[NR] A few of my Favorite Things, ..er People (long)

[Carl Chipman]

Ah Robert, the rose-coloured glasses fit so well :)  And like you I am happy
to wear them.....

The first man that really truly made me want to be a knight was Sir Iain of
Atlantia.  Hopefully he will again travel to our fair shores to participate
in Mooneschadowe's Guardian, and I hope that all who can come meet him.  In
him I found courage, skill, prowess, good humor, affection, kindess, and
paternity.  Many may remember him from the Margrave that Thorgrim won. He is
what I wish to be.

A close second to him is my own knight, Sir Asoph, who has continually grown
into his peerage becoming an even greater man than I thought could be.  He
makes me very proud and I am happy to be his squire.

As for Bards, Master Ulf is indeed the one who makes me enjoy the circle the
most.  He is always quick to include everyone and to make sure that all
attending the circle participate.  Besides him, Gunther von Shwarzvald (sp?)
and Alix from my shire, along with Owen were the ones who sparked the joy of
song in me.  Whether singing "Song of the Shieldwall" or "The Quest", all of
those people mentioned above have given me some of the best moments in the
SCA.

Robert, one thing in my mind you forgot is the courts.  I cannot count the
number of, ahem, stately courts I have been to.  But Ah, the truly joyous
courts, those are the best.  Lucais, sweet Lucais, in my mind is one of the
masters of the good court.  Owen, Etienne, you Robert, and Sir Pendaran can
make court into some of the sweetest entertainment the SCA has to offer.

I think my favorite Crown would be Daffyd and Octavia.  Octavia, who looked
so regal and composed, who indeed made me want to be a que... err I mean who
won my admiration.  Daffyd, with his crooked smile and crooked nose, and his
enormous sense of humor.  It was a treat to simply watch them.

But to digress, ah digression.  A change from those who are Great to those
who are simply wonderful.  My favorite waterbearer would be Catin :)  She
always looks out for me and makes sure I won't end up dehydrated or dead.
My favorite armourer, Master Glendour.  My most favorite Rapier fighter,
Walter Robbin.  These people make the game enjoyable for me, and often
because they are doing what is enjoyable for them.

My favorite Lady would have to be Gilyan.  Although there are many fine
ladies in this kingdom, she is the one who I choose, and fortunately enough
for me, chooses me.  Honest, loving, caring, and beautiful, she is always my
constant reminder of what is good in the game and life.

I suspect that if many of you turn and look, you'll someone similary
wonderful by your side doing the same for you.

Ld. Jean Paul de Sens,
bestower of Rose Coloured Glasses
Mooneschadowe

-----Original Message-----
From: northern-admin at ansteorra.org
[mailto:northern-admin at ansteorra.org]On Behalf Of Fitzmorgan at cs.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2001 11:00 PM
To: northern at ansteorra.org
Subject: [NR] A few of my Favorite Things, ..er People (long)


--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
I'm tired of talking about depressing things.  We need a new topic here.
Something that lets us say nice things about each other.  So here goes.  I
hope others will share their list.

       Over the years there have been individuals who to me were the
embodiment of the peerages.  People who to me were the ideal of what those
peerages should be.  Oddly enough most of them were not members of the order
that they represented in my heart.

