Only a week to go!

Get your Parasols tuned up ladies, and come out to compete to be the 2016 World Parasol Duelling Champion!

Keep your sightglass full, your firebaox trimmed, and your water iced!
KJ

The Honour Taker



 Previously I posted an article by Stewart MacPhee, writing as Dr. Johann Portsmouth Adler, about the Prussian forms of Parasol Duelling.

Here is another excellent post.

Well done Sir!

Enjoy
Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed, and your water iced.
KJ


Ed: It is my pleasure to post another wonderful article from the good Doctor Adler.

This one discusses the history and forms of the infamous Ehre Nehmer move and how it was used in other Parasol Duelling styles. As an eyewitness and formal Doctor (umpire) at many Parasol Duelling competitions he was well placed to observe and study these moves. 

A valuable addition to the increasing amount of information being compiled on this intriguing sport. 

Abflug mit gnade
(Departing with grace)
By: Dr. Johann Portsmouth Adler

    Many of my colleagues as of late have been asking me many questions regarding the elegant form of parasol dueling known as the Prussian style that is widely practiced in the Germanic territories.  One topic in particular is the dreaded move known as the Ehre Nehmer or Honour Taker.  While talking about this with my fellows there arose a bit of controversy over just what form the move in question takes when practiced.  While some will state that it appears to be a twirl but instead of facing the opponent the duelist instead turns their back, appearing like a “reverse twirl”, others still state that the move in question takes the form of a snub, where the duelist keeps the parasol facing their opponent, but then turns on their heel and walks away appearing like a kind of “reverse snub”.

    While I initially found this quite strange as the move that I had grown up hearing about, and had witnessed on more than one occasion, had always taken the form of the aforementioned “reverse snub”. Imagine my surprise, after exchanging letters on the subject with learned minds on the continent and my own investigations, when I found not one or two, but three variations of this move!  While they may all be called “Honour Takers”, in their own way they are each a separate move as practiced by those of different schools or styles of the sport. 
   
    So with that in mind, I have decided to sit down and write this missive on what had originally started as a Germanic move but has since seen its way from the vaunted drill academies of Berlin to the elegant runway plots of the Seine and, if rumours are to be believed, to the very shadow of Buckingham Palace itself.

Ladies! Are You Ready?

Join the Ladies of Madame Saffron Hemlock's Parasol Duelling League  and the Steampunk Arts and Science Society (SASS) for the Second Annual Spring Regional competition!

All ages and experience levels are welcome.

The competition will be held in association with the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. 
You don't have to be an Expo attendee to compete but you should  be a member of Madame Saffron's.

Here is my report from last year's competition. 

We will be competing in the same space as last year so a perfect place to see and be seen too.

Looking forward to seeing this first official competition of 2016!

For more information and to find out more about this great sport go to:
Madame Saffron Hemlock’s Parasol Duelling League for Steampunk Ladies

Click here for information on the history and development of Parasol Duelling 
or click the Parasol Duelling tag.

The Rules for Parasol Duelling are here.

See you all on May 1st!

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed, and your water iced.
KJ

Her Majesty's Airship Corp Huzzah!


Lots of images of real and movie airships plus a very catchy tune.
Even though in our Roleplay the Airships are part of the Royal Navy I think Max and his crew would approve of this message!



Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

"Just another minute" she said!


A month from now Calgary will be host to the world famous event called Beakerhead.
This five day extravaganza of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Music takes over much of downtown Calgary.

This is also where we will be having the Second Annual Parasol Duelling World Championships!

That is if we can get there barring a few technical difficulties...

Me and the talented Monica Willard working on the "Tin Fish"
Photo taken by the brilliant Neil Zeller at about 2:00am

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

Time flies when you are having fun!

Three years ago today I started blogging here.

It has been a great ride and I hope you have found it as interesting and fascinating as I have.

Thanks for coming along for the ride, lots more to come!

As always...

Keep your sightglass full your firebox trimmed and your water iced!
KJ

Intrigue and Parasol Duelling at the Savoy!

This story is the very first time that Parasol Duelling ever appeared in our Roleplaying group,  the Airship’s Messdeck.

The official Parasol Duelling rules hadn't even been drafted yet, but these Ladies still had a good time playing out an episode during a Parasol Duelling event at the Savoy Hotel in London. I have distilled the role play text a bit to make it easier to read.

If you have been following my serialized story from the Messdeck you will recognize one of the characters. Lt Beulah Bueckert, Miss BB to the crew, is the communications officer on the HMAS Velvet Brush who, along with Lt Cmdr MacDonald-Smythe and other members of the crew, are currently on their way to Scapa Flow in the dead of Winter. This episode takes place several months before that story.

