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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Alden responded to Robert:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>> You said "Not every venue works well for Eisteddfod" and maybe</DIV>
<DIV>> that's where we're crossing wires. IMO, Eisteddfod should
*be*</DIV>
<DIV>> the venue, and if the hosting group wants to do something in
adition,</DIV>
<DIV>> it should aim to work within and around *it*.</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I suspect that you two are using "venue" in two
different senses. Robert's statement is quite true that not every site has
a good room or location to hold Kingdom Eisteddfod. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'd love to see Kingdom Eisteddfod become the big,
vibrant, stand-alone event it was when the College was active. As a
stand-alone event, it attracted about 150 people in Elfsea in 1988 when
Catrin won, and about the same one year later in Namron when I won. Then
we took it to the Western Region, and drew a bit fewer -- about 70 people or
so.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>But we need to solve the problem in the correct
order. Right now, neither the bards nor the rest of the kingdom are
treating it like it's the big kingdom-wide focus for bardcraft. And why
should anyone else do so unless we do?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Last year there were six entries. That's not
a grand event that should attract a crowd. I recommend that we try to
build it back up to a major event. And step one isn't where it's
held. </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>Step one is for the bards to enter
it. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Nobody would go to the Super Bowl if good football
players refused to play there.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Nobody would watch the World Series if only five
ballplayers showed up.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The greatest fencers enter Queen's Champion.
The greatest chivalric fighters enter Crown. But every year lately, most
of the greatest bards ignore the Kingdom Eisteddfod. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Now, most of the kingdom ignores the Eisteddfod and
the Premier Bard. Wonder where they learned that?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Queen's Champion is the most prestigious fencing
competition in Ansteorra, and maybe in the Known World. A lot of
non-fencers care deeply about it. But it started with this fact: every
time it occurs, most of the best fencers enter the list.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>A dozen fencers have won more than one Queen's
Champion. Only one bard has ever won Eisteddfod twice.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Let's build a great Eisteddfod. Let's start
now, and build a field of competition that will justify a grand stand-alone
event. We won't get it done this year, or even in two years, but we can
make this event a grand focus for the bards. And if we do so, *then* we
will nce more be able to set up a stand-alone Eisteddfod focused on the
bards.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'll enter this year. Who's with
me?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Robin of Gilwell / Jay
Rudin</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>