Posted inCommons

Commons Minutes for September 2021

September 21, 2021

September 2021 Minutes • Østgarðr Commons

The September commons meeting was held September 15. Here are the minutes/notes as recorded by Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin and edited by Alienor Salton. The officers’ reports are attached at the end.

Attendance

Present

  • Lada Monguligin, Il-Khatun
  • Alienor Salton, Seneschal
  • Francisco de Braga, Exchequer
  • Drasma Dragomira, Herald
  • Catelin Straquhin, Chatelaine 
  • Kunigunde Wedemann, Chancellor Minor 
  • Alec MacLachlan, Fencing Marshal
  • Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin, Youth Marshal, Deputy Webminister, Whyt Whey Seneschal
  • Marion of York, Minister of Lists
  • Friderich Grimme, Webminister
  • Zahra al-Andalusiyya, Chronicler
  • Sofya Gianetta di Trieste, Historian
  • Nagashima Ichiro Ujimichi, Lions End Seneschal
  • Ragnarr bláskegg, Brokenbridge Seneschal, Deputy Seneschal
  • Angelica di Nova Lipa, Deputy Exchequer
  • Aurora ffolkes
  • Brekke Franksdottir
  • Richard the Poor
  • Gibbs Moryss
  • Perez ben Meir Gershon
  • Albrecht Anker
  • Jenna Childslayer
  • Oliver de Bainbrig
  • Hanya Vladimirovna Polotskaya
  • Edwin de la Torre

Absent Officers

  • Suuder Saran, Il-Khan
  • Randve L’il Hammar, MoAS
  • Ervald LaCoudre, Armored Combat Marshal
  • Arnbiorg Helga Niálsdóttir, Archery Marshal
  • Ian of Clan Mitchell, Chamberlain
  • Katherine Gilliesfleur, Deputy Chamberlain

Opening 

  • Called to order at 7:34pm.  Bullying & Harassment policy read into the record (belatedly): https://www.sca.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Bullying-Policy-April-2020.pdf
  • Seneschal: VIVAT!!
    • John Barleycorn Returns event steward Lady Aurora ffolkes and staff!
    • our new champions: Leo MacCullan (rapier), Padraig O Bradaigh (armored, also winner of Sir Edward’s Memorial Challenge tournament + challenge exam), Marin il Gondolier (archery), Raymonda the Second (thrown weapons)
    • Albrecht, receiving the highest score on Sir Edward’s Memorial Challenge exam
    • Ragnarr, best fighter in the Sir Edward’s Memorial tournament
    • Finnbjorn, for winning youth combat tournament at Barleycorn
    • Zahra, authorizing as a fencer
    • Francisco, authorizing in rattan
    • Catelin, inducted into the Order of the Seadog
    • Arnbiorg, inducted into the Order of the Silver Lion
    • Francisco, Alec, Zahra, and Valgard, our newest companions of the Order of the Seahorse
    • Arnora Ketilsdottir, Alienor Salton, Zahra al-Andalusiyya, Violet Hughes, Oda Lally, Kunigunde Wedeman, Donnchadh mac Eoin, for scribal work on scrolls handed out at Barleycorn
    • Friderich, for his enthusiastic embrace of the webminister role.  Content is way up, and the weekly schedule is super helpful.

