Vol. XVI, no. v, May 2006
EVENT
The Legion has been invited to
set up camp at the Pennsylvania
Junior Classical League State Convention on May 20, 2006. This
will
be held at Pennsylvania State University in State College, PA, and it
is
a one-day event. Since this is at least a 4-hour drive from the
DC
area, they are offering dormitory space for us for Friday and Saturday
nights, if necessary. Meals on Friday and Saturday will be
provided
as well. That way we could easily be set up by 9 AM when
the
program starts. This convention is attended by over 600 high
school
Latin students, all of whom will naturally be more interested in
Classical
history and more motivated than the average high school audience.
So it should be a very rewarding event.
Unfortunately, I will NOT be able
to attend myself. Anyone
who would like to attend should contact the event organizer, Linda
Russell,
as soon as possible, -- or
724---.
She can provide you with details and directions. Ron Kenat adds a
warning that PA state police often have speed traps set up around Penn
State during major events, so please drive carefully.
ROMAN DAYS
ROMAN DAYS is coming up fast,
June 3-4. Marietta Mansion
is the place, and Romans from all over the solar system are planning to
come. I'm working on another Greek hoplite or two, as
well!
http://www.larp.com/legioxx/rdays.html
The event is open to the public
from 10 AM to 4 PM on Saturday
and Sunday. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for students.
The schedule of activities will be pretty much the same as in past
years,
and can be found on the web pages.
Plans are still taking shape for
the Saturday night feast and
other foods. The Caupona will not be offering the usual meal plan
this year (the cook is taking a break!), but some munchies will
probably
be available for participants at reasonable costs. In any
case
there should be a modern food vendor and there are grocery stores and
various
eateries very nearby.
One addition to the schedule is an
informal gathering on Friday
evening beginning about 5 PM. This will include set-up, hopefully
some drill practice for any troops that show up, and a potluck
supper--bring
some eats to share!
To catch all the final details,
join the Roman Days Planning
Yahoo group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/romandays/
, or contact Deb
Fuller.
DEEPEEKA
Gagan Agarwal of Deepeeka Exports in India joined the Roman Army Talk board not long ago, with the idea of gathering feedback on how to improve his company's Roman products. In fact the RAT board now has a forum section dedicated to discussing Deepeeka,
http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewforum.php?f=41
Needless to say, Gagan has gotten a LOT of feedback, and it is bearing fruit. Not surprisingly, there is an emphasis on helmets, and not surprisingly the first Deepeeka helmet to be improved is the ever-popular Gallic G. The new edition looks GREAT! All the flaws and errors we've been noting for years have been fixed. Note that the catalog number for this version is AH6052N--be sure to include the "N" to get avoid the old version. Here is the discussion on this helmet:
http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic.php?t=7378
The Italic D helmet and many
other items are also being worked
on, so look for a wider variety of "approved" products over the next
several
months. I sent them a large pack of photocopies and notes,
covering
a number of different things. As usual, you cannot buy directly
from
Deepeeka unless you are a retailer making bulk purchases. Order
from
one of the recommended vendors on the Legio XX Suppliers page.
Also
bear in mind that Deepeeka does not stock anything, but only produces
what
their vendors order. So there may be some delay in getting the
new
imprved gear if Deepeeka has to wait until a certain number of items
are
ordered. Patience, we are finally getting there!
Thank
you, Gagan, for wanting to improve and listening to us.
AFTER-ACTION REPORTS
No getting around it, Marching Through Time was wet. It was gray and drizzly both days, with some heavier rain late on Saturday. This was a curiously heavy blow to my personal morale and motivation, and I spent most of the weekend grousing or imitating a cow-pie under my cloak. Never put my armor on, even. But the rest of the troops did a great job upholding the Legion's pride and honor, chatting up the few tenacious visitors and never letting their enthusiasm wane. On Sunday the decision was made to end the event an hour early in order to let people pack and leave before the expected thunderstorms arrived, and of course it sunnier and hotter all afternoon! Thanks to everyone who braved the rust!
On Saturday, April 29, the
Campbells and Moskeys joined me at
Dulaney Valley High School for the Maryland Junior Classical League's
annual
convention. (Dan Zeidler gets special mention for multiple
if unsuccessful attempts to penetrate the traffic!) We gave a little
demo
about 1 PM, which was followed by gladiatorial fights and chariot
races.
