A brief description of our daily events at musters

Weapons Training – As a Trayn’d Bande we are required to be proficeint with the main weapons of the army, the pike and shott.  To this end we do daily drill with pike, musket, and caliver.  Our drill incorporates our troops as well as the general public by way of patron drill, lecture and other demonstrations.  We also work with the longbow, a very important weapon in England’s history.  We have several bows in our camp and have contests of skill as often as we can. We also are fortunate to have artillery to train with.  We generally drill with Retribution, our 6 pound gun.  Our other weapons drill includes historical as well as theatrical combat.  Our historical training incorporates Silver, Fiore, diGrassi, and others.

Lecture and Demonstration – The main body of our Bande is taken from the city of Bristol and as such has more mundane jobs to return to once the muster is over.  To represent this our members are well versed in social and mercantile aspects of Elizabethan England.  We have carpenters, coopers, apothecaries, seamtresses and tailors, cooks and bakers, and many other professions represented in our camp.  Our members give lectures and demonstrations on all manners of these crafts for all ages.  We also have the benefit of a master surgeon in camp and his skills are a focal point of our schedule.

Games and Recreation – Our Bande works very hard, and we play even harder!  We take a special pride in playing and teaching others about the games we play.  Whether it is a one on one game of draughts (checkers) or a 40 on 40 game of rounders (like modern baseball) we love to share.  We also love to entertain with our less formal activities like singing, performing morality plays, and dancing.