Officer Report Items For Discussion

  • Please read the officer reports appended!  There is a lot of information, and many places you can get involved.
  • Officer elections: Seneschal, Herald, Webminister, Historian, and Fencing Marshal.  All but seneschal have incumbents who may choose to run again.  Seneschal is term-limited.  Schedule for elections is spread over the next 3 commons: Oct. 20th letters of intent; Nov. 17th meet the candidates; Dec. 15th voting results & affirmations of single-candidates.
  • Chatelaine’s report has some interesting ideas with regard to promotion and retention.  Please connect with Catelin if you are interested in supporting these efforts.
  • Our YouTube channel needs 1000 subscribers to livestream.  Please subscribe!
  • Our TikTok followers have doubled since Catelin joined the team.  We’ve had over 10K views in the last few days.  Please reach out to her to contribute to her “SCA Hot Take” clips.
  • ostgardr.org needs renewing; webminister team will handle it.
  • Content submissions to the website are low.  Friderich has been combing Facebook for content.  Discussion: which venues do you choose to post to and why? 
    • Alienor: website, then email, then facebook, now starting on Discord.
    • Lada: generally don’t send the same thing to multiple channels. Events to Facebook, sometimes also the mailing list. Instagram gets pretty pictures sometimes with an event tie-in. Videos on TikTok don’t get cross-posted elsewhere.
    • Uji: Mostly post to Facebook, occasionally to mailing list, sometimes to Lions End web site. Mostly event announcements. Soon will be recruiting event stewards and staff. I will be stepping down in January from Lions End position.
    • Kunigunde: mostly posting to Facebook, mailing list.
    • Albrecht: starting to generate traffic to YouTube, Following some SCA channels. Also posting to my own TikTok. Also posting to Discord, our server is increasingly active, on multiple topics: A&S, combat, and more. 
    • Alec: I generally use Facebook, posting to the historical fencing group.
    • Drasma: When I have something important to say, use mailing list in addition to Facebook, but for routine stuff I mostly use Facebook.
    • Alienor: if you’re sending email, please CC: the webminister@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org; if you’re posting elsewhere , send him a link.
    • Friderich: not urgent, but we need to figure out how we can get consistent messaging, and figure out how to let people know about content that’s going into different channels. For Barleycorn, to get a sense of everything that was going on, you had to monitor multiple channels, because people were posting different things in different place.
  • Friderich suggests a central repository of pictures and videos!  Implementation ideas?  
    • Zahra: we have a shared drive for release forms; perhaps we could do the same thing for content?
    • Albrecht: Yes, we can post it to Google Drive.
    • Alienor: Let’s set up a working group (Albrecht, Friderich, others) and schedule a time for them to meet.
    • Friderich: we could use a spreadsheet and a consistent naming convention so that we can find them, and match them to the release forms.
  • Chronicler wants your bon mots!  Please contribute to the caption contest (see the Sept. 1st issue of the e-Horse).  Next issue of E-Horse will be December 1.
  • Chancellor Minor suggests a banner for Youth Point.  I’ve asked her to come up with some art, and we’ll make a permanent banner.  If anyone else wants a sign we don’t already have, please suggest it.
  • Please recommend people for Kingdom and local awards!!  Check with the vices if you need ideas on who deserves recognition.  Lada walked us through the recommendation / award / scroll creation process via a couple of slides.
    • recommendation process slide
    • Lada: recommendation process takes 9-14 weeks (or more) from when you send in the form. Royals get an enormous number of recommendations (perhaps over 500 per reign), while fewer are actually awarded (maybe a few hundred). 
    • Uji: can the populace send in recommendations for polling orders?
    • Lada: Yes, but it’s helpful to talk to a member of the order to understand what the group is looking for and have someone to help you advocate.
    • Ragnarr: do you get notified if the royals decide not to give an award?
    • Lada: No. 
    • Ragnarr: if you send in a recommendation, but don’t hear anything, can you resubmit in the next reign?
    • Lada: Yes. Also if the royals receive multiple recommendations about the same person, that helps to bolster the case. If you want to help, let me know and I’ll pass along some notes about people we think are ready for recognition.
    • scroll production and docket development slide
    • Lada: 13-22 weeks from recommendation to presentation
    • Sofya: Would be good to have a video walking people through the process.
    • Lada: I’d have to ask the folks who created these slides
    • Catelin: We could develop something similar for local awards.
    • Lada: yes, but our local timeline is simpler. 
    • Catelin: Also helpful to address questions that newcomers and the public might have about what awards are.
    • Alienor: could also include content from Mathghamhain’s blog post about all of the awards.
    • Lada: I’ll work with Catelin about developing a script.
    • Perez: it’s hard to find the awards.
    • discussion about improving website navigation
  • Barleycorn event report (preliminary): 88 attendees!  Hugely successful.  A small amount of lost-and-found, which is on its way back to the owners.  One set of windchimes is missing.  Aethelstan did a great job of handling the gate finances.  Full report next month.
  • Archery loaner gear: Friderich’s requests to dispose of the broken bow limbs and loan the gear to Midland Vale practice & event approved by Alienor post-meeting.

