South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

6 November 2015

Decatur Recreation Center

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter (mka Helena Bretherton Hay), South Downs Chronicler

 

Lord Bjorn Gullharr called the meeting to order.

Officer Reports

• Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
  • Is interested in developing publications for the Barony – perhaps a Baronial directory? Newsletter? Asked populace for feedback and preferences.
    • Directory – had been done a few years ago, would need to collect current information
    • Newsletter – could do quarterly, include information about A+S, Supper Club, columns by baronial members, etc.
• Herald (Lord Bjorn Gullharr)
  • Names and devices
    • Emeline – device
    • Mistress Margavati – device returned for problem with lotus image
    • Pietro di Conti – device returned
• Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
  • Practices are being held weekly (Sunday afternoons and Tuesday evenings) at Blackburn park.
• Webminister (Lord Wistric Oftun)
  • We have a website!
• A+S (Lady Tryggva Ingvarrsdóttir)
  • Justina is teaching this month’s A+S class, on Greek/Viking hairstyling (just in time for Castle Wars!)
    • Class is NEXT WEEK (13 November), at Their Excellencies’ home in Marietta (because the parking garage will be closed)
  • Dance classes continuing
• Reeve (Lady Maire Dhocair Inghean Chiarain)
  • Quarterly report is done
  • We have funds! (the populace rejoiced)
  • Castle Wars financial report will be finalized after the event has finished
• Their Excellencies
  • We are considering a new meeting site
    • YMCA across from Blackburn Park
    • Janice may have a site option, her church in Dunwoody
• Knight Marshal
  • Nothing to report

SCA Business

• Event Reports
  • Castle Wars (19–22 November 2015)
    • Coming soon!
    • Pre-registration closes Saturday, 9 November
    • Volunteers
      • Autocrat has the volunteer sign up sheet – please sign up!
        • Needs to speak with Tryggva and Zahira
        • Margavati and Tryggva request volunteers for troll, especially late nights. Volunteering at troll earns double points!
        • Information Point is also a nice and quiet place to volunteer
      • Sir Iazzie and Master Ximon need help transporting the castle walls to and from site
    • Crown has requested five order meetings to be worked into the event schedule
    • Their Excellencies encourage submitting online recommendations for those who are considering submitting recommendations, as Their Majesties will be at Castle Wars
    • Mistress Jadi  said that donations are needed for the Castle Wars volunteer auction. Popular options:
      • Gift certificates, including for donations of time and or skills (Lady Mara gave an example “I will make you one custom scroll”)
      • Pearls
      • Feast gear
      • Rattan
      • Anything pretty/shiny/useful at an event
    • Check out event notice on Facebook for more details
  • Viking Krampus (20 December 2015)
    • Atlanta Kali Group on Facebook
    • we’ve been invited to hold a demo there during the event – as the event is a Sunday afternoon, perhaps we can hold our regular Sunday practice at their event?
  • Midwinter A+S (12–14 February 2016)
    • Her Excellency and Lady Mara presented a proposal to hold the event at the University of West Georgia
      • Proposal was approved by unanimous consent
      • Hope to find someone with completed paperwork to head up a children’s activities track
  • Potential events
    • We need to take a look at the kingdom-level event schedule for 2016 to see what events we may be interested in submitting bids
• Upcoming Meetings
  • This month’s A+S class is NEXT WEEK (13 November), at Their Excellencies’ home in Marietta (because the parking garage will be closed)
  • There will be no meeting the Wednesday before Thanksgiving

Non-SCA Business

• Exhibit on the Habsburgs at the High Museum, through 17 January 2016
  Habsburg Splendor
• Exhibit on the Queen of Sheba at the Fernbank Museum, through 3 January 2016
  Searching for the Queen of Sheba

Next baronial business meeting will be held Wednesday, 2 December 2015. Happy Thanksgiving!

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting
7 October 2015

Decatur Recreation Center

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter (mka Helena Bretherton Hay), South Downs Chronicler

 

Lord Bjorn Gullharr called the meeting to order.

Officer Reports

• Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
  • Nothing to report
  • Would like to consider developing a quarterly newsletter or update the baronial directory
• A+S Minister (Lord Mathias, reporting for Lady Tryggva)
  • October project night will be 14 October. There will be people working on tokens for Castle Wars (likely leather stamping) – the populace is more than welcome to help out! Zoe will also be previewing the equestrian class for Castle Wars
  • November A+S class (11 November) Lady Justina will teach period hairstyling techniques
  • We are still looking for help with troll and volunteers to teach classes at Castle Wars. Maire has paperwork for volunteering

• Reeve (Lady Maire Dhocair Inghean Chiarain)
  • Nothing to report (for now)
• Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
  • Practices have been going well, despite the frequent absence of the GRM due to work responsibilities.
  • Captains Davio and Wistric presented a rapier demo at Streets Alive
  • Raven mentioned the next regional rapier practice, to be held Sunday, 18 October, here at Blackburn Park. All are welcome to come out!
• Webminister (Captain Wistric)
  • Yes, there’s a website!
  • An additional page has been added with information about nearby groups
  • If there’s something you’d like to see included in the website, let Wistric know – always open to ideas

• Herald (Lord Bjorn)
  • Names and devices
    • Jay Luo – name and device submitted to Cypher
    • Mara Palmer – device resubmission and badge submission advanced to Laurel
    • Margot de Saint Denis device returned from Laurel because the lotus blossom was drawn incorrectly.
  • Events and courts
    • Red Tower
      • Iastreb Desislavich – Red Raven
      • Marianna Cristina Tirado – Red Raven
      • Bram Halfdannarson – Tower Or
      • Sunneva de Cleia – Tower Argent
      • Bjorn Gullharr – Tower Or
      • Stella de Silvestri – Hearth of South Downs
      • Bram Halfdannarson – Lady’s Chivalry Award
      • Iastreb Desislavich – Lady’s Chivalry Award

