Post reenactment review - Whitby

Arrrgh, I am so fat.

The sojourn in the back of beyond and then pregnancy has left me busting out of my reenactment kit.  Funny enough when I first made it, I was still carrying a lot of baby weight from  my first pregnancy so it was huge.  I lost that weight and had to make everything smaller and now, well it was tight, lets just say.....

So besides knowing that I need to get back on that healthy wagon, what can I say about the weekend and, more importantly, did I finish my baby's outfit?   Yes I did and she looked very cute indeed in it. 

Wish I had a picture but my phone is stupid.  However, like last years baby shift, the chances of her fitting in it for next years (hopefully more busy) season would be slim.  So, I had better gain some better skills at making this kid more creative outfits, though I do say a little linen gown and a chemise is not all that shabby for a little baby.

My view of the battle

Don't be fooled, it was a pretty small battle, I managed to watch it whilst simultaneously sitting with one breast pulled out of my very tight stays to nurse.....of course any sane woman would have made herself some sort of front lacing bodice but...as we all know, I am not sane.

The banquet....oh dear, well that was a dud, oven broke, food very, very late, food bad quality and a lack of organisation meant I was not best pleased.
However, I cut a fine figure in a Tricorn it seems, as I was caught in the background of some Jack Sparrows kissing picture..

There were three Jack Sparrows at this bloody thing

The late night, tight kit and a life long desire to visit Whitby  (due to its Dracula associations) meant that on Sunday I put my usual goth lite outfit on and went down to the Abbey

Not only is a beautiful ruin with a wonderful history, but there was a Dracula play running and it was the last day...it...was....AWESOME!!!!!!

Acting was first class, it was incredibly funny, especially their little improvised vignettes when something unexpected happened.  Oh they were brilliant.  I am very fond of this sort of entertainment anyway and following a story around the grounds of a ruined Abbey is my idea of first class fun!
Play over, the Babe and I had a picnic, we spread my cloak on the ground and had, bread, cheese, banana and some chilli crisps looking out over the bay on the cliff side of the Abbey.

After lunch and a wriggly baby put back into her buggy, I did the audio tour...ooh baby fell asleep for her main daytime nap...huzzah!!!!!  I went for Tea Time in the Abbey Cafe run by the YHA.
Now I have just noticed that there are some Tripadvisor people who did not like the Cafe and rating them down because the price was high and the service slow.  That is a shame because they had, perhaps the best Carrot cake there that I have ever tasted....ever! I also went in after lunch so there was no queue and although coffee and a cake at just under £5 is expensive, it is comparable to London prices so I did not find it overly so. But I guess people from the Shires might be crying a river at that point.  Who cares the cake was AMAZING!!!!!!!!

Gift shop time, was looking for some sort of toy suitable for a baby since The Babe had been so amazing all weekend she definitely deserved something, found a whistle, a bit of Rock for my niece (please note Americans, Rock is a candy, not something found on the ground) and a Dracula key ring.
I took my Pirate hoarde (harhar) towards the till but....wait...what is that?  Some strange beverages?
never one to pass by a drinks cabinet I stopped to look at the English Mead's and Elderflower wines which I can easily obtain locally but...what is that bottle there?
The cute young beardy man who worked in the shop offered to pour me a taste.  He said it was a love it or hate it liquer, I was hoping to hate it, I really can't afford to spend money on booze as it cost me so much money this weekend so far but damn it, I loved it, I really, really loved it. 
So I brought it.

Are you kidding me, it is made by French Monks, of COURSE I had to buy it.

After a long, long walk down a winding cliff side route with the farmers wife (can't take the infamous 199 step cliff stairs because of the buggy) I went to town.  This English seaside resort was much more classier than some others I have been too and certainly beats the socks off its Lancashire equivalent, Blackpool. 

I went on a boat ride, it was a 40% sized reproduction of the Bark Endeavour, Captain Cook's ship that he used to sail the year long journey to Oz and NZ. I learnt that none of his crew got scurvy though, good for them that they had such good teeth when they went to steal the land of the Native Islanders.....Oh well, guess they got him in the end though.
BTW, my first adult boyfriend was one of his descendants.   I don't admit that often though because he was cray-cray!

After that lovely boat ride (only £3 for 25 mins) the little babe and I ended our time at the The Angel Hotel, a Whetherspoons pub, for dinner where she feasted on her favourite, chips and mayo.

Lovely day, I have nothing negative to say about Whitby at all.

Oh no wait...far too many chips shops fry their chips in beef dripping, which is disgusting, but very Northern so.....well c'est la Vie.