Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter (mka Helena Bretherton Hay), South Downs Chronicler.
Herald (Lord Lucien d’Artois) called the meeting to order.
Officer Reports
Herald (Lord Lucien d’Artois)
Lucien announced that the heralds will have a consultation table set up at 40 Year, so come by with your questions.
Submissions
Five baronial badges were registered at Laurel
Mathias Blackett – household name and badge
Juliane de Vivone – badge resubmitted
Ruqayah al-Zarqa – device change
Duke John was asked about the history of the Kestrel – he said it was inspired by an award offered by the Shire of Sol Haven, which recognizes those who contribute to the local group but aren’t actually a member of the group
Armored and Youth Marshal (Lady Mairghread)
Armored
We’ve had a great turnout at practices, so much so that the new fighters have had to swap out loaner gear between them (yay!)
Several of the new fighters are ready to be authorized.
One fighter (Brady) is technically a member of Owl’s Nest, but he’s been training with Mairghread; still needs a gorget. Lord Mark has offered to build one for him this weekend
Youth
She has two fighters who want to authorize by Pennsic
One of the youth fighters asked if she (Mairgrhead) could run youth combat at Newcomers’ Collegium, but she hasn’t yet received her paperwork from Kingdom
Live Weapons Marshal (Mistress Mara Palmer – THL Mathias reporting)
Last practice got rained out
Our next series of practice have been posted to our FB group
Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
Practices. We are still having them, Sunday afternoons, concurrent with armored. Tuesday evening practices at 7pm, temporarily moved to Blackburn Park due to the lighting situation at Liane Levetan. We’re averaging 2-12 people.
We are still waiting for updates from Liane Levetan Park about the lighting situation and work order
Thanks to all who’ve helped cover marshaling practices while Ben is working!
For updates regarding rapier practices, go to the Atlanta SCA Fighting Facebook group.
Chatelaine (Lady Stella di Silvestri)
After two years in the office, Lady Stella announced that she is stepping down as Chatelaine and that Lady Justina will be stepping up as our new Chatelaine. Thank you for all your hard work, Lady Stella!
Arts & Sciences (Mistress Sunneva de Cleia)
We had a great turnout at Midwinter A+S; 14 classes were offered.
Sunneva has made a schedule for all of 2018 as a Google Docs spreadsheet so you (yes, you! you know it’s one of your new year’s resolutions) can sign up to teach a class at one of our monthly A+S nights. She is pleased to report we have classes scheduled through July.
This month’s class on building a breakdown banner pole will be taught by Master Ximon. He points out that this is not a historically accurate banner pole, but it does pass the “10-ft rule”
Sunneva is looking for a deputy, and asked if you contacted her previously about this, to please reach out to her again.
Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
Andreva reported that we have (some)money! Approximately $10,000
We have a new account at Regions Bank, and are currently waiting on the new checks to arrive and to finish closing out the old Bank of America account. Because of this,
she needs to have all receipts in by March 1
She reported that we had 220 people at Midwinter A+S, including 13 children and 28 paid non-members (including the cast of the local production of Spamalot)
Andreva is also looking for a deputy – if you’re interested, please contact her directly
Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
We have a website!
Updated:
Class schedule
Live weapons practice schedule
Web pages for new baronial awards
Posted photos from 40-Year, cub scout demo, and Midwinter A+S
Class notes
Is adding members’ devices to their webpages
Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
Still need articles for the Winter 2018 issue of The Read Tower; goal of the newsletter is to inform, particularly newcomers, about what we do, why we enjoy what we do in the SCA, and why a newcomer would want to take part. Examples:
Officers’ column: each Baronial officer has a column where they can describe what they do, what’s cool about what you do as that officer, and anything (events, practices, etc) you want to publicize. Roughly 500 words (a page or so?)
Guild reps: again, you have a space where you can let the populace know what you do, why you find it cool, and what your Guild has going on. And again, roughly 500 words would be great
Articles I’d like to have written, 500-750 words (ish); if you’d like to write an article, please let me know and we’ll chat:
Reveling at Castle Wars: one of the things that makes Castle Wars special, the camping and reveling; article and photos STILL NEED
Presentation (?) Herald at Crown: what it’s like to process with a combatant at Crown and announce them at the beginning of the tournament? STILL NEED
Rapier activity beyond the world of the SCA (SERFO/HEMA) (thanks, Brendan de Hay!)
A+S Competitions at Midwinter A+S (Thanks, Sunneva!)
Class handouts, recipes, etc. – please include images (I can scan if necessary), and a writeup introducing the material (ongoing)
Artwork and photos – again, I can scan artwork if necessary (thanks, Andreva, for the 40 Year photos!)
Seneschal (Master Wistric Oftun)
Anachrocon – if you have Viking garb, wear it! If you don’t, wear what you like.
There was a problem with setting up classes, so we’ll just have fighting otuside and an inside table for recruiting. Wistric will update the Anachrocon schedule on the FB group page
Their Excellencies
Gulf Wars
Who’s going?
If you’re planning on going to Gulf Wars and plan to be on site by Tuesday morning of War Week, please let Her Excellency know – she would love to have members of the Barony take part in the procession and carry the Baronial banner, looking fab and badass 🙂
Event Report
Midwinter Arts + Sciences (2-4 February 2018)
Lady Alisandre sent in an event report as she was not able to attend the meeting
We need to find an alternate site instead of UWG – the way the University handles reservations makes it difficult to confirm the site until just a couple of weeks before the event. Suggestions from the populace:
Red Top Mountain (where Owls Nest will host Newcomers’ Collegium)
Sir Iazzie suggested Gwinnett County Fairgroungs – we could use one hall as a sleeping hall,
and one divided up for classes. Lots of parking.
Cobb County Fairgrounds
Everyone agreed that Midwinter A+S was a great and successful event!