SCA Business

• Event reports
  • Red Tower (18–20 September 2015)
    • Went well
    • 232 people attended
    • Fighting went well – 36 fighters in Red Tower tourney
    • Rapier rocked
    • Feast rocked (thanks, Iastreb and Marianna!)
    • Made $1,100 on top of expenses
    • Thanks to the event stewards, chefs, and all the volunteers who helped make Red Tower a success! Great to see the barony offer such hospitality.
  • Coronation (9–11 October 2015)
    • In case something should happen to Their Majesties,
      • Does the barony want to put together a last-minute coronation gift? Contributions should not have the Meridian arms if you wish for Their Highnesses to keep the gift after their reign is done.
      • Gift suggestions include period toys and postage stamps (Her Highness is fond of writing thank-you notes)
      • Please bring contributions to His Excellency at Coronation.
• Castle Wars (19–22 November 2015, Master Ximon reporting on behalf of the autocrat)
  • In general, things are coming together – all the big issues are sorted out, now it’s just addressing the details.
  • Meetings were held with volunteers and to coordinate land distribution and reservations.
  • In addition to the land we had last year, we also have the land the Boy Scouts had reserved (but didn’t use) last year.
  • Tryggva is coordinating classes, and mentioned that this is a great opportunity to work on developing a class you may want to teach at Gulf Wars or Magna Faire, and the outdoor location is excellent for teaching classes that may be too messy for an indoor space, or that takes longer than the standard 1 hour timeslot.
  • Volunteers needed:
    • (2) Pottycrat
    • Donations for the volunteer raffle are being sought (the more you volunteer, the more tickets you get for the raffle).
      • Ximon is donating a buckler and warhammer
    • Iazzie still needs help getting the castle walls from his house to the site – they are in a trailer, but the walls are heavier than his truck can easily tow.
  • If you’re interested in a South Downs encampment, check with Their Excellencies who will coordinate it (if there’s interest)
• Twelfth Night (9 January 2016)
  • With the issues trying to find a site, it has been decided that we’ll all road trip to Bryn Madoc and take part in their Twelfth Night. They will be offering a full day of classes, fighting, hanging out, dancing, and general shenanigans.
• Midwinter A+S (12-14 February 2016)
  • Looking at finalizing a site (Unitarian Universalist Church of Atlanta)
  • 13 February (Valentine’s Day weekend)
  • Potential alternate site – University of West Georgia
  • Lady Mara Palmer – potential autocrat
  • Ideas for event? E-Mail Lord Mathias
• Demos
  • ATL Streets Alive!
    • Went well. Not much foot traffic in the location we were given, but the concept worked well, those who did see us loved us, and the event coordinators want us back next year.
  • Potential Streets Alive in Clarkston in November
    • Wistric has offered to coordinate our presence there.
  • Maker Faire
    • Awesome and amazing despite the wind and rain.
    • Girl Scout troop which visited our booth had a great time writing with the quills.
    • 43 people signed up!

Other SCA Business

• Sir Iastreb is stepping down as the Kingdom Law Clerk to become the Northern Region Ombudsman and is looking for applications to succeed him. If interested, e-mail him or Duke Thomas.
• Duke John thanked everyone who helped coordinate or take part in his 40^th anniversary celebration which took place at Red Tower

Non-SCA Business

• Maire is active with the local LARP community, and announced a big event they are hosting, 5–7 February, at Indian Springs campbround. She’s expecting more than 100 people attending, and would love for us to take part (teaching classes? Holding an SCA-style fighting demo?)
• Several new people came to the meeting, having found out about us at either Streets Alive or Maker Faire. Officers and peers introduced themselves and described what they did, then answered questions.

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting
2 September 2015

Decatur Recreation Center

Notes submitted by Raven Helmsplitter (mka Helena Bretherton Hay), South Downs Chronicler

Lord Mathias Blackett, Seneschal, called the meeting to order.

Officer reports

• Herald (Lord Bjorn Gullharr)
  • Awards given at Foxes
    • Lord Brendan de Hay, Argent Rapier
    • Lord Wistric Oftun, Meridian Order of the Blade
    • Lady Mara Palmer, Order of the Velvet Owl
  • Names/devices
    • Lady Raven Helmsplitter, device passed kingdom
• Group Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
  • Practices are going well – we have had from 2-8 people regularly attending Tuesday evenings and/or Sunday afternoons at Blackburn Park, even though Brendan has been out of town a lot lately
  • Had a great showing at Foxes
    • Fielded two rapier melee teams for Her Excellency (who provided lovely blue and black sashes for her fighters to wear)
    • Rapier team captained by Lady Raven and included Lord Wistric, Lord Matheu, Baron Borgar, and Lady Toki, took second place in the tourney (4-1, only loss in the final)
    • A total of approx. 15 fencers represented the barony (will confirm numbers)
• Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
  • Reminded everyone we have a website
  • Mentioned a couple of potential projects the chronicler can develop, if there’s interest:
    • Baronial directory
    • Baronial newsletter
• Chatelaine (Lady Majda, acting deputy)
  • Office is open; if interested, please contact the seneschal
• A&S Minister (Lady Tryggva Ingvarsdóttir)
  • Not present, report was presented by the populace (project-oriented)
  • There’s been lots of cooking/planning for upcoming events/feasts – Red Tower, Castle Wars…
    • South Downs Supper Club! Monthly get-together, featuring a menu focused on a particular period theme. Please join the Facebook group if interested (or if you’re not on Facebook, contact His Excellency)
  • September’s A&S class – How to submit an event bid/how to autocrat, taught by Celestine
  • Lady Majda is starting a dance class at her house; first class (European) is 14 September, and will alternate between European and Middle Eastern.
• Knight Marshal (Lord Bram Halfdannarson)
  • Bram is leaving South Downs and Meridies in October; his last marshaling event will be Red Tower. We are looking for a new Knight Marshal
• Reeve (Lady Maire Dhocair Inghean Chiarain)
  • We have money in our account (Much rejoicing from the populace)
  • Not counting the next two events (Red Tower and Castle Wars), we have $3,800. We are looking for ways to save more money
  • Fundraiser lunches at events? Coffee cart? Dessert table?
  • Red Tower sheep will be auctioned off at the end of the event

Other Baronial Business – events, etc.

