SC - "I lived... I've got to find out what to do now!"

[Decker, Terry D.]

> 	However, I am very very very proud to relate that, of the seven core
> members of my kitchen crew, no less than THREE of them were hauled out of
> the kitchen during the various Courts and given lovely awards.  Two of
> them, my husband included, received their Awards of Arms; and the third,
> the "Oak Tree of Service," a Baronial-level service award made special by
> the fact it is only given four times a year.  I'm so proud...
> 
> 	btw, some advice, if anyone's got any to spare <g>...  Though it is
> sadly normal in our area for the kitchen crew plus autocrat to be the core
> of the cleanup crew, the incidences of early hall-fleeing were much higher
> than normal this year.  So much so, in fact, that not one of the kitchen
> crew were able to make an early escape, and we didn't make it out of the
> hall quite by the time we were supposed to.  I was wondering if anyone out
> there has ever found a tactful yet successful way of remedying such a
> situation; and if so, would you be willing to share?
> 
> 	Gods, I've had my life on hold for the past six months in
> preparation for this feast.  Now it's over and I haven't a clue what to do
> with myself...  :-)  
> 
> 		- kat
> 
Let me point out, you have a Baronial service order and a service problem.
Pride in their work and their ability to "come through" in the crunch are
common in members of a service order.  Asking these people quietly to handle
some small detail of the the site cleanup and close will free the primary
workers at the event to focus on the big tasks and provides a little ego-bo
that they are still needed by the Barony.  The autocrat or seneschal should
do the asking, and they should ask early enough that plans can be
re-organized.  A gentle reminder just before the close is also nice.  As a
seneschal, I've found that this technique usually works better than general
calls for volunteers.

I also consider a kitchen crew of seven quite a luxury.  I seldom have more
than two.  Of course, I am usually working in spaces that the crew has to
breath in rotation just to fit.  The last feast I did, I was doing the
cooking and the dishwashing, because two people would not fit in the
available space.  

Now you start planning the feast you're going to do one to two years from
now. :-)

Bear 
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