Last weekend we were working on a Christmas fair. It has been quite some time since we last did something like this, for the last time we were on an event did not turn out too well. We were representing the ironforge this year for a change. I had borrowed a car, and we loaded up on Friday morning and were welcomed by Mrs. Rafflenbeul, owner of the lard shop and the farm where the event was located. I fetched Nick and we set up forge.
We were there to forge with children, but also had some goodies on display. Especially the leaf pendants proved very popular with the audience, as were the smaller items such as rings and key chain pendants.
Of course we had brought safety gear and goggles for the kids. But blimey... what´s the matter with the kids? Some were actually eager to forge, as used to be the case. As usual, the parents were in a hurry and did not want their kids to work with their hands, and some of the remarks we got from the parents were just short of plain insults. But most of the kids were just staring at us with open mouths and were very afraid. One little girl actually dressed up with all the safety gear. Then I started tutoring her, and all seemed to go well enough. Now we always help the kids by leaving one blow to them, the other for us. Now you obviously need some excellent timing and a bit of experience to muster that. It all seemed to have worked out a cinch, but when we had the iron at forging temperature and started pounding, she got a crying fit and was not to be comforted and shied away from the anvil... BECAUSE she had DONE something! Because she was afraid that the iron was taking a different shape! I do not even get the pathological logic behind that behaviour. Of course, I had an argument with the parents and it turned out she was emotionally not capable of doing anything with her hands. She does not even play. Pardon me? A (nine year old) kid that does not play? The parents even were proud of this! I asked some of the parents that did not want their kids to forge why that was so. Some stated that their kids were above that kind of work, some were like "oi, that´s too dirty", and some openly stated that they did not want their kids to get the wrong kind of ideas. Those kids were not playing, either. I overheard a conversation of some seven year olds (again) what investment fonds and what insurance was superior. These were obviously motorically impaired, but otherwise well-educated kids. In my own personal opinion, parents that do this to their kids should be punished for high treason.
Anyway, you cannot count what´s lost, but what´s still left. Some few still had fun, and those were the ones that made the work to be fun in turn. I also was quite delighted to see Thomas from
Metallbau Klier drop by and have a little chat. Thomas has helped us out a thousand times when we were working for the Bethaus smithy, and I cannot thank him enough for all the times he entrusted his team van to us.
Coming to talk about people, it was a right delight to have Marco from
Gerti´s Schieferschmiede and the weirdos from
Café Halle as neighbours, always willing to exchange some weird jokes and suddenly bursting out into song.
I like this picture of Nick... looks like they both have fun, eh? ;-)
That´s me pounding out a blade out of magical sorcery steel, no really it is... ;-)
Kathrin, Nick´s wife came along to sell her Viking knitting jewellery way too cheap, but as is, she was well content with the outcome.
All in all, I find this picture tells the story best... hands that keep the fire burning!