Lord Pietro was tasked with passing along cheers to Alisandre
Upcoming Events
Artsy Crown (26-29 May 2018)
Our bid has been submitted; we haven’t heard anything back yet but Iazzie feels confident that we will get the bid
Sir Lochlann will do the fighters’ feast Sunday night
Need someone to take care of Sunday breakfast – Lady Illy volunteered
Need someone to take care of Monday morning GTFO breakfast
Help with Royal lunches (Lady Justina will be the royal liaison, but will need help)
Still need to determine who will do the fundraiser lunch
Iazzie has reached out to the autocrat for Fools’ War (also held at the Shrine) – they will be treating the site for fire ants, so it should be in pretty good shape before our event
Lady Emmelina offered to coordinate a fundraiser art sale at Artsy Crown, with proceeds going to the Castle Wars revel (yay!); need to figure out logistics/space between classes,
lunch, etc., but everyone loved the idea
Red Tower (5-7 October 2018)
Will be held a Hard Labor Creek in Rutledge, GA
We have an autocrat! Lord Mark de Wytteney!
We have a theme – Bacchanalia! Please send Mark any ideas you may have for the event
Some ideas were developed at dinner after 40 Year
Iazzie mentioned that he knows a couple of people who are interested in doing feast
SCA Business
Lady Justina got great feedback for Period Heroes at Midwinter (yay!) Contributions are always welcome! Period Heroes will make an appearance at Ca’ d’ Oro at Gulf Wars
Wistric mentioned the state of the storage unit; seems there’s a lot of materials for unfinished (unstarted?) projects
There’s a fair amount of leftover fleece from the Red Tower sheep – Illy suggested that it could be used for cows for Bryn Madoc (Danelaw?)
An entire bin of moving blankets which will be turned into storage bags for the thrones
Baronial regalia? A linen unfinished cloak or cassock with baronial arms – it may well be a cover or shade for the thrones for court (fits into a frame). The frame has been lost over the years, so it could become a project for something else. Wistric will bring the fabric to the next meeting.
A full bolt of canvas that was originally going to be a painted wall; perhaps it could become two smaller walls (easier to handle
Several unfinished banners that Baroness Rhiannon had worked on once upon a time; Ximon would like several volunteers to help with it
Several bolts of cotton duck (white, green, black) – perhaps can be used for loaner gear? Mark volunteered to help with this
Additional silk for banners – we definitely need more banners as a Barony! Also a frame and paint; could become a group project night, teaching how to make a painted silk banner
Lady Juliane would love to encourage South Downs to be more spiffy in 2018
Ximon suggested that we break down the banner project into easier manageable sessions: develop design, assess silk pieces, etc.
Mairghread mentioned that Thor’s Mountain baronial candidates are now down to 4 (one had had his membership lapse); the remaining had a Q+A event that was recorded and posted. The new Baron and/or Baroness will step up at May Faire. Her Excellency Thor’s Mountain has been ill, and the Vicar has stepped up recently to handle administrative issues.
Juliane mentioned that His Excellency is interested in restoring the Red Raven as a polling order; is there a gap in the OP that needs to be added/corrected?
Ximon thanked everyone who contributed to the MoB fundraiser lunch at Midwinter A+S
Non-SCA Business
Andreva’s chorale has a concert coming up, featuring folk songs in a lot of different languages. Concert is in May 18 and 20
Mairghread will be on active duty orders for the next couple of months, and it may impact her attendance at Gulf Wars. Sunday practice availability will also be spotty for the next couple of months, due to needed house repair
dilly dilly!
Next South Downs business meeting will be held Wednesday, 7 March 2018, at our new site, Little Tree Art Studios.
Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter (mka Helena Bretherton Hay), South Downs Chronicler.
Herald (Lord Lucien d’Artois) called the meeting to order.
Midwinter Arts + Sciences (2-4 February 2018)
Do we know how many have pre-registered yet?
We only have 15 classes submitted so far
We still need volunteers:
One person to supervise vigil and Order meetings, to be a runner for meeting attendees as needed
Two people have volunteered, two teens who helped at the last event with cleanup
Someone to put up road signage (Sir Iazzie volunteered)
Lady Alisandre will need some things from the Baronial storage unit – she will compile a list of things for Master Wistric to get from the storage unit, and this will be a good test for the new request sheet
The schedule being developed for the Order meetings, vigil, Meet & Greet, etc., is really complex
Andreva may be able to serve as voice herald to announce class changes and meetings, but if she cant, she will find someone who can (perhaps Lord Knut?)
The annual Sari Safari will take place on Sunday after Midwinter
Do we want to do a Regional Fighter practice as done in past years?
Should we hold our Baronial Championship tourneys at this practice?
How elaborate do we want the practice to be? Cookout, etc.? A reminder that that Sunday is also Super Bowl Sunday, so it’s possible we might not have as strong a turnout as we would otherwise
The populace decided that we should just have a regular practice, but extend the invitation through the Midwinter event
We won’t be able to get onsite to set up on Friday evening, so we will need as many people as possible onsite Saturday morning at 7:00am to help get everything set up
The fundraising lunch will either be held in a classroom or at the end of the 2nd floor hallway (as last year)
Site tokens have been ordered but have not yet arrived. Plan B (in the event we don’t get the tokens on time) will be to use leftover tokens from Red Tower, which are already strung (yay!)
Baronial Storage Unit
Wistric announced that a lot of progress has been made on organizing the Baronial storage unit – he’s posted several pics on the FB group to document the work done and those who’ve come out to help. We will need approximately 12 storage tubs to continue organizing All The Things – having identical tubs will make it easier and more consistent to manage everything. The populace approved $150 to purchase more tubs.
Cub Scout Demo
Lisa reminded the populace about the Cub Scout Demo for her son’s pack next Thursday, and encouraged everyone to come out and take part – it’s a lot of fun, and they loved having us come out the last time. The demo starts at 7:00pm. For more info, check out the event that will be set up on the baronial FB group.
Anachrocon (February 16-18, 2018)
We’ve been asked to take part in the in the con by holding a demo (fighting, maybe live weapons?)- maybe also teach classes? The deadline to get into the con booklet has passed, but we can still take part. Master Ximon and THL Andreva both said they’d go.
Other Business
Castle Wars 2017
Does anyone know who ended up with the waivers from Castle Wars? The deputy needs to have them. Whoever has them, please get them to Wistric.
