ANST - LPT

[Mike C. Baker]

> So who did what at LPT?
> Plachoya Sobaka a humble archer in Ravens Fort, Kingdom of
Ansteorra

Who did what?

LONG POST WARNING -- the following is a personal reminescence, 
and should not be taken as either a full, factual, or complete
report of the
event, awards, and sensory overload I went through yesterday!

Plachoya Sobaka, you are a truly cruel and perverse individual.
Unless
you were asking someone with a vidcam for eyes and the ability to 
achieve multispatial locative stability (be everywhere at once),
ain't no
way any one individual could tell you.

Starting hindmost first, Rosario "the Food God of the West" will be
elevated 
to the Order of the Laurel at Steppes 12th Night.  HE Don Robin of
Gilwell 
*was* elevated to the Order (and there were very few dry eyes in
the house -- 
check out any photographs, and they can not tell the full tale).  

>From here on my memory is at best sketchy and non-sequential:
Aislyn Crystyn was elevated to the Order of the Iris

Raimond [a juggler from Elfsea] was draped with a Motley Sash
before 
court, in the midst of his impromptu organization of entertainment 
while the populace waited upon the Laurel Circle to complete their 
deliberations. (HRM Barn has an *excellent* sense of timing and 
casually-handled "theater"...)

Mistress Willow de Wisp has once more been chosen as Kingdom 
Bard for Ansteorra. (The other finalist having been HE Llewellyn,
current Baron of Elfsea.) From conversation later in the evening, 
I can report that HG Willow is making tentative plans toward 
reorganization of the Ansteorran College of Bards and is already 
in discussions as to how the bards can be better-organized 
and yet better co-exist with the other performing arts / artists.

Master Petrucio (recently arrived from Atenveldt) sent Pug home
with a
fifteen gallon glass carboy as special / personal prize for mead,
and 
also gave a 25kg sack of some specialty grain (didn't recognize the
name 
of same myself) to a brewer from Moonschadowe whose face I remember
and whose name I do not.

Suzanna the Herbalist received a large (heavy -- she had to enlist
her
husband's assistance in carrying it away) basket of goodies as
special 
recognition (from a Laurel I don't remember seeing more than once 
previously yet _know_ I should be able to name), said recognition
being 
for [written] research.

Corwin mac Eoghan, or however he spells it these days, received a 
Sable Thistle in the field of Cooking (I'll vouch for that one
personally, 
never had a better pheasant leg in my life! Plus, I've had
Corwin-cooked
items before). Corwin's display also included a turned burl-maple
bowl 
that was still fragrant with the natural scent of the wood, a
little 
something he claims to have turned out in the course of an evening 
when he realized he still had time left before LPT.

Anthony of Northkeep received a Rising Star, in addition to a fine 
cloak from Master Lucais and especial praise from Mistress
Sieglinde.
Would that I come across as so natural a performer when reciting
poetical works!

Largesse was given liberally otherwise, there were absolutely too
many 
things to see and people to talk to, and I slept through until
11:15 this 
morning (except for waking back up long enough to turn off my
bedroom 
light sometime before daylight).

Mere words can't in any way convey the impact of the experience.
Walk,
crawl, or have friends drag you on a travois the next time this
event 
is held. Or Kingdom A&S, for that matter.

Lest it be said I am less than a complete chronicler of what I
witness
and can actually remember upon the next day using memory alone:

Minor quibbles about the site / conditions:  
phalanx of aid notwithstanding, it was a challenge for the artisans
to get 
everything in, set up, and taken down in a timely manner. I heard
several 
reports of setup still in progress after the Laurels had begun
their rounds 
(and *that* was an hour-and-a-half later than scheduled, through no

fault of Laurels, autocrats, or artisans of which I am aware).  The
necessity 
of using the same hall for displays and for court suggests that
future sites 
with separate halls for these functions might be advantageous. 
The 12th Night (and probable upcoming Coronation) site using Sokol
Hall 
at Ennis might be one of the few venues that would be better /
avoid this 
factor / allow larger display items (only pictures of the longboat
do not do 
the creation justice, I'm afraid; likewise the plaid A-frame which
has now
passed into the East-realm).  An outdoor display area would not
have
gained much value due to the inclement weather at this particular
event,
but future A&S event planners should keep in mind that some very
good
work goes into "oversize" projects.

Too many of the young ones were under-supervised / overstimulated /

poorly controlled.  I _know_ that the site was not well situated
for 
burning off more of their energy, esp. as the weather precluded any

possibility of outdoor high-energy activity, but parents very much
needed to be exerting better discipline. _Particularly_ over the
young
ones who were running up, down, and around the main stairway
and "lounge" area... The host group provided supervised activities 
in two well-defined time slots and in a dedicated separate room; I 
do not fault their preparations. (Yes, I did call at least some of
the 
overexuberant to task -- and in two particular cases was soundly
ignored.)

I wanted to attend the Eisteddfod as at the least an observer (were

there not now the expectation of attendance at Gulf War, I might
have 
entered as a competitor).  I was able to poke my head into the 
room where it was being held twice at best. As much as it might 
strain resources and reduce potential audiences, I make the plea 
that the Eisteddfod to choose the Kingdom Bard needs to be 
restored to a place as separate event, or at least not as an
isolated side-room of some other A&S event.  I'll voice this 
concern directly to HG Willow.

Many of the displaying artisans and Eisteddfod competitors were 
heard to say that they were never able to reach the sideboard 
while food was being served.  (One lady at least was able to 
gain unofficial entrance after explaining her plight.)  HOWEVER, 
having previously attended a local event at the same site, I must
commend the planners for avoiding the headaches of attempting 
a feast in addition to some manner of lunch.  (No on-site kitchen
is a real bummer anyway -- and while the cold kibbe was edible, 
I would really have liked to try it warm.)  Forewarned is
forearmed,
and I would encourage artisans to pack a lunch and travel with 
at least one companion who can watch their display during those 
inevitable times when it is necessary to leave for personal
matters. 

One humor bit: I was unable to commend her directly upon the
volume,
but I nearly fell down laughing when I saw the title of the binder
filled with documentation one lady in the far right corner had with
her display. Paraphrased, the legend read "Warts and All: A 
Collection of Documentation for Projects I Tried and Have Now
Abandoned -- Along With Some Other Things".  I bow before the
true grace of one who knows the value of laughing at one's own
foolishness.

I'm done now, I think.  <Bad Dog!>

Amra the Woodcutter, off to commit mayhem upon fallen limbs
in a friend's yard.

Mike C. Baker
SCA: Amr ibn Majid al-Bakri al-Amra (Steppes, Ansteorra)
"Other": Kihe Blackeagle (the Dreamsinger Bard)
My opinions are my own -- who else would want them?
e-mail: kihe at ticnet.com OR kihe at rocketmail.com


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