New Business 

  • Friderich: send me copy about the new things that are happening on Tuesday nights.
  • Outreach committee!
    • Catelin: if i developed talking points for one/two-person booths, would folks be interested in this as an alternative to large demos?
    • Alienor: let’s not use the word recruiting; marketing and promotions are better.
    • Alienor: we’ve done some things like this, like Brooklyn Pride.
    • Friderich: developing that material that sounds like a good idea. Maybe we can also combine some video content into a marketing reel. Would be good to have some content that could be displayed on an iPad.
    • Alienor: We do have an iPad available for this type of use.
    • Albrecht: Ervald did something like this at a recent ComicCon, for SCA and related.
    • Uji: I’ve seen a discussion on the EK Unofficial FB group, and one of the big issues that came up there is that it’s a difficult process for someone who doesn’t know anyone yet to find a local group or an upcoming event. For example, to enter their zip code and find the local group and event. It’d be great if we could do something like this for Østgarðr, then show other groups how to do it.
    • Alienor: the EK has something like that, we should make it available.
    • Uji: I know it exists, but it’s not easy to find.
    • Sofya: it’s nice to hear these ideas, because when I joined the SCA I was told that “we don’t market” and it’s nice to hear that changing. I’m relieved to hear people engaging with this issue. At some demos we’ve displayed Ervald’s video. It would be interesting to get involved in local cons and events. Getting a table can seem like it would be expensive, but you can get discounts if you haggle, or agree to be on a panel. Ervald knows a lot of people in this scene and can help us get connections. We should go into communities and engage with people in various areas. 
    • Gibbs: I got folded into the Outreach department at work as of this January. I’m open to working with the Chatelaine to offer probably-online SCAdian talks for different age groups to the public libraries in Westchester County.
    • Alienor: We should have an outreach committee.
    • Kunigunde: In 2005 there was a demo at Riverfront Park in Peekskill, including SCA folks from New York, fighters, chain mail, people talking about A&S. I was really interested, but there wasn’t ever any thing else that happened in our area.
    • Aurora: We also used to do demos at schools during their medieval history studies
    • Alienor: we need a committee and a mailing list, and if you have ideas send them to that group, outreach@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org 
    • Marion: The Riverfest demo conflicted with Pennsic, and our contact, Lori, moved away. Also, we used to do large demos at ICON for many years, with varying results — sometimes it worked well, and other years it didn’t produce any results. The Con scene has changed. If LI Geek comes back it would be good to get involved, a lot of the people there were
    • Friderich: Richard put together the Peekskill demo, but the schedule conflicted with other events. We need to be able to have multiple small demos. In addition to demos, the thing that’s important for retention is having an easy place for people to gather. McCarren park is great, but it would be great to have more such events happening frequently in other places, such as Kensico Dam up here. 
    • Lada: This weekend is the Sparta renfair, if you can go join them they would appreciate it.
    • Albrecht: 100 Minutes will also have Novice Day, and a Sergeant’s Tournament. And this weekend is the Lakeview Ren Fair and Southern Army practice.
    • Edwin: At the last Brokenbridge commons, we talked about using Marine Park (in South Brooklyn) as a space. 
    • Alienor: yes, Brokenbridge is discussing using the space there for an outdoor event.
    • Friderich: there’s a public archery range in Floyd Bennett Field.
    • Alienor: Raise your hand to volunteer for the outreach committee.  [Friderich, Sofya, Lada, Ragnarr, Zahra, Mathghamhain, Oliver, Gibbs, Jenna, Catelin, Angelica.]
    • Catelin: I can put together some talking points for demos. 
    • Friderich: Please share that with the outreach mailing list.
    • Alec: I want to see it too.
  • flair committee!
    • Sofya: if anyone wants to help making new favors, now’s a great time.  I’d like to refresh the provincial banner
    • Discussion of champion’s regalia. 
    • Discussion of what to name the committee / mailing list; Ragnarr: flair! received with universal acclaim / general approbation.
    • Sofya: we could have a heraldic display where everyone could make their own armorial display at a standard size that gets connected together to form a giant banner
    • flair@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org [Hanya, Angelica, Lada, Alienor, Drasma, Catelin, Sofya]
  • Lada: we could exhibit at the Ragamuffin parade. Dress up and march past local officials of Bay Ridge. It’s the weekend before Cloisters. 
  • Richard: for those who aren’t paying attention, this is the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri. More translations and performances are being shared. Our modern concepts of hell are influenced by his work.

