[Sca-cooks] The "rain" of Queen Mary Grace

[Olwen the Odd]

Hi all.  Well, another event done and now the dishes are washed and the pig
cooker is safely back in the yard.  Now to wash off more mud from our
clothes and towels...

We cooked for our Queen in the rain...again...at Highland River Melees.
Lord Hugh was head cook and asked the household (house Blackstar) to lend a
hand.  We put up the pavillion and started the fires and washed the leeks
and stemmed and washed the spinach, the beef was defatted and cut into
chunks and the sky darkened and the wind picked up.  The mushrooms were
stemmed and the cheese was shredded and the rain began.  And as two men with
an axe and mallet split mostly frozen chickens in two the heavens opened up
and let down such torrents of rain to wash away all the blues and woes and
once again house Blackstar was teasing and cooking and laughing and soaking
wet and still Court went on and as Lord Hugh was called into Baronial Court
to recieve induction into the Order of the Lark (for service) the cooking
pavillion emptied as the household ran through the rain to see and cheer on.
  Then back to work as pies were made and the water wench set back to the
task of draining the pools of water out of the saggy pavillion roof.  Then
again the cooks ran out of the cooking pavillion to cheer and watch as
another of our Household, Adam, was proclaimed Lord Adam in the Court of our
"Raining" Queen and King and the happy dance was done and back through the
torrent to rotating pies on the fire and slicing the beef and turning the
chickens while saffron was added to the rice and more straw was strewn on
the ankle high waters of the pavillion floor.  Still the water wench did her
bidding and endlessly circled the pavillion dumping gallon on gallon of
water off the tent roof as we laughed and cooked and hugged and never
thought of why we do this insanity for sheer fun.  And jokes were made of
the pig roast upcoming at Pennsic and how much rain will be forth-coming as
the fires are started and the pigs are dressed and off go our shoes to
squish in the mud once more in service to our "raining" Queen Mary Grace of
Atlantia.

So goes the story of the feast at Highland River Melees.

Lady Olwen the Odd
Clan of Odds
House Blackstar
Bright Hills Cooks Guild
Barony of Bright Hills
Kingdom of Atlantia!

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