Expanded event report: BIA III
Mar. 2nd, 2008 09:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eveglassNow that I'm awake and rested (and procrastinating), I can give a bit of a fuller (read: longer) event report from yesterday:
I drove out to the event in the remnants of a snowstorm, but the drive wasn't actually that bad. Got on-site around 10:45, about 45 minutes after the site opened but still very early in the day. I changed, gave hugs, and then puttered around for a while, asking people "can I help you with anything," and having them answer "nope, all good here."
Around 11, I was called over to Gate and found myself doing an hour-and-a-half shift. This is all for the good, since I actually like working at gate: I get to meet all the interesting people while they're still generally relaxed and not busy. Around noon, I was joined by the lovely Lady Jordan, and we amused ourselves quite successfully.
I snuck off for dayboard around 12:45, and by "snuck off" I mean "said in a very loud voice, 'I'm going for dayboard! Want anything?'" Mistress Hawise outdid herself... again. She claims she was just "emptying the freezer of stuff from past events," but that's Pelican modesty for you. In any event, I was so full from day-board that I barely minded that I wasn't on-board for feast. SO much day-board food!
I also checked out the A&S competition. There were many more entries than I'd expected. I suppose this is what happens when Their Majesties show up to an event. Even though there were only 3 entrants for the Baronial A&S Championship (I was not one of them), I figured there were at least 15 entrants to the populace choice competition. Among my favourite entries: a full set of Viking-era tools; some stunning illumination by Lord Urson; and a wooden chest by Lord Angall and... sorry, but I don't remember the other craftsman.
Sometime around then, Alethea, my lovely house-sister and royal herald in charge, showed up. We spent some time catching up, chatting, and generally revelling in the fact that we were seeing each other for the first time since Pennsic. Slowly, we started working on correcting the pre-translated scrolls for court. I did what I could, and Lady Alix (who joined us) did much more. She is, after all, a trained translator and does this sort of thing for a living. We caught a few doozies, my favourite being "recompense des bras" -- award of "arms" (the body part).
I was called over to the A&S judging to perform my piece, The Tale of Reprobus. I was quite pleased with how it went, and apparently the judges were too. The word "captivating" was used more than once. I got some constructive criticism from Duchess Isabella -- and let me tell you, that's a unique experience unto itself. (Though I found out later that apparently all the judges scored my piece quite high: 46-47 out of 50). I also found myself gifted with two finger-puppets from Mistress Alyssay (sp?) from Havres des Glaces. They were very, very cute, but I eventually re-gifted them to Pellandres and Valeria's daughter, who I thought would enjoy them for longer than I would.
That done, I headed into the royal room to put the finishing touches on scroll translations, under the watchful eyes of Alethea and Alix. Court started, and I found myself behind the thrones for the second time ever. I couldn't necessarily see the audience, since I was standing behind Alethea and Lord Sebastiano, the two front-heralds for Their Majesties. But never mind. Vivant to Lord Tarius, our new Baronial rapier champion, and Mistress Hawise, our new A&S champion. Also vivants to Lord Mehnard, Lady Jeanne, and Lady Iuliana, our newest local AoA recipients, and to Lady Tigger, who received a well-earned Troubadour. (For a while, it looked like my tasting mug would be the troubadour "cup," but another was found at the last minute.)
After court came feast, of course. This was the first time I'd been to an event without also registering for feast, so I wasn't quite sure how to play my cards. The servers didn't need any more help, so I fell back on plan B: sing for my supper. I have once again proved the old adage, "a female bard in the SCA shall never go hungry." If I wasn't stuffed from day-board, I was really stuffed from feast. I sang for leftovers and people were very generous. I have never yet been to an SCA event without leftovers, and this one was no different.
I also -- at the request of His Excellency Pellandres -- performed the Boreal Army Muster during feast. I had promised myself the night before that I wouldn't try to compete with the drums, but everyone was (quite understandably, and happily) pounding on the tables, and I was the only one who knew all the verses. Plan for next time: print out lyrics sheets so people can sing along. In the end, it went over quite well, but I'm paying for it today. Oh well. It's worth it.
Eventually I gathered up my leftovers, changed back into mundane garb, and collected my newfound passenger (Wulfwyn's sister-in-law needed a lift home, which happened to be quite near my place). I gave many hugs and hit the road, arriving home around 11 at night.
