Officers – Page 20 – Stórfréttir

A and S — Is Moving in MAY!!

Greetings!

Eventually, spring will be here, and we all need to be out in the sunshine, so A&S will be too! Not in April, because the weather is too uncertain, but in May, A&S will move to the Washington Boulevard practice site on Sundays at 1 PM.

http://www.debatablelands.org/martial/ is where you will find the times for all the martial practices and a link to the site directions.

A HUGE and heartfelt THANK YOU to Victory Pointe for hosting our A&S evenings for the last year and a half! We will see you in the fall when the weather gets too cold outside.

Send your questions or comments to ansminister at debatablelands.org

In service to the Barony —
Elss of Augsburg, Minister of Arts and Sciences
Ishiyama Gen’tarou Yori’ie, Deputy Minister of Arts and Sciences

Arts & Sciences Meeting

The Dos and Don’ts of vigils

In the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands, we are amazingly blessed with many dedicated servants to the Crown and the SCA community. Frequently, our friends and neighbors are recognized by the Crown and offered membership in the Peerage order as appropriate to the candidate’s area of expertise. These are the Order of Chivalry, the Order of Defense, the Order of the Laurel, and the Order of the Pelican.

Usually, to celebrate the occasion, just before the elevation to their order, there is a celebration during which the candidate sits in a private or quiet corner, and ponders the upcoming honor with the advice and words of encouragement and inspiration from others. This vigil can be as simple or as elaborate as the candidate desires, and is overseen by friends and supporters.

A big question is: who can visit a vigil? Absolutely anyone can visit the person that is sitting in vigil, whether you know them or not. However, as always, courtesy and respect matter. Here are some recommendations from Her Esteemed Ladyship, The Honorable Lady Mannerly of Knowsalot:

DON’T snarf the food. DO appreciate the attractive and appetizing array of food, but delay eating until after you have spoken with the candidate.

DON’T barge into the candidate’s sitting area. DO find the person who is keeping track of the people waiting to enter and have your name put onto the list of visitors.

DO try to remain in (or return to) the general area so as to be available when you are called.

DO be happy for the candidate! They are receiving an award for their outstanding work in a field they love. Ask about their work, ask about their plans for future endeavors, and above all, if you have words of encouragement, advice, or affection, say them.

After the visit, DO help yourself to the food, chat with the others around, visit with friends, meet new people. There may be a book for people to sign and leave a message, so feel free to do so. Otherwise, go and enjoy the rest of the event.

In service to the Dream,
Elss of Augsburg

“But how do I know about…”

But How Do I Know About……………

…… is usually one of the first questions a new person asks! There are so many things to learn and discover that it is difficult to figure it all out. If you like to do research by reading, then I have a rabbit hole for you to dive down: http://www.florilegium.org/.

This is an amazingly HUGE collection of articles and discussion threads, organized by topic. It won’t answer your every question, but it will give you some guidelines, some further directions, some things to think about. Check out the Newcomers link on the left, or just go to your topic directly.

Newcomers:
Wondering what to wear? Try “Generic Clothes – Tunic, Skirt, Shirt, and Pants” by Caitlin nic Raighne, or maybe “Easy T-Tunics” by THL George Anne.

Going to an event and want to look like you know what you are doing? Read “Event Etiquette” by Master Donal Mac Ruiseart.

Court? What’s court? Here’s an interesting read from people in other kingdoms. Nothing specifically AEthelmearcian, but it’s pretty close to what we do: “Comments about SCA Courts for newcomers.”

My first event was Agincourt, and I was so new that I didn’t know you had to bring your own table setting if you were going to eat in the evening. Feasts in this area are delicious, filling, generous, and usually have something for everyone. Before going, I certainly wish I had read this: “Orts It All About, Alfred? – (Attending your first year or two of SCA Feasts)” by Lady Caterina della Pieri.

So you have been around for a bit and want to start diving in to your favorite topic. How about…..

Beverages — wine, mead, coffee, beer, ale, cordials, ciders, caudles, possets, sekanjabin, water, tea, chocolate, and by our good friend, “Did you know you can malt acorns? Part 1” by THL Madoc Arundel.

There are thirteen (yes, 13) topics on Food of various kinds, 14 topics if you count Feasts.

Interested in Plants, Herbs, and Spices? There are articles from ambergris to woad.

These articles are written by all sorts of people, and some are new and some are old. But those I have read have stood the test of time and are still valuable today (except the Humor topic. Just don’t. Well, you’ve been warned.).

Enjoy!
Elss Augsburg

A and S — Viking Whipcord — March 29

Thursday March 29th is once again A&S time!

Welcome to THLady Rufina Saavedra who will come to teach Viking whipcord braiding. Yep, we are making string *again*!

You *need* to learn how to make your own dress lacing, pouch ties, neckline closings, package ties, medallion and necklace strings. This is an very easy way to up your garb game to another level.