The two other crew members present are not Navy personnel but passengers. Madame Saffron Taxus-Hemlock (Yes, THAT Madame Saffron!) and her maid Miss Maddie Hatter. The fourth character is Lady Mary Formingham, the wife of the former head of the Royal Navy's Experimental Airship Division, the EAD, Sir Gordon Formingham. Sir Gordon has been posted to bleak and lonely Scapa Flow due to a scandal involving the design and construction of the Velvet Brush.

Miss BB is a brilliant communications officer. She comes from a rural background and is still very naive when it comes to the "big city" that is London in Queen Victoria's time. Fond of "medicine," she would never touch “alcohol”. Oddly capable of winning any game of chance, she would never “gamble”. She is a simple soul and much beloved by the crew for her forthright commentary on nearly everything. This is the first time she has been exposed to Parasol Duelling.

Madame Saffron Taxus-Hemlock, officially a professor of "applied botany", is in reality related to many of the crowned heads of Europe. She is not above indulging in espionage on behalf of her powerful family as well as her friends in the crew of the HMAS Velvet Brush. Madame is also a "Black Sash" Parasol Duelist and has recently judged the Flirtation trials at this very event.

Madame's Maid, Miss Maddie Hatter, has a secret past. She has obviously been trained in Parasol Duelling, as most well born Ladies of the time would be, however she is clearly nervous about being recognized by the grand Ladies in attendance. (Maddie has her own adventures in "Maddie Hatter and the Deadly Diamond" by Jayne Barnard, from Tyche Books.)

We join these Ladies as Madame Saffron arrives to meet with Lady Mary Formingham under the cover of attending the finals of the Parasol Duelling event at the Savoy.

At the Parasol Duels

Part 1
An episode from the Airship's Messdeck
Compiled by Kevin Jepson

The Grand Ballroom of the Savoy Hotel
London

Madame steps into the lobby of the Savoy and looks around. Will she recognize Lady Mary Formingham, only met once over tea many months ago? But that lady is easily spotted, pacing an 8-foot square while a maid watches peaceably, her back to a column.

Madame sails forward, hand outstretched. “Lady Mary, how lovely to see you again!”

The Grand Ballroom has been readied for the Freestyle Finals of the Greater London Ladies’ Parasol Duelling Society. Some argument has taken place between the waiters, who had orders to put in as many tables as possible, and the organizing committee, who were determined to leave a generous space in the middle to comply with the international standard and avoid accidental damage to spectators and judges.

Madame leads her guest into the ballroom and looks over the throng of excited young ladies and staid matrons, hoping to spot Miss BB already installed. She had sent Maddie on ahead to make sure the Comms Officer was served promptly. Waiters could be snobbish but Maddie’s handling of them is so adept she might have been born to a life of servants instead of servitude.

Miss BB’s brightly hued parasol waves wildly in a corner, threatening the hats of several nearby ladies. If she isn’t careful, she’ll inadvertently challenge someone to a duel. Since it is doubtful she has ever participated in formal training, she is more likely to smack someone over the head as she has done to rats, voles, cockroaches and possibly a few villainous humans over the past several months.

Miss BB shouts out "Oooo ooooo oooo They are here, they are here. ooo ooo ooo." Then she wonders to herself, "I wonder if I have to get up when they get here? There is hardly any room for our skirts with the tables all pushed together the way they are. We should move them out."

Miss Maddie sits with her back to the wall pretending to be interested in a very dull potted fern.

BB says, "Miss Maddie, Miss Maddie, did you get a new parasol in honour of this occasion? I did. Do you want to see it?" BB swings the bright parasol across the table, narrowly missing the chimney of the little table lamp in the middle of the flowers forcing Maddie to duck. "Ooops. Sorry, but it is quite beautiful."

Maddie smiles at Miss BB's exuberance, "Oh no, I am afraid no new one for me. I couldn't frequent the old shops, and one can never trust a black market parasol. Often they are weighted incorrectly. One could get hurt."

Miss BB looks closely at her parasol "Weighted? I thought they were just for keeping the sun off?"


Maddie says, "Oh yes, but not a fighting parasol. Strict rules."

"Oooo, fighting, can you teach me about the fighting?"

With everyone seated, served, and the preliminary speeches beginning before the judges’ table, Lady Mary leans close and puts a hand on Madame Saffron’s arm. “Max er... Commander MacDonald-Smythe, tells me you are to be trusted, and already know about the documents I sent him from my husband’s study. May I confide in you? I’m very troubled.”

Madame is surprised by Mary touching her arm. Winning the younger woman’s confidence is not going to be a problem, apparently.

"Of course you may say anything to me. I will not wantonly repeat your confidences, and the others, as crew members on the Velvet Brush with me, would not, even if they felt inclined, discuss anything touching our ship with anyone outside it. I think they are not paying much attention in any case. Such a great crowd. I think they will not pay us much mind at all."

