SC - And speaking of happy dances...

[Philip & Susan Troy]

rcmann4 at earthlink.net wrote:

> I will be replying to other good wishes off-list, but I have to mention
> that Master Adamantius and his wife, Lady Kendra, presented me
> with a gorgeous Manche medallion.  Lady Kendra, who is a
> jeweller, crafted it herself.  It is a beautiful piece of enamel, set in
> silver, and I will wear it with much pride.

I hope so, not because of the medallion, but because of you. Caendra
hadn't done a cloisonne piece in about ten years, and when I asked her
if it would be possible for us to crank out a _simple_ medallion of some
kind for this occasion, she muttered dark raggum fraggums and asked
about some of the things you've done (she never having heard of you at
the time). Evidently she was impressed, and she decided she wanted to do
it. This fulfills a wish of mine of more than a year's standing. When we
did the Southern Region A&S Expo, I went around and gave various
artisans little semi-precious stone pendants to show my joy over their
enthusiasm and, frankly, daring. [Brighid had on display, IIRC, eight or
ten _different_ needlework forms, plus two Spanish biscotti recipes
which she'd translated, adapted/redacted, and cooked, and gosh knows
what all else. Then she got up and told a story in the Bardic
Competition.] On that day I decided that what you really ought to have
hung around your neck was a Manche medallion, so naturally I am
extremely pleased at recent developments.

The medallion, BTW, is made from what is known as fine silver; I mention
this because it'll have to be polished every so often, which, had it
been Sterling silver, would be less necessary. On the other hand,
Sterling silver jewelry is also less cool. My Lady Caendra says that
there are some flaws (little pits and fractures) in the enamel; she'd
like to do another one now that she's set her hand back to this
particular art form.   
 
> > I have not seen one more well-deserved than this one, and Lady
> > Brighid seemed just a little uneasy, as if the Crown and populace might
> > find out that all she was doing all along was _having FUN_!!! Dabbling!
> 
> It is common for recipients of arts awards to be asked, "What field
> is your ___ in?"  As this award was given to me for endeavors in
> several different areas, perhaps I should reply that I have a Manche
> in dabbling.  It would be very close to the truth.  I do what interests
> me, and what I enjoy.

Sounds good to me. It may interest you to know that current EK law says
something like, "The Order of the Manche shall be bestowed upon those
candidates who have surpassed competence in a single art form, or
attained competence in many art forms." Or something like that. However,
I believe it was originally created by Aelfwine and Arastorm (sp?) many
years ago for excellence in Diverse Arts. Having a Manche for Dabbling
isn't really much of a joke, rather it is pretty much the original
intention of the founders of the Order.  Let's see... other recipients
of the Diverse Arts Manche include Countess Brekke Franksdottir,
Mistress Thora Sharptooth, Baroness Merlynia of Rivenoak, and a certain
Queen Isabella of York, to name but a very few. You're in pretty good
company, I'd say, as a dabbler.

Again, congratulations!

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com