As the saying goes, a small company is like a family full of love and dysfunction. With Moriarty, Ohshee, Skippy, Web Guy, Camera Guy, the Production Manager, and our fearless leader, the BladeMaster, we all tend to put the ‘fun’ in dysfunctional. It was nearing the last weekend of Scarborough Faire when it dawned on Skippy that not all of the Staff had been included in these outings. Ohshee whipped out his abacus and quickly (?) calculated that only 2 members of the Staff had actually been allowed to go to the Faire. (Don’t laugh, folks, he’s in charge of our finances...this could explain a few things.)

Moriarty gnashed his teeth (he’s good at that) in frustration for all of the wonderful fiendish weapons he had not seen, while Web Guy yawned. Together, this rag tag group took their newfound complaints -er, comments - to the BladeMaster.

Yes, the BladeMaster acknowledged, he had only allowed Camera Guy and Production Manager to go to the Faire because he didn’t have enough insurance to cover damages the rest of the Staff would probably incur out there. This answer did not satisfy the Staff and they promptly sat down in the his office in protest. Ohshee unslung his grandfather’s two stringed instrument and everyone cringed in horror in anticipation of what was to come. But the Staff wanted to go the Faire and bravely listened while Ohshee played and sang (we use these terms loosely here) the only Japanese tune he knows, over and over. After the twelfth chorus the BladeMaster offered them beer. They accepted that olive branch and the negotiations began for their Staff trip to Scarborough Faire.

So begins our Staff outing. Here is the Staff just outside the front gates of the Faire with our Production Manager. The sights! The Sounds! The cannon going off unscheduled. Bad Skippy. He had to forfeit a beer for that one.

The Staff takes a short break under a tree, trying to decide where to go to first - the shows? the shops? Angel Sword?

You know our Staff too well. To the White Horse Tavern we went and spent the Boss’ money on Black and Tans for all.

Well, you can only rent the ale, not really keep it. This was the first of many trips to the privies.

Isn’t the world a small place? Our group met with several other company groups and decided to have a Staff Meeting. Our Staff was quite taken with Wazelle’s Wood Wizardry and tried a few pick up lines to impress those cuties. Alas, they were told, we are going to other Faires in Ohio and Michigan and a few others.

They agreed to keep in touch. And it was back to the Taverns for another round of Black and Tans with the Boss’ money.

This is the Keeper of the Bridge, a fearsome warrior who has never faulted on his duties. Our Production Manager is expressing her gratitude to the Keeper for not throwing Skippy and Moriarty off the bridge after they had dared each other to put refrigerator magnets on his suit of armor. At this point, the whole Staff was cut off from the Taverns for two whole hours.

Our Production Manager was so excited to see both Don Juan and Miguel that she just had to get a Staff picture with them. Thanks to you both, great shows and we'll see you next year!.

After another stop at the Taverns, our Staff demanded that they have their picture taken with the lovely lass who Camera Guy had taken so many photos of with Angel Sword. Jason, we thank you for keeping an eye on our Staff while our Production Manager took a much needed break, and thank you for stopping Moriarty from trying to shoot that apple off of Ohshee's head with that crossbow!

Towards the end of the day, our Staff made its way to their acknowledged holy of sites, a place most dear to them and held in such high esteem.( No, not the Taverns, but that was a good guess.) The Shrine of Angel Sword, run by Master Daniel Watson and his very knowledgeable crew. After much groveling (and drool) our BladeMaster relented and bought the Staff a sword from the Bright Knight line of Angel Sword. It’s called a Chinese Chopper. Here's our proud Staff with their new sword.

And WHAT could possibly top this? Ok, a pretty gal in armor always can. Here is a brave lass who agreed to pose with our Staff for their picture wall. (No, try as he might, Skippy could NOT get her phone number... because she said that this was the Renaissance and they didn't have phones back then. Good try Skippy.)

Our Staff finally got to pose with the Staff of Angel Sword. Such a proud moment. We’d like to thank all of you for making our Staff’s day at the Faire complete.