Mary leaning close to Madame says softly, "Thank you, Madame. I only took the designs because I feared for Max, up there with no proper warning that the ship’s technologies are largely untested. There have been prior ships destroyed in this program, that I do know from Gordon. My husband, that is. Sir Gordon Formingham. He was head of the EAD until very recently." She looks down, clearly troubled, "And Max is a dear, very old friend... of both myself and Sir Gordon."

Maddie, talking to Miss BB says, "Apparently the strict rules are due to an unfortunate mishap the queen had in her younger days. A splinter of bamboo, if I am not mistaken."

Miss BB shakes her head "That sounds most uncomfortable. To have a splinter of bambooooo. Where did she have it?"

Miss Maddie, watching the crowd, says, "In the courtyard I believe..."

Miss BB ponders Maddie's comment for a second then says, "In her courtyard? How can that be?”

Maddie looks back at Miss BB and says, "I beg your pardon? Oh you mean ... Oh dear..."

But Miss BB has already turned to Madame. "Is the Doctor coming tonight to the parasolling? I do so like her."

Madame says, "I fear Her Grace is remaining at Davaar. There is much to settle in a newly rebuilt home."

"Oh yes, I hope she had lecticity put in during the rebuild."

"I believe that was her intent." If the rumours of testing up north are true, Madame thinks, the crew  may see the electric lights of Davaar blazing up in the night sky on their way past.

Miss BB turns back to watching the throng of Ladies filling the room and mutters quietly to herself, "eelectric, eelectric..."

Madame claps for the speech of which she has not attended a single word. "Oh, look, the duelists! Did you ever see so many ruffles and flounces, Miss BB? They aren’t allowed to have lace on their cuffs, or puffs to their sleeves, so they make up for it everywhere else on the gown."

Miss BB opens her eyes wide at the sight. "Oh my, I would dearly love to have a gown like that."

Madame smiles at Miss BB. "But surely not in these pale colours, Miss BB? She would look entirely unlike herself, would she not, Maddie?"

Miss BB watches the contestants parade before the judges.  "Do they have to be pale colours? Really?"

Miss Maddie says, "It's considered bad form to wear distracting colours."

"Bah, pale is distracting," says Miss BB with a hrmph. "Oh... they are tall ones and short ones. Which ones will do the best?"

Miss Maddie, watching the Ladies, says, "I've heard they even go to the trouble of weighting their practice gowns so that they will feel lighter on game day."

Madame gives Maddie another keen glance, and then pats Mary’s arm. "You may tell me anything, Lady Mary." And I very much hope you will, she adds to herself.

A teaser!

Here is a little video Teaser Ad I put together from some of the photos taken at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo where we had 3 demos and the Spring Regional Competition this year.

It is my first attempt at such a thing so a bit rough around the edges.

The photos are by Phi Vernon and Lindsay Dunlop of Third Eye Arts.
As always they make us look good so check out their work.

The music is from the Album "Nemesis" by Two Steps From Hell a track called 'Hunter's Moon".
Their website has the subtitle "Music makes you braver" and these wonderful tracks do just that!
If you like epic music check them out!

Enjoy



Keep you sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced!
KJ

Parasol Pursuits!

This year at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo there will be not one, but FOUR Parasol Duelling events.

We will be having a formal panel and inside demonstration on  Saturday April 18th, two outdoor demos on Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday April 19th there will be a Parasol Duelling competition!

Looking forward to seeing Ladies from all over competing in this competition.

Over the Summer there will be more Parasol Duelling competitions across North America at Steampunk events large and small.

All leading up to the Second Annual World Championships which will be held in Calgary this September at the Beakerhead Festival. 

So start practicing Ladies!

To find out more about this great sport go to:
Madame Saffron Hemlock’s Parasol Duelling League for Steampunk Ladies

Click here for information on the history and development of Parasol Duelling 
or click the Parasol Duelling tag.

The Rules for Parasol Duelling are here.

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

Steampark March!

A wonderful group from England.

Definitely worth checking out.

COPPERFIELD ENSEMBLE

Here is a taste.

Enjoy




Keep your sightglass full your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

An Elegant Display

Here is a magnificent display of the formal Parasol Duelling figures.

They are being demonstrated by the accomplished and beautiful Raven Hawthorne, who competed in the World Championships this year held in Calgary Alberta.

Here she is in fine, and colourful, competition form during the Flirtation Trials at the 2014 World Championships!

The following photos were done to assist the judges in evaluating the formal positions during the Compulsory Figures portion of a full Parasol Duelling competition. I have also included Madame Saffron Hemlock's comments on the significance of each figure in the social life of a Lady.

Here then are the formal figures which all Duels are composed of.

First up we have the PLANT

 Note the upright posture and the vertical position of the parasol shaft in this photo.

Modern Duelling Parasols tend to be short so it is not necessary to actually "Plant" the point on the ground.

