History Alive - Doing the Regency Thing

Last weekend was a long weekend to mark the Queen's Birthday in Queensland. And that means, that it was the weekend for History Alive. HA is a timeline event put on by the Queensland Living History Foundation. Basically, most of the Queensland re-enactment put on a two day event at Fort Lytton - an 1880s fort built at the mouth of the Brisbane river and used up until the second World War.

This year, my group RIFF (Re-enacting Independently For Fun) attended in Regency kit. It's quite a relaxing couple of days for our group. I arrived early on Saturday morning, ready to start getting set up for the weekend. A couple of our other members had set up the afternoon before, so there wasn't too much work to do. The biggest problem though, was that the site we were given this year is actually on road base - a nightmare to try and bang tent pegs into. But we eventually got set up and dressed in time for the public to arrive on site.

At 11am each day, we gave a presentation about dressing a Regency lady. We speak about each of the layers that make up a full outfit. And on Sunday, I actually started in my undergarments and dressed in front of our audience. It's the best way to display how it all works.

Otherwise, it's a pretty easy couple of days for us. We start out the day with a sit down breakfast at around 9.30. And then we spend the rest of the day doing what ladies did: playing cards, sewing, a light luncheon, a promenade. And before you know it, the day is at an end and we can get back into our modern clothing. I don't stay overnight like a lot of the other members in my group as unfortunately, the chemicals from the nearby refineries make me rather ill. But it's only a 30minute drive back home for a hot shower and bed before getting up to do it all again on Sunday.

There is quite a lack of photos. When we are re-enacting, we keep our modern stuff put away, but I did manage to get out of the encampment for a few shots, including all the vintage bikes on display.