Note:
Several Scarborough Faire participants have emailed with
interesting comments such as "you have quite a few incorrect references".
However, none of the anguished missives seem able to elaborate
many of these supposed incorrect references. So, after
reading the various comments the only change to the
original text has been that a character misnamed Stretch has now
been correctly named Scratch. However, the original version of
this Eyes on Texas look at Scarborough Faire has been altered to
add some of the comments from Scarboroughites. Those comments are
in the same color as the text you are now reading. Retorts to the
comments follow in brown
text.
Note #2: We
received many emails verbalizing enjoying reading the additional
input of those with opinions about the following photos and
comments. You can now read many of
the emails and newsgroup postings and additional comments.
Note #3: A fresh complaint from a new email---" I do HATE that you refer to it as Scarbo...it's very demeaning sounding. The term Scarby is the correct nickname for Scarborough Faire. To continue to call it Scarbo shows a lack of consideration. "
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click a thumbnail to view a photo
Scarborough Faire is known for its many
Ladies and Wenches dressed to creatively display their Rubinesque
figures. It is also known for its many Men in Tights. But heaving
bosoms seem to greatly outnumber Men in Tights. Here we see Selena and
Bast, with Selena being the Wench on the left.
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Bearing a striking resemblance to a woman
of regal splendor and ravishing beauty, this is the Queen. This likely means the guy in purple is
the King.
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Click
to View Video of a Visit to Scarborough Faire
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| Click
for directions and a Scarborough Faire Location Map
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And, come on, our King
could be mistaken as the double of King Henry the VIII and you didn't even make one reference to that fact!
We get people from Faires across the country visiting Scarb for that fact alone --- they all want to know how
we were blessed with Henry the VIII's double and not one word about that! Please....
People come from
all over the country to see this version of Henry VIII? Couldn't
you just wander any random mall in Texas and find a number of
men of girth who might play the part in period costume? With so
much of interest to see in this great country it's amazing and
very impressive that anyone would come from any great distance
to see the Scarborough Henry. Next time, if there is a next
time, more attention will be paid to Henry.
I don't mind any of
the rest of this, but the Monica Lewinsky reference grates. I
don't see the resemblance.
Monica Lewinsky?
Are you talking about that beautiful
dark-haired big bosomed full-figured woman subservient to a man
of great power....but what is this Monica Lewinsky reference you
speak of that grates on you?*
*Monica
Lewinsky reference removed at the impassioned behest/request
of Queen Margaret...
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words of wisdom
from a longtime Scarborough Player
"If you start to take it
too seriously, just remember that all we are is a bunch of people
wearing funny clothes and speaking in strange accents in the middle
of a cow pasture in Texas...."
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This may be either a Lady or a Wench. It is
not known if one can be both.
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Many of the Wenches have their drinking
vessel secured to their midsection. This lovely Wench listened as a
group of Troubadours serenaded her. |
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Soon upon entry, prior to realizing the
entry fee was a bargain, it seemed aggravating to come upon
attractions requiring an additional fee, such as the Tower of
Yorkshire which is some sort of castle where things go on which are
not suitable viewing for children, according to the PG-13 warning on
the entry sign. |
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In many places Scarborough Faire has the
look of Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland. Which seems
appropriate since the day of this visit is Pirate Adventure
Weekend. |
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Click
to View Video of a Visit to Scarborough Faire
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I just read your
article on Scarborough Faire and would like to point out there is
one picture taken at the Texas Renaissance Festival near
Houston, not Scarborough Faire near Waxahachie. The picture
has a comment about the Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland.
Durango just read
your email and would like to point out that all photos were
taken at Scarborough Faire near Waxahachie and he has never been
to the Texas Renaissance Festival near Houston. The area in the
photo above is near where the Mud Pit Theater is located,
pretzel vendors seemed to emerge from a building here with their
pretzel trees freshly loaded with more pretzels.