The plant is a sturdy position from which to move to other figures and one that can be completed very quickly if needed to counter a snub.

Madame Saffron Hemlock says of the Plant:

"Every lady must at some time take a stand, either in defence of her person or her principles. The Plant says, “This far and no further.” Or, alternately, as if she is Gandalf upon the Bridge, telling the Balrog, “You Shall Not Pass.” But gracefully. And without raising her voice."








Next we have the TWIRL

Something to note in this photo of a proper Twirl is that the shaft of the parasol does not rest on the shoulder but is held slightly above.

The Twirl is an elegant swirl of colour over a Lady's shoulder and makes a great display piece.

The Twirl should be used with care because it takes some time to complete but if started when an opponent has committed to a plant can be successful.








To be considered complete the parasol must complete at least one 360 degree rotation.

Care must be taken to not have the open parasol touch the hat or some judges may subtract points during the compulsory figures.

Madame Saffron Hemlock says of the Twirl:

"A lady in a tete-a-tete with a friend creates a personal space behind her, into which nobody can stick their long nose or their over-eager ears without looking ridiculous. A well-placed Twirl not only frames the lady’s face becomingly from the front and enhances the intimacy of her invitation to a tete-a-tete, it protects her rearward space from busy-bodies and the over-familiar hands of passing cads."




Finally we have the SNUB

The Snub is the most active of the figures.  Note especially the directness of the position, it is important to "aim" directly at the opponent.  The snub must start closed and is then opened to be considered complete.

The Snub is the one figure for which technology has an important role to play. Modern metal shafted and catchless parasols excel in the speed at which they can be opened and closed. This makes the Snub an excellant figure to be used for quick changes if needed to take advantage of an opponent's twirl.



Madame's comments are succinct:

"Self-evidently, a Snub enforces a forward personal space against riff-raff, upstarts, former friends, arch-enemies, and other undesirable persons."











Street Duel figures are similar, with the exception of the Twirl which is usually done to the side given the shortness of the Street Duel Parasol's shaft. 

Thanks again to Raven Hawthorne for her great pictures!

To find out more about this great sport go to:
Madame Saffron Hemlock’s Parasol Duelling League for Steampunk Ladies

For background on the history and development of Parasol Duelling 
or click the Parasol Duelling tag.

The Rules for Parasol Duelling

Keep your sightglass full your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

Wonderful!

A delightful short film by Laurent Witz.

This short won the Best Animated Short Film Oscar in 2013.

 Check out the trailer:



If you get a chance to see this I highly recommend it.

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

Thanks to everyone who entered their solutions.

SPOILER WARNING this post contains the solution to the Mystery of "The Evil Eye of Africa" if you would rather try to figure it out on your own first you can start at the beginning here.

Here is Margaret Curelas of Tyche Books, with her announcement of the winners and the solution!

Keep your sightglass full your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

 

"The Evil Eye of Africa"
By Jayne Barnard

A Guess-the-Murderer Mystery in Two Acts 

Steampunk Mystery Game Solution and Winners

Thank you to everyone for reading and submitting solutions to "The Evil Eye of Africa" Steampunk Mystery Game! Many thanks to Madame Saffron for reviewing entries. And, of course, our deepest appreciation to Jayne Barnard for writing the story and giving us such amusement.

Three intrepid detectives have solved the mystery: H. L. Dickson; Tim Ford; and James Prescott. All three submitted wonderful analyses of the mystery, and their solutions are presented below. Each poses several queries that we hope Hercule Hornblower will be able to resolve when he makes his arrest.

Now, the moment you have been waiting for...it is time to unmask the murderer of Baron von Boddy!

We have a new World Champion!

Saturday September 13, 2014 dawned grey and chilly in Calgary.

Wed Sept 10, 2014
Two days before
the World Championships!

The previous week had seen an unseasonal and tree-damaging pair of heavy snow falls with temperatures dropping 27 degrees C in 12 hours!

It was not at all certain that the outdoor venue at which we were to have the Championships would be ready.

The World Championships were scheduled to run at a major outdoor event called Little Big Street during the Beakerhead festival in Calgary, and right up to the Saturday morning it was unclear just what kind of conditions the contestants, judges, and spectators would have to contend with. Luckily as the morning progressed the temperatures rose and the clouds thinned. By the time the competitions began in early afternoon the day was quite pleasant and by the end of the competitions the new World Champion could accept her accolade under a bright September Sun.

Since there has never been a full formal Parasol Duelling competition, one that included all three sections of Compulsory Figures, Flirtation Trials, and Duelling, it took a bit to get organized but soon the competitions began.




There were nine competitors entered in the competitions. Two were Junior ladies who could not participate in the Flirtation trials but participated in the Duelling and Compulsory Figures. One lady competed in the Duelling competition only.