Upcoming Events/Activities

Sponsored by Østgarðr 

  • Brokenbridge office hours, Sept. 20: meeting details forthcoming
  • Practice, Sept. 21: armored, fencing, dancing, bardic?  Showing up with banners and marketing materials (flyers & business cards) is going very well, we have recruited 2 new fighters this fall.  It’s a fun time to hang out in person, outdoors.
  • Whyt Whey solar, Sept. 25: International Phonetic Alphabet class by Zahra
  • Deck the Halls, date forthcoming: has an event steward, will be online.
  • Unnamed, date forthcoming: a deep winter fighting event, live-streamed, preferably somewhere scenic like Fort Tryon Park.  Join the Østgarðr Discord server to participate in making it happen.
  • cloak making event, TBA: we should have one, to prep for our forthcoming winter events!
  • Brokenbridge unnamed event, spring/summer: considering Marine Park as an event site for a large spring/summer in-person event.
  • Bardic championship, date forthcoming: planning has begun.  See Catelin if you wish to volunteer as event staff.

Upcoming Commons Meetings

  • October 20
  • November 17
  • December 15 [we will need officers at this meeting to affirm candidates, if we want them to start their terms Jan. 1st]

Closing

  • Meeting closed at 8:48pm.

Links Contributed in Chat

September 2021 Reports • Østgarðr Commons 

Viceregents • Suuder Saran & Lada Monguligin

We had a wonderful time at Barleycorn. Being able to everyone in person and recognize some very worthy gentles.

A HUGE shout out to the amazing scribes who worked hard to create the scrolls that were given out in court:

  • Arnora Ketilsdottir
  • Alienor Salton
  • Zahra al-Andalusiyya
  • Violet Hughes
  • Oda Lally
  • Kunigunde Wedeman
  • Donnchadh mac Eoin

We encourage folks to write Kingdom and local award recommendations. There is still over 6 months left in the reign so plenty of opportunities for Their Majesties to recognize people. 

Attached is a PDF of How EK Recommendations work that was created by Mistress Nataliia and Countess Meggie.

With recommendations I think the more the merrier. If you want to help and recommend someone, but are not sure who his Excellency and I will be happy to point out some worthy Østgarðrians and help you put the recommendation together.

Social Media:

Since Catelin joined our TikTok team we have nearly doubled our followers and in the past days we have over 10K views.  Woot!  Catelin is doing “SCA Hot Take” clips. If you have one, reach out to her. https://www.tiktok.com/@ostgardr.east

Our YouTube channel needs subscribers. We need 1,000 to be able to livestream, we are currently at 95.   Please follow it here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdhmkB0GrzcRk-EGrOjtbHA 

I have updated the channel name for regular Ostgardr spelling.   I know we love our fancy letters, but it’s not good for SEO.  I have also added a description where I put the fancy spelling.

Engaging with families:

In a conversation with Jenna Childslayer, she mentioned that we don’t always highlight enough that it’s pretty easy for a parent of a teen/tween to be able to bring the kid’s friends along to the event. All it takes is a couple of waivers.   I think this is something we need to highlight more. Older kids would be way more happy to come to events if they can bring their friends to hang with.

Thinking off of that, can we engage with scouting troops and invite them to our activities to help them fulfill some of their badges?

Seneschal • Alienor Salton

Officer Elections

The following provincial officer positions are up for election: Seneschal, Herald, Webminister, Historian, and Fencing Marshal.  Each officer is elected for a two year term.  Herald, Webminister, Historian, and Fencing Marshal all have incumbents who may choose to run again.  Seneschal is term-limited and requires a new person shouldering the mantle.