• DragonCon, September 3- 7, 2015
  • Master Ximon is coordinating the parade – if you are interested in participating in the parade (and have registered for DragonCon), please contact him
    • Need a few people to help pull the chariot (teams of 2)
    • Wristbands for the parade will be at the fan table
    • Weather is expected to be dicey (60% chance of rain)
    • Marching with the historical section
    • Keep an eye out for the location of the fan table (it will be open 12-8 on Friday)
• Red Tower, September 18–20, 2015
  • Everything is finalized
  • Need volunteers for all departments
    • 2-3 people to go to storage unit and pull supplies (talk to Amaris)
    • Friday and Sunday afternoon set-up and strike volunteers
  • The feast will rock! Sir Iazzie and Marianna reviewed the menu
(note from Chronicler, post-event: it was even better than anticipated. So. Good.)
  • MARS (Bryn Madoc UGA group) is hosting a fundraiser lunch
  • Lord Matthias is hosting the Friday night skaldic-themed bardic circle
• Castle Wars, November 19–22, 2015
  • Sebastiannos will be event Knight Marshal
  • Volunteers needed
    • Need a “chancellor of the privys”
    • Lady Wilhemina is making tokens for the event; would love some assistance
    • We are in need of a crafter/woodworker to make signs (Master Rithric was mentioned)
    • Need a Youth Activities coordinator. If interested and you do not yet have had a background check done, please contact Baroness Genevieve la Barquarresse (Kingdom Youth Minister) to get that going
    • Iazzie has requested assistance with hauling the trailer that holds the walls, netting, etc. The weight of the trailer severely strained his van’s transmission. Please contact him if you can help with the trailer
    • Need volunteers, especially an assistant landcrat (our landcrat may not be able to make the event)
  • Budget has been revised to account for funds for youth activities and a revel
  • Donations for volunteer raffle prizes are requested
• Midwinter Arts + Sciences, February 12-14, 2016
  • Matthias has been working on potential sites; still looking
  • Interested in helping find a site? Site requirements include:
    • Ballpark budget for site rental is $1000-$1200
    • Large hall (holding 150-250 people
    • Several classrooms for tracks of classes (minimum 3)
    • Kitchen for feast
    • Prefer wet/discreetly wet site
    • Parking
    • Availability 9am – 9pm is ideal
• Baronial Twelfth Night, Date TBD (near 6 January 2016)
  • No updates
• Knowne Worlde Dance Symposium, Date TBD (2017)
  • Wistric is looking to submit at bid for this event, currently scouting out sites with ballroom and classroom space (likely hotels similar to events like ConjurationCon)
  • Drakenmere is also considering submitting a bid for a future rapier symposium
• Kingdom law updates
  • As announced at Foxes, an experimental fee change will be implemented in 2016 (following text copied from the missive posted on the kingdom website)

This change is two fold. First, it will suspend the “Three adult member price” cap beginning on January 1st, 2016. Secondly, it will require that all children 17 and under be admitted free into Meridian events beginning January 1st, 2016, with some caveats.

If a child intends to eat event provided food (i.e. feast) , the group may charge them the ‘on-board’ fee. If an event site’s cost is on a ‘per head basis,’ that cost may be passed on to the child/family. If a child uses bed space which is limited in nature (i.e. space in a cabin which is expected to sell out), that cost may be passed along to the child/family.

This is a trial run, which will last through the entirety of 2016. At the end of the year, this policy will be reevaluated and either removed, renewed, or made permanent. If there are significant issues, the Crown and Kingdom Seneschal could act to remove or alter the policy during the trial period.

Other/Non-SCA Business

• Atlanta Streets Alive!, 27 September, 2015
  • It’s ON! Contact Mistress Margavati for details
  • Set up begins at 1:00pm
  • Strike at 6:00pm
  • Looking for demos for fighting (armored and rapier), crafts, etc., and wear garb!
  • Atlanta Streets Alive! Highlands website, for more info: http://www.atlantastreetsalive.com/2015-routes/highland-september-27/
• Maker Faire ATL 2015, 3-4 October, 2015
  • Mistress Sunneva confirmed that the barony has a 10’x10’ booth at the Maker Faire. Contact her if you have questions or would like to help with the demo (A+S people, especially)
  • Sunneva will have a signup sheet for demos; we will be focusing on A&S demos that can easily fit in the 10×10 booth.
  • Maker faire is a event that showcases all sorts of handmade goods, skills, etc.
  • Good opportunity for outreach/demo activities
  • Maker Faire website, for more info: http://makerfaireatl.com/
• Voting
  • The ladies and the gentlemen of the barony met separately to vote for the Heart of South Downs and the Chivalry award

After the voting was completed, the meeting ended and everyone went to dinner. Next meeting Wednesday, 7 October, 2015.
Thanks!

Raven

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

1 July 2015

 

Notes submitted by Raven Helmsplitter (mka Helena Bretherton Hay), South Downs Chronicler

Lord Mathias Blackett, Seneschal, called the meeting to order.

 

 Officer reports

o    Chatelaine (Lady Wilhemina)

• Nothing to report

o    Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)

• Nothing to report
• Mathias thanked Raven for the copy of the June meeting minutes needed to facilitate the access changes to the baronial accounts.

o    Herald (Lord Bjorn Gullharr)

• Two new name submission sent to Kingdom

o    Reeve (Lady Maire Dhocair Inghean Chiarain)

• No financial report

o    Their Excellencies (Baron Lorenzo and Baroness Adela)

• Brought an adorable black sheep example made for Red Tower
• Baroness Adela mentioned that she has a sewing project (still under development) for the baronial rapier melee units. Adela’s Guilded Company (2 teams of 5!). She is looking to outfit her melee teams with capelets, tabards, baldrics, or other similar item in the baronial (or her) colors, in time for Foxes. Please contact her if you’d like to help make them.

o    A&S Minister (Lady Tryggva Ingvarsdóttir)

• ?

o    Group Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)