The entrants to the World Championships of Parasol Duelling 2014
L to R
Standing: Josanna Justine, Sarafina Kain, Cali Kyhn, Karen Siemens, Teigan Blondin de Boer, Lorna Vanderloh
Front: Briona Justine, Raven Hawthorne

The Judges for this event were:
The Honourable Madeline Salisbury (aka Monica Willard)
Baroness Daniela Fawkes (aka Dana Teh)
Her Grace Doctor Christine Pearse Duchess of Argylle (aka Christie Vanderloh)
Chief Judge, and Black Sash, Madame Saffron Taxus-Hemlock (aka Jayne Barnard)

There were two Doctors for the event, myself and Dr. Johann Portsmouth Adler (aka Stewart MacPhee)

Dr. Johann Portsmouth Adler (aka Stewart MacPhee)
receives his Doctor's ribbon from the Chief Judge

The order of the competitions was Compulsory Figures, followed by the Flirtations Trials and then by the Parasol Duelling.

The Compulsory Figures were interesting. Each contestant must complete all three figures during the standard count, in the order Plant/Twirl/Snub, and they must make each figure distinct. It was a difficult job for the judges to determine the winner. The contestants did very well each completing all the figures in the six seconds allowed. There was a surprising amount of variation between their routines.

Each contestant ran through the figures three times before the judges.

Karen Siemens, in the guise of a Hungarian competitor, complete with accent and attitude to match, livened up the proceedings.  When I reminded her, pointing at her cuffs, that under the Brandenburg variations of the Hanoverian Rules lace was not allowed and she must remove them, she promptly replied "Really? My Lace? As you wish" and started to undo her blouse!

Once that misunderstanding was cleared up, with much laughter and chuckling from the crowd, the competition continued apace.

The winner of the Compulsory Figures Competition was Josanna Justine with her elegant, smooth and graceful display.

The Flirtation Trials were run with three contestants at a time going through their routines together.  Each trial consists of the contestants doing one of the standard figures, elaborating on the move for the full count and finishing with a completed form in a tableau of sorts. The figure to be done is chosen by the judges and there is a trial for each of the standard figures.

Flirtations are a chance for the contestants to show off their creativity while still performing a complete figure. The competitors did not disappoint, with each figure being shown with elegant, tasteful but exotic positioning.
For this competition the audience is asked to participate by indicating, by applause, their favourite of the three in each trial.

A Flirtation Trial for the Plant
L to R
Josanna Justine, Teigan Blondin de Boer, Karen Siemens

 The winner of the Flirtation Trials was Karen Siemens who, with her Faux Hungarian accent and attitude, but also precise and controlled movements, wowed both the audience and the judges.

Karen Siemens Flirtation Trial Champion with Madame Saffron Taxus-Hemlock Chief Judge

A tea break followed the conclusion of the Flirtations, whilst the competitors warmed up for the Parasol Duelling competition itself.

Tea at the Judges table
The Duchess of Argylle and Madame Saffron Taxus-Hemlock
The light and the dark in amity.

With the preliminary competitions done and the Sun shining brightly the formal Parasol Duels began.
Here the skill and style of all the competitors, young and old(er) alike, was very apparent. These Ladies had been practicing intensely for this competition.

Once the first rounds were done there was a short period of deliberation and the judges revealed the Semi Finalists.

The Semi Finalists
L to R
Cali Kyhn, Sarafina Kain, Simone 'Bronwyn' Haywood- Brazel, Karen Siemens

The excitement of these final duels was palpable! Even spectators who knew nothing about what they were seeing knew something big was happening. After a couple of duels the final two contestants faced off to determine who would be Duelling Champion!

After the applause and huzzahs died down Madame Saffron Taxus-Hemlock, as chief judge, rose to present the competition champions with their sashes.

Madame Saffron Taxus Hemlock presents Sarafina Kain with her Duelling Champion's Sash

The Compulsory Figures Champion Josanna Justine

The Flirtation Trials Champion Karen Siemens adjusts her sash.

Finally, as a hush fell upon the crowd, Madame announced the Lady who, based on the points from all three competitions, was to be awarded the title of the First World Champion of Parasol Duelling.

Karen Seimens World Champion
Receives her sash from the Chief Judge

And here they are: the winners and World Champion of the 2014 World Championships of Parasol Duelling.

L to R
Sarafina Kain, Duelling Champion
Karen Siemens, Flirtation Trials and World Champion!
Josanna Justine, Compulsory Figures Champion

Congratulations Ladies! 
Well done!

This was an interesting and complex event. One that demonstrated the full range of Parasol Duelling competitions. For being the first one ever, I think it came together very well and everybody seemed to be enjoying  the event and definitely got into the spirit of competition.

