All SCA rambling; two recent events.
Sep. 9th, 2009 08:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lenora_roseTwo weekends before last was Schutzenfest, a splendid archery-and-equestrian based event (There's NO heavy fighting, which is practically unheard-of at most outdoor events). It was on a new site, and one I rather like; there are mini-cabins instead of exclusive tenting, though there is room for tents. However, since Colin is allergic to horses,t he path to and from cabins and archery range tended to be traversed quickly, lest the horses get into his lungs. Brannie would have been rather beside herself with squee at the horses.
I shot mediocre, mostly too wound up to focus, but I had some fun anyhow. The winner, for the first time in eight Schutzenfests, was from the group that runs the event (Nordskogen/Minneapolis). Robin came in second. Colin was disappointed with his performance. And TOmaas, who came in second last year, started out with a fabulous clout shoot (Which is the 100-110 yard target.) Turns out he's been practicing out at his parents' cabin, with abacchus and Iulianna. I think Colin and I would have loved to join in had we but known....
The oddest thing that happened, I think, was the successful return of a swallow chick to its nest well overhead, balanced on the very end of a very long pole. Poor thing fluttered down, flapping enough for a controlled glide down, but no way in hell it would get back up alone. We had mostly been presuming it would simply end up doomed, but somehow it got enough attention given to its plight that someone came up with the idea of the pole.
Mo music around the bardic circle; it ended up a conversational fire instead. The woman who showed up at WW with the carbon cello had it out again, and she did play a couple of times (and added the occasional tongue in cheek musical supprot, including a snippet of Muppet Show theme at the appropriate moment). I had the Angry Chicken out, but I ended up noodling in practice rather than performing. Just as well, the conversation was really good, and we heard at least one hilarious story about a prank played - at one of our own former Gimli events, and of which I had been entirely oblivious.
The weekend between was.... odd, in almost entirely good ways, but I can't really say more.
Last weekend was our own Gimli event. And our new Baronial Investiture. The court and investiture went pretty smoothly, considering how much of it was pretty much prepared in the last half hour before court, and that shortly after the investiture, we also switched around all the Baronial officers, so that Colin was running his first court ever. The only real hitch wasn't in the investiture; it was that two people were given AOAs that already had them. (One of them actually had the king say, "I would have given you the Griffon's Sword, but we have a personal policy that we don't give Arms level awards to people without an Award of Arms". Argh!) So now Gabriel is, by his own joke, Lord Lord Gabriel. Which is better off than Hadassah, whose first award proclaimed her a 'he', so she's a Lord Lady.
The Vicar's Cup A&S challenge ended up with only 5 entrants, alas, but considering she was looking for masterwork level stuff, she got what she'd been asking for. Tarrach, last minute, opted to judge rather than adding a 6th entry; his excuse was that his documentation was on his computer but not printed - several people remarked that Tarrach could probably just put his name down and people would consider it sufficient documentation that it's done to period spec. ("No, dear, I'm sorry, Tarrach does not count as a primary source...")
I came in second to the person who fired my pottery for me the second time; and rightfully so. M's plates and mugs were very handsome, and much more documented and researched, and much more closely based on a real period source than the pottery part of my work (I made it a double-entry, the ballad and the plates going together as they do.) This meant instead of the cup itself, I got a copy of the Hours of Catherine of Cleves. No complaints here; that was a delightful prize. And really, she did good work. (Pedro came in third with his gauntlets.)
I never did actually sing the ballad; the Saturday night fire, starting late as it does (After the fire arrows into the lake) and beginning with the burning of the tower (And this year, the village around the tower; Colin had built a bunch of miniature houses, too) ended up with too short a time for much singing to happen, though Hadassah started us off very well with a song she called the Holland Handkerchief (And I know as the Suffolk Miracle; her source was Connie Dover, mine Jim Moray) and Dirk and Robin together did a pretty fair rendition of Rite of Passage (Robin should sing more), and abacchus/Armonn actually got a couple of songs in. Sunday night there was much more singing, including an actual stretch of mostly medieval pieces, but I felt like I was somehow rather more the main Sunday singer than I meant to be; I kept being called on, not to perform on my own, but to start off and lead people in various SCA standards. I very much missed Abacchus and Iulianna, who'd left that night.
Archery went well; I was first out of the water duel (Only ebcause out of a field of 32, single-elimination, I drew the number to shoot first; 15 other people were taken out in the same round as I). And of the general challenges afterwards, I won two and lost two, one for an as-yet-undetermined forfeit (The only one where we had stakes, we were too lazy to decide what stakes. Since the person in question is known for risque flirting, I fully expect her to demand something totally innocuous "just to throw people off".)
And even happier, Colin won, and won well.
And Iulianna made me a henna phoenix (With flowers) on my leg. it's not *quite* as gorgeous as the peacock from last year, but it's still work to be proud of.
War court was pretty, fire arrows were pretty, mosquitoes were.... EVERYWHERE. In monstrous quantities. The week of sun after the summer of rain was exactly the thing to make them hatch in the billions - and after the main dragonfly swarms have gone. Yeek.
And now... Colin has a flu. And I'm starting to show symptoms. Uh oh. As long as I can make it to work tomorrow, I can afford to be laid up for the next weekend (We were contemplating Coronation, since it's only in Fargo - and yes, that would make a 6th driving trip this summer, though Gimli, at an hour or so, barely counts - but opted not.)
