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How to Get Rid of Mould from a Canvas Tent

Canvas tents are great and authentic, but they have one key disadvantage over plastic tents. It’s not availability, cost, weight or bulk;? it’s that they are prone to mould.

So, how can you avoid the scourge of tent mould, and what should you do if it does occur?

About Mould

Mould is a type of fungi that grows in moist, dark environments. If your tent stays damp and dark for long enough, mould will flourish and spread by spores. The mould?can consume the fabric of your tent and if you try to camp in a mouldy tent, the spores can trigger asthma and allergies.

Mould Likes:
Dark
Damp
Neutral PH

Mould Hates:
Sunlight
Dry
Acid or basic PH

Avoiding Mould – Dry, Air and Store

Ideally, you’d like to not get mould in the first place. Whenever possible, the tent needs to dry completely before being put away. Check the seams and where the tent touches the ground – these are often the places that take the longest to dry.?If you do have to pack the tent up damp or wet, air the tent as soon as possible.

Air the tent by opening it right up in a spot with good ventilation. You can put the tent up, or just spread it out to dry. Ideally, air the tent in direct sunlight for extra UV treatment.

Store the tent in a dry place between events. Ideally, pack the tent loosely in a bag that breathes, rather than in plastic. Plastic helps keep water out, but if the tent goes away with any moisture at all, plastic will keep it in and foster mould.

Check your storage spot regularly. Leaky sheds, flooded garages and damp basements will ruin your next camping trip.

Dealing with Mould – Kill, Clean and Waterproof

So, you’ve unpacked your tent and found mould?- there’s discolouration, it stinks and the fabric is permanently weakened. The first step is to kill the mould and prevent further damage. Mould hates sunlight, so get that mouldy canvas into direct, burning sunlight.

Next, brush or vacuum as much of the dead mould off the fabric as possible.

Mix a solution of one part white vinegar to ten parts warm water. Using a cloth, scrub the vinegar solution over the mouldy areas. This kills any remaining mould and cleans it off the fibres. Allow the vinegar to dry completely, and then use a firm brush or a scrubbing brush again to remove the mould spots.

Check all ropes. Medieval tents have natural fibre ropes that can be easily weakened by rot. If the rope has rotted, it will need to be replaced.

Air the tent again to completely dry the cleaned area and store.

Some tents may require re-waterproofing after cleaning. In period, tent canvas swelled up when wet and became waterproof. Many modern reproductions use thin canvas with a waterproofing agent though. If you find water coming through the newly cleaned spot, head to the camping store for some canvas waterproofing agent and re-proof the cleaned area.

Prevention is Better than Cure

So, that’s how to deal with a mouldy tent. The science is simple, but the task is gross. Keep your tent dry and aired, and tent mould will be something that only happens to other people.

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St Alban’s Day – June 22nd

When brought before the judge and required to comply with the rituals of the Roman ‘Pagan’ gods, Alban refused and declared, “I worship and adore the true and living God who created all things.”

According to the venerable Bede, Alban lived and was martyred in Verulamium (now St Albans) Roman Britain, sometime during the 3rd or 4th Century. There are several versions of the martyrdom but in essence, Alban converted to Christianity while sheltering a Christian priest from persecution having been impressed by the piety and faith of the priest. So much so, that when the Roman soldiers deployed to arrest the priest arrived at Albans house, Alban donned the cloak of the priest and gave himself up in the priest’s stead.

When brought before the judge and required to comply with the rituals of the Roman ‘Pagan’ gods, Alban refused and declared, “I worship and adore the true and living God who created all things.” (The words are still used in prayer at St Alban’s Abbey).

After various torture, Alban was sentenced to execution by beheading and it is during the journey to his martyrdom that Alban caused several miraculous events to occur including the drying up of a river to allow the execution party to cross to the place of beheading, and a spring to flow forth at the place of execution to slake Albans thirst.

It was here that Alban’s head was struck off, along with the head of the first Roman soldier who was miraculously converted and refused to execute him. Immediately after delivering the fatal stroke, the eyes of the second executioner popped out of his head and dropped to the ground along with Alban’s head so that this second executioner could not rejoice over Alban’s death. It is this scene which is typically depicted in the medieval pilgrim’s Badges of St Alban.


References;

Bede’s?Ecclesiastical History of the English People

10th century?Passio?(ASS?=?Acta Sanctorum, 347-8) second, 11th century?Passio?(ASS?345-6).

Antonio Niere,?Bibliotheca Sanctorum, op.cit. pp. 354-8;?ASS?Oct XIII 335-48

Spencer B, Pilgrim souvenirs and secular, ?EAN 9780112905745

Blick S, Beyond Pilgrim souvenirs and secular, 9781842172353

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Oh No! I Burnt The Soup!

It’s a terrible feeling?when you realise that you looked away from your delicious pottage for just a second and now it’s burnt. It’s too late to start another pot, and people are depending on this for their meal. We’ve compiled the list of medieval sources about removing the burnt taste from the pottage here.

Continue reading Oh No! I Burnt The Soup!

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Midwinter Cookbook – AS51

The Midwinter cookbook

Assembled and Redacted by Lady Rosalind Beaufort

and Lady Safiya bint al-Shahid

 

Lady Rosalind and Lady Safiya did an excellent job at Midwinter AS51 and were kind enough to provide their receipes, scaled down to a normal portion serving. Here it is for everyone to enjoy the delicious receipes. The original source has been provided and then a modern redaction of how it was made, making it clear and easy to understand.

Midwinter Cook Publication

Pictures of the Salt dough serviced with the beef, pork and fish at Midwinter AS51

 

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Beeswax Linen Covers for Pots

We’ve been offering Beeswax linen covers for pots, cups and jugs for a while now. With the heat of your hand, they can be gently pressed around the container, keeping the inside protected and making it easier for storage and transportation.

