[Elfsea] Issues at hand

pcrandal at sbcglobal.net pcrandal at sbcglobal.net
Fri May 30 10:30:16 PDT 2008


Lady Caitrina, 
New people often can see things that us Olde
Pharts either ignore because they have been there
so long, or we have tried to deal with them in
the past and cannot get around those particular
problems. We have become blind to the
possibilities. 

(Other replies interspersed to be closer to the
comment, and are below the comment) (Some
snippage applies) 

--- Lady Caitrina <Caitrina at starwarsguide.net>
wrote:

> Good morning.

(snip) 

> I still consider my self as being new to the
> SCA and therefore can see
> issues with new blood
> where experience blinds us.
> 
> 
> 1, Warlord and other recent events have ended
> at the 4pm court.� Because
> we are only
> willing to travel a couple of hours, home is
> close and easy to leave at
> that point.� I left
> unexpectedly early from Warlord this year.� I
> had planned to stay until Monday
> morning.� However, at
> 5pm on Sunday, everything was over and there
> wasn't ANYTHING planned
> after
> that to keep
> me.� I watched as most of the tents came down
> and residence left.� Not
> wanting to be the
> only ones left at camp again, I also left and
> was home before dark.� Not
> really worth pulling
> out the whole kit for just one night.�
Because
> of this I may consider
> day
> tripping even
> Warlord.� It was actually disappointing.

Warlord is strange, er, unique. It "used to be"
(they fixed it) Saturday was chivalric fighting,
the locals would leave on Sunday. Sunday was
rapier fighting, they would arrive on Saturday.
Long distance drivers would go to Scarby Faire on
Saturday or Sunday depending on their fighting
interest, and locals would go to Faire on Monday.
So there could be three nights of party, with
different people at each party. Yet they all
attended Warlord. 
Now with our advanced age, and the heat? Or maybe
a storm or two, you never know what you will get.


> My favourite event so far was the DFT Guardian
> in 2007.� The evening
> potluck dinner after
> dark on the tourney field with the finals of
> the bardic competition was
> a
> treat!� Even the
> auction was great!

DFT populous may not travel much, but they still
remember how to be a family. 

> 2, There is a lack of cohesiveness.� We need
an
> Elfsea populas camp
> 'Mom'.
> I like the idea
> of an Elfsea group camp at EVERY local
event.�
> Perhaps a BIG banner for
> us
> to rally under?
> (A populace banner.) The offer of camping
> together at Warlord was not
> clear to me, I am
> sorry I missed that.�

We have a big banner, it just needs fixing. 

> I know that several of us have started sewing
> together and plan to make bling for elfsea.�
> This will help the feeling of being part of the
> group.� Banners,
> banners,
> banners especially
> ELFSEA banners!

Making banners? What a good idea, thank you for
volunteering. We like to call that "Helium Hand
Syndrome". 

> 3,� Ideas for 'dead time'.� Well this only
> mildly applies.� I would like
> to see a communal
> dinning area.� Just tables set up where we
can
> bring our own food and
> sit
> with others instead
> of isolated in our own tent or click.� This
> will help new people from
> being unwittingly shunned.� Of course an
Elfsea
> camp would solve this.
> Not necessarily a potluck, but that would be
> great too!

We used to do such things. Elfsea has a special
quality that gets people busy doing stuff for
others. We are very helpful and very capable of
creating events on short notice. But sometimes we
seem to have forgotten to have fun, and to gather
as a family as well. Elfsea needs help, and we do
not notice it as we see things that the Kingdom
or that the SCA needs as being somehow more
important. 
Thus we need "Mom" to remind us about such
activities. And like herding sheep, that "Mom"
must often find us to get us where we need to be.
The past Gulf War was supposed to be Elfsea and
her family. That family had trouble being there
for a quick breakfast and dinner due to the fact
that most of us were working hour after hour. I
don't think we ever had lunch together, and that
was one of the draws to camping together.  

> 4, Fighter Practice.� I find Sunday practice
> frustrating.� Often I miss
> it, or show up when it was
> cancelled.� When I manage to hit it, I only
> find it by knowing faces.
> Where's the banner?
> A simple pop-up with an Elfsea banner would
> help.� It gives a sense of
> group, and allows
> newcomers to find us.� I like the idea of
> making more of it, especially
> on those
> weekends when
> there isn't an event nearby.

I assure you that the Marshals who show up week
after week and sit and read a book for about an
hour are frustrated as well. Or at least I bring
a book. Unless someone sends specific stuff, like
the mini tourneys, or a cookout thing, far too
often the Marshal(s) are the only ones there. My
pop up may be easy to set up, but I choose not to
do so if I am the only one to use it. 

> 5, Highland Games.� I chose not to respond
for
> the free tickets back on
> May 1st.� I pay my
> way in anyway.� I will be going even if
Elfsea
> does not.� Volunteers do
> not usually make solid
> plans 5 weeks out with several events in
> between.� Then next time I
> heard
> anything about it,
> it was cancelled.� The only thing I can grasp
> is that we lost faith that
> people will come
> through. From what I have seen, Elfsea people
> will step up to the task
> when the time comes.�
> More reminders and requests might help.�

The free tickets were arranged years before as an
incentive to those who were setting up and
tearing down because the ticket price and paying
for parking for kept growing.  
"SCA time" and planning 5 weeks to 6 months out
for events seems to contradict each other, I
know. But that is how we have learned to create
the pageantry that people remember, and sometimes
the day to day function of the Wars. 
Elfsea does have many people who will just show
up. But we cannot depend on that. We have to
provide a committed core group of volunteers for
things to work. And often mundanity gets in the
way of our game. Few were able this year to do
so.

> I hope my comments further the discussion and
> do not cause hurt feelings.
> 
> Lady Caitrina

Whew! 
Crandall, Olde Phart 

"In all life one should comfort the afflicted, but verily, also, one should 
afflict the comfortable, and especially when they are comfortably, 
contentedly, even happily wrong." 
-John Kenneth Galbraith 



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