An AGM update in numbers

1 = The number of mystery speakers, whose identity and topic are under close wraps (all will be revealed at the AGM)

2 = The price of a Morris McGhee raffle ticket, or three for $5, or seven for $10 (you don’t have to attend the AGM for your chance to win one of the prizes)

4 = The number of plays by Shakespeare that Margaret of Anjou appears in (Shakespeare’s Richard III in Modern Theatre is the topic of one of our speakers)

5 = The number of weeks to go for the Joint AGM (it was at the time when I posted this last week to the Richard III Yahoo Group)

18 = I contacted the hotel last week and they have 18 of the 25 reserved AGM hotel rooms already booked

35 = The number of registrants so far

37 = The number of posts on the Joint Canada-US Richard III Society 2012 AGM blog (not including this one) 

37 = The age of Elizabeth of York when she died (Elizabeth of York is the topic of one of our speakers)

65 = The cost in dollars of the banquet, which will also feature mediaeval music, games, and prizes galore

91 = The length in centimetres of the average arming sword (Teaching and Learning Swordplay in Late Medieval England is the topic of one of our speakers)

144 = The number of items in our silent auction so far (get your holiday shopping done early!)

1327 = The year The Name of the Rose, our Friday night Ricardian movie, was set in

1461 = The year François Villon composed The Testament (François Villon is the topic of one of our speakers)

(Posting by Victoria) 

Morris McGee Raffle V

The Richard III Society of Canada is donating the duplicated items from the silent auction donations to the American Society's Morris McGee Raffle:

The Trial of Richard III, based on the London Weekend Television production (Richard Drewett and Mark Redhead, paperback)

We Speak No Treason, Volumes One and Two (Rosemary Hawley Jarman, soft cover)

Richard III: England’s Black Legend (Desmond Seward, paperback)

A set of replica coins from Richard III's reign 

Good luck! 

(Posting by Victoria)

Teaching and Learning Swordplay in Late Medieval England

Illustration, ca. 1290, showing 

fencing with the arming sword 

and the buckler

(Image from Wikipedia).

We have now secured our final speaker for our Joint Conference and AGM. Ph.D. candidate Ariella Elema will present a paper on "Teaching and Learning Swordplay in Late Medieval England". This session will discuss the current state of knowledge on the subject of English swordsmanship between 1250 and 1500. 

Regretfully, Ariella didn't say anything to us about bringing any swords along as visual aids...

Ariella Elema is working on her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto. 

(Posting by Victoria)

The Return of Hurly Burly

We are delighted to announce that early music ensemble Hurly Burly, who performed at our 2004 banquet, will be joining us again this year as our banquet entertainment. 

Hurly Burly is dedicated to researching and performing early music, most notably music from the medieval and renaissance periods. 

We hope you enjoy their music!  

(Posting by Victoria)

Morris McGee Raffle

If you would like to buy tickets for the McGee raffle, but are unable to attend the AGM in September, let us know how many tickets you want and which prize(s) you are hoping to win. 

The cost of raffle tickets will be $2 for one, $5 for three, $10 for seven. As the American and Canadian dollars are so close, please send along payment to the registration address in the currency of your choice. For Canadian payments, please send a cheque made out to the Richard III Society of Canada, which we will pass along to the Americans’ McGee Fund. For American payments, please send along a cheque made out to the Richard III Society of America. Please send along address labels with your payment for each raffle ticket. 

Please make prior arrangements with a Ricardian who is attending the AGM to save on shipping costs (and let us know). Unfortunately, sending prizes by mail is very expensive.

To find all blog posts relating to the McGee raffle prizes, click on the link at the upper right corner labelled "Morris McGee Raffle prizes"

(Posting by Victoria)

Silent Auction XVII

Two more books for you to bid on in our silent auction:

Firedrake's Eye (Patricia Finney, softcover)
Relish: The Extraordinary Life of Alexis Soyer, Victorian Celebrity Chef (Ruth Cowen, softcover)

(Posting by Victoria)

AGM Registration Update

Perfect for your morning cuppa

For those who have yet to send in their registration for the AGM, we have secured 32 GREAT-branded mugs from the British Consulate, commemorating the Jubilee/Olympics/all things British campaign.

As we are hoping to have more than 32 attendees, we have decided to award the mugs to the first 32 people to register for the AGM. Those who have already sent in their registration and payment have secured a mug, but the remaining mugs will be given on a first-registered-and-paid, first-awarded basis.

We had been hoping for enough mugs for all attendees, but were only able to secure 32.

(Posting by Victoria)