Photo by: Curtis Anderson
L to RBack: Lorna Vanderloh, Christie Vanderloh, Monica Willard. Andrew Nadon, Cali Kyhn, Sarafina Kain, Me, Stewart MacPhee, Karen Seimens, Teigan Blondin de Boer, Jessep Crossfield
Front: Coleman Vanderloh, Rown(?), Raven Hawthorne, Briona Justine, Jayne Barnard, Dana Teh, Josanna Justine.Missing: Simone 'Bronwyn' Haywood- Brazel, Peter Justine and Jess Willard

Thanks to everyone who helped to make this event happen:


Ladies and Gentlemen, I salute you!


And so the bright September sun set on the first ever Parasol Duelling World Championship.
Thanks for reading!

Photo by Audra Balion

Keep your sightglass full your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

Lewis King has posted a bunch of pictures of the competition here.

For more information go to:
Madame Saffron Hemlock’s Parasol Duelling League for Steampunk Ladies

For background on the history and development of Parasol Duelling 
or click the Parasol Duelling tag.

The Rules for Parasol Duelling

Saturday September 13

The first World Championships of Parasol Duelling is happening!

If you are in Calgary come on down and cheer the Ladies on in their efforts to be the World Champion.

To follow the competition live the official Twitter and Facebook hashtag is #parasolduel.

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

The Excitement is building!

There is less than a week until the First World Championships of Parasol Duelling are held at Beakerhead in Calgary!

Many Ladies are signing up to compete in this elegant and exotic combat.

After much agonizing, and ladylike gnashing of teeth, Madame Saffron Hemlock has put out the format that the competition will have and I have posted it in its entirety below.

This will truly be a one of a kind event and I will post photos and the results right here so stay tuned!

For more information go to:
Madame Saffron Hemlock’s Parasol Duelling League for Steampunk Ladies

First Parasol Duelling World Championship event details

For background on the history and development of Parasol Duelling 
or click the Parasol Duelling tag.

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

Parasol Duelling World Championships

Calgary, Alberta, CANADA

 1:00pm, September 13, 2014

The World’s First Parasol Duelling Championships will take place at Little Big Street, adjacent to Calgary Stampede Grounds, Calgary, Alberta, CANADA

Competition consists of three Elements, from which the competitors’ points are drawn to calculate World rankings:
1. Compulsory Figures – to demonstrate proficiency in basic positions and transitions.
2. Flirtation Trials – to demonstrate understanding of the social functions of basic positions as well as their  physical mastery.
3. Duelling – two-duel Round Robin followed by semi-finals and finalist duels.

Open competition; no pre-qualifying necessary (subject to change as wider pools of candidates seek to enter).

Pre-registration is encouraged, via statement of intent to compete posted on the event copy or emailed to Madame Saffron (madamesaffron@gmail.com)

Registration at the event will be accepted up to the start of the Compulsory Figures Competition.

Competitors may enter any one, two, or all three segments of the Championships; however only those competing in all three segments will gain sufficient points to contend for the title of World Champion. Junior Ladies, those under the age of 16 years, are not permitted to enter the Flirtation Trials.


Competition Format: Compulsory Figures: 

      These demonstrate competence with the three basic figures: the Snub, the Twirl, and the Plant.
     
Format: 

      Each competitor will perform the sequence of Plant / Twirl / Snub within the 5-count, holding in the Snub for the Doctor’s ‘Hold.’  Each basic figure must be completed in its entirety before moving on to the next. Judges may, at any point in a sequence, call a Hold to determine whether a parasol is correctly placed in any figure.
     
Scoring:
     
      Each competitor performs the sequence three times, for a score out of a possible 10 on each sequence. Their best score of the three sequences, as awarded by each judge individually, is aggregated for a category score out of 30. This counts toward both the category ranking and the overall title of World Champion.

Judges’ Note:

Each of these basic figures has both a physical and a social component. In addition to watching for correct completion of figures and smoothness of transition between figures, judges will consider the competitor’s communication of the social purpose of the figure as follows:

Plant: Every lady must at some time take a stand, either in defence of her person or her principles. The Plant says, “This far and no further.” Or, alternately, as if she is Gandalf upon the Bridge, telling the Balrog, “You Shall Not Pass.” But gracefully. And without raising her voice.

Twirl: A lady in a tete-a-tete with a friend creates a personal space behind her, into which nobody can stick their long nose or their over-eager ears without looking ridiculous. A well-place Twirl not only frames the lady’s face becomingly from the front and enhances the intimacy of her invitation to a tete-a-tete, it protects her rearward space from busy-bodies and the over-familiar hands of passing cads.

Snub: Self-evidently, a Snub enforces a forward personal space against riff-raff, upstarts, former friends, arch-enemies, and other undesirable persons.

