[Ansteorra] Fall Ball Thank You's And Lost & Found

[Stefan li Rous]

I wish to thank the gentles of Shadowlands for a very, enjoyable  
event. It was a very fun, informal event, with a number of interesting  
classes and things to do, from dance classes to bread and gingerbread  
making classes, a practical herbal class on using things you might  
already have at home such as garlic and several active participation  
games from blind-man's bluff to cheese-rolling. Lots of activities for  
even those who aren't armored or rapier fighters.

I also have commend those who decorated the hall and especially the  
person(s) who made the fake food items sitting around the room. I had  
to go over and pick up several of them to determine for sure whether  
they were real or not. They were obviously fake only when picked up  
and examined closely. Had there been a food fight, some of those items  
would have been the first to grab, since several were quite hefty. I  
didn't however see Hans at the event, so I didn't get to test these  
items as weapons. -)

I would love to see those particular artists try their hands at  
illusion foods or sotelties.

For the pot luck there was plenty of good, real food. Several dishes I  
wanted to go back and sample, such as the ribs, I didn't get to, as I  
was too full of everything else.:-(

I enjoyed the dancing and I appreciated the fact that the list of  
dances was posted ahead of time and during the dancing. Not being good  
at remembering what dance went with which name, this gave me a chance  
to try to figure it out ahead of time. I know a lot more dances than I  
recognize the name of, especially when if the dance is simply  
announced, by the time I figure out if I know the dance or not, the  
dance has often already started.

Posting dance lists and feast menu ingredient lists ought to be  
standard practice for SCA events. IMHO.

Vivat Shadowlands!

Stefan

On Feb 3, 2012, at 2:40 AM, Colleen Fisher wrote:

> Greetings Ansteorra,
>
> It is my pleasure to report for all to hear that this weekend, the  
> Shire of
> the Shadowlands once again held a fantastic Fall Ball. The theme for  
> this
> year, Bakers' Bransle was cooked up by several members, Mistress  
> Kaitlyn,
> Lady Isolde, Lord Orin, Lady Catan, and Lord Ron to name a few, but  
> the
> hall truly came alive with the theme under the vision of Mistress  
> Kaitlyn
> and Lady Kolfinna, who headed decoration creation and placement in  
> turn. It
> was truly the work of the entire Shire who helped both assemble and  
> remove
> everything in the hall.
>
> Thanks also goes to Lady Isabelot and Lady Isolde for their efforts  
> in the
> kitchen to organize feast and provide a few tasty treats as the  
> result of
> their classes. As this year we once again featured a Pot Luck Feast,  
> the
> cooks were too many to count while the variety of the spread and the  
> food
> itself were wonderful. Other classes were also held that day, Thanks  
> to
> Lord Thomas Atte Wood for teaching calligraphy and Lady Anne for  
> bringing
> her Herbalist Guild to share with all in attendance.
>
> Fighting was larger this year than many had previously seen on the
> Chivalric field with 9 enterants into a tournament, won by Don  
> Thorland
> O'Shea, and several more in attendance for a fantastic War Practice  
> led by
> both Sir Ysfael and Sir Randall, with many more lending their aid.  
> Thanks
> to all the fighters coming out and visiting our little event, I hope  
> you
> were able to take away not only some fun and fighting, but maybe a  
> little
> lesson to take to the field of battle.
>
> Rapier fighters in attendance we treated to a tournament led by Don  
> Conner
> with John Drake winning the prize for most ribbons collected while  
> Lord
> Deideric for having the most matching ribbon sets and the most  
> inventive
> parry device, a rather large rolling pin.
>
> Dancing is one of the favorite parts of the Ball, thanks go to Lord
> Llywelyn for organizing the dances and heading the dance refresher  
> with
> Thomas Atte Wood. This year's Bransle-off champion was found to be  
> Lord
> Antonello who was able to keep his footing during the fierce  
> competition.
>
> For those who did not know, our site cost more than we originally  
> expected,
> but with the high attendance, gifts of generosity from attendees, and
> Baroness Kathri's fabric sale "Cook up new garb! Raise dough for ball
> bill!" we were able to cover the cost.
>
> If you believe you left something behind, please contact Kite (
> collateral.cepheid at gmail.com). A few items were left without owners  
> at the
> end of the night including some new pieces of fabric.
>
> Thanks once again for those who made this year's Fall Ball a memorable
> event and a joy to attend.
> -Kite the Damaged and Caitlin La Bouche (grateful, if tired,  
> autocrats)

--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/marksharris
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****