SC - Sampler of Messages

[alysk at ix.netcom.com]

Greetings!  Since the List seems to be rather voluble, I will add
to the noise...

Gum arabic has been used in food products in period.  It just isn't
as substitute for gum tragacanth.  Mastic is also used to stick things
together.  There are Elizabethan (I think that's the time period) recipes
for candying flowers, but folks who've tried to follow the instructions
seem to end up with wilted or smooshed flowers.  I can dig out a period
recipe if interested parties want to e-mail me privately.

Vigils and showing one's craft:  At one memorable Pennsic Laureling, a
parade of folk came through the Barn each bearing one beautiful item
crafted by the person to be Laureled so that we all could see his 
worthiness.

Shameless plugs of various sorts:  In large kingdoms like the East and
Middle, many Peers don't know about the skills of a number of the polling
candidates.  The person who posted about a vigil with samples of their craft
on display certainly could do that.  How about Pennsic-going "peer-aspirants"
bringing things to display in the A&S Exhibition???  That person's Peer
(or someone else) could certainly post to the Peerage e-mail list that anyone
who wanted to know who Lady X was and what she does should come by the
Exhibition to see samples of her work.  Ditto for teaching a class at
Pennsic.  (We do this on the Midrealm list from time to time.)

Historical note: Back around 1989-91 (Middle was hosting the War), a number
of us were asked to cook a course for a dinner of the Known World
Seneschals at Pennsic.  Given how the invitation to us was made, and that two of
the original invitees were laureled for cookery before Pennsic, it didn't
take too many more bricks on our heads to realize that we were being "looked
at".  Those Peers of you in other kingdoms could invite potential cooking
peers to do something similar.  All sorts of folk with leafy medallions kept
dropping by the pavilion where my "banquet" (dessert) course was set up.
Even non-peers could offer the services of cooking folk to prepare a private
feast for folk at events.  At Pennsic, up-and-comers prepare a lunch or a
breakfast for the Laurels to showcase their talents (and feed the hungry
masses).  This past year they included the Pelicans and Chivalry as well.
While cooking feasts certainly serves a similar purpose, these smaller
venues can let folk try something more esoteric, focus the cookery in a 
particular time/culture, or just get one's feet wet by starting out small.

Alys Katharine