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© Companions of the Longbow
The 100th News Update by Mark Tustian
Companions Trophy
Towards the end of 2007 we also announced the introduction of the Companions Trophy. This is a long running six month competition held over 26 weeks. Its run by Andrew in which each week archers shoot to win points and progress up a ranking system that’s based on medieval foresters. Most of the targets are based on standard FITA targets or 3D animal targets set at varying ranges. During the six months if an archer attains the top rank at any point they gain access to the final week 27 competition (top rank is Riding Forester – see Articles and “Concise Guide to Medieval Forest Law and Bow Hunting” for further explanation on ranks – “concise” might be a bit of a misnomer in this case though!) The final week (week 27) is where the qualifying archers compete to win the Companions Trophy. The winning archer will then hold the trophy for the following six months until the next week 27 competition.
The points system is designed so that although each archer is competing against each other there are multiple placings available. An archer who comes late to the competition should still have a good chance of qualifying for the final week 27 competition if they shoot well. At the time of writing this we currently have half a dozen archers who’ve qualified for the final event and it looks like more could be joining them soon.
Anniversary Banquets
We’ve had two Companions of the Longbow medieval Anniversary Banquets with after dinner guest speeches from Master Bowyer Pip Bickerstaffe (2007) and Master Arrowsmith Hector Cole (2008). Death-by-meat is an appropriate summation of a medieval banquet with hardly a vegetable in sight! A lot of organisation goes into the Anniversary Banquet by Bob and Jane with additional contributions this year (2008) from Andy, Stuart, Andi, Helen, Anna and Jen (plus everyone else I’ve forgotten).
Companions Homebase
We’ve moved once from Lydiard to our massive field at Roves Farm, acquired a couple of sheds along the way, as well as picking up some new skills at sheep herding.
Sterling efforts by Russell in the early days cleared the Roundel of vegetation which has now grown in back to a state manageable for the 3D target shoots. We also got a nice supply of straw bails for back stops (note to self, must not call them “hay” bails) which has offered their own source of fun and games i.e. when they’re shot through it’s time to play find the arrow. Table and benches have been procured with a master plan now formulated to protect them from all the bird poo which they seem to attract. We’re currently in the process of setting up styles around the roundel for easier access as well as designing some full size knight targets (including a mounted knight) and our own popinjay target. The last AGM saw the members vote to investigate procuring a club house so watch this space for updates.
Shows and Have-A-Goes
Over the two years we’ve put three shows so far at Wootton Bassett, Longney School Fete and in front of the Major Oak in Nottingham Forest. This is in addition to a couple of individual Have-A-Go archery sessions at Roves Farm. These have been a good source of additional revenue for the Companions for which the funds will be put back into the club. We also hope that members have enjoyed attending and helping with these events as we have similar bookings for Fortress Wales, Sherwood Forest and Lackham Country Park & Museum in 2008 (see Calendar for the current 2008 events).
Christmas Party & BBQs
In 2007 there was a Companions Christmas party at Roves Farm with a shoot, a quiz set by Dave B., a raffle and lots of turkey. We’ve tried to hold a couple of barbeques and picnics with variable success since getting the Roundel in 2007. I personally think we should hire ourselves out to drought struck regions. We simply travel to the place needing rain, set out our food and the heavens will open!
News update number 28 - 5th September 2006 - The Scrapheap Challenge Roadshow
Bad Neighbour 2
We’ve also had the “Bad Neighbour 2” story; a Petraria Arcatinus made to chuck a Wellington Boot for the 2006 Scrapheap Challenge Roadshow at the Great Dorset Steamfair (although not very far in the end as it turned out). Designed by Dave A. and primarily built by Russell with a bit of wood butchery from Mark and Rachel it took a team effort from Bob, Jane, Jen, Sheila & Russell to get Mark, Dave A. and Rachel up to the show to actually shoot the thing. It was a saga that took over 18 months from filming to the eventual broadcast but it was well worth it just for all the belly laughs we got out of the experience. For example, my wife still laughs at the memory of visiting the build and seeing a “Bad Neighbour 2” test shoot propel a welly into the ground at 100 mph but only about 3 inches in front of the machine. I’m sure Rachel still has a chuckle at the memory of unloading the machine from the trailer and it landing on her foot. Maybe not.
“Bad Neighbour 2” is currently in bits awaiting a bit of loving care and slight modification (four wheels would be nice as it weighs over a metric tonne). Who knows, maybe there are some members who fancy the title of “siege engineers” and are willing to resurrect the machine in 2008?
Committee Meetings
One of the criticisms from the 2008 AGM was that the committee meetings could be open and more transparent with a greater flow of information between it and the members. The majority of what’s relevant got published in the News section with a lot of the day to day trivia missed out (fixing sheds, insurance, repeat orders of merchandise, getting replacement targets and stands, rent etc). There is of course the ever present suggestions@companionsofthelongbow.co.uk e-mail address if you want a question answered (or e-mail us directly via Contact Us or just talk to one of us at the next shoot) and I promise I will put a Suggestions Box in one of the roundel sheds this Saturday (if I don’t forget… again). But rest assured we’ll be working on the criticism.
It’s worth noting that there’s a committee meeting every four weeks or so and most of them last between two and three hours. That’s a guestimated two continuous straight days sat in meetings for the committee members who’ve been involved since the start. I know I do it for the excellent salary the Companions pay plus the dancing girls, but some of the other committee members don’t know about these perks and volunteer their time for free! The fools!
Conclusion
Finally, with the archery we’ve learnt a lot about what works and what doesn’t. Most of us have only been shooting for a couple of years so we’re all on the same learning curve even if it appears some of us are further ahead. We’ve collected a fair repository of equipment tips (published in Articles although there’s always more to learn out there so keep sending them in) and we’re lucky enough to sometimes have the numbers and space to try out some stuff that’s probably hasn’t been seen outside a historical film set. Okay, so maybe a field, some straw bails and some thrown together W. Heath Robinson type archery targets need a liberal dose of imagination to make it anywhere near an historical film set, but sometimes its how we’re shooting that makes it not far off… (I can imagine that some of you might need more convincing.)
Mostly I think we all want to be dead eyed snipers with our longbows (for some members particularly when there’s a Barbie doll to shoot) but perhaps with part of our focus on how an archer would work in group we’re learning that because even the best archer has an off day and even the worst archer can get that million to one shot, together as a team just like the medieval archers of six hundred odd years ago, a group of archers can be greater than the sum of their parts. Aww stop it, I’m starting to get all teary. Anyway, all in all there was a lot of news over the last one hundred updates, so here’s to the next one hundred.
Oh, and if you’re wondering what the answer is to which archer has never been on a losing retinue competition team, the answer is Jen.
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