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Restaurants selling Fajitas and Jalapeno
Poppers. All standard fare in Merry Olde England. |
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Members of the Royal Entourage walking
among the people. |
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A Lord and Lady on the right and a pair
of 21st Century Ladies on the left. |
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The Mud Pit Show in the Theater in the
Ground. A messy messy display with globs of drippy mud flying towards
screaming kids rushing to get out of the way. |
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The shows are rated. The Mud Pit is a
PG-13 rated show. An R-rating may have been more appropriate. At one
point one of the mud men said he was upset because overnight his
favorite coffee store in the village had been turned into a, well,
house of ill repute. His description of his dismay at what was done to
him when he ordered his usual coffee drink is likely what gave this
show its PG-13 rating. That and the contortions of the character
named Scratch using his tongue to remove mud from sensitive
areas. We'll see Scratch again later, being the Village Idiot. |
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This would appear to possibly be a
smoking Pirate, with his lovely Wench. |
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Click for directions and a
Scarborough Faire Location Map
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Thank you for visiting our humble place and giving press to our quaint village but perhaps next time, you might wish to consider calling ahead and arranging a personal guide to help you with your facts.
It would seem
that maybe the Scarborough players should realize they are
working in an entertainment venue which the public pays a fee to
visit. As a paying customer the visitor has every right to enjoy
the entertainment in whatever manner he chooses. He can choose
to marvel at the supposed historical accuracy of costumes.
Or he can marvel at the goofy things he sees. Or he can look for
historical contradictions, like fajitas and jalapeno poppers in
a place where some make claims to great attention to period
detail. Or he can marvel at the size of the village and the
various attempts at period architecture. Or he can marvel at all
the wenches in bosom baring outfits. Or he can sit in a pub and
drink expensive beer in historically inaccurate small plastic
cups til those who brought him are ready to leave. And last but
not least if the visitor wants he can make a webpage reflecting
what he saw the day he visited Scarborough Faire. But arranging
a personal guide and being concerned about non-consequential
facts, that seems to really be expecting a lot from your
fun-seeking casual visitors.
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Seeking refuge from the heat under the
shade of a big oak tree this Lady in Red has a ten dollar bill stuck
in her top. |
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The non-Wench half of this 21st Century
Pirate Pair wears an interesting shirt that says 'Flaming Ass Special
Chili'. |
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A store just for Frumps. Their numbers
are legion. |
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A lovely pair of un-frumpy Ladies consume
a noonday libation and some victuals. |
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Another Lady and Lord walk about the
village swinging and swilling their mugs of ale. |
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For 2 bucks each you get to ride this
dragon. It swings back and forth. |
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When it gets hot in this Olde English
Village it is a bit refreshing to walk through Ye Olde Mister. Note
the baby on the right being held directly under the mist. He seemed to
be enjoying it. |
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A collection of Ladies and Wenches. |
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Two women in interesting attire,
particularly the one on the right, seem to be leading a rickshaw
carrying a band of musicians. |
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This group appears to be a cross-section
of non-Royal Village Inhabitants---a Lady, a Peasant, a couple Wenches
and a Belly Dancer. |
All our cast members and a lot of "playtrons" do a lot of
work researching their garb and portraying their characters. They are historically accurate and you
mischaracterized many of them. How could one have mistaken a belly dancer for a lady of the court?
The above photo
and comment is the only reference that could be found to a belly
dancer and a lady. Don't really understand the complaint here.
Have never heard of a 'playtron' before. Sounds like something
from Star Trek, which is interesting because that's what this
input from Scarboroughites is starting to resemble, only instead
of the obsessive attention to Star Trek by Trekkies these are
obsessive 16th Century Old England Scarbies.
The above correspondent
did not object to one of the above Scarboroughites being called
a Lady, but the following correspondent did...
Hello, I just took a look at your site. Actually, I'm in one of your pictures, the "cross-section of non-Royal Village Inhabitants." Just to let you know, there were no ladies in that picture. From left to right: wench, Friar, Gypsy, belly dancer, wench. I'm rather curious to know what your definition of Lady is?
If you have to
ask, she probably isn't...The following correspondent defines a Scarborough Lady...
A Lady? Usually the most telling thing is a hoop skirt, or extremely fine looking brocades and velvets...lots of
jewelry and embellishments.
The above
definition of a Lady was provided by the Wench in Green (on the
right) in the above photo. The following defines 'playtron'
among other things.