(In my July report, I said that Minister of Arts & Sciences and Minister of Lists were up for re-election at the end of the year.  I was wrong!!  Their terms end December 2022.  My apologies for spreading misinformation.)

Letters of intent from incumbents and new candidates are due by next provincial commons, Oct. 20th.  For any positions which have multiple contenders, the populace will have an opportunity to meet the candidates at our November 17th commons.  Voting (via a Google form) will conclude before our December 15th commons, where the results will be announced.  Positions which have a single volunteer will be affirmed at the December 15th commons.

Job descriptions may be found on our website [https://ostgardr.eastkingdom.org/provincial-officer-elections-2021/].

New Event Proposal

A deep winter fighting event, live-streamed, preferably somewhere scenic like Fort Tryon Park.  Join the Østgarðr Discord server to participate in making it happen.

Exchequer • Francisco de Braga

Nothing to report.

Herald • Drasma Dragomira

The official court report for John Barleycorn Returns was filed with appropriate Kingdom parties yesterday.

The herald’s quarterly report due August 1st was filed in a timely manner.

As usual, if you wish to work on a registration, feel free to reach out.

Chatelaine • Catelin Straquhin

In the past 30-40 days there’s been a consistent effort to do in-person outreach at the McCarren Park fighter’s practice. A multitude of flyers and cards have been passed around. We have one new novice fighter named John, who was able to fight in armor for the first time a few weeks ago. Another new fighter, Belle, has also been attending. I give thanks to our members that are willing to participate in public outreach when I am unable to attend the fighter’s practice.

I attended John Barleycorn Returns and was able to speak with several new (to me) faces. I am noticing a trend that previous members who have left the Society are now coming back into the game within our area. While these reasons vary, I am optimistic about the feedback I have received when asking why they decided to come back.

Feedback I received from the event:

  • Some members feel safer playing after witnessing toxic or less fun elements from the game being filtered out/removed from the province
  • Some are returning after achieving stability in their personal lives
  • Some have returned after seeing more inclusion efforts and active community building in the area
  • Some are coming back to play after reading up on changes/efforts made society-wide on social media/word of mouth
  • Some feel more comfortable going to events after seeing recognition for newer members on a smaller timeline (ex. “Back when I first played it took X years to get those awards, I’m very happy to see this change”)
  • Some members are more optimistic after observing a greater range of diversity in activities (ex. hula dancing, bartertown, non-combat participation in the Sir Edward Challenge)

Since I am new to the position I have not been able to make a formal analysis based on previous data and reports, but here are a few observations:

  • A portion of questions I received from doing outreach at fighter’s practice was about how strict the theatrical elements (dressing in garb, etc) of the game are. I explained there are many activities where the focus is not primarily on those aspects, though that may not be obvious from a marketing/online perspective.
    • One way to show the versatility of the chapter could be to create messaging showing the populace participating in a more casual environment (ex. non-costumed events), and that these can be just as fun as costumed events.
    • Creating this messaging and display in conjunction with the more high-level and formal events of the SCA may attract people who may have limited resources or are hesitant in jumping into the more theatrical/L.A.R.P. elements of the society.
  • The Canton of Broken Bridge has adopted an ad-hoc “virtual office hours” style for the president determined by their schedule, allowing members to have more opportunities to discuss SCA business outside of monthly meetings or ask questions regarding the workings of the SCA. 
    • Depending on how the populace of the canton reacts to it, it may be a practice we could adopt on an individual basis.
    • Having the province adopt such a practice may allow people who are interested in getting more involved with the non-profit/volunteering side of the society to obtain information and to develop relationships with officers.
  • A discussion of recruitment/retention sparked by an online forum voiced concerns regarding how the SCA presents itself in recruitment drives and how productive those efforts are.
    • Consider developing strategies for how to market the SCA outside of large scale demos, such as training individuals on talking points and having a booth at various conventions which may have overlap in demographics (comic/geek conventions, textile festivals, archery events, etc).
    •  A benefit of using this strategy is that it would minimize burnout and logistical fatigue/expenses, and maximize in-person outreach in areas where the SCA might not be well-known or dimensionally relevant to said event.
  • From observations I have seen the public asking simple questions such as “What is a Laurel” and “What is a Kingdom” when they are discussing the SCA with people. Would the province benefit from having a simple glossary on the website for newcomers/newer members?
    • Two major benefits of having a glossary: the terms would be more easily searchable, making SCA-related web pages easier to find due to search engine optimization. It would also allow people to learn terminologies of the society and feel more prepared to participate with high-level activities.

