Another year, another UK LARP awards, and to my mind there was one totally new standout larp in 2022.
I normally blog the larps I’ve been to, so heaven knows how I didn’t manage to write about Second Breakfast. Here I am putting that right.
Second Breakfast was brilliant
Second Breakfast was a larp about halfling life. Everyone halfling-sized, or dwarf-sized, or goose-sized, (By which I mean a goose creature costume two real meters tall.), or human-sized (By which I mean, folk with long robes concealing power-risers who loomed about us little folk.) It was simply lovely. The village felt like a village*, the halflings felt like people. We only managed a day there, sadly. It’s a bit hazy what happened beyond the general relaxation and wholesomeness, but there was never a moment when I felt I lacked something to do.
It was just such a *joyful* weekend. I can’t think of another larp that’s just about joy really. There’s an awful lot of dystopias in larp, so it felt strangely radical to play one that was essentially about a utopia.
Forget-me-not ‘Notty’ Thornburrow, gardener
Things that happened
Dwarves and wizards seemed to be intent on luring perfectly decent halflings off to have Adventures. Can you imagine? At least one young halfling actually planned to go off. Probably never to be seen again.
The Thornburrow family had a clock reading “Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevenses, Lunch, Afternoon tea, Dinner and Supper” and ate every meal.
There was a feast, with music and singing and shouting. And great food; top work Eyelarp catering department.
There was a hat competition. Which was totally rigged against our family, in a shocking display of partiality by the judges.
There was a brawl between us and the dwarves, which started with fruit and ended with furniture. (Larp-safe fruit from EyeLarp, furniture from the props Bill Thomas made for the All for One tavern scene.)
And we organised a jam tasting. Which was disrupted by a rampaging goose. Something I never expected to say. So beautifully timed by the crew.
We built the goose right at the start of covid. I had to keep a 6ft goose secret for 2 years.
Leah of Mandala studios https://www.mandalastudios.co.uk/
Postscript
Honestly, I’m really short of words to describe how excellent an experience it was. It was just so wholesome, and, “small”, I guess? All the problems we had were hafling-sized. It was such an excellent step away from reality,
Post-postscript
Eyelarp are running more Second Breakfasts in 2023. Tickets for Beltane are available here.
(* I mean, there were other Frogmores, but obviously ours was the best and only,)
LARP experience 
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