The Knights Royal returned once more to the field of Hever bringing their unique blend of pomp, chivalry, brutality and bad grammar. The first weekend of the season proper was notable for the fact that battle stretched over three days in a new twist to the calendar this resulted in some truly epic struggles and to sum things up, Sir William of Antioch observed that by then end of Sunday he was, in his own words; “a bit knackered”!

There have been some comings and goings in the lead up to this season with a couple of absentees, Sir Eugene and Sir Stephen with Sir Sam of Castille and Sir Ashley of Hampshire eagerly stepping up to the “first division”. Sir Eugene is rumoured to be on a retreat for prayer and quiet contemplation in a monastery on the south coast, one cynical observer (who shall remain nameless) remarked that it was called the King’s Head and the good knight was in high spirits rather than holy ones! We look forward to Sir Eugene and his peaceful soul returning in due course. Sir Stephen is a different matter. Rumours of sightings abound from all over the land. Wherever there has been the theft of an apple crumble or mysterious noises in the barn, it is attributed to the unpredictable and mysterious bearded one. There is a rhyme in the villages that goes something like this:

They speak of a man who was weird
And say it’s just as they feared,
After dining on pork, he went for walk
And got lost in his oversized beard!

We wait with baited breath! Sam of Castille has launched into proceedings with alacrity and has come very close to outright victory a couple of times but is rather letting the Blues down with very poor showings in the challenge of the heads.”Practice lad”, urged the King. Ashley of Hampshire is a fine looking young man but so posh he’s barely comprehensible! He’s very proud of mentioning that his “Daddy owns half of Hampshire don’t ya know” but his challenges descend into gentrified drivel. He is however an exceptional horseman!

So to sum up, your Blues thus far are Sir Sam and the ever popular Sir David of Kent. The reds are Sir Jasper de Barry and Sir Ashley. After three days of closely fought action It’s two outright victories for Red and 1 for Blues with the challenges of the heads and rings being evenly contested the standings being three wins apiece. The King voiced his hope that matters would remain that hotly contested throughout the season and wishes to once again reassure all his beloved subjects who come to the tournaments that he is utterly impartial and may the best team and best man win, whatever colour they represent.

So, the cast is in place, that action is hotting up and the game’s afoot!

Join the Knights on the 31st of July and then the first full weekend in  August on the 6th, 7th and 8th