Competition Format: Flirtation Trials:

    These demonstrate the three basic figures in their natural habitat, the Promenade, where ladies would interact with each other and with gentlemen, as well as repelling cads and other uncouth persons. The basic figures are expanded upon to serve the purposes of social intercourse, either attracting or rejecting friends, acquaintances and potential suitors.

Format:

    Each competitor performs three 5-count sequences, each sequence elaborating on a single figure and ending in an artistic variant of that figure.  The judges decree the order in which the sequences are performed, and may vary that at will so long as each competitor performs a Plant sequence, a Twirl sequence, and a Snub sequence.

Scoring:
     
      Each competitor is awarded a mark out of 10 from each judge for each of the three sequences. These marks are averaged for that judge’s score. The three judges’ scores are added together for a category score out of 30. This counts toward both the category ranking and the overall title of World Champion.

Judges’ Note:  Junior Ladies, those under the age of 16, do not compete in Flirtation Trials, as Her Britannic Majesty believes very young ladies should remain invariably demure in public, and not attract attention to themselves. If there are sufficient Junior Ladies registered in advance for a formal competition, a suitable alternate to the Flirtation trials can be scheduled. In all other aspects of competition, including duelling, Junior Ladies compete as equals with their elders.

Competition Format: Duels

    These establish the competitor’s ability to read and react to changes in their social environs.

Format:

Each combatant is assigned two opponents in the opening round, and will duel with each in succession. Standard duelling format: overseen by The Doctor, duelists begin back to back, pace out as directed, turn, and commence to duel for the count of 5. At the hold, the winner is determined. Each combative pair duels three times, with the best two of three determining the winner of that combat.

Scoring:

Duelling points are as follows: each individual duel win gains 5 points; each loss gains 3 points. With six duels against two opponents in the opening round, a combatant may gain up to 30 points. These points determine who moves up to the semi-finals and count towards the overall title of World Champion.

In the semi-finals, combatants are assigned two opponents at the same scoring of 5 points for a win, 3 points for a loss.

The highest-scoring combatants (those with the most wins overall) advance to the Finals. The winner of this round is the Duelling Champion.


World Champion: Highest total points added across all categories.

The murderer unmasked?

We come to it at last!

The final post of Jayne Barnard's "The Evil Eye of Africa."

In which our intrepid investigator holds the traditional summation with all the suspects together in the manor of the late Baron Von Boddy!

If you think you have solved the mystery email your deduction to:  madamesaffron at gmail.com.
We will be accepting your guesses and deductions until midnight on Sunday September 14th.

Madame Saffron (aka Jayne Barnard) will be drawing from all the correct solutions for some prizes from Tyche Books!

 The first post is here.
A list of all the characters is here.

You can get all the posts by clicking on the mystery tag.

Good luck with your sleuthing!
Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

"The Evil Eye of Africa"
By Jayne Barnard

A Guess-the-Murderer Mystery in Two Acts 

Act II: Hercule Hornblower Investigates

---

From the Case Journal of Hercule Hornblower: 

August 30, 1898




It is time.
As  I have collected all the images from all my spiders old and new, I have assembled all the suspects and will now put to them the questions of my little gray cells.

Madame Midas-White: Did you or did you not know the research that guided Baron von Boddy on his travels was in fact stolen? Did you kill the baron to silence the man you believed the only one who might challenge your claim to a treasure you had invested so much to recover from its desert hiding place? Or, when he refused to refund to you all the money he had cost you by claiming all his purchases in England and Egypt were made with your approval, did you shoot him for ruining your perfect record of money-making?





 

Professor Plum: You stole the research into the Nubian mask from Professor Indy Brown, is it not so? Did you come to Boddy Manor to claim your share from the baron, and kill him when he refused to split the proceeds? Or, if he had failed, to kill him before he could confirm your theft and see you ejected from the highest university in the land (yes, I know Cambridge will argue that it is the highest, not Oxford, but for the purpose of this discussion…)

 


Colonel Cardsharp, er, Mustard: You claim to have been the oldest friend and the trustee of Baron von Boddy, and you were missing from London when he reappeared here and vanished again. Did you, being desperately short of money and on the verge of being thrown out of the very regiment where you had accumulated so many battle honours, kill your old friend for the treasure he may have brought back from Africa?

Professor Indiana Brown: You lost your own original research, the product of many years’ labour, to the baron. You were laughed out of the most illustrious university in the English-speaking world (yes, I know all about what Cambridge would have to say on this subject). You were beaten to a treasure and the undoubted fame that would rightfully have been yours. Did you come here to confront the baron on his secretive return, and kill him in a fit of your undoubted American temper?






 

Sir Ambrose Peacock: Perennial financial distress is your lot. You gambled away the last of your own fortune to Colonel Mustard – and nobody would blame you for wanting to murder HIM – and your hope of marrying another fortune was misled by a female fortune hunter of convincing guise. Did you kill your uncle to inherit his estate, and any treasures he may have accumulated in his latest African adventure?

