[Ansteorra] Why aren't we doing this?

[Ysabeau]

It seems that could be a good solution if your goal is to put on a show for
other people.

For me, I go to events to camp with my friends and have fun. I love the
history and I strive to do the things we should - cover the coolers, hide
mundanities, etc. I have a periodish tent (I've actually found period
illustrations of my tent so I feel better about it now) but it isn't a
traditional SCA style pavilion. However, I still want to camp with my
friends, regardless of whether they have mundane tents or period tents. I
CHOOSE to have a canvas period tent but I totally understand their reasons
for not having one...and I would rather camp with them than not. Yes, I can
choose to take my period tent and camp with the mundanes, which is what I
would do if forced to make a choice, but it seems to me that it starts to
create a division where there doesn't necessarily need to be one.

The concept of period tents here and mundane tents over there seems to have
started surfacing in the past 5 years. Previously, I don't rememer it being
such a big deal. I actually remember when period tents were way in the
minority and it was a very big deal to have one. They were (and are)
expensive, require special vehicles (trucks/trailers) to haul them, require
more maintenance, and putting them up and taking them down is more time
consuming than the average mundane tent. 15-20 years ago, how many period
pavilions did you see at the average event? Did it ruin our good time? Did
anyone quit playing because the mundane tents ruined the ambience for them?

In a way, and yes this is extreme - putting the mundane tents over there is
almost like relegating them to the ghetto because they aren't good enough to
be with the rest of us. Typically, newcomers are the ones who haven't
invested in a period tent and what kind of message would we be sending them?

That is just me though and I know I'm probably in the minority. So, as a
contribution, I will give you the link for my tent. I love it. It meets my
needs perfectly because I can camp comfortably in it for over a week and it
is still fast and easy enough to set up for a weekend event:
http://soulpad.com/sanctuary/ You may have noticed several of them near the
area of Sir John's vigil at War of Ages. It fits into a duffle bag so I
don't need to have a truck to carry poles or tie them to the top of my
van...and it is only one pole that breaks down. And, after seeing this, it
is close enough to period for me:
http://www.tentorium.pl/zdjecia/ikonografia/9/04.jpg

Ysabeau of Prague
(who will be painting my tent over the coming weeks to make it easier to
find in the sea of soulpads)

On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 11:03 AM, Dave W <wiselaw at comcast.net> wrote:

> One approach that I thought worked well was how things were handled at the
> Battle of Hastings re-enactment.  There was a demarcation between the
> 'period' encampment and the 'plastic camp' where all sorts of modern
> conveniences were in abundance.  The requirement for setting up in the
> period area was to follow a 5 foot rule, head to toe, gear and all.  This
> event had about 25K folks show up, so those who came through the period
> encampment saw 'real history', whereas the 'plastic camp' was not on
> display
> nor accessible to the public.
> While we aren't trying to put on a show for anyone, it seems a reasonable
> compromise to give a benefit of proximity to those willing to shoot for a
> higher standard, while allowing everyone to play.  Obviously the line of
> demarcation would depend on the site, but the idea would allow us to get
> much closer to 'practicing history' while living in the modern era.
> Regards,
> Sir Alexis
>
> p.s. seeing about 2000 Norman foot marching in 'period' gear without any
> modern gear in evidence, while alongside about 90 Norman Calvary wound over
> the hills in a column of twos rates as one of those 'magic' moments that
> will last a lifetime :)
>
>
>
> >   Over the years I have developed a more, or less effective filter for
> > >  modern objects.  Just as I can walk through a crowded room and ignore
> the
> > >  conversations that do not involve me but still hear someone call my
> name, I
> > >  can walk through an event and catch the parts that interest me and not
> have
> > >  the mundanities spoil the experience.  Most of the time anyway.
> That's great and most of the time I do, too.  But every once and awhile
> I look through a photographer's eyes (I guess) and say "this is a
> perfect picture" until I see the cooler or whatever.  When I do take a
> picture I try my best to cut out the mundanities and pixel out what I
> can't when I get home.  The less 'pixeling' I have to do the better.
>
> This doesn't mean one can't have fun anyway.  And as I said, "magic
> moments" are very rare, but very special when they happen.  I'll still
> enjoy an event without any, just as I still enjoy the SCA even when the
> personna play that I would most enjoy isn't really a very significant
> part of the game.
>
> Ismet
>
>
>
>
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