• Practices are going well – we have had from 2-8 people regularly attending Tuesday evenings and/or Sunday afternoons at Blackburn Park, even though Brendan has been out of town a lot lately
• Raven reported on the regional rapier practice held at Blackburn Park on 7 June. 24 fencers from as far away as Drakenmere and Vulpine Reach attended. Morgan Griffin coordinated a baronial yard sale that was held during the practice. A great time was had by all!

o    Seneschal (Lord Mathias)

• Nothing to report

o    Knight Marshal (Lord Bram Halfdannarson)

• Maire reported on Bram’s behalf – Bram is looking for ways to get more fighters out to practice; different days? Times? He is interested in feedback about this.

o    Webminister (Lord Wistric Oftun)

• Red Tower website is about to go live

 

Other Baronial Business – events, etc.

o    RUM, July 18, 2015

• Will be hosted by the Shire of Flintmarsh, and held at Troy University, Dothan campus (http://flintmarsh.meridies.org/wp/?page_id=149)
• As we are looking at submitting a bid for RUM 2016, anyone interested in putting together a bid for RUM should try to attend and see how it’s organized.
• Bid for RUM 2016 should be submitted to the seneschal by the December business meeting (2 December 2015)

o    Fighters’ Collegium, 11-13 September, 2015

• We’ve submitted a bid and are waiting to hear back from the kingdom seneschal about the status. Iron Mountain may have resurrected their bid with a new site (where coronation was held?) – if that’s the case, then they will have preference.

o    Red Tower, September 18–20, 2015

• Event website is about to go live
• Flyer turned in before the due date (yay!)
• So far, 120 RSVPs yes and 70 maybe from the facebook event page
• We are getting volunteers for the event, but we still need more – please contact Amaris or Bam if interested
  • Landcrat team
  • Breakfast
  • Lyst
  • Travelers’ fare
  • Setting up tents for kitchens, lyst fields, etc.
• Event schedule is in development
• Reminder: this is a camping-only site (no cabins)
• Feast will be headed up by Marianne/Mathilda. There will be two sections – Above the salt (70 max) and Below the salt (everyone else), so get your reservations in!
  • Above the salt – Marianne read a tentative menu; three courses reflecting the Viking quest for conquest theme of the event. Course 1 – on the ship; course 2 – Invasion of England; course 3 – Invasion of France/Paris
• Tourneys
  • 3 heavy tourneys
  • 3 rapier tourneys
    • Stella needs help making sheep. She has patterns available, please contact her directly.

• Duke John will be celebrating 40 years of being in the SCA/squiring/becoming a knight. To commemorate this, he will set up a pavilion on the field and fight the first 40 people to request fights (take first 40 comers)
• There will not be any equestrian activities (as it’s mostly a one-day event, the logistics were too complex)
• Archery – need ideas for scenarios
• Live weapons
• Hound coursing

• Peachtree Weavers Guild will be doing a demo during the event, presenting viking-era looms and weaving examples
• Viking revel after feast
• Viking sewing solar showing items made from the Viking garb class
• Bardic competition
  • Poetry competition – theme: Viking and baronial saga, original work
• Skaldic (voice heralding) competition
• Mead competition
• Dirty half dozen largess contest
  • To enter, make 6 items to be added to the largess basket
  • Winner gets one item from each set entered, the Crown gets the rest

o    Castle Wars, November 19–22, 2015

• Reported by Ximon, on behalf of Isabelle
• There will be a Trojan something built for the event
• A “Real Helen of Troy” will be built into the fighting scenarios – each side will represent one of the two “real Helens of Troy,” with the winning side claiming the Real Helen. (Justina and Stella)
• Event will be held at McIntosh Reserve, site of last year’s Castle Wars. Ximon has promised it won’t be as cold this year…
  • We have access to the park beginning Wednesday of event week, and have it through Sunday.
• Donations for volunteer raffle prizes are requested
• Iazzie has requested assistance with hauling the trailer that holds the walls, netting, etc. The weight of the trailer severely strained his van’s transmission. Please contact him if you can help with the trailer.
• Need volunteers, especially an assistant landcrat (our landcrat may not be able to make the event).
• Lady Wilhemina is working on event tokens (600?!)

o    Midwinter Arts + Sciences, February 12-14, 2016

• Baronial deadline for bids (so bids can be presented at business meeting) Is the October business meeting
  • Ballpark budget for site rental is $1000-$1200. Needs to have:
    • Large hall (holding 150-250 people
    • Several classrooms for tracks of classes
    • Kitchen for feast
    • Parking

• The Yaarab Shrine on Ponce was suggested as a possible site
• Questions were asked about Druid Hills Baptist (former site). Most of the church building and parking lot is now being turned into apartments. Site is no longer available.

• It can be a weekend event, doesn’t need to be limited to a day event
• Sunday of that weekend is traditionally a regional fighter practice – heavy and rapier, cookout, socializing, etc.

o    Baronial Twelfth Night, Date TBD (near 6 January 2016)

• Informal baronial gathering (in-garb), everyone hangs out, plays board games, contributes to a potluck dinner, etc.
• Need an autocrat – did we mention it’s really low-key?
• We want to schedule it for a Saturday as close to 6 January as possible, but without conflicting with Bryn Madoc’s Twelfth Night (an official event)

 

Other/Non-SCA Business

o    Trebuchet

• Marcellus is building a trebuchet for the barony. It can be completed at any time, and needs to find a place to store it
  • Dimensions are 6’ x 8’ x 10-11’ tall
  • Fits in the bed of a large pickup truck
  • Also needs a crew to set it up and use it: authorized siege weapons fighters/engineers, and a marshal (to authorize people if necessary). Discussion ensued about details of siege weapons authorization requirements (Sean O’Neill is the kingdom Siege Weapons marshal, and http://kingdom.meridies.org/index.php/offices/marshal contains the link to the siege weapons rules)

o    DragonCon, 4-7 September, 2015

• We have been able to confirm that the Barony will both be in the parade and have a table at DragonCon
• Duke John asked if we wanted the chariot again; the reply from the populace was a resounding yes!. He recommended that several people volunteer to pull the chariot (teams of two), so no one gets exhausted pulling it the entire length of the increasingly longer parade route
• We need someone to corral the baronial parade participants – the person who volunteered will not be able to attend. Contact Mathias if you are interested.
• DragonCon website: http://www.dragoncon.org/