Next South Downs business meeting will be held Wednesday, 7 February 2018, at our new site, Little Tree Art Studios.
Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter (mka Helena Bretherton Hay), South Downs Chronicler.
Herald (Lord Lucien d’Artois) called the meeting to order.
Officer Reports
Herald (Lord Lucien d’Artois)
Submissions
Lady Stella’s device registered at Laurel
Lady Juliane’s badge rejected and resubmitted to Laurel
Mistress Margavati is next
Awards – Castle Wars
Peryn Rose Whitehorse – King’s Lancer
Pietro di Conti – Companion of the Argent Rapier
Piers Simmons – Falcon’s Faith
Mairghread Wilson – Falcon’s Faith
Justina di Silvestri – Phoenix’s Spark
Stella di Silvestri – Swan’s Grace
Armored and Youth Marshal (Lady Mairghread)
Practices are going well, especially Sundays at Liane Levetan Park. Recently,
turnout has been hit-or-miss because it’s now event season
Tuesdays have been hit and miss, Owl’s Nest fighters don’t come out consistently
We have two more youth fighters! yay!
Definitely getting a strong response with youth fighters
Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
Practices. We are still having them, Sunday afternoons, concurrent with armored. Tuesday evening practices at 7pm, temporarily moved to Blackburn Park due to the lighting situation at Liane Levetan. We’re averaging 2-12 people.
We are still waiting for updates from Liane Levetan Park about the lighting situation and work order
Thanks to all who’ve helped cover marshaling practices while Ben is working!
For updates regarding rapier practices, go to the Atlanta SCA Fighting Facebook group.
Live Weapons Marshal (Mistress Mara Palmer – THL Mathias reporting)
Practices are still going strong! We’ve been averaging 10 shooters at practice
We now have both 10- and 20-yard target ranges
We have youth archery!
Our next practice is Sunday, 17 December – for more info, check out our website
Still waiting to hear about practice dates for 2018 –
our hosts are trying to coordinate their scout calendar. Stay tuned!
Chatelaine (Lady Stella di Silvestri – His Excellency reporting)
If you haven’t joined the South Downs Facebook group, do so! It’s the best place to keep up with what’s happening in the Barony
We’ve had some new people show up to the Barony 🙂
Be nice and welcome them!
Arts & Sciences (Mistress Sunneva de Cleia)
Welcome to Mistress Sunneva, our new A+S Officer!
There is now a Google Docs spreadsheet posted on the Baronial Facebook group where you can sign up to teach a class in 2018
Midwinter A+S is the next event on the Baronial calendar. Sunneva will post a signup sheet to teach at Midwinter on the Baronial Facebook group soon – stay tuned!
Reeve (THL Mathias Blackett)
We have money! Not sure exactly how much (so soon after Castle Wars), so no more spending until he figures it out
We had a small profit from Crown List – everything was budgeted and spent well, but expenses were higher because of the site, and attendance was less than usual for this type of event
After Kingdom took their split, and the rest of the profits were split among the three hosting groups, we made ~$166
Lady Juliane suggested that perhaps we don’t go outside of Georgia for our event sites
We also had a lower turnout than usual for Castle Wars (adults, 479??) but a lot of kids (brought total number up to 529). However, kids aren’t counted for event purposes, per Kingdom law. Usually we’re at 700.
Expenses were also higher – even though the SCA doesn’t charge for kids, kids are charged a park fee (which we ultimately cover).
For the next two years, Castle Wars will be held at the Al Sihah Shrine Temple in Macon, which will cost us less
Spending was also careful and well done. Expenses totaled $7124, and we made a profit of $2808. This is lower than in the past but we still came out ahead.
Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
We have a website!
Updated:
Have continued to update the populace pages
Updated several titles
Updated Castle Wars map and photos
Updated event calendar
Setup Midwinter A+S pre-registration page
Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
The Baronial Newsletter (“The Read Tower”) has been published! Yay! Thanks to all who contributed to the issue, and for everyone’s patience as I got this inaugural issue done
(Please note: this part is more detailed than the original officer report 🙂 ) Will begin working on the Winter issue after the holidays. I’m looking for the following content; I want to highlight what we, the populace of the Barony do, and what we find fun about the SCA:
Officers’ column: each Baronial officer has a column where they can describe what they do, what’s cool about what you do as that officer, and anything (events, practices, etc) you want to publicize. Roughly 500 words (a page or two?)
Guild reps: again, you have a space where you can let the populace know what you do, why you find it cool, and what your Guild has going on. And again, roughly 500 words would be great
Articles I’d like to have written, 500-750 words (ish); if you’d like to write an article, please let me know and we’ll chat:
Reveling at Castle Wars: one of the things that makes Castle Wars special, the camping and reveling; article and photos
Presentation (?) Herald at Crown: what it’s like to process with a combatant at Crown and announce them at the beginning of the tournament?
Rapier activity beyond the world of the SCA (SERFO/HEMA) (thanks, Brendan de Hay!)
Class handouts, recipes, etc. – please include images (I can scan if necessary), and a writeup introducing the material
Artwork and photos – again, I can scan artwork if necessary
Thank you all! I hope you enjoyed the issue
Seneschal (Master Wistric Oftun)
We need to develop an event site database; look for sites for different kinds and sizes of events
Updated Con database
We need to start looking for a new meeting site – good parking, decent meeting room. Perhaps a pub? Coffeehouse?
Their Excellencies
Christmas party at Their Excellencies! You all should come! 16 December. Please carpool if you can, as parking may be somewhat limited. Please check out the Baronial FB group or the event site for more details.
Dirty Santa ($20 limit)
Thanks to everyone for Castle Wars! Everyone helped through the weather, much appreciated
Please write more award recommendations – specific person, specific reasons. All awards! Kingdom *and* baronial!
Upcoming Events
Midwinter Arts + Sciences (2-4 February 2018)
We have a site! University of West Georgia (not Little Tallapoosa, Mathias!)
