Tales and Ales

On Friday I snagged us last minute seats at Tales and Ales.  My festival buddy Bethany and her brewer husband James host this event twice a year in a local historical house.  The house was built in 1620 and was once a tavern.  It had low ceilings and dark wooden beams and enormous fireplaces.

Bethany and team were dressed as 17th century wenches (the 40 or so paying guests did not need to dress up).

There were musicians playing appropriate tunes.  They sat in the two fireplaces all night and played.

We were told to bring our own tankard.  It's hard to see in this dark picture but Bill had the biggest tankard of the night.

The food was served family style and without utensils just as they would have eaten in the 1600's.  They served roasted chicken and potatoes, carrots and sprouts - all very easily eaten with your fingers.

But the food I want to point out that was served when we first walked in…was popcorn!!!  Did they used to call it pop maize?  Needless to say, I scarfed down a bowl like a starving settler.

We had the ales from the minute we walked in the door…then after dinner came the tales.

Bethany does a lot of research in the local court records.  In the 1600's the court cases would have been heard by everyone in town at the tavern.  So she gave us all pieces of paper with little snippets of court records to read. 

 There were some fun stories but we ran out of time before everyone could read their papers…Bill got to read is.  He was a very bad man who mistreated his squaw servant.  The people of the town tried to protect her from him.  

We ended the event all singing an old drinking song and wandering out into the night, not sure if it was 2016 or 1616.