What to do on a sunny Saturday afternoon than go and see some sport. So that’s exactly what Heather and I did back in September—though not the sort that makes it much onto TV.

We made our way over to the nearby Eltham Palace, though didn’t head for the strange combination of medieval palace and art deco house (which is actually worth visiting) but across to one of the adjacent fields. There a number of tents were set up under the increasingly warm sun. They were demonstrating or selling wares that might not have been out of place in the medieval portion of the adjacent building (our favourite being the one selling glasses of English Heritage’s excellent meads), for at the bottom of the gently sloping field was set a long dividing barrier—the tilt of a joust!

The joust, though long removed from it’s days of knightly tournaments, is still in some circles a competitive business (as well as undoubtedly being a spectacle of entertainment). Here the competitors were from the marvellously named Historic Equitation. Led out by trumpeting heralds, and with armour glittering in the sun, we had The Wild Man, Argo, Lancelot, and The Wyvern. We cheered and waved our little flags (Lancelot for me, The Wyvern for Heather) as the master of ceremonies introduced the rules of the joust, and built up to the first run.

The sight of two armoured people (there was one woman behind the shining metal) charging their horses full speed towards each other really is something to behold. Even today it has a feel of danger, so it’s easy to see how in the past it has lost the lives of its participants. Unfortunately during the first joust one of the horses decided they simply weren’t feeling the occasion, but it was good to see that there was no attempt to force it to take part and it and rider simply sat out the remainder. In the end, once the points had been totalled, there was a win to The Wyvern, much to Heather’s pleasure.

A break then gave the chance to explore the stalls, where we came away with not just mead but also (inevitably it feels) books. It also gave a chance for lunch, though sadly they’ve moved the cafe from the former refectory in the house which always felt an appropriate location.

After lunch we wandered back to the field for the second joust. This time all four horses decided to play, and Lancelot in particular was in fine form charging at full speed along the tilt. Indeed, it was he who took the win at the end, making it a score draw between Heather and I and closing out a lovely day.