All told, it was a fun event, and I had a wonderful time. Many thanks to all the people who made it happen.
I drove out to the event in the remnants of a snowstorm, but the drive wasn't actually that bad. Got on-site around 10:45, about 45 minutes after the site opened but still very early in the day. I changed, gave hugs, and then puttered around for a while, asking people "can I help you with anything," and having them answer "nope, all good here."
Around 11, I was called over to Gate and found myself doing an hour-and-a-half shift. This is all for the good, since I actually like working at gate: I get to meet all the interesting people while they're still generally relaxed and not busy. Around noon, I was joined by the lovely Lady Jordan, and we amused ourselves quite successfully.
I snuck off for dayboard around 12:45, and by "snuck off" I mean "said in a very loud voice, 'I'm going for dayboard! Want anything?'" Mistress Hawise outdid herself... again. She claims she was just "emptying the freezer of stuff from past events," but that's Pelican modesty for you. In any event, I was so full from day-board that I barely minded that I wasn't on-board for feast. SO much day-board food!
I also checked out the A&S competition. There were many more entries than I'd expected. I suppose this is what happens when Their Majesties show up to an event. Even though there were only 3 entrants for the Baronial A&S Championship (I was not one of them), I figured there were at least 15 entrants to the populace choice competition. Among my favourite entries: a full set of Viking-era tools; some stunning illumination by Lord Urson; and a wooden chest by Lord Angall and... sorry, but I don't remember the other craftsman.
Sometime around then, Alethea, my lovely house-sister and royal herald in charge, showed up. We spent some time catching up, chatting, and generally revelling in the fact that we were seeing each other for the first time since Pennsic. Slowly, we started working on correcting the pre-translated scrolls for court. I did what I could, and Lady Alix (who joined us) did much more. She is, after all, a trained translator and does this sort of thing for a living. We caught a few doozies, my favourite being "recompense des bras" -- award of "arms" (the body part).
I was called over to the A&S judging to perform my piece, The Tale of Reprobus. I was quite pleased with how it went, and apparently the judges were too. The word "captivating" was used more than once. I got some constructive criticism from Duchess Isabella -- and let me tell you, that's a unique experience unto itself. (Though I found out later that apparently all the judges scored my piece quite high: 46-47 out of 50). I also found myself gifted with two finger-puppets from Mistress Alyssay (sp?) from Havres des Glaces. They were very, very cute, but I eventually re-gifted them to Pellandres and Valeria's daughter, who I thought would enjoy them for longer than I would.
That done, I headed into the royal room to put the finishing touches on scroll translations, under the watchful eyes of Alethea and Alix. Court started, and I found myself behind the thrones for the second time ever. I couldn't necessarily see the audience, since I was standing behind Alethea and Lord Sebastiano, the two front-heralds for Their Majesties. But never mind. Vivant to Lord Tarius, our new Baronial rapier champion, and Mistress Hawise, our new A&S champion. Also vivants to Lord Mehnard, Lady Jeanne, and Lady Iuliana, our newest local AoA recipients, and to Lady Tigger, who received a well-earned Troubadour. (For a while, it looked like my tasting mug would be the troubadour "cup," but another was found at the last minute.)
After court came feast, of course. This was the first time I'd been to an event without also registering for feast, so I wasn't quite sure how to play my cards. The servers didn't need any more help, so I fell back on plan B: sing for my supper. I have once again proved the old adage, "a female bard in the SCA shall never go hungry." If I wasn't stuffed from day-board, I was really stuffed from feast. I sang for leftovers and people were very generous. I have never yet been to an SCA event without leftovers, and this one was no different.
I also -- at the request of His Excellency Pellandres -- performed the Boreal Army Muster during feast. I had promised myself the night before that I wouldn't try to compete with the drums, but everyone was (quite understandably, and happily) pounding on the tables, and I was the only one who knew all the verses. Plan for next time: print out lyrics sheets so people can sing along. In the end, it went over quite well, but I'm paying for it today. Oh well. It's worth it.
Eventually I gathered up my leftovers, changed back into mundane garb, and collected my newfound passenger (Wulfwyn's sister-in-law needed a lift home, which happened to be quite near my place). I gave many hugs and hit the road, arriving home around 11 at night.
All told, it was a fun event, and I had a wonderful time. Many thanks to all the people who made it happen.