o    Atlanta Streets Alive!, 27 September, 2015

• Mistress Margavati mentioned that her husband Sawyer is interested in coordinating a demo for the festival. Asked the populace and confirmed there was enough interest to move forward
• Very informal, we just need to ask the organizers for an area of greenspace so we can set up our fighting demos
• Atlanta Streets Alive! Highlands website, for more info: http://www.atlantastreetsalive.com/2015-routes/highland-september-27/

o    Maker Faire ATL 2015, 3-4 October, 2015

• Mistress Sunneva confirmed that the barony has a 10’x10’ booth at the Maker Faire. Contact her if you have questions or would like to help with the demo (A+S people, especially)
  • Maker faire is a event that showcases all sorts of handmade goods, skills, etc.
  • Good opportunity for outreach/demo activities
• Maker Faire website, for more info: http://makerfaireatl.com/

o    Miscellaneous

• Margavati brought some costume pieces Sawyer was selling – black and white harem pants, and a pair of period shoes.
• Birthdays!
  • Lady Andreva has a birthday on 30 June

 

At this point, the last piece of business for the meeting was determining where everyone wanted to go to dinner. Meeting came to a close, and the next business meeting date was announced for August 5, 2015 (note from Chronicler: that falls in the middle of Pennsic War Week – will likely need to find proxies for several baronial officers who will be at Pennsic)

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

Raven

The meeting minutes for the June Baronial Meeting

 

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

3  June 2015

 

Notes submitted by Raven Helmsplitter (mka Helena Bretherton Hay), South Downs Chronicler

 

Lord Mathias Blackett, Seneschal, called the meeting to order.

 

Officer reports

o    Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)

• Nothing to report

o    Webminister (Lord Wistric Oftun)

• Asked the populace what they would like to see on the website

o    A&S Minister (Lady Tryggva Ingvarsdóttir)

• This month’s class (24 June) is on patterning Viking garb (not too soon to plan for Red Tower!) July’s class (22 July) is TBD, and August’s “class” (26 August) will be stringing tokens for Red Tower
• Lady Maren has asked that anyone with linen lint to save it for her – she would like to make paper from it

o    Group Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)

• Practices are going well – we have had from 2-8 people regularly attending Tuesday evenings and/or Sunday afternoons at Blackburn Park, even though Brendan has been out of town a lot lately
• Shameless plug: Lady Raven Helmsplitter is co-hosting the next Regional Rapier Practice, here in South Downs
  • Sunday, June 7, at 12:30pm
  • Blackburn Park
  • Hope to have fencers from all over the kingdom for the practice; the last regional practice in Vulpine Reach had 27 fencers from all over northern Meridies
  • Morgan Griffin will be organizing an SCA/geek garage sale – please contact her if you’d like to participate

o    Herald (Lord Bjorn Gullharr)

• One new name submission sent to Kingdom, “Marcellus Carpentarius” for Matthew York
• One name submission advanced from Kingdom to Laurel, “Emelina Le Morreys” for Laura Trehune

o    Exchequer (Lady Maire Dhocair Inghean Chiarain)

• Read a letter from kingdom (society?) regarding new rules in how group bank accounts are handled. Am hoping to get copy of letter for reference

o    Chatelaine (Lady Wilhemina)

• Has been contacted by three new people in the past month
• Gold key garb kits have been distributed and volunteers are sewing loaner garb

o    Seneschal (Lord Mathias)

• Nothing to report

o    Knight Marshal (Lord Bram Halfdannarson)

• Nothing to report

o    His Excellency (Baron Lorenzo)

• Loves the test sheep for Red Tower
• Travelled to Windmaster’s Hill, Kingdom of Atlantia for the Cooks and Performers Symposium
  • Enjoyed the event
  • Feast was cooked over the course of the day by the various culinary classes offered at the symposium

Other Baronial Business – events, etc.

o    Kingdom-level Event TBD

• We still need to put in a bid for a kingdom-level event as part of our baronial duties. After much discussion, it was decided that Fighters Collegium (September 11–13) would be the best event to bid on. Conversation was had with contacts in Depedale, and they agreed to co-autocrat. Kynric and Lady Wilhemina would co-autocrat
  • Iron Mountain had previously submitted a bid, but they lost the site so it’s available again. However, if they do come up with an alternate site, they will have dibs on the event. We will put in a bid anyway, just in case
  • If we get the bid, the event will take place at Little Tallapoosa Park, same site as Red Tower

o    Lochlann lives nearby, has offered to store event supplies during the week in between the two events

• Considering a BBQ feast – Lord Bram is an official BBQ judge, and may be able to teach a class on BBQ for events (and have the class provide part of the feast, as was done at Cooks and Performers Symposium)
• Event staff will only be responsible for the feast and any site issues; the chivalry will coordinate all the classes, etc.

• Still looking at putting in a bid for RUM 2016. If interested, please submit a bid for consideration by the December 2015 business meeting (2 December 2015)

o    Meridian Scribal and Heraldic Symposium, June 5–7, 2015

• Will be held in conjunction with Black Axe (http://ironmountain.meridies.org/conc/index.php/events/events/black-axe-2015/)

o    RUM, July 18, 2015

• Will be hosted by the Shire of Flintmarsh, and held at Troy University, Dothan campus (http://flintmarsh.meridies.org/wp/?page_id=149)

o    Red Tower, September 18–20, 2015

• Event website will be up soon
• NEED VOLUNTEERS FOR EVERY CATEGORY – please contact Amaris or Bam if interested
• Feast will be headed up by Marianne/Mathilda
  • Two sections: Above the salt (limit 80 people)
  • Below the salt (more flexible with number of people, would be served BBQ from class taught earlier in the day
• Tourneys
  • 3 heavy tourneys
  • 3 rapier tourneys
    • Stella needs help making sheep for this

• Duke John will be celebrating 40 years of being in the SCA/squiring/becoming a knight. To commemorate this, he will set up a pavilion on the field and fight the first 40 people to request fights (take first 40 comers)
• Equestrian
• Archery
• Live weapons
• Hound coursing