Lady Peacock, you loveliest of liars: You tried to induce the baron to marry you in Cairo, or, failing that, to take you with him on his treasure hunt. When that failed, you lured his feckless heir into marrying you instead, that you might inherit that treasure by another route. Did you come here to Boddy Manor to silence the baron before he could reveal to his nephew your true nature, if not your true name?

Lady Peacock?

Where is that young woman?

 The Lady disagrees

Here is the next post of Act II of Jayne Barnard's "The Evil Eye of Africa."

The first post is here.
A list of all the characters is here.

You can get all the posts by clicking on the mystery tag.

Remember that if you think you have solved the mystery email your deduction to:  madamesaffron at gmail.com.
Madame will be drawing from all the correct solutions for some prizes from Tyche Books!

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

"The Evil Eye of Africa"
By Jayne Barnard

A Guess-the-Murderer Mystery in Two Acts 

Act II: Hercule Hornblower Investigates

---

From the Case Journal of Hercule Hornblower: 

August 28, 1898



 Colonel Mustard has fallen from formerly valiant warrior to vile seducer and worse. In my collection of images from the parlour spider-eyes is recorded a scene between himself and Lady Peacock that concluded with overt violence, from which the lady defended herself adeptly.

There are, however, a number of good views of the lady’s jewels, and it comes to me where I have seen them before: in a report in Cairo, from the jeweler who left the gems with Baron von Boddy “on approval” and never saw their return.

Can it be that the lovely and delicate Lady Peacock, who married Sir Ambrose within three days of meeting him, is the same woman as the mysterious widow the baron dallied with in Cairo?

What does she know of the baron’s quest? Has she too come seeking the treasure? Were she or Sir Ambrose, singly or together, at Boddy Manor when the baron’s ship came to rest here for that brief interval from his telegram to his death?

Click here for the next installment.

Threats!

Here is the next post of Act II of Jayne Barnard's "The Evil Eye of Africa."

The first post is here.
A list of all the characters is here.

You can get all the posts by clicking on the mystery tag.

Remember that if you think you have solved the mystery email your deduction to:  madamesaffron at gmail.com.
Madame will be drawing from all the correct solutions for some prizes from Tyche Books!

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

"The Evil Eye of Africa"
By Jayne Barnard

A Guess-the-Murderer Mystery in Two Acts 

Act II: Hercule Hornblower Investigates

---

From the Case Journal of Hercule Hornblower: 

August 25, 1898





Professor Henry Walton Brown Jr., of Indiana, USA, has joined us today.

 I discovered him in the parlour, threatening Professor Plum with a revolving pistol.
 

 In the trunk I saw yesterday was a map such as Indiana Brown, in his ill-starred Oxford speech, claimed to have created, and a hand-drawn sketch of a mask such as he claimed he had assembled from ancient written descriptions. These resemble most closely the pages seen in Baron von Boddy’s photograph of the Eye of Africa mask. I am convinced Brown could identify them as his own property.

It is indisputable now: Professor Plum perfidiously stole his fellow academic’s research and sold it to the baron.

Click here for the next installment.

The Devil in the details

Here is the next post of Act II of Jayne Barnard's "The Evil Eye of Africa."

The first post is here.
A list of all the characters is here.

You can get all the posts by clicking on the mystery tag.

Remember that if you think you have solved the mystery email your deduction to:  madamesaffron at gmail.com.
Madame will be drawing from all the correct solutions for some prizes from Tyche Books!

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced.
KJ

"The Evil Eye of Africa"
By Jayne Barnard

A Guess-the-Murderer Mystery in Two Acts 

Act II: Hercule Hornblower Investigates

---

From the Case Journal of Hercule Hornblower: 

August 24, 1898



A day of the most surprising in this investigation: Baron von Boddy did not drown. He was murdered.

The Cornwall Constabulary knows this, but has kept it silent from the newspapers to further the investigation. Naturally, I offered my inestimable services to aid them. It is to be hoped that Mrs. Midas-White did not kill him, as claiming my fee from a murderess I helped to arrest could prove awkward.

To record in brief my learnings:

1.    The skeleton clearly shows the nick of a bullet in a rear rib, indicating it was shot in the back.

2.    The airship salon’s panoramic forward window has cracks in one corner, radiating from a small hole.

3.    Some solvent, possibly fuel oil, has damaged the walnut flooring of the salon beneath the window. Did it dissolve a large blood stain?

4.    The trunk to which von Boddy was tied was filled with books and papers, much water-stained but all of them the property of the American Professor Indy Brown.

5.    Finally, the canopy and cork belt missing from the airship were found stuffed into a crevice on the moor.

For my reference, a view of the rocky shore where the skeleton washed up:

Click here for the next installment.