Day Hire

I love to chat - especially about the things I'm interested in and passionate about. So if you hire me all day, I will keep your visitors engaged and entertained for a good amount of time, and maybe educate them a tiny bit too!

Options

You can choose to hire me either as a roaming, interactive guide, or as a stationary educational display. I'm happy to work indoors or outside under cover. For all options and topics, I dress in full period costume.

Stationary Educational Display

The elements that make up my full outdoor 'camp' are:

a large awning
a table of replica and reproduction items, tools, artifacts, and objects for discussions and handling
a small wedge tent off to one side with interior display

If you don't require the 'camp', I can work indoors with just a table. (Tent and awning require grass standing to be put up.)

Topics offered for Day Hire are:

(Click the titles for more information below)

medicine awning armoufest 2024_edited_ed

My awning set up for a medical display of the 14th century: left - Apothecary box; centre - table of Artifacts; right - fire station for Cauterising wounds.

I prefer to not be strictly authentic, because it means I can share the scientific or archaeological evidence behind my display - therefore quietly educating folks. Reports, documents, manuscript facsimiles, and photographs can be brought out if folks wish to see them.

If full authenticity is required that is no problem, I will leave the evidence at home!

Roaming Interactive Guide

I can dress as a generic or specific type of person from a particular time period, and roam around your venue or event engaging with folks as I go. I put a lot of effort into fully researching a costume and bringing it to life, but also have lots of garments I can put together to make an outfit for pretty much any period from 400CE up to 1485CE! Here's a selection:

Pagan Anglo-Saxon (5th century) featured at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village in Suffolk.
Queen Etheldreda (7th century) for the Newmarket Town Trail

Based on grave 164 from Butlers Field, Lechlade. Worn at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village

13th Century Pilgrim for the queue line at Bury St. Edmunds Cathedral while the Magna Carta was there
Peasant from the 14th century Luttrell Psalter for an event in Lincolnshire

Woman feeding birds in the Luttrell Psalter.

roam

Cost and Fees

Roaming Interactive Guide

£15 per hour charged from start time of event to finish time of event, plus 45 pence per mile travel allowance.

Stationary Educational Display

£45 for the first hour, then £15 for every additional hour after that, plus 45 pence per mile travel allowance.

Braids, Cords, Plaiting, and Plying

Folks can make a replica piece of braid, or cord from wool, either with just their fingers, or a tool depending on the time period chosen - from a simple 2-ply twist of 2 threads (easy enough for the littlest of fingers) to a complex patterned tablet woven band on a loom.

You can choose a specific time period in line with your event, or I can range across time-periods from 400 to 1485CE.

Braids, techniques, and tools covered:

Anglo-Saxon - 2-ply, Fonaby Whipcord (4-strand), 9-strand Orsett, Tablet Braid
Viking - 5-strand triangular, 6-strand Hedeby, Skjoldehamn 4 to 12-strand, Lucet, Tablet Braid, Rigid Heddle

13th / 14th century - Rigid Heddle, Tablet Braid, Lucet, Finger-loop, 8-strand square
15th century - Rigid Heddle, Lucet, 8-strand square, Tablet Braid, Finger-loop, Box Loom

They get to keep whatever they have made, at no extra charge. (Excluding rigid heddle, tablet, and box-loom braids - too long to undo and set up every time - which is why I also teach these techniques to smaller groups!)

Demonstrating a Viking braid at the Maritime Woodbridge event (outdoors with table). 2005.

Left: 6 element 13th century tubular silk plait

Right: 3 element 14th century flat wool plait (each element is made up of 5 two-ply threads)

Image from Museum of London book 'Textiles and Clothing'

Clever ladies of the Women's Institute making the 9-strand Anglo-Saxon braid from Orsett in Kent.

The Leech (Historic Medicine)

Originally the Old English name for a doctor - by the Middle Ages the term 'leech' came to be the title given to a person with slightly dubious or mixed medical knowledge!

The Anglo-Saxon Leech will demonstrate 'magical' cures, as well as mixing up simple medicines - folks may see a charm against flying venom performed or actually taste a cough medicine they've made with supervision (risk assessments supplied).

The Medieval Leech knows a little of Chirugerie (surgery) and Physic (doctoring) and will engage folks with an enquiring "Are you at-ease?". She will then explain to the hapless visitor all the ways in which they might be 'dis-eased', while she explains how to diagnose through looking at (and doing other things) with urine! The effects of many injuries and illnesses are shown including tools and methods of dealing with them.

The Monastic Leech will explain why so many medical practices are no longer allowed to be performed by those in religious orders!

(All of this will be included in every Historic Medicine display, unless a specific time-frame is requested.)

I also offer other medical-related talks in a short session form for groups, covering specific time periods, and / or events.

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The Medieval and the Modern!

