BEEFY & THE SEVEN DIALS RAPSCALLIONS
I have constructed this site to give a back ground and understanding as to what I do as a Seven Dials Rapscallion and to keep a photographic and written record of my time as a Rapscallion.
It was also created to run along side and support our main site which can be found at
http://www.sevendialsrapscallions.co.uk/
It was also created to run along side and support our main site which can be found at
http://www.sevendialsrapscallions.co.uk/
Beefy
Beefy & the Seven Dials Rapscallions, why?
It all started quite innocently really, we a group of friends who had all been re enacting for a decade or much more is some cases decided to do something different and English Victorian was what we stumbled on. We all were involved in living history but in the Wild West .....yep thats cowboys and the surrounding period, 1860 - 1890. But when you take a step back and look at it, it was essentially a Victorian period, the clothes were very similar but slightly later as the fashion took a while to get all the way out west.
We, as a group, pride ourselves on the authenticity of our costume in particular, and although you would not normally see it except for when Beefy gets mugged and stripped, we all do wear the correct underwear for the period we portray. No zips or plastic buttons they all need to be correct for the period, hand sewn clothes and button holes.
On our first few outings we did what every body else did, we got poshed up in our frock coats and the ladies wore their beautiful bustle dresses.
We were having a great time and enjoying it. Even then we started interacting with the general public something that other groups just do not do.
Most Victorian groups promenade up and down looking like the Victorian high society which is
great if thats what you want to do.
We had attended a few events, notably Avoncroft, near Bromsgove, as the high and mighty we even had our own Queen Victoria in attendance. This was where the first seed of the Rapscallions were sewn and it started started grow and after that event it dawned on us..........everybody else is doing the same thing!
Even with the most basic research you would find that there were more poor and underprivileged than there were rich and posh, that's when we realised nobody was re enacting the poor....so we said "We would".
The next event we attended was in Dec 2010 at Gloucester Docks. It was at that event that, I believe, the Seven Dials Rapscallions, Victorian Law & Disorder were born.
We all turned up on a high but with just a few ideas of what were going to do, combining scenarios we had used whilst doing our Western re enacting and we all got involved from the first moment, we all worked together perfectly and in true Rapscallions style it just all fell perfectly into place. After all we had known each other for a number of years and had worked on a few ideas over those years to entertain our friends.
We entertained the public with not only our unusually scruffy look but with the scenarios we concocted and the banter, yes we actually talked to the public in character!
This was the first event where most of us had new clothing made so we could represent the poor and destitute. Our characters had now really started to develop and Beefy, my character was born, a gin sodden scruffy lay about with a tendency to get beaten up and mugged on a regular basis!
Since that event we have all developed our characters and some of us have more than one that may pop up at en event.
We were having a great time and enjoying it. Even then we started interacting with the general public something that other groups just do not do.
Most Victorian groups promenade up and down looking like the Victorian high society which is
great if thats what you want to do.
We had attended a few events, notably Avoncroft, near Bromsgove, as the high and mighty we even had our own Queen Victoria in attendance. This was where the first seed of the Rapscallions were sewn and it started started grow and after that event it dawned on us..........everybody else is doing the same thing!
Even with the most basic research you would find that there were more poor and underprivileged than there were rich and posh, that's when we realised nobody was re enacting the poor....so we said "We would".
The next event we attended was in Dec 2010 at Gloucester Docks. It was at that event that, I believe, the Seven Dials Rapscallions, Victorian Law & Disorder were born.
We all turned up on a high but with just a few ideas of what were going to do, combining scenarios we had used whilst doing our Western re enacting and we all got involved from the first moment, we all worked together perfectly and in true Rapscallions style it just all fell perfectly into place. After all we had known each other for a number of years and had worked on a few ideas over those years to entertain our friends.
We entertained the public with not only our unusually scruffy look but with the scenarios we concocted and the banter, yes we actually talked to the public in character!
This was the first event where most of us had new clothing made so we could represent the poor and destitute. Our characters had now really started to develop and Beefy, my character was born, a gin sodden scruffy lay about with a tendency to get beaten up and mugged on a regular basis!
Since that event we have all developed our characters and some of us have more than one that may pop up at en event.
We knew we had to entertain and get involved with the public so, as we had put on a prize fight in the past, we adapted it and it has been used regularly within our Rapscallion repertoire ever since.
Along with many other scenarios we have dreamed up such as the "knickers and knockers run". Where some of the working ladies have not been paid so they chase the offending "gentlemen" in a state of undress to try and secure their hard earned cash.
Some of our younger members have become quite good pickpockets, only stealing from our own of course.
We do like to get all of the group involved and we have quite a range from the youngest who are in primary school to those of retirement age and quite a few in between
Its also not unknown for bottles to be smashed over a Rapscallions head muggings and beatings to take place, drunks to be found staggering or collapsed being robbed when the Scallions are at play.
All in all it has been a bit of an adventure with each and every one of us coming away from every event wanting more wanting the next one to come around so we can get together again as The Seven Dials Rapscallions.
Along with many other scenarios we have dreamed up such as the "knickers and knockers run". Where some of the working ladies have not been paid so they chase the offending "gentlemen" in a state of undress to try and secure their hard earned cash.
Some of our younger members have become quite good pickpockets, only stealing from our own of course.
We do like to get all of the group involved and we have quite a range from the youngest who are in primary school to those of retirement age and quite a few in between
Its also not unknown for bottles to be smashed over a Rapscallions head muggings and beatings to take place, drunks to be found staggering or collapsed being robbed when the Scallions are at play.
All in all it has been a bit of an adventure with each and every one of us coming away from every event wanting more wanting the next one to come around so we can get together again as The Seven Dials Rapscallions.