Last, my partner brought up the question if the main SCA page on Wikipedia (not our Wiki) is up to date and accurate. I am aware we have a page for the province on Wikipedia, but I am not knowledgeable on the order of process for updating said pages. This is a point I would like to discuss at this month’s meeting.

Chancellor Minor • Kunigunde Wedemann

Youth Activities were held at John Barleycorn Returns. There were young SCAdians who came to Youth Point to just hang out, play a mundane game that involved trying to take over a city by buying everything (what happened to fighting and plunder), make a basket, and a few tried their hand at illuminating pre-printed ink drawings of marginalia art. 

This was my first event where I was in charge of youth activities, and there is much to be improved on. First of all, having some kind of a sign/banner to indicate “Youth Point” would help. Secondly, I need to fix my chalkboard easel so that I can use it to write a list of activities on, so that any families passing by can see what is going on in that area. I have a lot of material to use at other events. Arnora Kettelsdottir passed on her box of Østgarðr youth activity materials, so they are now in my possession to bring to events.

Arts & Sciences • Randve L’il Hammar

Nothing to report.

Armored Combat • Ervald LaCoudre

Fighter practice is every Tuesday.

Archery • Arnbiorg Helga Niálsdóttir

Still no archery, I hope to get a couple practices in before the weather starts getting cold.  I will post when I will have them, cannot commit to it now.

Fencing • Alec MacLachlan

Fencing practice has continued at McCarren Park in Brooklyn on Tuesday nights.  We have 3-5 fencers coming (including me).

Practice will continue outdoors as long as the weather holds.

There were six fencers in the Provincial fencing championship.  We had one re-authorization and one new authorization; Zahra.

Youth Combat • Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin

Vivant to the six youth who joined me on the youth combat field last weekend at John Barleycorn Returns. 

Hooray to Finnbjorn for being the most skilled competitor, and to Oz for providing our onlookers with the best death scenes.

Minister of Lists • Marion of York

This is my first activity since taking the office.

There were two new authorizations: Zahra de Andalusia in rapier, and Francisco de Braga in rattan, and an additional form in rapier for Leo MacCullan. 

There were two armored combat tournaments and one rapier; Leo Mac Cullan is the new Provincial Rapier Champion, and Padraig O Bradaig the new Provincial Champion, as well as the overall winner of the Sir Edward’s Memorial Tournament. 

The event report will be sent to the Kingdom MoL tomorrow; I am sending electronic copies to regional and kingdom as well.

Webminister • Friderich Grimme 

I am still settling into the position and I will continue to try and post a weekly schedule of activities and events (didn’t happen this week due to life).

Domain Name

I received an email from Pair Domains indicating that our registration of the domain name “ostgardr.org” will expire on 12/3/2021.  This was the domain name we used by the province for the pre-Wordpress website.  From what I can determine, Pair Domains is our domain name registrar, but I have no information about the provinces account with Pair Domains or estimates of the costs to extend the registration of the domain name.  We do not currently use the domain name.  Do we want to try and keep the domain name registered?  If yes, I will reach out to John Elys about account access information for Pair Domains and find out pricing.

Projects for the Future

Formal submissions of website content is largely limited to Østgarðr’s seneschal.  Most content is gleaned from Facebook posts by various officers.  I would love to see this change.  If people could share with me why they chose to post to specific venues, that would be great.  I am aware my concern is not new.

Does the Province have a central repository of pictures and videos (with appropriate releases) which can be used by the chronicler, webminister and social media team?  If not, perhaps we should make one and make submission of photo and video sets to that repository easy for the populace.

Is there anything else people would like to see on the website?

