Some of you may remember that I’ve actually been to Warwick castle before – one of the things that inspired Anthony to apply for the job was the wintry day we’d spent in November, wandering rapt from room to room all day, finally watching the sun come out just long enough to throw pale fingers over the battlements before sinking below the horizon… at 4pm.
It's even more gorgeous when the sun's out. See...
We arrived just in time to be drafted into donning tabards emblazoned with Warwick's 'ragged staff' emblem (which made us resemble nothing so much as Santa's little elves), jumping inside the trebuchet's massive hamster wheels to help wind back the arm before Nicola won the honours of helping pull the trigger. (We later gave out prizes to some of Ants' workmates for guessing correctly which of the three of us was 'the sister' and which was 'the missus'.)
I have to bore you with a few facts, because even after 3 weeks in the job, Ants has his spiel down pat and looks totally in his element. Ursa (the bear, taken from the Warwick arms of the 'bear and ragged staff') weighs 22 tonnes, plus a 5 tonne counterweight. She throws 15kg concrete balls a mighty 200metres or more - if fully loaded (she is rated up to a 150 kg payload) she could send it the best part of half a kilometre. And don't the crowd go 'oooh' and 'ahhh' when she lets rip. The fine folks at Warwick say she's the biggest historically accurate trebuchet in the world, made of solid English oak worth £500,000.
And I can't rave about seeing my blokey in full flight without showing you how much he looks the part....
Warwick also keeps its own birds of prey - and didn't we all duck when the vulture swooped over our heads! Although it was the regal eagle that really stole the show.
Warwick also keeps its own birds of prey - and didn't we all duck when the vulture swooped over our heads! Although it was the regal eagle that really stole the show.
Of course, it wouldn't be a seige weekend if there wasn't some fancy display combat - England really is a re-enactors' paradise during 'the season', and competition is fierce for gigs. The Wars of the Roses was the theme of the day - unsurprising, since the most famous Earl of Warwick was Richard Nevile, aka the Kingmaker, who famously switched sides, putting both York and Lancaster on the throne in their turn. Naturally, when the crowd was coaxed into shouting for 'A Warwick, A Warwick', some of us just HAD to put in a cheer for 'A York, A York'... And a good day was had by all.
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