• Viking revel after feast
• Bardic competition
• Skaldic (voice heralding) competition
• Mead competition
• Viking sewing solar showing items made from the Viking garb class
• Dirty half dozen largess contest
  • To enter, make 6 items to be added to the largess basket
  • Winner gets one item from each set entered, the Crown gets the rest

o    Castle Wars, November 19–22, 2015

• Autocrat will be Isabelle Nugent
• Deadline has passed for submitting bids for Castle Wars
• Budgeting discussion
  • Do we need to rent more (handicapped) port-a-potties?
    • Issue tabled until more info on costs, etc. can be collected

• In order to have access to park bathrooms, we would need to rent the pavilion (costs?)

o    Midwinter Arts + Sciences, January, 2016

• Baronial deadline for bids (so bids can be presented at business meeting) Is the October business meeting
• Wistric is collecting info for alternate sites

Non-SCA Business

o    Makers Faire ATL 2015

• Mistress Sunneva suggested that we as a barony take part in this year’s Makers Faire (3-4 October 2015) in Decatur.
  • Makers faire is a event that showcases all sorts of handmade goods, skills, etc.
  • Good opportunity for outreach/demo activities
  • A booth at the faire is free but requires a $50 deposit (refundable)
  • Makers Faire website, for more info: http://makerfaireatl.com/
  • Sunneva will coordinate – if interested, please contact her

o    DragonCon, 4-7 September, 2015

• What needs to be done? We weren’t sure who the contacts were last year
  • Parade – Duke John works with someone who helps coordinate the parade, will see if it’s not to late to get in. Deadline may have been 13 April.
    • Cracking down on numbers for the parade, since it’s getting really big

• Baronial info table
  • Need to find out who handled this in the past

• Would like to acquire a room for demos; Bam mentioned that in past years, there had been big communication problems with the dagohair demos
• DragonCon website: http://www.dragoncon.org/

At this point, the last piece of business for the meeting was determining where everyone wanted to go to dinner. Meeting came to a close, and the next business meeting date was announced for July 1, 2015.

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

Raven

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

6 May 2015

 

Notes submitted by Raven Helmsplitter (mka Helena Bretherton Hay), South Downs Chronicler

 

Lord Mathias Blackett, Seneschal, called the meeting to order.

Officer reports

o    Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)

• Nothing to report

o    Chatelaine (Lady Wilhemina)

• Needs volunteers to help sew gold key garb; has fabric and supplies organized into bags, just needs help sewing simple tunics
• Has compiled a Newcomers’ folder, with all sorts of information about the SCA, Meridies, and South Downs, and has begun to distribute it at events.
  • Tryggva will make color copies of the materials for future distribution
  • Goal is to have 20 folders available at all times
• Wants to do more demos
  • Lady Allesandra has a potential site for demos at child’s new school in Buford
  • We’ve been invited back to ConjurationCON (Halloween weekend); Wilhemina is working on getting us set up in a larger space where we can do more
  • DragonCon – His Excellency has been contacted about doing an SCA/LARP fighting track

o    Exchequer (Lady Maire Dhocair Inghean Chiarain)

• Quarterly reports went out
• We have $8000 in the bank, but we have a lot of expenses to take care of in the near future (site deposits, etc), and things are getting more and more expensive. Would like us to consider doing fundraisers at events (lunches, etc)

o    Seneschal (Lord Mathias)

• At the last baronial meeting, Master Ximon officially stepped down as seneschal and Lord Mathias officially became our new seneschal.

o    A&S Minister (Lady Maren Andersdatter)

• Her tenure is coming to an end, and transferred her office to Lady Tryggva
• Their Excellencies presented Lady Maren with salt and pepper mills in gratitude to all the work she had done for the Barony.

o    Group Rapier Marshal (Master Ximon de Córdoba)

• Master Ximon is stepping down as GRM, and has named Lord Brendan de Hay as his replacement
• Shameless plug: Lady Raven Helmsplitter is co-hosting the next Regional Rapier Practice, here in South Downs
  • Sunday, June 7, at 12:30pm
  • Blackburn Park
  • Hope to have fencers from all over the kingdom for the practice; the last regional practice in Vulpine Reach had 27 fencers from all over northern Meridies
  • Morgan Griffin will be organizing an SCA/geek garage sale – please contact her if you’d like to participate

o    Webminister (Lord Wistric Oftun)

• Updating databases?
• Is setting up places to host A+S and other relevant info on the baronial website (need more info from Wistric)

o    Knight Marshal (Lord Bram Halfdannarson)

• Had nothing to report for himself
• Lady Alessandra is interested in getting a target archery practice going; please contact her directly if you’re interested

 

Other Baronial Business – events, etc.

o    Meridian Scribal and Heraldic Symposium, June 5–7, 2015

• Will be held in conjunction with Black Axe (http://ironmountain.meridies.org/conc/index.php/events/events/black-axe-2015/)

o    RUM, July 18, 2015

• Will be hosted by the Shire of Flintmarsh, and held at Troy University, Dothan campus (http://flintmarsh.meridies.org/wp/?page_id=149)

o    Red Tower, September 18–20, 2015

• Amaris secured a site – Little Tallapoosa Park, Carrollton, where Lusty Month of May will be held (http://talmere.org/pages/lmom-xiv/)
• Tenting only
• Feast will be limited to 80 (Mariana will be feastcrat)
• Viking theme
• 3 heavy tourneys, 2 rapier tourneys
• There will be a need for heralds – plans for having a skaldic herald(s) to announce each fighter (a la A Knight’s Tale) are in the works
• If you are interested in helping with the event, contact Amaris and you’ll get an invite for the staff group list

o    Castle Wars, November 19–22, 2015

• Autocrat will be Isabelle Nugent
• Have budget numbers to hold event at McIntosh Reserve Park, Whitesburg, GA (same site as last year)
• Theme will be the Trojan War (various and sundry references to Trojans were made by the populace)
• Once the numbers are finalized, Isabelle wants to get moving along with planning asap
• Other bids are still welcome for the event – deadline will be next business meeting (June 3)