Medicine of the 14th century at The Norfolk Tank Museum 2023 with NANMA

A suppository for þe litargie: . . . make þy suppositorye of bolles galle, sale gemme, and mose drit y-medled to-geder. Bot suppositoryes for children shullen be made of lard, or of suger and salt and oyle and vynegre y-soden to-gedere forte hit be þykke. And þu myst make suppositoryes for men oþer wymmen of hony y-sode forte hit be þycke.

A suppository for the lethargy: . . . make thy suppository of bull's bile, saltpetre, and mouse dirt mixed together. But suppositories for children should be made of lard, or of sugar and salt and oil and vinegar steeped together until it be thick. And thou must make suppositories for men or women of honey steeped until it be thick.

Healing and Society in Medieval England: A Middle English Translation of the Pharmaceutical Writings of Gilbertus Anglicus (Gilbert the Englishman - c. 1180 – c. 1250).

A Pagan Anglo-Saxon 'plaster' for a wound using beetroot (because it looks like what it is supposed to cure!) from one of Bald's Leechbooks of the 10th century at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village.

Replicated unguents and tools used by John Bradmore in 1403CE to cure the arrow wound in Prince Hal's face (the future king Henry V), The head model shows wound placement and depth. The iron tool left front is my replica of the 'extractor' Bradmore designed.

Leynor Flaxwyf

In which a working class woman needs help processing a vast amount of flax. Folks will be able to have a go breaking and beating the brittle stems with mallet or 'brake'; scutching the fibres with knife and board; and finishing with a good 'heckle' to rip out the weak parts and straighten up the rest! They will learn about all the many surprising uses of flax, and even why a princess might be described as 'flaxen haired'. They get to keep the flax they've processed (if there's any left - its a very wasteful process!), at no extra cost.

Flax has been processed the same way by hand throughout history, so this day will include aspects from all time-periods (400 to 1485 CE). I will dress in the costume of your chosen time-period, or pick my own if you don't specify.

I also offer this topic as a short demonstration only session for groups.

Kids especially love beating the fibres with the flax mallet on a stump.

Castle Gardens, NANMA 2024.

Drawing in the archaeological report of the mallet in the found with the Oseberg Viking ship. The mallet was found with other textile tools which suggested its use for breaking flax.

Folks rippling a bundle of flax over a cloth to collect the seeds at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village, sometime in the 1990's

Working the flax 'brake' under careful adult supervision at Hopehill Skillshare, 2026. The word is derived from Old French brac meaning 'an arm'.

This person braided their strick of flax to take home. Antique and modern combs can be seen in the background, along with the heckle.

"The most interesting craftsperson I think for Wel and I today was the lady demonstrating linen production from flax. .... I must say it was one of the best and most informative re-enactment displays I’ve seen in a very long time and a big thanks to the lady for giving so much of her time to explain it to us."

Posted by kazhoney on the Happening History blog: (https://happeninghistory.co.uk/category/crafts/) on April 10th 2016

Day Hire at Craeftiga - Sutton Hoo (7th century)

The gentleman is using the scutching knife and board.

Tabletop Games and Toys

Toys and games were mainly only for the wealthy, who had time on their hands and a need to pass it by. Supervised by a Lady, folks can have a go at playing a period board game, either with me, or their friends and family. The games are fairly short so no-one has to wait around for too long.

There will also be a few period toys available for the youngsters to entertain themselves, which could be as simple as scrap doll made from a piece of knotted cloth, or a fancy carved wooden horse.

Period specific games can be chosen to suit your event, or a range will be provided, and I will wear appropriate costume.

I also offer this topic as a workshop where you can learn and play a specific game.

Games offered are:

9 Men's Morris
Fox and Geese
Hnefetafl
3 Men's Morris
Alquerque
5-stones or 'knucklebones'

Toys offered are:

Spinning tops
Miniature wooden toys
Poppets
Cloth balls

This stone found in Norwich Castle well has a Nine Man's Morris layout carved into it.

One of the game-boards I sometimes have for sale, with wooden beads as coounters.

Top: Self led 9 Men's Morris at a Medieval event in 2023.

Right: Kids playing 5-stones and 'knucklebones' at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village.

The Spinster

The Spinster is taken aback with your modern view of her being bitter and undesirable! She will show you everything to do with her occupation as a spinster dealing with turning the dirty disgusting fleece from the sheep's back into beautiful soft fluffy woollen yarn. Folks can hold and use the carding batts and combs; feel the weight of a genuine authentic lead whorl (and clay and glass ones); learn a tiny bit of science watching fluffy loose fleece turn into tight strong yarn, as she spins with distaff and spindle; and much more.

Fleece has been processed the same way by hand throughout history, so this day will include aspects from all time-periods (400 to 1485 CE). I will dress in the costume of your chosen time-period, or pick my own if you don't specify.

Threads and tools - inset shows my replica glass Anglo-Saxon whorl, 2 fired clay whorls, and an original Medieval lead whorl. (Detling 2025 with Medieval Siege Society)