A group of Notorious Ladies who are known to frequent the Shady Side of the Street were hatching various nefarious plans at the OVPR ‘Vous last spring when some benighted soul suggested a “Ladies Only” event. From thought came action and thus at the end of September various women of questionable repute could be seen setting up camp in a secluded section of woods rather near some stockaded Necessaries. (I am more than a bit wary of any settlement that finds it expedient to stockade its Necessaries.) Thus the 1st ever Primitive Man-less Settlement Wine-e-Vous came to be at the OVPR site near Surry VA. Oh the poor colony named after Our Good Queen Bess will never be the same. (Although I think Bess might have enjoyed herself greatly during the festivities.)
My PMS Lodge
I arrived and set up my lodge on Thursday before noon only to find several substantial lodges and dining flies already in place. I strolled over to the nearest and found various dark plans were already in progress aided by a bucket or two of libations.
Main Gathering Area Thursday Evening
As more and more ladies arrived and dinner was over it was decided (by persons who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty) that a visit to the “Other Side of Camp” was needed. There were rumors of MEN hiding out over there near an abandoned inn and this was not to be tolerated.
The “Men's” Camp
Obviously from the laundry we were misinformed – or other ladies had preceded Yours Truly and left their calling cards for one and all. Well if the men are here, they have been warned!
The Bad Kids
Well what can you expect when the Bad Kids are in charge. This whole thing was their idea – with some help from their friends.
Setting up the Table for the Wine Tasting
Friday began with a fine breakfast of scrambled eggs, pancakes and bacon – no one will go hungry at this Settlement! About midmorning Chantel introduced the ladies to the fine art of wine tasting and no, vintages aged in coolers very like those of the local 7-11 were not in evidence.
Ladies at the Wine Tasting
Of course wine can’t be tasted without food, so after we sighted, swirled, sniffed and sipped we had several kinds of cheese and crackers to enjoy between wines.
Wine, Cheeses, Bread & Lemons at the Tasting
Checking the Wine Tasting Menu
And thus we wiled the morning away seeing, swirling, sniffing, sipping and eating our way past lunch and into the afternoon.
BUCKET!
Of course wine tasting wasn’t the only way to go – later in the afternoon there were buckets passed as well with Unholy Concoctions that never saw the inside of a church being passed from hand to hand. Friday ended with a camp wide dinner and an evening of camaraderie.
Saturday brought an all day drizzle with periods of rain. Yours Truly did get in a fine bit of hawk & knife practice but the shooting and archery others had planned was put down by the rain. Another wine tasting was held, this one stocked by the participants. The Rkatsiteli I had brought for just this purpose was well received. Various Sundry Other Things were also pursued in the way of fun – Games to be precise.
Stacking the Dice
This game requires the participant to stack dice one at a time on top of one another on a tongue depressor held between your teeth. After each di added the stacking hand must touch the table for the move to count.
More Stacking of the Dice
Since several buckets had come and gone before the games began this went better than I had anticipated. If memory serves me right, the winner had 7 dice on her stick.
Coin Tossing
There was also a Coin Toss with nickels & dimes. The buckets got smaller as they got farther away and of course the score for getting the coin in the bucket increased as well. The cloth on the ground makes the misses easier to find.
Clothes Pin Tag
The day ended with Clothes Pin Tag in the gloaming. Each woman had 5 clothes pins on her back to start. The goal was to grab clothes from other women and add them to your back. Highest pin count after 5 minutes wins. (It was decided after the game that next time 2.5 minutes was plenty long enough for the sport. We ain’t spring chickens ya know.) The Day ended with another evening of fine dining for one and all. No parched corn & jerky in this settlement!
Dinner at one of the Camps
Meanwhile rumors of odd doings over near the abandoned inn continued to circulate. Finally a denizen of the deserted camp we had scouted on Thursday appeared out of the night. Something is just not right here.
The Inn Camp “Lady”
Perhaps there was more in some of those buckets than meets the eye or palette. Anyway, this apparition soon disappeared and the evening ended with a song swapping session under the communal fly.
The 1st OVPR Wine-e-Vous Medallion
The Rumors of a 2nd Gathering next year appear to be true. I’m ready.
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