University of West Georgia changed their scheduling – classes don’t get scheduled there until the very end of the semester, so getting the site confirmed was tough. It might be a good idea to find another site
The Meridian Order of the Blade will sponsor a fundraiser lunch of a variety of chilis and stews. Will need crockpots.
Mistress Sunneva is in charge of classes -if you want to teach, talk to her
THL Andreva and Lord Farouk will do the royal luncheon.
Lord Piers will head up troll, with help from Lords Lucien and Pietro
Juliane is co-autocrat
Need merchantcrat
Katerina from Owls Nest has offered to do PayPal for pre-reg, but we have some fees that need to be taken care of from Castle Wars and Crown before we can get PayPal cleared
Library again? wasn’t utilized much last year, although the idea was cool.
There will not be a heraldic consultation at MWA+S unless someone volunteers, but there will be one at 40year
Cub Scout Demo (25 January 2018)
At the University Heights Methodist Church, at 7:00pm
We’ve been invited by special request of the Cubmaster (again!) 🙂 The Cubmaster is a big DragonCon and photography aficionado
Each den provides a speaker for one meeting each year, this den has a theme of knights in shining armor, etc., and they’ve loved having us over in past years
Artsy Crown (26-29 May 2018)
Sir Iazzie is submitting a bid
Would be held at the Al Sihah Shrine in Macon
Red Tower (5-7 October 2018)
Do we have a site?
Andreva is putting together a bid
SCA Business
Castle Wars Post-Mortem
It went really well – everyone helped so much
What could have gone better:
Made a mistake with rapier marshal, had tournaments instead of melee
Parking can be moved to the other side
Portapotties can be moved to better places
Troll – receipts need to be given to every single person; this is a rule that changes depending on kingdom seneschal
Merchants complained about where they were placed
Merchants should be closer to artisans row
Bigger bottles of hand sanitizers at portapotties that aren’t soap
If we have an event at Mackintosh again we need to keep in mind “Lake Mackintosh” from past years (rain) and how that may impact site layout
Shrine – keep on top of fire ants
Mairghread commented on calibration issues in the fighting, recommends that MiC brief fighters ahead of time on Meridian calibration standards.
Make sure your rapier and armored marshals get along
we need to figure out how to deal with the castle walls. Ximon suggests a 25ft Uhaul truck to carry all the things.
What went well (yay!):
The revel space was a great idea, even beyond the weather issues – where can the revel take place at the shrine?
Yay Stella for running camp! And keeping everyone caffeinated!
Camp kitchen rocked!
Ximon mentioned how much he likes Mackintosh
Thanks to Wistric for making sure all the things got done; he pointed out that Lucien is the man for everything he took care of
heater and pavilion for troll was awesome
Non-SCA Business
Margavati brought a bunch of stuff she’s clearing out from her house
Next South Downs business meeting will be held Wednesday, 3 January 2017, at the Atlanta Friends Meeting House.
Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter (mka Helena Bretherton Hay), South Downs Chronicler.
Herald (Lord Lucien d’Artois) called the meeting to order.
Several new people came to the meeting, so we all introduced ourselves, and shared our office (if applicable) and interests we each have.
Officer Reports
Herald (Lord Lucien d’Artois)
Submissions
Anneliese Wolf’s name and device were registered at Laurel.
Awards – Red Tower:
THL Mathias Blackett – Red Raven
Duke John of Ean Airgead, Lord Pietro di Conti, Mistress Mara Palmer – Kestrel’s Talon
Lord Brendan de Hay – Falcon’s Faith
Lady Emelina le Norreys – Swan’s Grace
Mistress Sunneva de Cleia and Master Wistric Oftun – Phoenix’s Spark
Beatrice – Sparrow’s Wing
Marianna Cristina Tirado de Aragon – Heart of South Downs
Lord Lucien d’Artois – South Downs Chivalry Award
Armored and Youth Marshal (Lady Mairghread)
Practices are going well, especially Sundays at Liane Levetan Park. Recently,
turnout has been hit-or-miss because it’s now event season
Tuesdays have been hit and miss, Owl’s Nest fighters don’t come out consistently
No practice this weekend (5 November) because of ConjurationCon and regional practice in Tir Briste, so go there instead!
We have one more youth fighter (Eric) yay!
Lady Mairghread will be MiC of Friday night activities at Castle Wars. We are hoping to have (again) Knight Bowling and Friday Night Theme Music for fights (but we need another DJ
Live Weapons Marshal (Mistress Mara Palmer – THL Mathias reporting)
We’ve been averaging 10 shooters at practice
We now have both 10- and 20-yard target ranges
We have youth archery!
Our next practice is this coming Sunday (5 November) – for more info, check out our website
Mistress Mara has a link to arrow sources – check with her for more info
The populace inquired how many tassels does the baronial populace now have? The answer: a LOT!
Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
Practices. We are still having them, Sunday afternoons, concurrent with armored. Tuesday evening practices at 7pm, temporarily moved to Blackburn Park due to the lighting situation at Liane Levetan. We’re averaging 2-12 people.
We did hear back from Liane Levetan Park about the lighting situation – they’ve put in a work order
There are lots of rapier activity planned for the fall event season – come out to events and get your stab on!
For updates regarding rapier practices, go to the Atlanta SCA Fighting Facebook group.
No practice this weekend (5 November), due to ConjurationCon and the Tir Briste regional practice – come join us there!
Ximon mentioned that we should work in some more demos – if you have any leads on demo opportunities, please let Brendan know
Upcoming – SERFO (HEMA fencing tournament in Atlanta)! and Castle Wars!
Chatelaine (Lady Stella di Silvestri – His Excellency reporting)
If you haven’t joined the South Downs Facebook group, do so! It’s the best place to keep up with what’s happening in the Barony
Speaking of demos, ConjurationCon will happen the weekend of 4 November – come on out! We’re coordinating efforts with Bryn Madoc – come on out, it’s a lot of fun! Touch base with Stella or Piers if you are planning to help out, so they can know who to expect.
