Somehow I imagine that you, dear reader, are pleading with me not to talk about animals AGAIN.
But I can’t help myself!
Robin and I did the coolest thing: We attended a falconry exhibition at Kenilworth Castle last weekend. And it was amazing!
Here’s what happened: one of the English Heritage employees told us about the event a few weeks ago when we visited the Castle. I thought it sounded interesting, and suggested Robin put it on the calendar.
Did he? No, he didn’t. (He “forgot.”)
Then, last weekend, something was nagging at my memory and I asked, when was that falconry event? He couldn’t remember. So I looked it up! (This was on Saturday.) It turned out the event was on Saturday and Sunday. Well, Saturday was nearly over when I asked. So I told Robin he needed to go attend it on Sunday.
Notice that language? “He needed to go attend.” In my mind he would attend this falconry “thing,” which sounded a bit more like his cup of tea than mine. I thought I would do something else while he attended this bird thing.
But no. I practically had to drag him there on Sunday. When we arrived we found the schedule, the tent housing the birds, and the patch of cordoned-off ground where the event would happen. That all seemed okay. I could put up with it I guess.
And then—showtime!
This married couple dressed in period clothing walked into the demonstration arena and started their show. And—WOW. They flew a bird around, told compelling stories, brought audience members into the demonstration area, and told us the history of the art. We were bowled over. And then a second bird. And finally, a third one.
Altogether they demonstrated three birds before the show ended.
We had buckets of work to do at home. We needed to leave.
And we did. But we noted the time when the next demo would start.
At that appointed time, we rushed back to the Castle, though a bit late, and saw three more birds in a completely new show. This couple was sooo good!
We needed groceries. We went home, got in the car, drove to the grocery store.
Then back home—ditched our groceries and rushed back to the Castle for the final show of the day.
Three more birds. Still mesmerizing. Still fantastic.
And then it was all over.
Robin and I strolled over to their tent and let them know in no uncertain terms that they had ruined our day. (In a good way, of course.) We got the URL for their website (RaphaelHistoricFalconry.com), asked where else they would be performing, and basically shared our enthusiasm with them. It was a great event!
Yesterday as we were walking we noticed the birds in the sky and how one of them seemed to be hunting. I never would have noticed this before the falconry event.
We learned about how different the birds were; which birds caught prey for the queen’s daily dining; who was legally allowed to own which birds.
The barn owl caught my fancy:
Unlike the “wise old owl” we archetypally associate with owls today, back then they were symbols of death, and for that reason cursed. The falconers shared a story of a politician once receiving a dead owl in a box that frightened him so much that he had a heart attack and died from the stress of it. (Shades of the horse’s head in “Godfather,” if you know that reference.)
So that’s why I’m talking about animals again this week. I think my intuition must have been firing on all cylinders to have remembered the event, and then to have somehow gotten us there. Who knew falconry was so fascinating?!
But let us turn from animal creatures to human animals: I had a big WIN this week: I presented a four-hour Leadership workshop virtually over Zoom for more than 20 participants at a government agency in San Francisco with Robin as my co-pilot. They loved it!
My contact emailed me afterwards: “I want to thank you both again for a superb training today. Not only did the content and focus hit every target envisioned, your delivery made the event engaging and entertaining. I truly believe it resonated with everyone and connected to their work. We will endeavor to further integrate the tools and practices learned today. On behalf of our management team—including our terrific planning team copied here—we wish you the best.”
Here’s a picture of me during a Zoom break—I can’t sit down and relax because Terry stole my seat! (I know, I know: another animal mention.)
My type discovery program is still available, and my success rate is high. In spite of that, I may add an instrument option to my practice for those who want a quick assessment facilitation to help them identify their type pattern rather than the immersive work I prefer to do. Let me know whether you or anyone you know would be interested in that service.
Until next time….
warmly,
-Dr. Vicky Jo