Could you keep your eyes out for this doublet and hose please? Taken from the Portsmouth news. A DESPERATE plea has been sent out to find a Thomas Cromwell costume that went missing in Portsmouth. The 16th century political schemer – Henry VIII’s right-hand man until he fell out of favour – has been...

We've turned out garage into an historical instrument making workshop. My house insurance has thrown up their hands in horror and put up the buildings and contents insurance up from £300 to £1,600. I threw up my hands in horror. Has anyone found sensible insurance that covers a house with a room bei...

Think I'm sorted. Metal collars are doing the trick nicely. Only moan is on one of the poles the holes for the peg were slightly off. Heath Robinsonish fiddling with a stanley knife, file and sandpaper bodged the join to make it work. Right! Now my tent fits into a Smart car - not that I could ever ...

Golly gosh. That got me going. Our family has so much mixed up blood and my kids are carrying on the tradition. It taught me we don't stay put when disaster hits. Are people who flee the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse cowards or just sensible?

This is very amateurish but for steamer you can read - your kettle - and for hat stretcher a clean pudding bowl or flowerpot. Just saying...if you are impatient and it's just a weeny bit tight.....and obviously the pros do it better.......and don't burn yourself........

I've got "don't come running to me when you break a leg" spinning round in my brain
Hi Vic
I'm concocting a plan B. Should a pole break at Kentwell I can flutter my eyelids at a copicer to cut down a handy sapling and at fairs I head for the nearest tent seller .

I'm downsizing with a view to retiring when I reach 90 :crazy: I'm keeping my trading/house/workshop/motor insurance with the NMTF and Marketline as I get a good deal. As I've stopped visiting schools I'm looking for new insurance for my activity sessions in museums and at fairs. I'm just doing dome...

The bits I can see that might split are the bits with the dowel going through. Then the ridge pole doesn't look strong enough to me and I can see it twisting when being erected. It'll have nails from the uprights going through each end. Being a lady I'm thinking wrap with string/cord/rope and being ...

Being totally lazy I altered my plans to big up my tiny tent and buy a Norman tent (from Poland- almost the same cost as DIY.) It's the kind with two upright poles and a ridge pole inside, bell ends and no guy ropes, just pegs. I do plan to lift up the door flap to make a veranda (I think that shoul...

Resurecting this thread :o I've abandoned Dylon dyes - too many failures and am using Omega dyes. Fantastic results on anything I do in a catering stew pot on a hob but I need to dye 2m of wool fabric. (Need = my OH saying use up some of your stashed fabric so we can fit in a new toy (a band saw) in...

It's what I do but there are hurdles to jump. Have you got the money to invest/gamble on buying stock from the makers? Perhaps you are thinking of sale or return? Have you got the time to keep up with regular stock taking, settling up and taking a hit with breakage and spoilage and theft? Can you st...

Or retiring or bowing out (but you have to ask why).

Think really hard. You want to sell something people need and keep running out of. You need to be the only person they can find who's selling it. It shouldn't be Historically specific. Not a big enough customer base and you'll be cut out of hollywoody type Medieval Fairs. So something that will sell...

Who's saying we are doomed? I'm saying my takings were going up at Warwickshire and have come down at Bruntingthorpe. Both shows, not just this one. There's a credit crunch on. I'd have been surprised if it hadn't affected us. It quite hard work doing these shows on my own, all my family think I'm m...

So that'll be the same gate I sat by, scratching my head, the first time I went.

I came up from the south and there were no signs until I arrived (2nd time trying to find the place and still got a bit lost - really close - do I turn left or right - picked the wrong one) and like you said the sign wasn't visible until after I'd turned into the entrance. No complaints coming in fr...

I was feeling smug because the credit crunch hadn't affected much until now. It has finally caught up. This year has been rubbish. Museum funding slashed. School spending dwindled to a trickle. Punters not spending. The only thing that's bouyant are my aiglets but a 50p a pop I'm going to have to se...

They get about a bit. Last Thurday I was taken out for a meal in a South Keralan resaurant in Leicester (right yummy food) and the Hairy Bikers had been learning to make dosas the day before. (Stuffed pancakes.) There was a film crew in coming back for another yummy meal. I've remembered the restaur...

Would you consider travelling down Brighton way? Can you dress Tudor? Have you sorted your stall to look awfentik?
Annie

I dented his sweetie supplies yesterday. Yum, yum. I hope I wasn't drunk driving, sustaining myself with his amaretto flavoured marchpane, being stuck for hours in traffic jams on the way home from the ILHF.....Ah, innocent mi lud. We weren't actually going anywhere for ages..... (Grumble grumble, h...

Just popped in to say Ali struggled with his card thingy at Kentwell too. It might be his card thingy playing up. I lent him mine and gave him cash. That's happened twice. Other people's reception was dodgy but mine was fine. You are given old fashioned slips of paper to use when connection fails. T...

My advice would be to ask your friends if they are in a group and ask to join the group. My husband pays £5 a year and is covered. I on the other hand, visit schools, run activities, sit in museums and sell at fairs. Really, really dangerous stuff. :wasntme: So I need product, public, van and stock,...

Seems to me we get in a pickle because we don't stick to one thing and do the ********* obvious. I make stuff, I demonstrate, I sell, I lead workshops and don't do things some of you lot do like hit each other, shoot straw, fall off horses and juggle with fire. So here's a list of insurers but odds ...

Ali of http://www.hertsfabrics.co.uk has a marquee for sale. £750. Details in the Buy and Sell section.
Contact him through his website if you want to know more.
Annie

I'm with Lucy. I've occassionally thought of or have been asked about doing Victorian but it's a big jump with very little cross over stock (I can only think of wooden toys). My storage space is bursting as it is . years back there were loads of Victorian people at Detling. Can you lay your hands on...

As a Mop it's expensive to travel to the centre of Britain!
I vote for more regional markets, meself.
Annie

I went for Chip and Pin. I'm tied in for 3 years. It's costs a lot. Ali (Herts Fabrics) said I should have bought a machine rather than hired one but Chip and Pin did say they'd update me for free if the technology moved on. People are buying stuff when they wouldn't have if I didn't have the machin...

Can you put a pic on the front page? I followed your link, saw nothing of interest and left. It's only because the others commented I went back for a second look. It actually says on that front page this site is not yet active please come back tomorrow.....not very welcoming........ Happy trading An...

Dye plants.

Annie

No - old varieties are great! I better not say too much but certain reenactors when visiting a certain museum and viewing gorgeous olde wordie fruit left to rot in their orchard have been known to bump into a branch or two. That's really understated - we go mad with delight. Oh Sulgrave and it's War...