Arts & Sciences (Lady Veronica da Lucca)
Lady Alisandre taught October’s class on making fencing shirts – it was an excellent class
Volunteers are needed for future activity/class nights! If you are interested, please contact Lady Veronica until the end of the month, or Mistress Sunneva beginning in December, as she will be taking over as the Baronial Arts + Sciences officer (yay!)
This month’s class night is scheduled for the night before Thanksgiving – it was suggested that we reschedule until the following Wednesday, in conjunction with the fifth Wednesday potluck
Reeve (THL Lady Maire Dhocair Inghean Chiarain)
We have money! and checks! (no) thanks to Bank of America. We may be changing banks – Bank of America has been difficult to work with. Researching options now.
Reservationist for Castle Wars reports almost 100 pre-registered, very low number at this point
Sir Iazzie suggested that in addition to “spamming” the kingdom with advertisements, announce that reservations can be taken at Crown List
Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
Updated:
Artisan’s Row page (Castle Wars)
Officer’s Page (Master Ximon as Quartermaster)
Awards pages
Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
The Baronial Newsletter (“The Read Tower”) is in progress – really! Hope to have it released in the next couple of weeks (before Christmas)
Seneschal (Master Wistric Oftun)
Lady Juliane de Vivonne is the new deputy for site researching
We need to look for sites for different types of events, small to Knowne World level events
Their Excellencies
We will see you all the next few weekends at ConjurationCon, Crown List, and Castle Wars!
Upcoming Events
ConjurationCon (3-5 November 2017)
Most of the info has already been conveyed – come on out!
Fall Crown List (10-12 November 2017)
At Little Tallapoosa Park, co-hosting with the shire of Depedale and the Barony of Bryn Madoc
Mattias has nothing new to report
The newly-(re)formed Moneyers Guild will meet at Crown List; the Moneyers Guild is about making coins
Pottycrat is still needed – Mairghread volunteered to do it on Saturday when she’s there (daytripping)
Mathias is serving as acting seneschal at Crown list, as Wistric will not be able to make it
Barony may need to bring tables and dayshades – need to arrange trip to storage unit to get them; maybe coordinate carrying stuff from Crown List to Castle Wars, as they are on two consecutive weekends
Castle Wars (17 – 19 November 2017)
Need to determine who can serve as reeve on site, as Mathias won’t be there. Maybe Maire?
Needs help to attach tokens to things (strings? ribbon?). It was determined that this can be taken care of at next week’s meeting, since it’s project night 🙂
Wednesday before Castle Wars, we will meet to help load the trailer. Ximon has offered to pull a trailer with his truck, as he will be attending the entire weekend.
Need to approve funds to rent trailer, approved unanimously (~$200)
Lorenzo has a trailer that can be used for overflow if necessary
Juliane did her Iazzie impersonation to remind everyone that “THE BARON AND BARONESS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO SET UP AND TEAR DOWN THEIR OWN STUFF. MUFFIN.”
Discussed alcohol policy – no open containers, no visibly pouring into cups etc.
Castle walls – Iazzie has repaired them and built a gate system for them. They still need to be painted grey this weekend at THL Kynwric’s house. more work to be done after Castle Wars on them (sealing/varnish). Expect to need $400 on repairs, with $ available to make 10 more walls.
Midwinter Arts + Sciences (2-4 February 2018)
Alisandre still waiting to hear from Sibella to confirm site availability (University of West Georgia)
The Meridian Order of the Blade will sponsor a fundraiser lunch of a variety of chilis and stews
Cub Scout Demo (25 January 2018)
At the University Heights Methodist Church, at 7:00pm
We’ve been invited by special request of the Cubmaster (again!) 🙂 The Cubmaster is a big DragonCon and photography aficionado
Each den provides a speaker for one meeting each year, this den has a theme of knights in shining armor, etc., and they’ve loved having us over in past years
SCA Business
Lady Alisandre will be making candied orange peel this weekend at her home, and has invited anyone who wants to learn to make it to come over and learn/help.
Iazzie is working on doing some short Cervantes and Shakespeare plays for future A+S opportunities. Perhaps resurrect the actors’ guild (of sorts)?
Non-SCA Business
Nothing new to report
Next South Downs business meeting will be held Wednesday, 6 December 2017, at the Atlanta Friends Meeting House.
Notes submitted by Stunt Chronicler, Lord Brendan de Hay (mka Benjamin Hay), on behalf of Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.
Upcoming Events
Castle Wars (17 – 19 November 2017) – Lord Piers reporting via speaker phone
Would like to shift $200 from main CW budget for party food (Unanimously approved) Check to be issued to Mistress Jadi.
Equestrian fees: A great deal of drama over the extra fees associated with horsing around. Her Excellency was asked if the Barony would consider covering the extra fees. Unanimous vote NOT to cover the fees from the Barony coffers. His Excellency asked that objectors be referred to him directly.
Due to the need to change venues mid-stream, the flyer to PopChiv was delayed (late by less than 1 day), and did not make the October issue. For future reference, however, autocrats are asked to prioritize the flyer and pricing structure announcements so no one will be surprised.
On an individual note, please get pre-registrations in so the Baronial camp can be allotted the space needed. Lady Stella is camp mistress.
A&S and Artisans’ row have merged. Contact Mistress Sunneva and/or Mistress Peryn with requests for teaching slots or merchant space.
Do we have tables? Led to discussion of how things will get to site. As usual, private trucks and trailers are the plan for now.
Next South Downs business meeting will be held Wednesday, 1 November 2017, at the Atlanta Friends Meeting House.
Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter (mka Helena Bretherton Hay), South Downs Chronicler.
Herald (Lord Lucien d’Artois) called the meeting to order.
Officer Reports
Armored and Youth Marshal (Lady Mairghread)
Practices are going well, especially Sundays at Liane Levetan Park
Tuesdays have been hit and miss, Owl’s Nest fighters don’t come out consistently
Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
Practices. Nothing new. Sunday afternoons, concurrent with armored. Tuesday evening practices at 7pm, temporarily moved to Blackburn Park due to the lighting situation at Liane Levetan. We did hear back from the folks at Liane Levetan Park – they have put in a work order for the lights, so we’re hoping things will be fixed soon.