o    Kingdom-level Event TBD

• We still need to put in a bid for a kingdom-level event as part of our baronial duties. Options are:
  • Fighters Collegium (September 11–13)
  • MGT (September 25–27)
  • Fall Coronation (October 9–11)
  • Fall Crown List (November 13–15)
• Suggestions were made to possibly contact Depedale to co-host either Fighters Collegium or Fall Coronation
• Given how busy the fall will be, Fighters Collegium would be a good option – simple event, weekend before Red Tower
• Coronation is a very complex event, with balls, meetings, feast, etc.
• Fall Crown is the weekend before Castle Wars
• Perhaps Fighters Collegium at Little Tallapoosa Park?
• Twelfth Night
  • Bam asked if there were any reason we couldn’t host a kingdom-level Twelfth Night, as other kingdoms do – perhaps we could make it a thing
  • Debate was held as to whether it should be a kingdom-level event at all, or just make ours a bigger event, or leave Bryn Madoc’s event as the big regional Twelfth Night
• Mathias suggested that we start thinking now about kingdom-level event bids for next year
  • Spring Coronation?
  • RUM? Iazzie and Mariana are interested in doing RUM

o    His Excellency was pleased that we already have Castle Wars and Red Tower bids in

o    His Excellency also asked everyone what they thought of the 5^th Wednesday in-garb social that we held last week. Everyone enjoyed it and agreed we should do it the next 5^th Wednesday

o    Duke John asked about the possibility of finding another place for our meetings, as parking at the rec center is difficult

• Options
  • Friends Meeting House in Decatur (where Midwinter A+S was held)
  • The church where this year’s South Downs Twelfth Night was held
• Primary problem is that we have paid for the rec center site thru the rest of the year – and that payment is non-refundable. It was agreed that we should revisit this issue in September

 

Non-SCA Business

o    Lady Andreva mentioned that the Festival Singers of Atlanta (with which she sings) will hold a concert on May 17. The theme is “the many languages of love,” and many of the pieces are period. Please contact her if interested.

o    Lord Bam announced that he will be participating in a live steel fighting demo at the GA Renaissance Festival, May 16 at 1:30 and 3:00pm. Please let him know if interested in attending.

o    Living Social (among several places) is offering 50% tickets to the GA Renaissance Festival

o    May 16 is also the date of the Spring Sale at Museum Replicas in Conyers.

 

At this point, the last piece of business for the meeting was determining where everyone wanted to go to dinner. Meeting came to a close, and the next business meeting date was announced for June 3, 2015.

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

Raven

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

1 April 2015

 

Notes submitted by Raven Helmsplitter (mka Helena Bretherton Hay), South Downs Chronicler

 

Lord Bjorn Gullhar called the meeting to order.

Greetings from Master Ximon and His Excellency, Master Lorenzo

 

Officer reports

o    Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)

• Introduced herself, due to new people present. Nothing new to report.
• Asked if anyone wanted to see any specific projects from the Chronicler (newsletter? Directory?) to please let her know
• Until the website is updated, please contact me via Facebook or at hbrethertonhay@mac.com

o    Exchequer (Lady Maire Dhocair Inghean Chiarain)

• Introduced herself, due to new people present. Had nothing to report, other than quarterly reports are coming due

o    A&S Minister (deputy, Lady Tryggva)

• Tryggva, deputy A&S Minister, gave the report and introduced herself.
• Is gathering info from those who want to teach classes and those who have ideas for classes
• Upcoming class (April) – SCA for newcomers
• 29 April – in garb 5^th Wednesday social

o    Seneschal (deputy, Lord Mattias)

• Mattias is running the meeting tonight
• Transition from current seneschal (Master Ximon) to new seneschal (Lord Mattias) is in progress

o    Herald (Lord Bjorn Gullhar)

• Two submissions (1 device, 1 name)
  • Master Ximon is now Captain Master Ximon, having been inducted into the Meridian Order of the Blade at Gulf Wars
  • Amaris has received her protégé belt at Gulf Wars

o    Knight Marshal (Lord Bram Halfdannarson)

• Master Lorenzo reported on Lord Bram’s behalf
• Joint practice (heavy and rapier) was held last Sunday at Blackburn park, during the Cherry Blossom Festival

o    Chatelaine (Lady Wilhemina)

• Nothing to report

 

Baronial Business – events, etc.

o    Fool’s War

• If you are interested in camping with South Downs, please contact Her Excellency
• Mistress Margavati is coordinating war drumming for the armies at Fool’s War – volunteers welcome!
• Captains Ximon, David, and Jean-Michel are all rapier warlords for Fool’s War

 

o    Demos

• July 25, at the Smyrna library
• Potential opportunity to demo at Atlanta Streets Alive, September 27 in Virginia-Highlands. Route goes past a couple parks good for demos.
  http://www.atlantastreetsalive.com/2015-routes/highland-september-27/ (Mistress Margavati)
• We’ve been invited back to demo at next year’s CONjuration Con (Harry Potter Con) – http://www.conjurationcon.com/ (Lady Wilhemina)

o    RUM (Royal University of Meridies)

• As a Barony, we need to submit a bid for one kingdom-level event per year; we should really consider putting in a bid for RUM
• Mistress Sybilla has suggested University of West Georgia for a site
• A motion to vote on submitting a bid to host RUM was offered. Motion approved by acclamation.

o    Gulf Wars

• Everyone had fun! Temps were warmer than expected, and for the most part, weather was drier than expected (except for the last night)
• Lady Veronica did at least five scrolls for Gulf Wars court – huzzah!

o    Coronation

• Scribal challenge will be held at coronation
  UPDATED INFORMATION for the Coronation Scribal Challenge (per Lady Mara Palmer, Parchment)
• Please enter all scrolls by 9:30am as judging will be open from 10am to 4pm. All scrolls submitted will be added to the Kingdom case at the end of the day unless further work is required on the piece (added calligraphy, etc.)–if this is the case, please say so when the scroll is submitted and pick up your piece at 4:15pm. Winners will be announced at the ball.
• For the Challenge, you may submit any non-peerage scroll to add to the Kingdom case (such as AoAs, GoAs, Argent Comets, etc.). Scrolls may be entered in multiple categories and will be judged on a category-by-category basis.

