2016 Update

It is hard to believe that it is well over a year since we updated the blog, but such is the case. When we last posted we had just started our 2015 season, and now we are just closing down our 2016 one, although in that time a lot of things have happened; all good I hasten to add!

As way of a catch up I’ll post a few images of the things we have got up to!

At the end of May in 2015, we held a small market event with some friends from Svartland Vikings. It was a great event and we forged some great friendships. This event was also the first full event of our newest members: Ulfrik and Leonor, with their little girl Inês.

We also had our usual run of living history events throughout the year, including our usual full week holiday in August.  …. and our seeming endless feasts! In 2016, we began the year with a few preparatory weekends, but in May began our full living history events programme. Plenty more lamp lit feasts…

… and of course training the youngsters!

We also held a second May viking market with the Svartland Vikings, and guests, this year over 40 of us turned up, and in addition we were able to take advantage of some alterations to the field next to the village, to really integrate our living history displays, and our two groups! It was a fantastic event, and I am very excited for 2017s event!

I was also invited to attend the Viking World- Diversity and Change conference, which was a great event, filled with some stimulating lectures. I also had to opportunity to sell some of my reproduction items, which proved popular, as well as making some good friends and contacts! In general, the last 18 months have seen my small reproduction item business do quite well, so if you are interested please have a look over at blueaxereproductions.com or drop me an email at blueaxereproductions@gmail.com. I hope to update the website with more of the items I have been working on over the winter 2016-17.

A couple of us also got the opportunity to attend the Heysham Viking festival (follow the hyperlink for Facebook pictures of the event), hosted by the Vikings reenactment society as guests. It was a fun event, with amazing weather, and we got the opportunity to demonstrate some of our crafts and trade with other reenactors and members of the public. The event is scheduled to run again in 2017, and we hope that we get the opportunity to attend again.

We spent our usual full week at Murton in August, as did our usual array of crafts, cooking, and a little weapons training, as it has been so long since many of us fought, that even the basics are getting rusty!

We also took the opportunity to take some portrait photographs of our viking characters whilst we were there. There are still some we need to take, but it was good fun, and we got a few nice images.

I was also invited to speak (with my archaeologist hat on), at an event at Largs, which was a Vikings training weekend, and a celebration of the Glasgow Vikings 40th anniversary. I gave a talk on the viking cemetery at Cumwhitton I was involved in publishing, and also some of the reproductions I made for Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery.

That brings us up to date, with just one more end of year banquet, and a few social and craft events outside of living history. We hope to have a busy year next year, and this time we’ll make more effort to update the blog more regularly!

Adam