11th April 2014 - Barkeep ?? Bynts & Bar Wench Rules...

Thought for the day: "She was only a whisky maker, but he loved her still"

One of the big things I miss about not having the Crimson Moon is the presence of the staff. I call them staff, but I mean the friends who gave up their time to come and play with us in the bar. The Bynts!

Now Bynt is not a derogatory name or word - it is highly prized among those who know, and there have been a number over the years. It all started of course with my eldest daughter who decided that she really did not like roleplay and would prefer to go to Reading Music Festival rather than run around in the woods hitting people with sticks... That changed the day we started the bar and she discovered (or was it re-discovered) the benefits of Gin and Tonic and the friendship that can be gained when you are the "right" side of the bar.....
Deciding that the best role for someone on Live Roleplay consists of not having to think up a back story and all that "Plot" stuff, it was her decision that she should be some random bynt behind the bar.....
Well, that works fine until you mix it with a group of role-players who are good at getting the back story right - even despite you!...

Of course, the Norse legend of Rán (with the a-acute) leads itself to adapatation ....
In Norse mythology, Rán (Old Norse "sea" or "robber") is a sea goddess. According to Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, in his retelling of the Poetic Edda poem Lokasenna, she is married to Ægir and they have nine daughters together. Snorri also reports that she had a net in which she tried to capture men who ventured out on the sea:

Whether she actually was trapping them or  saving their souls is a matter of conjecture and allows for a few changes in character...

Her net is also mentioned in Reginsmál and in the Völsunga saga, where she lends it to Loki so that he can capture Andvari. She is also associated with the practice of sailors bringing gold with them on any voyage, so that if they drowned while at sea, Rán would be pleased by their gift.

Of course in the Vollsanger Saga - there may be a few amendments, and since it was Volsanger who sang about most of the legends int he Crimson Moon - who is to state that he was wrong?

And so, Rán the sea goddess who accepted gifts became Ran the Bar Wench who  loved her shinies...
 Rán's Road - or the Sea in general, became Rann's Bar - with its own sea of faces...  and the Bar flourished - and Vollsanger looked and saw that it was good!! 

"To the sky shot up the Deep's Gledes,

With fearful might the sea surged:

Methinks our stems the clouds cut,-

Rán's Road to the moon soared upward.^"

And so the Random Bynt behind the bar became one of the most powerful entities with far reaching consequencesfor the whole nature of the business of providing Live Role Play and Re-enactment Taverns (not Beer -tents!!) across the country.  For thus was born "Rann Dom Bynt", named after Rann the third daughter of Odin, who sits at the bottom of the sea harvesting the souls of those brave vikings and Norsemen who are unfortunate enough to fall at sea rather than in Battle with a weapon in hand..

And every bar needs a Rann Dom Bynt behind the bar...
And her sister - Yetta.....  Yetta 'Nother Bynt..
And later Tiddly Bynt herself, daughter of Rann
And even later Bam Bam Bynt - sister to Tiddly
And Stilla... Let's not forget Stilla 'Nother Bynt
(And her partner Dunna Bynt  - Bynts were not restricted to female) 
And that included my father in law Pastor Bynt!!
And so many more.. BB Bynt (Big Breasted Northern Bynt)
QT Bynt (Quite The Drama Queen - Bynt)
Notta Bynt,  Ann Other Bynt and her husband Justyd A' Bynt
Tother Bynt, Pappa Ratzi Bynt, Ima 'Nother Bynt,
and Sopha the Bestbynt...  The list was endless - as were the great friends who came to play with us over the years for nothing other than the thanks, and the right to wear a Crimson Moon Embroidered Polo Shirt and Fleece...  Not to forget those who chose other names - Bridget, Fanny and many more - who were really all Bynts at heart 

And as the Crimson Moon passed into New hands - Pippa Mynt Bynt, (The Boss Lady) was the lass in charge....  Well supported on the Wench Bench by Ginga Bynt, and Bouncy Tigger Bynt... and Glory Bynt .....

So it makes you wonder how long these things can go on ...   and then I read about Dolly... from the Red Lion at Wendover...

Dolly Saville did not want to work in a pub when she started 74 years ago

A 98-year-old woman, believed by her employers to be the oldest barmaid in the world, says she "won't quit pulling pints until they throw me out".

Dolly Saville has worked at the Red Lion Hotel in Wendover, Buckinghamshire for about 74 years. She still works a lunch shift three days a week. She became a great, great grandmother in November and said she would like to teach the baby the pub trade one day.

"We know she wants to work until she's at least 100, and we're certainly not going to ask her to leave."

There's no stopping, you just keep going - I love the work and I love the people here”

"Everyone loves her and the customers always ask if Dolly's still with us - and we are delighted we can say yes, of course," Mr Hughes said.

Mrs Saville, who will be 99 in April, started working at the Red Lion before World War II, but said she had not really wanted to work in a pub.
"The boss asked me if I'd like a job and I said no, then he asked again and I said I'd give it a try," Mrs Saville said.

Her daughter, Anne Edwards, 78, said her mother would like to teach great, great granddaughter Darcey Mae Dugan "how to pull a pint when she's old enough".

"There's a right way and a wrong way to pull a pint, and I can still do that properly at 98," Mrs Saville said.

Mrs Saville added: "I won't stop working unless they kick me out. There's no stopping - you just keep going. I love the work and I love the people here."

So there is time left for the Bynts - and a future for every "in Character"  Bar in the country ..

And I leave you with a rendition of Rann's Song - sung at the farewell Party "Ta Ta Tiffin" August 2012 ..

I'll drink to that !!!