[Sca-cooks] How do you answer such a question

[Huette von Ahrens]

First off, Stefan, let me say this.  The service that you do helps the Knowne Worlde so enormously that the BoD itself should be giving you awards for all the work you do on the Florilegium.  It is a enormous task you have been doing all these years in gleaning information from tons of e-mail lists and helping the people of the SCA [and even those who aren't in the SCA] with their research.  I am very surprised that the Kings of Ansteorra haven't noticed all that you do and how much you have increased the reputation of Ansteorra and gained respect for your kingdom.  

As to your question, yes, there have been several very serious answers already given, mine would have been more on the humorous side, to whit:

"Your Majesty.  As you should well know, the plague that has struck all of our Barony's minions and serfs has decimated all of our workers in that they have either fled the Barony to avoid contagion, or they are very ill.  Because of this and because of your visit to our lands, we have had to volunteer to help Their Excellencies with the cooking and cleaning, so that Your Majesties would have food worthy for you to eat that was cooked in clean pots and pans so that Your Majesties would enjoy your visit to our lands and give Their Excellencies all the honor that They deserve.  Your Majesty.  I am just a humble woman and it is my privilege to serve you in whatever fashion that I can.  The scullery isn't my favorite place, but I am willing to make the sacrifice of excluding myself from Your Presence in order to do such work, knowing that you will eat clean, healthy, nutrious foods because of my efforts.  Being able to serve you thusly is a privilege for
 me."

Huette


--- On Sun, 2/8/09, Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com> wrote:

> From: Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>
> Subject: [Sca-cooks] How do you answer such a question
> To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org
> Date: Sunday, February 8, 2009, 9:01 PM
> Last year we spent some time talking about being called up
> in an SCA court and kneeling (or not). I have in fact
> recently created a Florilegium file from that conversation.
> 
> Anyway, in Court yesterday at Bryn Gwlad's Candlemas
> event a quandary came up and I would be interested in
> hearing how you all would have reacted in a similar
> situation. I guess there is also a bit of bragging on my
> lady wife.
> 
> Lady Alina was back in the kitchen cleaning the pots and
> the pans and first got called out of the kitchen when the
> Baronial Officers were called before the Baronial Court to
> thank them for their service. After dropping off her awarded
> glassware to me for safekeeping, she disappeared back into
> the kitchen.
> 
> A while later HRM Gunthar calls her into Court and someone
> went into the kitchen to get her. There was some banter
> about where she was while we were waiting for her, which of
> course she didn't hear. She walks up before Gunthar and
> kneels on the carpet in front of Gunthar, not wanting to
> soil the fancy royal kneeling cushion since she is soaking
> wet from her knees down.  Gunthar tells her to please kneel
> on the cushion, since that is what it is there for. Gunthar
> then asks her "Whether it is more important to wash
> dishes or be in his court".
> 
> Of course I know Gunthar from this list, and realize he
> might have been in that kitchen if he hadn't been Crown.
> I doubt she was.
> 
> Kinda a Catch-22 question. So how would *you* answer such a
> question?
> 
> You probably don't want to say "Yes, it is much
> more fun to be sopping wet in the kitchen scrubbing dirty
> dishes than be in your Court".
> 
> If you say "Court is more important" then the
> second question becomes "Then why were you not
> here".
> 
> Alina was then awarded the Ansteorra Star of Merit, the
> Grant level award for Service.
> 
> Alina hesitated to accept a hug from Gunthar since her arms
> and shoulders were also wet from her kitchen travails. The
> Court Herald, Rhiannon, who has known Alina since she joined
> the SCA was unable to keep her voice from breaking when
> reading her scroll and Alina was also crying before she left
> the Royal Presence.
> 
> Oh yes, and one or more people told Alina they weren't
> going to let her go back into the kitchen to finish
> scrubbing the pots. I'm not sure that the pots did get
> cleaned before we had to leave the site. Someone may have
> had to take them home since they had quite a layer of stuff
> burned to their inside bottoms.
> 
> Vivat Her Ladyship Alina!
> 
> I guess I better start doing some service or she is going
> to be made a Pelican before me! :-)
> 
> Stefan
> --------
> THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of
> Ansteorra
>    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas         
> StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
> **** See Stefan's Florilegium files at: 
> http://www.florilegium.org ****
> 
> 
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