       For years the man who embodied SCA knighthood to me was Conn McNeil
of
Calontier.  I thought so even before he was knighted.  For those who don't
know him, his skills as a fighter were amoung the best I've ever seen.  I so
wanted one day to see him take the field against Michael of Monmouthshire.
It would have been the stuff of legend.  He is a man of enormous charm and
grace.  When he speaks to you he makes you feel like the most important
person on site.  He was my hero.  At a Grimfells Passage at Arms he spen the
whole day fighting every challenger with their choice of weapons and when
you
entered the field He made you feel that he was deaply honored to be meeting
you on that field.  After a day of fighting at the end of the feast he
brought out a tub of water and washed everyones feast gear.  He is also an
execellent bard.  If it hasn't changed since I was last there you can't walk
across a Calontier encampment at night and not hear a Conn McNeil song being
sung.  The finest bardic performane I have ever witnessed was Conn McNeil as
part of the Interkingdom Bardic Project at Interkingdom V.  (I really miss
Interkingdom).  He was on the Calon throne during the crises with the BoD
several years back and led with widsom, restraint and solid good sense.
       Sir Conn moved away several years back and after a bit I found
another, closer to home, who has come to represent the ideals of Knighthood
to me.  That man is Galen of Bristol.  Spend some time talking with Sir
Galen
and you will be in no doubt why he is a Lion of Ansteorra.  In his words and
bearing he positivly radiates honor and integrity.  There's something larger
than life about him.  In court the evening he became Premier Bard of
Ansteorra he performed a poem he had written that perfectly summed up
everything I had felt about how our wars with the Outlands ended.  That poem
is why I will never join in with a cry of "Death to Trimaris".  How can we
show our greatness without a great foe to test ourselves against?

       For as long as I have had a clear concept of what a Laurel is the
person who has embodied that image for me has been Robin of Gilwell.  I
thought so for many, many years before he was made a member of that order.
He may well be our finest bard.  As a bard he is the standard I measure
myself against, and always come up lacking.  When he speaks stop and listen.
He is almost always going to be saying something worth hearing.  I don't
know
anyone who can better slice through the BS and get right to the heart of an
issue.  I've long admired Sir Barn but my opinion went up another notch or
two when almost the first thing he did upon taking the throne was announce
that they were making Robin a Laurel.

       For years now the person who embodied the ideal of a Pelican for me
has been Sigen Fridreksdottir, though she is not a member of that order.  I
don't know of anyone who has worked harder and given more of herself for
this
kingdom than Sigen.  We are greatly diminished in loosing her.  It was my
hope that if I were ever judged worthy to be a peer that Sigen would speak
for me on behalf of the Pelicans.

       The Lions of Ansteorra represent the best of us. Those who best
represent the ideals of our society.  The man who in my heart will always be
THE Lion of Ansteorra was not a member of that order.  That man is William
Blackfox.   I count myself fortunate to have been his friend and feel sorry
for those who never had the chance to know him.  He was the best of us.

       I can't decide who was my favorite King.  Mahadi or Aleric.  I'm
proud
to have followed both of them to Gulf War.  And I have to say I loved them
both for the same reason.  They made this FUN!   And they made it fun
because
they were having fun.
       The poem Mahadi performed calling Ansteorra to arms is one of my
favorite memories in the SCA.  I felt nice to have the King and Queen come
join the bardic circle after court.  It ment so much to me to recieve my
Iris
from a King and Queen who I admired and my Crown and as fine bards.   I was
so proud when Mooneschadowe and Northkeep were chosen as the first group to
recieve the King's Battle Ribbon.  Proud of what we had accomplished
together
and proud to recieve it from that king.
       Aleric at Gulf War.  If you were there I don't need to say more.  If
you were not there, words are not enough.  Every time you saw him he had the
biggest smile on his face.  He was having the time of his life and you
couldn't be around him and not have a good time too.  Never before had I had
the urge to grab people and say "Look!  That's My King!"

       I have no trouble choosing my favorite Queen.  Sarah Penrose.
Beauty,
grace, charm, elegance, these are just your first impressions.  Then you
talk
with her and realize that she is just the nicest person.     Her taking the
time before court to give her encouragement and support to me as I prepared
to herald my first court ment a lot to me.  Forever burned into mu memory is
the picture of her satnding on the big stage at 2oth year as she took leave
of her champion and took the White Scarf from her shoulder.  I'm wept, as
did
most of the people around me.  When I think of a Queen I think of Sarah.

It's past my bedtime, (again)  I'll continue this later.  Let's hear form
others please.

Robert the sleepy

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