"the time has come, the walrus said..."

It is time to let people know an important significance of this weekends performances at the NCRF.

They will be my last as an official member of the Belles of Bedlam. This is in no way an easy statement, nor was it an easy decision process.

Now many of you have heard rumours, I would like to let you know now that the rumours started before I was even considering anything, so don't trust the rumours or anything you heard along with them. If you want to know my reasons, they are basic: I am feeling overwhelmed by the time commitment and want to refocus some of my attention to areas of my life I feel I have neglected lately. These ladies put in great amounts of effort and time to bring you the magic you encounter when watching them perform.

Now, once a Belle, always a Belle. I am sure I will probably find myself at points in the future on a stage with these lovely ladies and their manbitches, blending our voices again for contractual or ice cream social, etc. There is no lack of love between us even with this decision I felt I had to make. They have been supportive of me and I will continue to be supportive of them. I will continue to moderate their LJ community (for as long as they want me to) and I will advertise their shows and such.

I will still be around faire, just in a less committed (but maybe SHOULD be committed... to Bedlam Sanitorium) role. I will still be good ol' Willie, still toting my mandolin, still ready with a crass joke, still getting in trouble. I will be up to NCRF for the last two weekends in this lone capacity (though i will probably be getting in trouble with the constables or one of my good friends like Leone, the Duckman.)

I have loved singing with these ladies (and the few other guys as well). I will cherish many memories that I get to keep. So this goodbye, while difficult, will not interfere with the friendships formed, and is a step toward whatever the future holds.

Cate, Ruthie, Chelsea, Tara, Maura, Heather, Theresa, Rhiannon, Anita, Sandy, Christina, Claire, Diana, Kevin, Tim, Devon, Isaac, Mariano, Dave, Wes: thank you all for the magic of performance and the thrill of the show.

Now to make this weekend full of as much of that magic as I can.