigue, and joined the castle royals for a truly magical night of unbridled merrymaking.
After the Count & Countess made their grand entrance, we found our way to the dining hall, where the Count welcomed us with a gracious speech and laid before us the protocol for the evening's events. There seemed an undercurrent of tension between the two royals, an air of suspicion infusing their relationships with other members of the court. In particular, something appeared to be going on between the Count and the Gypsy Fortuneteller, and between the Countess and the Troubador. This instability at court led a few instigators in our	The cat in the hat makes time with the gypsy.
party to hatch a plan for a palace coup. It took a while, because our hosts were doing their best to fête and entertain us, but eventually Lord Brian of Baltimore and Marcus Rahim, visiting moorish dignitary from the Potomoc Basin, enlisted the Troubador in a brutal plan to oust the Count and install Duke Theo of the Bonederosa as titular head of the Castillo and its vast holdings.

The Troubador (L), Lord Brian (C), and Marcus Rahim (R) make a conspiration in the Court.

The Count struck us as the nervous type from the very beginning. He'd made a show of demanding Doc, the Eastside Highstepper -who was busy working his magic on the gypsy fortuneteller- reveal the contents under his big hat. When it was clear no offending weaponry was concealed thereby, the Count seemed only a little placated. He soon designated Akmed el D, the Sultan of Magaña Batiste, to be his personal taster. This tended to draw the evening out as there were several courses on the menu and a

variety of offerings in each course. But the Sultan was happy to oblige. He enjoyed his extra portions of Black Sausage, Leek & OnionStew, Marinated River Fishes, Veal Stew, and Roast Kid, all the while giving the conspirators time to formulate strategy for carrying out their nefarious deed. One wonders how an impromptu coup could be arranged under the noses of such a public audience and a wary victim, but the Count was distracted by his jealousy of the cat in the hat, while the Countess seemed only too pleased by the chance of having her philandering Count done away with. The rest of the party was frankly too concerned with keeping their goblets filled to notice villiany in the air.      Then, while the Court Jester and his actors provided a distraction in preparation for one of their entertainments, the usurpers struck. "There is a conspiration in the court!" cried the Count, as Marcus Rahim brandished a gleaming dagger. The Troubador and Lord Jimmy of the Bottomless Cup overpowered the hapless Count with help from Duke Theo, and hustled him shrieking from the room. The court was stunned. The Countess and the Gypsy feared for their virtue. Lord Brian addressed the company, announcing the ascension of Duke Theo to the throne. And the burly pretender reemerged to sycophantic applause from the assembled revelers. Where would this tyrrany lead? Could the sacrifice of virgins and the slaying of fatted calves be far behind? Duke Theo spoke amid a hushed and nervous silence.

No fool he, Duke Theo realized the Count held the keys to the kingdom. Only the rightful Lord of the Manor could speak the language of the chefs and entertainers, and without his continued presence the evening would surely devolve into debauchery suiting the tastes of a small, though vocal minority. So, in a grand gesture of reconciliation, his first act as the new ruler of the castle was to allow the Count to return to the court

Duke Theo and his smiling consort Lady Kelli belie the look of ruthless usurpers.

as a mere citizen, but one who would continue to direct the evening's affairs and see to it our expectations for a magical night remained undimmed.      And magic there was a plenty. In a graphic portrayal of the fickleness of crowds, the court turned on Lord Jimmy when Lord Brian & Marcus Rahim fingered him as the mastermind of what the Count was now calling the failed coup. Putting it to a thumbs up - thumbs down vote, the Count obtained a resounding call for punishment, with a great pounding of tables and bloodthirsty chants of "off with his head!" heard echoing throughout the hall.      In the end he was only forced to consume a strong measure of wine in a single go, which, as Lord of the Bottomless Cup he managed in dramatic yet effortless fashion. There were fair maidens and dancing girls, fine skits by the court players, a flamenco guitar interlude, toasts all around, and in the end, everyone danced into the wee hours of the morning, gaily, joyously, drunk on the happiness of a feast well-laid. Actually, in the wee hours of the morning some of our revelers were drunk on a bit more than just the happiness of a feast well-laid. Impromptu jousting round a stairway above the bar resulted in some smashed pottery. One of the company was abducted by local bacchanalians, who paraded him to the bars in town until well past morning light. The day crew was not pleased with the state of the hall when they came on duty. Only seven of us made the tour of town and the olive oil factory the next day. Yes, there was slight wreckage in the wake of the medieval costume ball, but everyone agreed -it had been one for the memoirs. And no one was worried we couldn't top it on New Year's Eve....

The Count (L) and fair Lady Louann of the Heartland (R) lead the court in a formal dance.	With a bow and a curtsy, we were soon into more raucous dancing.
See more photos from this event on Nick's machine, Perfect Bob's pages, and Keith's server.