[Sca-cooks] Re: Apprenticing Again

[Siegfried Heydrich]

    I dunno, my Laurel (Master Juan Carlos Perez) vanished from the face of
the earth after coming in second in crown list (this was the list that
determined our tenth year king). His wife (who REALLY wanted to be tenth
year queen) was . . . miffed. We suspect he's compost by now, the price of
failure. Seriously, he hasn't been seen since then . . .
    That was 6 years ago, and without a laurel to represent you and promote
you in circle, your chances are seriously diminished. I know, the official
party line is that it's quality of work and those ineluctable PLQs that
determines elevation, but when you really get down to the nitty-gritty, it's
politics, pure and simple. And without an advocate, you have a MUCH more
difficult time of it.
    Now, that's assuming you're TRYING to become a laurel - if you're doing
what you're doing for the sheer joy of doing it, then if you get elevated,
it's purer (at least IMHO) experience. I always have a bit of annoyance with
those who are obviously trying to grease their way into a Peerage.
(sycophants have their place, and it's not around me . . .)
    I was first apprenticed over ten years ago, and I was told by my master
(just before he disappeared), that I was on the watch list. Then he
vanished, and that was the end of THAT! However, I got my Pelican at our
tenth year anniversary coronation (which was even better), so I assumed the
circle moved me back, so to speak. No biggie. I've actually increased my
level of cooking, both in the tavern and feasts, and am having more fun than
ever. (More on the tavern in another post)

    Sieggy





----- Original Message -----
> > Greetings,
> >
> >   Just remember that if you don't get apprenticed to a Laurel it might
> > be harder to get your Laurel.  I know more than one Laurel who was in
> > the SCA for years and years and doing Laurel stuff for years and years
> > before anyone noticed that s/he *wasn't* already a Laurel!  By being an
> > apprentice, you have been formally recognized by the system.
> >
> > -M
>
> Not to jump on any particular bandwagon, but I can add my own experience
> to those who've mentioned that many, many, peers are people who've never
> been a protege, squire, apprentice, etc., and been recognized in four or
> five years, or some other short time.
>
> I served as apprentice to one of the most respected Laurels in my field
> and in my Kingdom (where, it is rumored around the known world, it is
> somewhat more difficult to attain the accolade than in some other
> places). He taught me well. He helped me learn to reason and express
> myself effectively, and to form my view of what a peer should be, and I
> was his apprentice for eight years before receiving the accolade, after
> a previous five years of cooking for and running events, holding
> offices, etc.
>
> The moral of my story is that some people would consider this a short
> track, others a long time, still others just about right, and what I say
> is that it was how long it took _for me_, and further that I became
> apprenticed to Master Geoffrey because of who he is and what I felt I
> could learn from him, and not to receive a wreathy thing from the Crown
> in a particular time frame. I would like to think (and do think) that my
> own apprentice holds similar views.
>
> Yes, it _might_ be harder to get your laurel without being an
> apprentice. It might be easier, and it might have no bearing at all.
> There are just too many variables.
> Adamantius
> --
> Phil & Susan Troy