Brendan thanked everyone who has helped cover marshalling practices when he’s had work conflicts
There are lots of rapier activity planned for the fall event season – come out to events and get your stab on!
Live Weapons Marshal (Mistress Mara Palmer – THL Mathias reporting)
Lady Stella, Master Lorenzo, and THL Mathias got their tassels
The October practice has to be moved to Sunday, 15 October (the Sunday of Coronation weekend)
Come on out to Red Tower! It will be fun for everyone, even new archers – loaner gear will be available if you’d like to try target archery
One of the shoots at Red Tower will be a stuffed animal shoot; Lady Justina suggested that she (or someone) could play teddy bear doctor to repair the shot stuffed animals,
so the kids won’t be upset at shooting stuffed animals
Mara has not gone over budget, and is almost done buying all the things
For more information about archery in Meridies, please check out their website
Chatelaine (Lady Stella di Silvestri – His Excellency reporting)
Lady Stella will be taking on 2 deputies:
Demo deputy is Lord Piers
Gold key is Lady Justina
Donations have been made to the Barony – a range of things that will be useful in general
Do you have suggestions for future demos? Stella is setting up a Google Doc that will make it easy to submit your idea and send it on to Piers and Stella
Speaking of demos, ConjurationCon will happen the weekend of 4 November – come on out! Touch base with Stella or Piers if you are planning to help out, so they can know who to expect.
Arts & Sciences (Lady Veronica da Lucca)
A+S quarterly report to kingdom is due soon – Lady Veronica passed around a sheet so everyone could list what they’ve worked on this past quarter
This month’s class is a surprise! (ETA: Lady Alisandre taught a class on making fencing shirts
Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
Nothing to report
Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
Nothing to report
Seneschal (Master Wistric Oftun)
Mini-business meeting last week happened – $1,000 was approved for upcoming expenses for Castle Wars,
including propane tanks, torches, etc.
Reeve (THL Lady Maire Dhocair Inghean Chiarain)
Distributed several checks, per the previous week’s meeting
Maire reminded everyone working on upcoming events that it is preferred to submit your expense receipts as much all together as possible, so that fewer checks are written
Herald (Lord Lucien d’Artois)
Submissions
Five baronial badge submissions have advanced to Society
Court Report
Tourney of the Foxes:
Veronica da Lucca – Order of the Velvet Owl
Meridian Grand Tournament (MGT)
Master Wistric Oftun received the Stallion’s Blood
Their Excellencies
Red Tower is coming up! Come out! Have fun!
Help out!
Justina will be teaching a class with Their Excellencies on how to be a courtier – this will be a great class for newcomers!
Castle Wars is coming up! If you haven’t written an award recommendation for someone in time for Red Tower and are thinking of doing so, do it now so it can be considered in time for Castle Wars. Their Excellencies love giving out awards!
Upcoming Events
Red Tower (30 September – 2 October 2017)
Everything is going well – Lady Julianna was nervous, but she met with Her Excellency and they put together lists of things that need to be done
We need people for set up (Friday @ 3:00pm), and tear down (Saturday night and Sunday morning); several volunteers offered
Still need a volunteer as pottycrat – easier than most events, since there’s a bathhouse and cabins,just the 3 portapotties on the field. Stella volunteered.
Need help with site heralding – Don Scott?
Mattias will herald the rapier tournament – Wistric wants to find out what’s being planned
Do we have popup tents available for the list mistresses?
Mattias was had ideas about hall decorations – will try to drape it in curtains to make it look like a Roman hall, then will put the South Downs banners
Can we set up a lounge long enough for His Highness Tim to lounge on?
Lucien has sign up sheet for troll – Friday 5-Midnight, Sat 7am – 1pm. Weather permitting, troll will be at main pavilion near field instead of main hall – need to put on the Red Tower FB page
Mairghread asked if we have enough ropes/stakes/etc to mark off fighting fields. If not, a good option would be flour to mark off the edges of the fields
Juliana needs a check to get things taken care of on site; she also needs cash advance check for cash for troll.
Question about portapotties – would it be possible to have hand sanitizer supplied in each of them?
Fall Crown List (10-12 November 2017)
Co-hosting with the shire of Depedale and the Barony of Bryn Madoc
Will take place at Little Talapoosa park, with Bryn Madoc and Depedale
Mattias doesn’t have much new to report
There was a small discussion about non-feast meals
Planning will get into high gear after Red Tower
Castle Wars (17 – 19 November 2017)
There was a problem with site tokens that were ordered – they turned out to be way too small. Piers is sending them back, and will get refund eventually.
He has already found an alternative token (with help from Wistric and Iazzie). This is within the existing budget, so no vote needed
Midwinter Arts + Sciences (2-4 February 2018)
Alisandre still waiting to hear from Sibella to confirm site availability (University of West Georgia)
SCA Business
As part of what was recently donated to the Barony, we now have a wrought iron cooking tripod and 2 portable holes, and an iron rose the was donated. Could we use it as a prize at (Midwinter A+S?) cooking competition? We could also use feast gear that was donated for volunteer raffles at upcoming events
Ximon thanked Lorenzo and Adela on behalf of the Meridian Order of the Blad for loaning them water coolers, and Veronica for providing a scroll last minute
Lorenzo told a story about having a runic scroll translated at MGT
Non-SCA Business
Nothing new to report
Next South Downs business meeting will be held Wednesday, 1 November 2017, at the Atlanta Friends Meeting House.
Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter (mka Helena Bretherton Hay), South Downs Chronicler.
Stunt Herald (Master Wistric Oftun) called the meeting to order.
Officer Reports
Armored and Youth Marshal (Lady Mairghread)
We may have a new armored fighter from Trimaris
Practices are continuing Tuesday evenings with Owls Nest at Swift Cantrell Park, Sunday afternoons at Liane Levetan Park in Dunwoody.
Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
Practices. Sunday afternoons, concurrent with armored. Tuesday evenings around 7pm. We are seeking new practice sites. Levetan Park has disabled the field lighting at our practice site, and it’s getting dark earlier. Short-term, maybe we return to Blackburn for Tuesdays? Please contact Brendan if you have a suggestion.