Oh, and I've decided I really like the people who just moved here from Alberta.
And mom, thirstysmurf said to say hi to you and grandma. She asked about both your healths; I told her what news there is on that front, as far as grandma is concerned. She wishes you and she both well.
I shot mediocre, mostly too wound up to focus, but I had some fun anyhow. The winner, for the first time in eight Schutzenfests, was from the group that runs the event (Nordskogen/Minneapolis). Robin came in second. Colin was disappointed with his performance. And TOmaas, who came in second last year, started out with a fabulous clout shoot (Which is the 100-110 yard target.) Turns out he's been practicing out at his parents' cabin, with abacchus and Iulianna. I think Colin and I would have loved to join in had we but known....
The oddest thing that happened, I think, was the successful return of a swallow chick to its nest well overhead, balanced on the very end of a very long pole. Poor thing fluttered down, flapping enough for a controlled glide down, but no way in hell it would get back up alone. We had mostly been presuming it would simply end up doomed, but somehow it got enough attention given to its plight that someone came up with the idea of the pole.
Mo music around the bardic circle; it ended up a conversational fire instead. The woman who showed up at WW with the carbon cello had it out again, and she did play a couple of times (and added the occasional tongue in cheek musical supprot, including a snippet of Muppet Show theme at the appropriate moment). I had the Angry Chicken out, but I ended up noodling in practice rather than performing. Just as well, the conversation was really good, and we heard at least one hilarious story about a prank played - at one of our own former Gimli events, and of which I had been entirely oblivious.
The weekend between was.... odd, in almost entirely good ways, but I can't really say more.
Last weekend was our own Gimli event. And our new Baronial Investiture. The court and investiture went pretty smoothly, considering how much of it was pretty much prepared in the last half hour before court, and that shortly after the investiture, we also switched around all the Baronial officers, so that Colin was running his first court ever. The only real hitch wasn't in the investiture; it was that two people were given AOAs that already had them. (One of them actually had the king say, "I would have given you the Griffon's Sword, but we have a personal policy that we don't give Arms level awards to people without an Award of Arms". Argh!) So now Gabriel is, by his own joke, Lord Lord Gabriel. Which is better off than Hadassah, whose first award proclaimed her a 'he', so she's a Lord Lady.
The Vicar's Cup A&S challenge ended up with only 5 entrants, alas, but considering she was looking for masterwork level stuff, she got what she'd been asking for. Tarrach, last minute, opted to judge rather than adding a 6th entry; his excuse was that his documentation was on his computer but not printed - several people remarked that Tarrach could probably just put his name down and people would consider it sufficient documentation that it's done to period spec. ("No, dear, I'm sorry, Tarrach does not count as a primary source...")
I came in second to the person who fired my pottery for me the second time; and rightfully so. M's plates and mugs were very handsome, and much more documented and researched, and much more closely based on a real period source than the pottery part of my work (I made it a double-entry, the ballad and the plates going together as they do.) This meant instead of the cup itself, I got a copy of the Hours of Catherine of Cleves. No complaints here; that was a delightful prize. And really, she did good work. (Pedro came in third with his gauntlets.)
I never did actually sing the ballad; the Saturday night fire, starting late as it does (After the fire arrows into the lake) and beginning with the burning of the tower (And this year, the village around the tower; Colin had built a bunch of miniature houses, too) ended up with too short a time for much singing to happen, though Hadassah started us off very well with a song she called the Holland Handkerchief (And I know as the Suffolk Miracle; her source was Connie Dover, mine Jim Moray) and Dirk and Robin together did a pretty fair rendition of Rite of Passage (Robin should sing more), and abacchus/Armonn actually got a couple of songs in. Sunday night there was much more singing, including an actual stretch of mostly medieval pieces, but I felt like I was somehow rather more the main Sunday singer than I meant to be; I kept being called on, not to perform on my own, but to start off and lead people in various SCA standards. I very much missed Abacchus and Iulianna, who'd left that night.
Archery went well; I was first out of the water duel (Only ebcause out of a field of 32, single-elimination, I drew the number to shoot first; 15 other people were taken out in the same round as I). And of the general challenges afterwards, I won two and lost two, one for an as-yet-undetermined forfeit (The only one where we had stakes, we were too lazy to decide what stakes. Since the person in question is known for risque flirting, I fully expect her to demand something totally innocuous "just to throw people off".)
And even happier, Colin won, and won well.
And Iulianna made me a henna phoenix (With flowers) on my leg. it's not *quite* as gorgeous as the peacock from last year, but it's still work to be proud of.
War court was pretty, fire arrows were pretty, mosquitoes were.... EVERYWHERE. In monstrous quantities. The week of sun after the summer of rain was exactly the thing to make them hatch in the billions - and after the main dragonfly swarms have gone. Yeek.
And now... Colin has a flu. And I'm starting to show symptoms. Uh oh. As long as I can make it to work tomorrow, I can afford to be laid up for the next weekend (We were contemplating Coronation, since it's only in Fargo - and yes, that would make a 6th driving trip this summer, though Gimli, at an hour or so, barely counts - but opted not.)
Oh, and I've decided I really like the people who just moved here from Alberta.
And mom, thirstysmurf said to say hi to you and grandma. She asked about both your healths; I told her what news there is on that front, as far as grandma is concerned. She wishes you and she both well.
