Winging it

There was no definite time period we were supposed to represent… supposedly the name Tuatha de Bhriain was taken to associate the clann with hero-king Brian Boru… but we also had a clann druid and were pagans… Brian Boru was a Christian who lived around 1000AD. There weren’t any more Druids after 600AD. No one had really done any extensive reading on Irish history... only historical inspired fiction (Morgan Lywelyn’s "Lion of Ireland" was largely responsible for this).

Pennsic is a magical place and will absolutely overwhelm you the first time you go, and maybe even the second time too. Watching the field battle was absolutely glorious and a great inspiration to get into armor. It was great to shop at the merchant area. All kinds of things could be bought and sometimes even bartered and haggled for. But for all material goods, the best things I returned from Pennsic with was my new found friendship with a Norselander named Connor. That Pennsic was Connor’s first as well, and being that we were both "Pennsic cherries", we were friends from the get go. We usually wound up laughing till our sides and faces hurt and tears were streaming down our faces most nights. And one night Connor even taught us all how to get free stuff by burning your tent down. (Connor had left a candle burning in his tent unattended. He returned to camp with the smoldering remains of what had been his shelter. Many folk took pity and heaped all sorts of goods upon him, equipping him far better than he had been before the fire. Witnessing this act made a lasting impression on me as to the depth of good will, generosity, and honor that some of the folk in this hobby had embodied.)