SC - Tomatoes

[snowfire@mail.snet.net]

Hello everyone,
I finally received several back issues of the digest today through my very
slow server :(. I read with interest all the posts from various kingdoms
about feast participation and clean-up. I am in the unique position of being
from one kingdom for 11 years (Trimaris) and living in another for the past
six (Atlantia). It fascinates me to compare and contrast how events are done
between the kingdoms. In Trimaris, our events are weekend events, with a
soup usually provided Friday night, breakfast Saturday morn, feast Sat.
night for 200 or so, and breakfast Sunday consisting of leftovers. (This is
how it WAS done; things are probably different now because Trimaris has had
a HUGE influx of members.) In northern Atlantia, most events are one-day
"revels", with the cook only having to worry about one feast. When I started
in the SCA at 17, I hung out in the kitchen because I was a waitress in
mundane life, and that was the place I felt most useful. I was never turned
away or growled at. To be fair, the kitchens in the halls we use in Trimaris
are generally very large, which hasn't been the case with the halls we rent
for events here in Atlantia. But I was taken aback when I was advised to
stay out of the kitchen my first few events here due to tempermental cooks!
The kitchen was always the place to be at events, IMO, and I meet the
quality people of the kingdom there. To be told I wasn't welcome was really
a slap in the face, and made me wary of getting involved in other areas of
the event. They serve differently here too; one person from each table gets
the dish and brings it back for the whole table. In Trimaris, people
volunteered to serve, spent the entire feast just serving, and ate leftovers
with the rest of the kitchen crew. I always had a blast serving, and often
served after helping in the kitchen all day. Clean up was generally directed
by the Feastcrat to a miriad of volunteers, and on Sunday the members of the
hosting group cleaned the hall and kitchen after everyone else had left
site. On three-day-weekends, often two people feastcrated, with one doing
Sat.'s feast and the other doing Sunday's. I am autocrating a camping event
in northern Atlantia this fall. You can bet that we will have a sign-up
sheet at troll for various duties, including serving and clean-up. I also
intend to have dishwater available for the populace after feast, which seems
to be an oddity here. I understand that it can be inconvenient to have
people washing their dishes in the kitchen when the clean-up crew is
hustling to be off-site by midnight, but it seems so gauche to have to go
home with dirty feastgear! Plus, if people actually see what a mess the
kitchen is when they are washing their personal stuff, perhaps they'll pitch
in and help with clean-up without being asked. I guess I'm just homesick for
Trimaris' sunny shores and longing for "the good ole days". I hear now in
Trimaris it's hard to be able to feastcrat unless you are "known" , so I'm
glad for the opportunities in Atlantia to hone my skills on small local
feasts. I'm even happier to be able to work in the kitchen with great cooks
such as Mistresses Kiri and Melisande. And thank YOU, the wonderful members
of this list. The cook's digest is the highlight of my email.
In service and finished rambling,
Aislinn Columba of Carlisle
Barony of Dun Carraig, Atlantia

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