o    Crown’s Choice

• Best Rus Scroll
• Complete scrolls only
• Teams allowed
• Tracing allowed if noted
• Preferrence for 11th c Kievan Rus

o    Parchment’s Choice

• Completed scrolls only
• Teams allowed
• Tracing allowed if noted

o    Best Depiction of the Human Form (Baron Thomas Paumer)

• Incomplete allowed, illumination will be judged
• Teams allowed, prize for illumination
• Tracing allowed
• Image of the original is preferred, but not required
• Grotesques allowed, but only the human half will be judged

o    Best Novice Calligraphy (Lady Mara Palmer)

• Incomplete allowed, calligraphy will be judged
• Teams allowed, prize for calligraphy
• Tracing allowed, but if tracing the letters, it must be noted. Tracing for lines/lettering guides allowed without note.
• Novice is defined as someone who has been doing calligraphy for less than 2 years and has not won any kingdom-level competitions for calligraphy.

o    Best Novice Illumination (Baroness Catriona the Blind)

• Incomplete allowed, illumination will be judged
• Teams allowed, prize for illumination
• Tracing allowed if noted
• Novice is defined as someone who has been doing illumination for less than 2 years and has not won any kingdom-level competitions for illumination.

o    Best Incomplete Scroll (Baroness Catriona the Blind)

• Incomplete only
• Single entrant only
• Tracing allowed

o    Best Scroll with Flowers (Duquessa Elisenda de Luna)

• Incomplete allowed, illumination will be judged
• Teams allowed, prize for illumination
• Tracing allowed
• Image of the original is preferred, but not required

o    Best “Selfie” (Baronness Adela Scrijver van Brugge)

• Must include depiction of a scribe
• Incomplete allowed, bonus points for completion, illuminatino will be judged
• Single entrant only
• Documentation not required, but an image appreciated
• The scribe depicted does not have to be you, but an attempt at depicting yourself will earn bonus points.
• PRIZE: 16th century Italian folding table

o    Best Bird (Order of the Pelican)

• Completed scrolls only
• Teams allowed, prize for illumination
• Tracing allowed

o    Best Period Correction (Mistress Graidhne ni Ruaidh)

• Incomplete scrolls allowed
• Teams allowed, prize for person making the correction
• Must be an honest mistake, not intended
• Calligraphy or Illumination

o    Best Diapering (Lady Julianna of Empingham)

• Incomplete scrolls allowed, illumination will be judged
• Teams allowed, prize for illumination
• Tracing allowed

o    Best Faux Hand (Mistress Moreg Cochrane)

• Runes, Cyrillic, Persian, etc. styled scripts, but legibly English
• Incomplete scrolls allowed, calligraphy will be judged
• Teams allowed, prize for calligraphy
• Image of the inspiration appreciated, but not required
• Tracing allowed, but should be noted if tracing letters

o    Best Use of Period Materials (Order of the Velvet Owl)

• Completed scrolls recommended, but not required
• Teams allowed
• Tracing allowed (Bonus for period tracing techniques)
• Min 3×5 index card explaining what period materials and techniques were used to make the piece.

o    Volume Challenge (Order of the Bough)

• On ANY scroll submitted, points will be given per aspect contributed by each artisan: 1 point for lining, 1 point for illumination, 1 point for calligraphy. The person with the most points wins.
• Incomplete scrolls allowed
• Tracing allowed

o    Dreamstone

• Baronial investiture for their Excellencies Bryn Madoc. We will be giving new silk banners to them.

 

o    Gulf Wars

• Kudos to Lady Maire, Lady Tryggva, and Lord Bram (as well as all the others!) who volunteered at Gulf Wars
• The barony will get a check for volunteering

 

o    Red Tower

• Lady Maire and Lord Bram are finalizing site options. Discussion was held regarding tenting vs. cabins, tenting options at cabined sites
• Currently, the site we have lined up is WoW in Gainesville, but it is somewhat expensive
• Priorities are cost, kitchen/feast space
• His Excellency has access to an additional camping database he is offering
• Maire is allowing herself one more week to find options, then will move forward with securing site

 

o    Castle Wars

• VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! Both for onsite, if you’re attending as well as off-site, if you can’t make it (helping with putting together presents and prizes for the volunteer raffle, for example)
• The armored fighters want to to do a Friday Night Fight Club
• His Excellency has thanked everyone who has submitted bids so far in advance

 

Other Baronial Business

o    There was some debate as to when the baronial meetings should start. Getting to the Rec Center by 7:00pm is difficult for many, but if we start it at 7:30pm, would people be prompt, or will it still run on SCA time. Nothing was really decided.

o    There was discussion about how to maximize communication within the Barony. Not everyone is on Facebook – but what options are there to reach the most people? Expand the website? Twitter? Yahoo Groups? We were reminded that the baronial Yahoo group (southdowns@yahoogroups.com) is available to everyone, you just need to sign up. It is rarely used any more except for automated announcements for practices and meetings.

o    Lady Wilhemina reported that Fabric World is selling untreated canvas at $2/yard; good for baronial dayshades! She also has access to pieces of leather, suitable for molding into armor, etc.

o    Lady Andreva invited everyone to come to her spring choral concert, featuring period music, on May 17. Contact her for more info.

o    Sawyer mentioned that the upcoming Atlanta Streets Alive will take place in the West End on April 19, should be lots of fun http://www.atlantastreetsalive.com/2015-routes/west-end-april-19/

o    Amaris will be working in the kilt shop at the Georgia Renaissance Festival (April 18–Memorial Day weekend)

o    Indian music workshops will take place in Huntsville this spring – please contact Mistress Margavati if interested

o    Did you miss the Viking clothing workshop and presentation out at University of West Georgia in March? Nille Glaesel will be offering it again in Nashville and Atlanta, dates TBD.

 

Next Baronial business meeting: 6 May 2015

 

 

Thanks!

 

Raven