A "Playtron"
is a person who dresses in garb, but pays admission to the faire. Not a cast member. "Mundanes" are the folks who pay admission, but don't dress up.
This is not the
first time Durango has found himself unknowingly mundane. The
Playtron/Mundane info was provided by "Lady" Karen of the Blue Dragon
who is a Gnaughty Gnomie Playtron and proud of it.
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Click for directions and a
Scarborough Faire Location Map
Click to View
Video of a Visit to Scarborough Faire
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This looks to be a group of Southern
Belles from the New Country visiting England with one Belle being carted about by her
manservant. |
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Many Wenches with tops barely covering
their upper torsos and none of the rumored Men in Tights. Til this one
was found. |
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We forgot to make note of this shop's
name. Judging by the attire on sale it must have been Fredericks of
Sherwood. |
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These Scottish Lasses look as if they may
have acquired their clothes while shopping at Fredericks of Sherwood. |
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Many of the Lasses and Ladies and Wenches
look as if they may have done their clothes shopping at Fredericks of
Sherwood. |
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Dozens of shows throughout the day in
locales all around the Village. This is a Bird of Prey show with birds
ranging from Eagles to Turkey Vultures. The Queen and her Court watch
the show and participate at times. |
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Meanwhile on the other side of the
Village a master of balancing performs for an appreciative crowd. |
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This is a very hot day, likely nearing
100. Another walk through Ye Old Mister is needed. |
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Several trails and bridges connect the
more open part of the village with the more heavily wooded part. One
of the bridges is owned and operated by trolls. |
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The green cover of thick foliage reduces
the heat and makes misting unnecessary. |
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A trail leads to a pub in the deep woods. |
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Wazelle's Wood Wizardry looks like a
house where an Ewok might live. |
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Another view of the shaded village. |
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A pair of village inhabitants having some
sort of face-off. The winged creature on the right seems to be casting
some sort of spell on the seated creature on the left. |
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Some sort of religious figure walks about
casting water out of a bucket. |
That would be our
Bishop and he's sprinkling Holy Water. On hot Texas summer days it
feels wonderful to be sprinkled.
The above info
was provided by a Proud Lady. One can't help but wonder if the
church approves of its Bishop performing an air-conditioning
function with one of his rituals...
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A beast of burden in Merry Olde England. Followed
by an llama. |
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Though the sign says Royal Jerk, this is
actually the Village Idiot, named Scratch. We saw Scratch earlier in
the Mud Pit. When Scratch is not in the Mud Pit he sits at a busy
intersection on a dusty road in the hot sun extracting quarters from
Villagers. |
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A fearsome Knight stands guard at a
passageway to another part of the Village. |
I just finished viewing your web site. It might be
beneficial to at least have some of the characters correctly named ---
the "fearsome knight" is not a knight but Shilo the Nubian.
So, there were a
lot of Nubians in 16th century England, apparently. Much
attention is paid to accuracy after all. Shilo sure appears to
be a fearsome knight or guard of some sort. The correspondent
above says this is not a fearsome knight, but does not say what
he is, just who he is and where he is from, that being Shilo the
Nubian...we later learn that this stickler for detail misnamed
the Nubian!
The above correspondent
says the fearsome Knight is Shilo the Nubian, but the following
Scarboroughite begs to differ....
CORRECTLY IDENTIFIED AS 'SHOLO THE NUBIAN'...ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES...
In email all
capitals is considered shouting. So this correspondent is very
insistent that the afore identified Shilo is actually Sholo. To
this non-Scarboroughite Shilo has a much better ring to it.
SHILO
IS A PLACE WHERE A CIVIL WAR BATTLE WAS FOUGHT AND THE NAME OF AN
IMAGINARY FRIEND IN A NEIL DIAMOND SONG...TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT
CHARACTERS AT SCARBOROUGH FAIRE YOU NEED ONLY ASK MOST OF THEM IN
PERSON WHEN YOU SEE THEM...
The
shouter returns. Pending being told otherwise it is believed
that the shouter is actually none other than the entity known as
Sholo the Nubian. This assumption is based on the fact that the
shouter's email address has Sholo in the name. And with the
following email we learn that we have indeed been hearing from
Sholo the Nubian.