Recent past rapier stuff:
Elements of Adela’s Gilded Companie journeyed north, leading the Meridian Rapier Expeditionary Force—Pennsic Theater.
Adela’s Gilded Companie fielded three squads at Tourney of the Foxes. One of those squads, led by Master Wistric, won the 5-person melee tourney.
Live Weapons Marshal (Mistress Mara Palmer – THL Mathias reporting)
Stella got her tassel in court at Foxes
Royal rounds held again at practice
For more information about archery in Meridies, please check out their website
Herald (Lord Lucien d’Artois)
Submissions
2 personal badges for Lucien d’Artois advanced to Society level.
1 name submission for Konrad Windhorn advanced to Society level.
5 baronial badges submitted, items pended awaiting petition, which was subsequently provided, items to be added on a second ILOI at Kingdom
Court Report
Tourney of the Foxes:
Veronica da Lucca – Order of the Velvet Owl
Chatelaine (Lady Stella di Silvestri – His Excellency reporting)
There was a parade at DragonCon – great turnout from several kingdoms
Rapier fighters fought in parade
One heavy fighter from Calontir took part
Had chariot and two pullers (needed 4)
Duke John thanked those who helped, and reiterated that we need to have 4 people (at least) to pull
Arts & Sciences (Lady Veronica da Lucca)
The August A+S class night, “Beyond Running Stitch: Hand Sewing Techniques,” was taught by Mistress Allesandra.
This month’s class, on “Dante’s Inferno,” will be taught by Sir Iazzie.
Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
Event pages have been updated
Live Weapons page has been added
Added Order of the Velvet Owl to Lady Veronica’s profile
Updated site with pictures from DragonCon
Their Excellencies
South Downs will host the fundraiser lunch at Crossroads;
volunteers needed! Funds will go towards the Castle Wars discretionary fund
Her Excellency thanked everyone who represented her on the field at Foxes
Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
Nothing to report
Seneschal (Master Wistric Oftun)
DragonCon was this pas weekend – it rocked!
Per Lady Stella – if you are on the DragonCon Facebook group, please let us know what recommendations you may have for improvements for next year’s DragonCon
Upcoming Events
Red Tower (30 September – 2 October 2017)
We have only 17 registrations so far
A pre-registration form and a Google doc for a signup list are in the works
Concerns were voiced about signage for the site, since it is relatively new – where should the signs go? Do we have enough signs?
Lorenzo has signs/banners from castle wars a couple of years ago that may be useful for the event site.
Charmone said that she has a prize that is being donated by dal raven(?) forge; needs to confirm with Tristram
Pietro has box of binders and clipboards that can be used for Red Tower
Juliana wants to create a laminated cheat sheet for all volunteer roles
Will there be a South Downs encampment? There are cabins and tenting available, but no specific baronial campsite.
Mariana discussed the menu for feast; menu will be posted both on the Facebook event site and baronial website Red Tower page
Need to make sure that there are volunteers to help clean up Sunday so we can all leave at a reasonable time
Also need volunteers to serve feast and clean up kitchen after feast
Fall Crown List (10-12 November 2017)
Co-hosting with the shire of Depedale and the Barony of Bryn Madoc
Will take place at Little Tallapoosa Park in Carrollton
As soon as we have the schedule approved by the Crown,
it will be posted
Castle Wars (17 – 19 November 2017)
Need more volunteers – please see the signup sheet to see what is still needed
Piers may be facing shoulder surgery soon, may be limited mobility
South Downs encampment – Alisandre will set up group for encampment, and will need volunteers to take meal / clean up duty
Their Highnesses will camp with House Excelsior; the South Downs encampment site has been established as well; 10 people = camp
Landcrat – Maire?
Midwinter Arts + Sciences (2-4 February 2018)
Alisandre says well know in a couple of weeks before we can confirm site at University of West Georgia
Artsy Crown (25-27 May, 2018)
Iazzie heard promising things from previous autocrat
Approximately 85% done with budget
SCA Business
Would love to find a different meeting site – recommendations and ideas are needed! Please check with Their Excellencies if you have any suggestions
Iazzie is working on getting castle walls replaced and expanded
Ximon had offered a six-pack of beverage of choice for anyone who helped pull the chariot at DragonCon; he made good on his payment at the meeting
Non-SCA Business
There will be a viking festival in Roswell the same weekend as Red Tower
The Fernbank museum is hosting a gladiator exhibit this month
All the business issues having been addressed, the lords and ladies of the populace adjourned to vote on candidates for the Heart of South Downs and Chivalry awards for business meeting. Once the voting was held, the meeting was closed.
Next South Downs business meeting will be held Wednesday, 4 October 2017, at the Atlanta Friends Meeting House.
Greetings from Lord Lucien d’Artois, Head Troll for Red Tower. It’s not too late to sign up to help out with troll! Please feel free to sign up for a one-hour shift. Your assistance is greatly appreciated!
Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter (mka Helena Bretherton Hay), South Downs Chronicler.
Lord Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order.
Officer Reports
Herald (Lord Lucien d’Artois)
Submissions
Annaliese Wolf – name/device at Laurel (3nd month – post-commentary)
Stella di Silvestri – device at Laurel (2nd month of commentary)
Juliane de Vivonne – badge at Laurel (1st month in commentary)
Porcia Secunda – name at Laurel (1st month in commentary)
Lucien d’Artois – badge x2 at Kingdom
Konrad Windhorn – name at Kingdom
Court Report
RUM:
Mara Palmer – Broken Bow
Stella di Silvestri – Guiding Hand
Arabian Nights:
Mathias Blackett – Kingdom Bard
Armored and Youth Marshal (Lady Mairghread)
6-8 armored fighters at Sunday practices
Joint fighters practice with Owls Nest continues to go well
We have one new youth fighter (yay!)