No kidding! An old friend of mine had made a great pile of
swords, spears, tridents, and shields out of PVC pipe, foam padding,
and
duct tape, and even ten loricae out of cardboard and duct
tape!
The kids were well-organized, and fought each other singly and in teams
of five, very enthusiastically! There was also an obstacle
course.
The chariot race featured three chariots, two built on childrens'
wagons
and the third on a modified wheeled trash can. The trash
can
won! It was amazing to see.
MORE DISTANT EVENTS
Legio XIIII in West Virginia is
hosting an event called Pax Romana,
May 19-20 (20-21?) at Wine Cellar Park in Dunbar, WV. The event is free
and open to the public. For more information please contact Legio XIIII
at --, or call 304---. This is the
same weekend
as the Legio XX appearance at the PA Junior Classical League, but it
would
be nice if we could send a small contingent!
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/flonzy/Roman/calendar.htm
-----------------------
Keith Egan of the South Jersey
AIDS Alliance is looking for Romans to
march in their fundraising walk in Atlantic City. Unfortunately,
this is scheduled for the first weekend in June, the same time as Roman
Days, but I said I would help spread the word in case anyone in that
general
area was not able to attend Roman Days but was interested in a good
cause.
Sounds like they're even willing to pay! For more
information,
contact Mr. Egan at 609---, http://www.southjerseyaidsalliance.org
------------------------
From Sean Richards of Legio IX Hispana: July 8-9 Old Fort Mac Arthur Days, a military timeline event, Los Angeles, California. And we want to extend an invitation to those who'd like to attend as our guests. The site is an old shore battery in a park that overlooks the Pacific Ocean, weather has always been mild in the past. We'll provide tent space and meals and can usually help with transport from LAX or Ontario. Leg IX begins set up on Thursday, July 6. Old Ft Mac Days webpage, http://fortmacarthur.tripod.com/index.html
-------------------------
Robert Norton of Legio XXX in
Canada would like to announce an
event on July 15-16 near the town of Tillisonburg,
Ontario.
"It is a primitive site with flat land and wooded areas away from
the
public. We have grand plans to eventually build a fort if
we
can get some backing from the government… It will include an archery
ranch,
a pila range, a sling range, artillary range, and a parade/drill
square. The fort will contain actual barracks, headquarters
building
and a functional workshop." For more information, contact
him
at rnorton AT sympatico DOT ca .
------------------------
Fron Eric Jadaszewski, jrjada AT juno DOT com, "Just wanted to let everyone know about our 2nd annual Time Line event at the Fort at No. 4 in Charletown, NH on Oct 14, 15, 2006. The fort is a very reenactor friendly site, senic, good facilties and always a lot of fun. Please contact me if your group is interested in attending this year and I'll give you more details."
TOUR
"Hello from across the seas. My
name is Patrick Townsend and I
am a Saxon/Norman re-enactor from England. What I am contacting you for
is to ask if your group would be interested in coming over here on a
new
package holiday that I organise strictly for re-enactors/living
history.
"The package contains: Flights,
visits to the sites of the most
spectacular Roman, Viking, Saxon and Norman sites such as Hadrian's
Wall,
Holy Island, Durham, York (Jorvik), Hastings, etc. You will be
staying
in a 5 star hotel but that's not all, I will arrange for you to stay
with
an English re-enactment group for a weekend, in authentic tents, eating
authentic food and most important having a good drink among friends,
and
you may be able to take part in a battle that happened on the exact
site
hundreds of years ago.
"If you are interested then please
contact me for more details, http://www.padraigs.co.uk/tours.asp
"
SURF'S UP
A new Yahoo email group for gladiatorial combat, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LudusGladiatoriusLA/
CALENDAR
May 20 --PA Junior Classical League Convention, PSU
June 3-4 --ROMAN DAYS, Marietta Mansion
----------------------
ADLOCVTIO is the Official Newsletter of the Twentieth Legion,
supposedly
published on the Ides of each month. I am Quintus, aka Matthew
Amt,
the Legion's Commander and Editor of the Newsletter, http://www.larp.com/legioxx/.