MY NAME IS HILTON JACKSON...I LIVE IN HOUSTON, TEXAS...AND I AM, INDEED, SHOLO THE NUBIAN...WARRIOR AND WORDSMITH WITHOUT EQUAL AT SCARBOROUGH FAIRE, THE TEXAS RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL AND TABLEROCK FANTASY FAIRE...THE CHARACTER IS A SWORD FOR
HIRE...WHISPERER OF SECRETS AND RACONTEUR OF CLASSICAL VERSE OF FIRE AND ROMANCE...YOU'LL HAVE TO VISIT
TABLEROCK IN SEPTEMBER OR THE TEXAS RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL IN OCTOBER TO CATCH MY SHOW...HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE...
HILTON...
Thank you for the
invite. Durango would very much enjoy going to either or both of
these Faires.
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Don't know if these are Pirates or some
sort of ragtag William Wallace brigade.
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As a reader, I truly appreciate the background research and impromptu confirmation of facts in your piece. I especially like the ongoing confusing of roles by the actors who take great time in their preparation of their role. It is apparent that you acquainted yourself with historical costuming as well as general English/Scottish history knowledge. How else could one have mistaken
the Scottish Regiment for a "troupe of pirates"?
If you are going
to have a themed event called Pirate Adventure Weekend it
doesn't take to great a stretch of imagination to understand why
the above photo would be described as it is. And the reference
to those in the above photo being a William Wallace brigade is a
reference to them being Scottish. Is part of being historically
accurate being totally devoid of a sense of humor? Isn't it
Merry Olde England?
(edited to fix spelling and syntax errors) While it may have been "Pirate Adventure weekend" the Scottish Fencibles remained just that, the Scottish Fencibles. Not the "Pirate Troupe that once were Scottish Fencibles". With the exception of possible 6 of the Fencibles, the rest of us (On an average day over 50 of us would march) are all "playtrons" marching because we are friends with each other, we're proud of Scotland and we have no need/desire to be tied to someone who died a couple hundred years prior to our faire's period.
So, what we think
you're saying is you are neither Pirates or any sort of William
Wallace Brigade since the William Wallace era in Scottish
history pre-dates your era of concern by a couple centuries. So,
we are pleased then to learn that the merry band of men in the
above photo is a proud group of marching Scots called the
Scottish Fencibles. And that the Scot on the far left, looking
down at his kilt, is none other than the honorable Robert,
L/Cpl of Pikes, Scottish Fencibles. It is not known if Robert is
a McGregor or a McDonald or some other Mc.....wait, we have had
further clarification!
Sorry about the spelling mistakes in my previous e-mail, I had yet to be to sleep in almost 2 days, simple error
;-) This isn't a blast or anything, just clarification. I was actually looking down at the boots of the Pike Sgt. standing
in front of me making sure I was instep, and I am not a MacGregor or MacDonald or any Mac/Mc...I am
descendant of the Clan Munro, my grandmother was born a Munro, her grandfather was the first of her part of the family to come to America...I would also invite you to see the website for the Scottish Fencibles so that you would have a chance to learn about us...
http://fencibles.thescottishdragon.com/
Thanks for the
invite. And the clarification about the kilt. Seems like those
must be the coolest costume on a hot day.
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This kid is definitely a Pirate. He is
armed with a pistol. And a pillaging attitude.
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As we leave Scarborough Faire this Fair
Lass blows us a kiss.
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A kiss and this
final word from a Scarboroughite of Great Wisdom...
Some of the folks get WAY too wrapped up in the Ren
(Renaissance Festival) way and their own social scene and can't lighten up when someone pokes a bit of fun at the faire in general. You listened and fixed some of the glaring boo-boos and explained about some of the others. If they wanna get their noses out of joint...so be
it...I think it's fun to find out how others see us.
Seems they
should be quite pleased with how they look to an outsider.
Scarborough Faire is very worthy of being visited.
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Thus ends our
visit to 16th Century England in 21st Century Texas. Next year we
may return, as a Playtron in period costume, for an update. We
will likely not be a Man in Tights, more likely we will be one more
Village Idiot...
visit
the official Scarborough Faire website
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