Mairghread has requested $200 for additional loaner gear
Live Weapons Marshal (Mistress Mara Palmer – THL Mathias reporting)
July practice hosted ~22 archers
Royal round was held at practice
Update on acquiring loaner and baronial gear: we’ve only had to buy 3 bows
We have two new marshals in training
If interested in shooting archery at foxes, please contact Mistress Mara; if you are taking part in other tournaments during the event, please be aware there’s a lot of waiting around between archery rounds
For more information about archery in Meridies, please check out their website
Chatelaine (Lady Stella di Silvestri – His Excellency reporting)
Everyone is encouraged to sign up for DragonCon and take part in the parade!
Stella made up some baronial business cards for distribution at demos, etc., which should arrive Monday
We’ve had several new people come to events and practices recently
Stella is still looking for a deputy chatelaine, in charge of demos – if interested, please contact her
Reeve (THL Maire)
We have some money! yay!
We are spending a lot of money so we have to be careful, especially with the event season and our several events coming up this fall
Everything is paid up till the end of the year. With the site location changing for Castle Wars, we need to be extra careful with funds until we know more about how the change will impact the budget
Mara mentioned that she’s still running way below budget with archery needs.
Arts & Sciences (Lady Veronica da Lucca)
The July A+S class night was on making viking aprons, and taught by Lady Juliana
This month’s class, on how to event steward, will be presented by Mistress Jadi. She plans to set up the class as a roundtable featuring participants who have extensive experience in event stewarding from both inside and outside the barony, who can provide a variety of viewpoints and experiences on event stewarding. Ximon volunteered. This is would normally be held on the 4th Wednesday, but there are schedule conflicts, so please stay tuned.
This month will be our 5th Wednesday in-garb potluck – everyone is welcome!
Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
Updated the Knight Marshal page
We need to add a Live Weapons Marshal page, now that we have a live weapons program
New profiles for Aidan MacKay, Konrad, Mairghread, and Piers have been added
His Excellency added the new baronial awards page to the website
Red Tower event page was updated
Castle Wars event page updated – the Castle Wars page includes a downloadable pre-registration form; it was agreed that the Red Tower page should also have a pre-reg form
Fighter practice page/schedule has been updated and expanded
Seneschal (Master Wistric Oftun)
We have a barony (huzzah!)
Do we want to sponsor something at Meridian 40 Year? We should discuss and let Countess Thorkatla know.
Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
Nothing to report
Their Excellencies
Their Excellencies have received several recommendations for the new baronial awards! The populace is encouraged to write more!
They also encourage the populace to write more recommendations for deserving gentles for all sorts of awards for upcoming events! Check the OP if you aren’t sure if someone has a particular award
Their Majesties are already putting the list together for Castle Wars
Foxes!
Her Excellency would love to sponsor several teams for the tournaments at Foxes – rapier, armored, and archery (team names: Adela’s Special Snowflakes? unless there’s only one team in a particular tournament, then they’ll become The Snowflakes?).
Her Excellency will be working on new tokens this weekend – everyone is invited to help (silk banner painting practice!)
There should be several rapier and armored teams – yay!
Upcoming Events
Red Tower (30 September – 2 October 2017)
Lady Emmelina created a lovely flyer for the event – look for it in the upcoming kingdom newsletter
A pre-registration form and a Google doc for a signup list are in the works
Site visit planned for tomorrow (3 August)
Volunteers needed:
Herald(s)
Head troll
Pottycrat
Royal liaison
2 list mistresses
(updates)Rapier covered per wistric
Serafina will do armored list
Hall steward (Mathias volunteers)
Children’s activities?
Travelers’ fare
Cleanup Royal site Sunday
Owl’s Nest is taking care fundraiser lunch; we will do fundraiser lunch @ Crossroads
Feast – THL Mariana is working on recipes, menu will be pinned down this weekend
Castle Wars (17 – 19 November 2017)
Flyer should be ready this weekend for submission to PopChiv
Most staff taking care of, just needs landcrat and heralds
Site map has been sent to Their Majesties so we can determine where they want their camp to be
Need donations for volunteer raffle
Lucien needs volunteers for troll
Maire said we need heaters and lights for troll
Fall Crown List (10-12 November 2017)
Co-hosting with the shire of Depedale and the Barony of Bryn Madoc
Will take place at Little Tallapoosa Park in Carrollton
Portapotties reserved
Event flyer about to go out
Everything is going smoothly
We (South Downs) will be the ones handling insurance
Maire mentioned that insurance for a group is taken care of for the first event of the year that group does
SCA Business
Mathias said there had been mention of 5th Wednesday in-garb potluck including some SCA dancing or bardic performances. He would be interested in getting some people together to do some commedia?
Ximon needs to talk with the reeve to get the check to cover the loaner rapier armor we bought from Tina (and the youth combat helm)
Sir Iazzie: The castle walls need repair/replacement (“rapier uses the walls, armored abuses the walls”).
Wants to talk to Sebastionnos about repairing/building a new wall and see how much it would cost.
We also need a gate of our own; with a second gate and repaired walls, we could do 2 castles for fighting scenarios.
Repairs very important, but we really do need *additional* wall pieces.
Hopefully we can store the walls and gates at the Shrine – currently they’re at His Highness’.
Can we get together with Tir Briste to help out with walls?
Fundraising idea – donate X$ to wall, maybe get your device on a wall? 🙂
His Excellency is going to test out new rope and stake wall for meridies royal encampment at pennsic
Lucien reminded everyone about the 2nd mini business meeting, possibly starting in August to help keep track of upcoming events (thru Midwinter A+S), to take place 3rd Wednesday of each month
After tonight’s meeting, we will meet for Baronial Chivarly / Heart of South Downs awards
Non-SCA Business
Lady Juliana suggests parking ideas for DragonCon. Parking Panda allows you to buy reserved parking spaces for much cheaper than public parking.
Other parking ideas;
Parking at the Cathedral for $20/day
Buy a monthly pass at the International Center parking garage for $120; pass is good for a full month, so if you need to park downtown at other times during September, it can be a good deal.
All the business issues having been addressed, the business meeting was closed.
Next South Downs business meeting will be held Wednesday, 6 September 2017, at the Atlanta Friends Meeting House.
