quick & dirty waistbelt

[OC Richard]

With so many gorgeous things people are posting on this forum I'm embarrassed to share this, but it is DIY so here goes.

Back in the early 1970s, I was 12 or 13, my Dad is driving us around somewhere up in the hills of central West Virginia and we go to some small local craft festival and I see a black leather belt with the brass buckle below. I instantly recognise it as a typical Scottish 18th century pattern, and I buy it. Though the leather was done by the local seller the buckle was stamped Made In England.

Well that old belt has been sitting around un-worn for decades (far too small for me now!) but recently when I knew I had a sporran from Artificer coming I bought a brown leather belt blank at a local Games. When the Artificer sporran arrived I saw the leather didn't match but I thought "what the heck" so I threw the belt together in 15 or 20 minutes. It's just fastened with the little screw-things, handy because you can take it back apart, and you don't have to hammer rivets.

Just ending yesterday I was piping for a production of MacBeth and I wore this belt and sporran.

[Laird_M]

Very nice. Contrasts well.

[IsaacW]

Braw! Very nice!

[Orionson]

No need to apologise, Richard. I think it looks very nice, indeed. How went the performance? Reviews, reviews, reviews...

[Dughlas mor]

Quick and dirty sometimes works just fine. Looks great, wish I could get my hands on a buckle like that! It would be possible to dye the belt to a closer match to the sporran.

[tulloch]

Great. Can you charge more for piping in such elegant kit?

[Alan H]

That's "quick and dirty"? Looks pretty nice to me!

[MNlad]

That buckle goes beautifully with your new sporran. Whatever works.

[MacEanruig]

If that's "quick and dirty," then sign me up. Looks great to me!

[OC Richard]

thanks guys!

I'm glad that I held onto that old buckle all these years, over 40! and that it finally found fitting use. That style of buckle is so perfectly suited to that style of sporran. That level of leather-craft (the sort that only needs a hole punch and an Exacto knife) is the only kind I'm capable of.

MacBeth was just a short run, Friday Saturday Sunday. I've done a zillion runs of Brigadoon but this was my first Shakespeare!

It was interesting in that there was not the slightest attempt at a 'traditional' Shakespearian sound i.e. there were no fake English accents. The two principal actors were quite good at making the potentially cumbersome and dated language sound like ordinary conversation.

This bit is particularly wonderful, some of the best English writing ever

Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnardine, making the green one red.

In one line are two terms evidently coined by Shakespeare, one that came into common usage and one that did not.

Other common terms first appearing in MacBeth (and therefore possible coinages) are

assassination
barefaced
dauntless
fitful
stealthy
unreal

and new verbal usages of old words

to cow
to champion
to drug
to impede

To hear this stuff, the very crucible of Modern English, was wonderful for me.

The gig was easy as kiss my hand (apologies to Patrick O Brien) play outside beforehand and at intermission, and play off the men to war (Advance the War!) and back.