Weird musings... With the recent passing of my uncle Emile, I find myself the oldest surviving male of this branch of the Bricault dit Lamarche line, an old family that traces its origins back to medieval France, where Jacques de Bourbon-Bricault, comte de La Marche, great-grandson of King St. Louis, battles the English at Brignais in 1361...

Besides my younger brother Antoine and his son Etienne, that's it!

Weird to think I am now the family patriarch... Who would have guessed I'd fill those shoes. I certainly look the part these days, long beard & all!

It has always been my understanding that the Ring Out Parade, held on the last hour of the last day of Faire, was originally a spontaneous expression of joy, accomplishment and relief that the Faire was over. Very much a grass-root event loosely organized by the reenactors, participants and vendors, where silliness and exuberance were the order of the day. Paraders would dress in crazy outfits, out of their 16th century characters, and a grand time would be had by all.

Remember Agoura? Devore?

How times have changed!

To my utter disappointment, yesterday's Ring Out Parade at the Southern California Faire in Irwindale was nothing more than corporate-controlled entertainment for the t-shirt and jeans wearing, baby-stroller pushing tourist crowd – which was mostly gone by that late hour anyway. Rules and regulations and costume approvals and all sorts of restrictions have been put in place, apparently spurred by complaints of a few Faire visitors who felt this last minute bit of silliness was robbing them of their full surround-sound total immersion experience of 16th century England... WTF!!!

Please hold your breakfast while I finish laughing and throwing up at the same time!

By trying to please a few complainers and reigning in creativity, REP (Renaissance Entertainment Productions) is bound to displease – or worse, bore to death – a greater number. Once they succeed wringing out all traces of spontaneity, the Renaissance Faire will become a lifeless renaissance-themed amusement park, and will slowly fade away.