News
'Wonderful opportunity' to unite for Our Leicester Day'
7th September 2011 - Up to 100 organisations are expected to showcase their work and activities at an event on Sunday.
Our Leicester Day takes place at the city's market.
Businessman and charity worker Richard Brucciani came up with idea for the day after seeing a similar event while on holiday in France.
Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "I am really looking forward to Our Leicester Day.
"It is going to be a wonderful opportunity for groups from all over the city to share their activities with the whole community. This is a great initiative."
Among the organisations taking part in the event, which falls on the 10th anniversary of the terror attacks on the USA, is St Philip's Centre, in Evington, a charity which promotes positive relationships between the city's different faiths.
Riaz Ravat, a community worker with the charity, said: "We see Our Leicester Day as a chance to promote the work we do and the opportunities for people to get involved.
"But what is more significant is that we'll be showing how Christians and Muslims can work together on the 10th
anniversary of 9/11."
The Our Leicester Day will feature a diverse mix of groups, ranging from a sci-fi club (SBL) and Viking enthusiasts (Vikings of Middle England) to organisations helping people cope with cancer, HIV, sexual assault and domestic abuse.
The Rotary Club of Oadby Launde said the group hopes to recruit more members by taking part in the event.
Member John Niblett said: "It will give the numerous organisations who carry out so much voluntary work in Leicester a chance to make the public aware and hopefully involve them in the work that they do."
Our Leicester Day will be held from 10am to 4pm. If your organisation would like to be involved, e-mail:
richard.b@palinternational
Vikings of Middle England will be attending and performing at 12PM. Article from the Leicester Mercury
Vikings raid the records office!
July 9th 2011 - http://leicestershiremuseums.wordpress.com/2011/07/06/vikings-raid-the-record-office/
Viking re-enactors and a successful local novelist will be at the launch of a new exhibition between 10am and 12noon on Saturday 9th July at the Record Office in Wigston.
A horde of Vikings will invade the Record Office of Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland at the weekend, and a local novelist will be signing copies of his books about Norse raiders, to launch a new exhibition there.
Members of the Vikings of Middle England re-enactment group will be helping to launch Vikings In Leicestershire, which features newly-recovered Viking artefacts from the local area, including sword pommels, brooches and treasure.
Giles Kristian, writer of the best-selling Raven series, will also be at the launch signing copies of his trilogy of novels, which are about a young Englishman who becomes part of a marauding pack of Vikings.
The exhibition also features a photographic display of Viking objects recorded in the county by the Portable Antiquities Scheme, a national scheme which records archaeological objects found by the public and makes it accessible online.
David Sprason, Leicestershire County Council Lead Member for Adults & Communities, said: “The Viking history of the county is rich and might surprise some people, and this fascinating exhibition at the Record Office offers a glimpse of their ancient, dangerous world.”
Vikings in Leicestershire runs for the duration of the Leicestershire Festival of Archaeology until 31st August. The festival is taking place from 16th – 31st July in Leicestershire and Rutland with more than 70 different events being staged over the fortnight across the region.
Coordinated by Leicestershire County Council, the extravaganza of heritage events will give people the unique chance to discover and explore their local history and see what they can find right on their doorstep. The festival includes a multitude of digs, guided walks, talks, exhibitions, re-enactments and fun days to draw the public into the world of archaeology.
For more information on this event, please contact Wendy Scott on wendy.scott@leics.gov.uk, or call 0116 3058325.
RAVEN: Odin's Wolves launch party!
LEICESTER 15/04/11: Members of the Vikings of Middle England helped kick off the launch of Giles Kristian's new book in the RAVEN series "Odin's Wolves" at Waterstones in Leicester. The book flew off the shelves along with the previous titles in the series "Blood Eye" and "Sons of Thunder" and the author was on hand to sign the newly printed copies.
The guests of the event were given an extra few treats too. Firstly they were shown a short film based on the series by the makers of Northmen - Urban Apache Film - and were met by a number of armed Vikings and Saxons. The popcorn was nice too.
Top Ten!
Vikings of Middle England are ranked in County File's top ten re-enactments for the family!
Charlotte Gay writes: "The Vikings of Middle England are a group based in Leicester, and their main aim is to entertain audiences using as accurate representation of history as possible. All members are voluntary, and like most groups offer displays of combat and living history. During a typical fair, or similar event, the Vikings of Middle England set up a multitude of tents, with crafts and different small scenarios throughout the day. The group also has crowd participation activities such as archery stalls, so visitors can really feel apart of the history. During the full battle scenes, many different special effects are surged into action, such as the life size replica Longship, and the use of blood and corpses and sound effects - perhaps not for those who are squeamish."
Giles Kristian to launch new book in RAVEN series!
The superb RAVEN series of historical fiction gets its third instalment this month and the author, Giles Kristian, will be in Leicester to launch the book on Friday 15th 6pm at Waterstones (Market Street). The following day, Giles will be signing copies of the previous books 'Blood Eye' and 'Sons of Thunder' at the Highcross. You may also see some real Vikings... be warned!
Vikings at Oxjam Leicester 2010
The Vikings of Middle England made an appearance at the Leicester OxJam Festival on 23rd october 2010. Oxjam raised over £10,000 pounds for charity and showcased the best up and coming local music - no mean feat! Sadly the Vikings were called off due to the weather and the safety conditions for the packed crowd, but the Vikings hung around and eventually caught up with Oxjam's own reporter...
Vikings in Walls TV advert
Several members of Vikings of Middle England appeared in the recent Walls 'Bring it on' Britain adverts. A camera crew followed group leader Peter 'Dags' Holyoake and his family for a weekend of re-enactment at the inaugural Hemsby Viking Festival. It was a strange weekend but the product manages to capture the obvious absurdity of our hobby while showing a great family activity - Bring it on!
Vikings of Middle England do not officially endorse Kerry Food products.
Vikings invade Conkers!
The Vikings of Middle England plunged into the depths of the National Forest to invade Conkers in July.
http://www.visitconkers.com/