I don’t care much for Pinterest, but there are some nice photos here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/176484879119330457/

Standard disclaimers here:

Location: Victory Pointe Gaming Lounge (and ice-cream parlor), upstairs in the game room
Address: 1113 Carson Street on the South Side
Time: 7 PM. Come early if you wish, people start arriving about 6:45.

Upstairs is not handicap accessible, so if you need assistance or have questions, please call or text me at 724-759-3333.

Park safely — feed the meter to avoid tickets. Try across the street in the bank parking lot.

See you there! Elss Augsburg

Arts & Sciences Meeting

Youth Practice April 1st

Reminder there will be no youth combat practice on April 1st. Youth fighting practice will be on April 8th. We will let you know if we are at Washington Blvd or the church. Youth are invited to Bacon, Beer, Bash on April 7th, where there will be youth fighting and a tournament for prizes after morning court. Loaner gear will be on site. Also a chance to eat a lot of bacon 😁

A and S — Fingerloop – March 22

Tomorrow, Thursday March 22nd, is once again A&S time!

Welcome to Lady Cynewyn Æthelweardesdohter who will visit us to teach fingerloop braiding. You *need* to learn how to make your own dress lacings, pouch ties, neckline closings, package ties, medallion and necklace strings. This is an very easy way to up your garb game to another level.

Check out this fabulous site http://fingerloop.org/ — it is an online version of an excellent but out-of-print SCA publication!

NOTE: yes, the weather is bad today. If the weather is bad tomorrow, please be safe. If necessary, we can reschedule.

Standard disclaimers here:

Upstairs is not handicap accessible, so if you need assistance or have questions, please call or text me at 724-759-3333.

Park safely — feed the meter to avoid tickets. Try across the street in the bank parking lot.

Arts & Sciences Meeting

See you there! Elss Augsburg

How Do I Get There From Here?

In the near future, there are two events that will be held at different locations — this weekend’s Barony Meeting will be at fighter practice (See http://www.debatablelands.org/martial/), and the Enhanced Archery Practice on April 22nd will be held at the Castle.

There is a good chance that if you don’t have a car, these will be difficult to get to. However, many fighters, fencers, archers, and other folks will be coming from all around the area to attend these meetings. So why not catch a ride?

If you are on Facebook, then you can subscribe to the BMDL Ride Board at https://www.facebook.com/groups/138059386320162/ and post there to see if anyone near you will be able to give you a ride. Of course, you can always post to the Unofficial Populace Discussion Page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/DebatableLands/) or send an email to Sca-bmdl@lists.andrew.cmu.edu .

Give it a try, we’d love to see you!

A and S — Elizabethan Fairies – March 15

Arts & Sciences Meeting

Greetings to the Debatable Lands!

Tomorrow, Thursday March 15th, is once again A&S in BMDL!

THL Luceta DiCosimo will tell us about her findings on Elizabethan Fairies. These creatures are not what I expected, will you be surprised too?

Standard reminders here:
Location: Victory Pointe Gaming Lounge (and ice-cream parlor), upstairs in the game room
Address: 1113 Carson Street on the South Side
Time: 7 PM. Come early if you wish, people start arriving about 6:45.

Upstairs is not handicap accessible, so if you need assistance or have questions, please call or text me at 724-759-3333.

Park safely — feed the meter to avoid tickets. Try across the street in the bank parking lot.

See you there!
Elss Augsburg

2 days left!

All content and quarterly officers reports are due and in two days, on March 15th, for the quarter 1 edition of The Althing.

Please send all content and reports to chronicler@debatablelands.aethelmearc.org or contact me through Facebook.

Spreading the word

Isn’t amazing when you find out how much fun something new is?

Last Friday I attended the demo at the Carnegie Science Center. They hosted an evening event for adults over 21 to enjoy a medieval-themed evening. I loved the amount of people who were interested and enchanted by our wonderful Barony, Kingdom, and Society.

We had around 100 volunteers present to speak about different aspects of the society. Our Baron and Baroness helped party-goers take pictures that made them look like royalty. We were able to offer pictures with a prince or princess. We performed, talked about fighting, archery, fencing, siege weapons, thrown weapons, A&S, and made the Science Center ring with our voices. People fought and fenced for the entertainment of the people. I spent the evening behind a table of archery and thrown weapons equipment.

People walked by and immediatly wanted to know more about what we did. They wanted to handle our axes, crossbows, and more. They asked questions about everything from what we did to historical information and many wanted to know how to find more information and how to join in our fun. Several people were sad that we couldn’t throw axes right there, inside the Science Center.

Telling people about our hobby is always the most fun thing for me. Between the myriad questions and excitement about something that I love, it always makes it a fun time that will never get old. Considering that this demo had over a thousand people that were some of the most interested people I’ve ever takled to it made it some of the most fun I’ve ever had in the SCA.

– Tigerna Alister Sionnach MacLeod