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Meeting On 8Th September


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Dear All Below I have copied a brief report of a meeting held In Telford in the UK this weekend. Organised by the Token Society of great Britain as part of our commitment to hold regional meetings in different parts of the country alongside our 5 London meetings a year. The idea is to give those members who cant get to London the chance to take part in an alternative meeting. This one was slightly different in that rather than being in a museum or hotel conference room it was held in the house of one of our members. You will see from the report I believe it was very successful. What was especially encouraging was that their were members from all 4 sword socieities that exist within the UK and Ireland as well as some noted armour people. I am hopeful this approach will continue to develop and we can continue to develop these very beneficial and enjoyable days.

I have also attached a couple of images to give a flavour of what was there.

 

 Attended by around 30 members from the feedback I received I believe this meeting was greatly enjoyed by all who took part. First and foremost we need to offer Bob and Chris Morrison a huge thank you for their overwhelming hospitality. Every one was well fed and watered (in fact many diets were shattered in a few hours, especially mine) and the effort they went to to create a suitable venue for the meeting was well over and above what might be reasonably expected. So Bob and Chris once again Many thanks.
Also Thanks are due to our two main speakers, Tim Kaye who gave a fascinating insight in to his recent study of Christian themes in fittings and to Dave Thatcher who offered some considerable insight in to the design and manufacture of armour and helmets as firearms began to play a greater part in Samurai warfare.
Finally thanks to those generous members who offered swords for study. Our theme was to examine nagamaki Naoshi and shinto blades made as copies of this form. There were some exceptional examples on display spanning three koto traditions in the Nambokucho and two shinto schools work. The quality of all was exceptional.

The sales table proved a popular addition and I believe a number of those attending made successful purchases and sales.
Alongside all this of course was a great deal of interesting discussion accompanied by a great deal of fun.
I hope all those who attended learned something and enjoyed the day as much as I did.
I look forward to our next regional event which we will plan for the first quarter of next year.

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We are really seeing a fusion between swords, guns and armour emerge.
This cross-pollination of sorts is very educating as we can really gain an insight into Samurai Arms & Armour and how they were affected by the times by understanding the relationships between them. Something that all 4 UK Tokens are promoting. 

My feedback: Great day! Great people! Great lunch too!

A big thank you to Paul, Chris and Bob for making it so.

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Thanks for the kind words Dave and thank you for your own contribution which was considerable and much enjoyed. 

I agree with you that as the various groups meet together we are gaining a far better understanding of why things are made the way they are. It is obvious but often overlooked that none of these individual disciplines existed in isolation. Throughout history we see artisans changing from one to another. Armourers or gunsmiths becoming sword-smiths and visa versa. As technology evolved in one area so the others had to respond. Something else I know I keep whittering on about is we also forget that marketing and salesmanship were every bit as prevalent then as now. So much of design and style responded to fashion and hype as well as technical innovation.

The more enthusiasts for each subject collaborate the better all of our understanding becomes.

 

I would certainly echo your appreciation of Bob and Chis' genorosity and hospitality which was fantastic.

They have set the bar very high for the next regional meeting but I am working on it :glee:

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Agreed with all of the above. The talks were very interesting and you could sense inspiration and thought bubbles all around the house. Well organized by Paul on the macro level, and Bob and Chris on the micro level. Sadly we greatly missed Ian Bottomley's talk, but he has generated so much good karma over the years that he has surely earned some serious slack! :laughing:

 

For my part I got to know people better in such an informal setting, each with his or her own specialized focus, a gathering of interested and intelligent minds; all of that that spilled over into the next day at the Birmingham Militaria Fair where many or most of us gathered once more.

 

Lang may yer lums reek! :thumbsup:

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