Were these extremely handy items a part of medieval life though, or just a ‘re-enactorism’ – one of those things everyone feels is very medieval, without any actual evidence?

We pride ourselves on offering only items which enhance the quality of your re-enactment portrayal and reflect the latest historical research. With no detailed resources available from our supplier, we’ve set out to document waxed linen covers for our readers.
Here are the documented resources that we have so far been able to track down which show what we believe to be linen beeswax covers over the jugs. Any other sources found will be added to this list so that future people don’t need to go nuts trying to track down original extant sources.

Continue reading Beeswax Linen Covers for Pots

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April 2017 News

Greetings Gentle Readers,

Rowany Festival in Mittagong is only one week away! For those able to attend, we will be setting up our shingle in the kitchen hall on the Saturday market day, from 9.00am to 12.00pm. Pre-orders can be picked up from our stall during this time.

Do come and say hello and check out the latest arrivals we will have available for sale. These include the most recent Compleat Anachronists, the ?B? pendant from Steve Millingham, bejeweled ring brooches and the debut of the Queen of Hungary water 2017 vintage and Gentleman?s beard pomade from Medieval?Still Room.

Easter falling within this month, we suspend our study into appropriate medieval Saints. There is no doubt that this was and remains one of the greater holidays in the Christian world, even if there is a lot more chocolate in the modern world.

Until next time, we bid you good reading!

Loreena, Roxy, Paul and Elden

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February 2017 News

Greetings Gentle Readers,

Our sincere apologies – January slipped past and February is here. We have been busy rebuilding stocks, placing orders and researching new and interesting products from local Artisans. This year we hope to expand our library of instructional pdfs, as well as book and product reviews and more events.

 

Feast Day for February

This month in the medieval calendar one of the many martyrs celebrated is St Valentine on February 14th. Yet mystery still abounds; which St Valentine? There were no less than 3 Valentines martyred and celebrated for their heroic love to their fellow man and all three were celebrated on this date.Nor was the exchange of gifts between couples actually a part of the St Valentines celebration. From literary sources such as Chaucer and the Paston letters, we learn that showing love and affection on this particular date was almost co-incidental, and secular in nature. A common belief held in England and France throughout the period was that birds of every kind, began to pair on February 14th. Thus it was seen as an auspicious day for people to celebrate and show their love.Today we celebrate St Valentine?s day with cards, chocolates and flowers. Flowers and letters of affection also figured largely during the medieval period along with small tokens such as pewter badges depicting hearts, flowers and other symbols of earthly as well as divine love.

A Medieval Token of Affection for the Feast of St Valentine

Popinjay Badge

Should you wish to show your loved one a lasting token of your affection with something a little different, may we suggest our range of replica medieval pewter pins and badges? Order before Feb 7th and?these tokens will arrive beautifully presented in elegant white packaging, ready for the big day.

Until next time, we bid you good reading!

–Loreena, Roxy, Paul and Elden

Image:?Birds from De Artes Venandi Cum Avibus, Pal. lat. 1071?21v (Sicily, 1240’s) -?http://digi.vatlib.it/view/bav_pal_lat_1071/ Copyright Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana

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Christmas Blog

Beautiful, thoughtful, unusual Christmas gift ideas;

Christmas is upon us with all the joy, excitement and ?perfect gift? search panic that it can create. Let us help you find that perfect gift, and more besides.

A book can bring so much pleasure to the bookworm in your life and we have a wide range; from Medieval Cat?s colouring book, to cooking and brewing recipe books. There are books for every budget including subjects such as gardening and philosophy, all the way to the magnificent leather-bound facsimiles such as In Service to the Duke.

To further help ease the search we have put together a variety of excellent value gift packs, beautifully presented and ready for the Christmas tree. These limited edition collections can be found under ?A Christmas Wish List? and include;

? Deluxe Pamper Pack ? from the lovely ladies at the Medieval Still Room, a sample collection containing the fragrance which graced the Queens of Europe, a velvety balm to indulge the skin, and a clear lip balm as sweet as honey for the lips;

? Dilettante?s Card Game set ? contained within a drawstring bag, a period replica card deck; a pouch containing 12 pewter jettons and a conveniently pouch sized book containing rules for the many popular card games played in period;
? Elegant personal wash set; snugly packed within a drawstring bag, a double sided timber comb, a tablet of nablis soap, and the softest of hand woven cotton white towel, edged with grey bands and fringing;

Please be advised that to ensure orders (within Australia) arrive before Christmas the last shipping date will be Friday the 16th of December. After this date, we cannot guarantee that orders will reach people in time.

From everyone here at Mainly Medieval, we wish you all a joyous festive season, and a safe and prosperous 2017.

Loreena, Roxy, Elden and Paul.

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Newsflash – October 2016

Greetings Gentle Readers,

St Ives has come and gone and October has arrived. Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who visited the shop and attended our lectures at St Ives. We hope you all had a wonderful a time; we certainly enjoyed the event, and look forward very much to going back next year.

With Christmas and the summer heat around the corner, its time to store those woollen finerys for another season. One of our non-period products is a boon for this time of year called Fresh Again, a spray designed for Sports mascots and delicate costumes that cannot be washed.

It?s also heading into the time of year where plans for new projects and research are being settled. In the coming weeks we will be adding a variety of new and classic products to help you in your endeavours along with snippets of useful information as we find them.

This year for Christmas keep your eye out for our new range of sample packs beautifully presented and likely contenders as useful and unusual gifts to loved ones.

Until next time, we bid you good reading!

Loreena, Roxy, Paul and Elden