No more lonely knights - call to join medieval club

Hear ye, hear ye - a Waikite Valley family seeks passionate people for a medieval re-enactment group.
Mother of four, Gina Wright wants to form a local club that will educate and pay homage to a time when knights and fair maidens reigned.
"Last year we went to the Taupo Jousting Tournament and we absolutely loved it," she said.
"It's an event for the whole family to become involved from the costumes, the weaponry and the jousting."
She later joined the Taupo medieval group and began attending their meetings once a month. However, the travel expenses became costly for the family.
"There is another club in Tauranga but we would like to see if anyone is interested in forming a group in the Rotorua area. It appeals to a whole range of people who have a passion for history, art, craft, dance, weaponry. We meet up with other re-enactment groups from various areas and the fun thing about it is people can really get into character," Mrs Wright explained.
"My husband works on a dairy farm and gets to dress up as a knight and it's acceptable for children to run around with mock swords and shields. It's a fun chance for you to be someone else for a short period."
The Wright family plan to return to the Taupo Jousting Tournament this weekend and it will be a good opportunity for people to see the different clubs in action.
"The character I've chosen to go as is a gypsy," Mrs Wright said. "So I will be in the market area re-enacting camp life. It's taken a year to prepare for it, to get together the persona, costume and crystal ball.
"The kids have been painting up their shields which the [Taupo] club have decided will be in the style from the later 15th century/early 16th century mercenary gear.
"Being a part of this doesn't have to be expensive, you can go as deep or as surface as you like with many people making their own costumes.
"Those involved come from all walks of life from builders, engineers, truck drivers and even council members in Taupo."
The Taupo Jousting Tournament will be held from January 21-23 on Spa Rd.
The medieval re-enactment features jousting, sword fighting, skill at arms, set piece battle re-enactments, market stalls and general village life.
New Zealand's best jousters are set to compete against Australia in full armour on specially trained horses.
- Anyone interested in being part of a Rotorua group can email Mrs Wright on gwrightfam@gmail.com.