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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Greetings to all.<BR><BR>Gothic Wars - Battles of
the Iberian Peninsula is upon us. If you are planning to attend this
year's Gothic please read the following. If not, maybe plan for next
year.<BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>SITE INFORMATION:<BR>* Water - The water is
drinkable but does have a distinctive West Texas flavor. :)<BR>* There are trees
on site however most of them are mesquite and do not offer a great deal of
shade. Portable shade is recommended.<BR>* There is a building located at
the front of the site that holds flush potties. Port-a-potties will be
spaced around the rest of the site. Please<BR>do not camp in a manner that
blocks the port-a-potties from the roads they are located on. This will
prevent them from being professionally cleaned.<BR>* There will be a shower
trailer with 2 enclosed showers located at the back of the site.. Hot
water is first come first serve but with weather in West Texas this time of
year, you might want cold water anyway. There is a lake closeby as well
(the site is called Lake Sweetwater Park). The water conditions of the
lake are unknown to me at this time. We have had some rain but I don't
know if it will have been enough to make the lake inviting or not.<BR>* There is
access to electricity and water faucets on site. Since last year, more outlets
and water faucets have been added to the site, both North and South of the
main road(paved) Please be courteous of fellow campers and do not
try and control access to these facilities. Any reports of this will gain
you a visit from me.<BR><BR>WEATHER:<BR>* Updates when the date gets
closer. This will include information on open fires. As right now,
there is no fire ban in Fisher County. <BR><BR><BR><BR>LOCAL
CONVENIENCES:<BR>* The closest store is on exit 244 on I20 in Sweetwater.
There is a Kmart and gas station convience stores, McDonalds, Taco Bell,
Schlotzkey's. The IGA there has closed. Take the first Sweetwater
Exit (248, Business 20) and go into town to find the Brookshire Store (Was
Winn-Dixie last year) -on Broadway with the big V in the parking lot. Be
advised that the Kmart is not a super-K and does not sell food and very few
beverages. Last year they did have some camping gear including citronella
oil. The Lake Store (just down from the site on FM 2043) is closed, but
the Pro Shop at the Sweetwater Lake Golf Course (just down the from the site on
FM 1856 has sandwiches, sodas, and such.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>HOTELS, MOTELS (Sweetwater) </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Comfort Inn (325) 235-5234</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Holiday Inn (325) 236-6887</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Longhorn Motor Lodge (325) 235-1547</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Motel 6 (325) 235-4387</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ramada Inn (325) 235-4853</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ranch House (325) 236-6341</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Traveler's Motel (325) 235-2850</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> </DIV>
<DIV><BR>MARSHALS:<BR>Baron Chiang and HL Torshiro request that any gentles
available and authorized to marshal heavy or light combat see them Saturday
morning at armor inspection. Any Youth Chivalric Marshals available,
please contact Lady Ryah or HE Chiang.<BR><BR>SHOPPING:<BR> Bring your
extra cash - there is shopping to be had!!<BR><BR>SCHEDULE:<BR>An updated
schedule will be posted at the Pavillion throughout the
event.<BR><BR>Saturday:<BR>8am Armor Inspection Begins<BR>9am Morning Court and
Armor Inspection Ends.<BR>Begining at 10am, there will be - </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Light Weapons Tournaments. Last Man
Standing, Champion, with melee in the afternoon. RBG's allowed with
fighter agreement.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Heavy weapons melees. Breech in the Castle
Wall, Bridge Battle (Res), Open Field. Combat Archery<BR>A&S :
Please have your entries at the A&S tent as soon after opening court as
possible. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Classes: Herbalism, <FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3>Interpreting Period Indian Illuminations,
Beginning Dagging, all brought to Ansteorra from the Kingdom of the
Outlands. Please email me if you would be interested in giving a
class.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Archery - Saturday. <FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3>a duel at targets. Two archers will walk
toward targets representing each other, firing at will, until one target has
recieved "death wounds" or is so full of arrows that surrender is the only
answer. Target arrows. No crossbows.</FONT><BR>2pm Youth
Chilvaric. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Evening activities: Amazon Auction, Bardic Circle,
and FUN.<BR><BR>Sunday:<BR>8am Armor Inspection Begins<BR>9am Morning Court
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>10am - </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Heavy Weapons Tournament - Bear Pit,
</FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>Centurian Tourney, </FONT><FONT face=Arial
size=2>Novice Tourney</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Light weapons melees. Ship battle, open field
melees<BR>Knife/Axe/Spear. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>6pm Evening Court<BR><BR><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3>THE GOTHIC WAR CHEST: All participants are
encouraged to bring items for the<BR>War Chest. To the victors belong the
spoils!! or we split the loot as<BR>usual amoungst
us.</FONT><BR></DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>TAVERN:<BR>The Crane Tavern is confirmed for
Gothic</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thank you for your patience and I hope to see you
at Gothic.<BR><BR>Lady AmaRyah hap Illys de Visclo<BR>Gothic
Co-Autocrat<BR>325-235-0643</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
href="mailto:estarkey@starband.net">estarkey@starband.net</A></FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2> (event questions before 8pm Thursday
8/28)<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<P align=center><FONT face=Arial size=2>Directions:<BR>From the east, west or
north, Take Interstate 20 to exit 249 (FM<BR>1856). Head South. The road will
fork; take the left fork, which will<BR>be FM 2035. The Site will be on your
right approximately a mile down.</FONT></P>
<P align=center><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>From the South, take Highway 70 to
FM 1856.<BR>You will come to a fork in the road that will either take you
to<BR>Interstate 20 or to FM 2035. Take the FM 2035 fork.<BR>Site will be on
your right approximately a mile down.</FONT></P>
<P align=center><FONT face=Arial size=2><IMG height=212
src="http://www.geocities.com/mendersham/event/sweetwatermap.jpg"
width=421></FONT></P>
<P align=center><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </P>
<P align=center><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </P>
<P align=left>Only read this if you like watching the night skys, and would like
a chance to see this without big city lights </P>
<P align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2>MARS BURNS ITS BRIGHTEST OVER THE WESTERN
REGION DURING GOTHIC WARS!!! </FONT></P>
<P align=left>This August, Earth is catching up to Mars, an encounter
that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in
recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287.
Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit,
astrometry can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to
Earth in the last 5,000 years but it may be as long as 60,000 years. The
encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34.649,589
miles and will be (next to the moon) the rightest object in the night sky.
It will arraign a magnitude of -2.9 and will agorae 25.11 arc seconds
wide. With a 75 power magnification, Mars will look as large as the
full moon. Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of
August Mars will rise in the east at 10 pm and reach the azimuth at about 3 am.
But by the end of August when the two planets are closest, (during Gothic),
Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30
am. That's pretty convenient when it comes to seeing something that
no human has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the
beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter
throughout the month. NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS
AGAIN.<BR></P></BODY></HTML>