Chronicler • Zahra al-Andalusiyya

The latest issue of the E-Horse was published on September 1, and has received positive feedback. Thank you to all who contributed! And, whether you did or didn’t already contribute, you still can — make sure to submit your most hilarious and clever ideas to the caption contest at the end of the September 1 issue.

At the Feast of John Barleycorn, I was honored to join the Order of the Seahorse in recognition for my work as Chronicler. But I couldn’t do it without you! Your contributions are what fills the E-Horse and brings it to life. Thank you for your contributions, support, and feedback—please, keep it coming!  Next issue of E-Horse is December 1!

Chamberlain • Ian of Clan Mitchell

Nothing to report.

Historian • Sofya Gianetta di Trieste

September 11, 2021 AS LVI-John Barleycorn Returns

Being the Court of Their Excellencies, Il-Kha’an Suuder Saran and Il-Khatun Lada Monguligin, held on September 11th, 2021 AS LVI , the following good citizens of Østgarðr were recognized in Court after the celebration of John Barleycorns long awaited return:

Order of the Sea Dog:    Catelin Straquhin 

Order of the Silver Lion:    Arnbiǫrg Helga Niálsdóttir  

Order of the Seahorse:     Francisco de Braga 

Alexander MacLachlan 

Zahra de Andaluzia 

Valgard Stonecleaver 

New Provincial Champions were also chosen:

Armored Combat Champion: Pádraig Ó Brádaig  

Warden of the Fry: Finnbjorn Ægirson  

Fencing Champion: Leo MacCullan  

Archery Champion: Marian Paddler

Thrown Weapons Champion: Raymonda the Second  

There was much rejoicing by all!

Whyt Whey • Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin

Heralds, linguists, and aspiring onomasticians should join us for an online class on the International Phonetic Alphabet in our September 25 Solar.

I’m considering rescheduling our canton business meetings to increase attendance and interest, perhaps slotting them into the half hour before our Solars. The pairing of business meeting and A&S class had been working well for us before the pandemic, and we really lost a lot of steam when that linkage was broken, so I’m hoping that resynchronizing them might help get folks reengaged.

Lions End • Nagashima Ichiro Ujimichi

No report submitted.

Brokenbridge • Ragnarr bláskegg

We have an Event Steward for Deck the Halls of Valhalla!  We have decided to keep it online due to it being in the winter and worrying about not having much outdoor opinions for that time of year.  We do have some ideas to make a virtual event really interesting this time around.  We will have a date and details after Brokenbridge’s next commons (9/26/21).

We are also exploring some new venues for in person events next year.  We really like Marine Park and they have a community center.  We are going to see what we can do about having a large in person event for next spring/summer.  Some others are being pursued for next year also. 

John Barleycorn Returns was just held and I want to highlight some Brokenbridge achievements:

  • Catelin Straquhin, Webminister of Brokenbridge, was inducted into the Order of the Seadog!
  • Valgard Stonecleaver, Knight Marshall of Brokenbridge, and Francisco de Braga, former Chronicler of Brokenbridge, were inducted into the Order of the Seahorse
  • Albrecht Anker got the award for best exam for Sir Edward’s Memorial Challenge. 
  • Arnora Ketilsdottir announced the unofficial Order of the Carrot at John Barleycorn

Lastly, I am going to plan to have Open Office hours next week on Monday the 20th.  If anyone wants to chat with me about Brokenbridge, the SCA or anything in general, I will share the meeting details on the mailing list and Facebook soon.

Bardic Champion • Catelin Straquhin

After many months of delayed activities due to Covid, I recognize it is time to step down and give way to select a new Bardic Champion. Due to Kingdom Policy and CDC Guidelines, the parameters of the challenge may be different compared to previous years. I will be working with officers and event staff in order to create an entertaining and safe way for bards to participate and present themselves in their preferred art form in as many ways as possible.

Details regarding the challenge to be present at a future date.

Northern Archery Gear Caretaker • Friderich Grimme

Archery equipment went to Barleycorn and returned.  I have not done a full inventory yet, but I know one green fiberglass bow marked bear which was returned to me is not part of my normal inventory.  We used to have a couple of these in the S.I. gear stockpile.  Is that bow from there?

In reviewing the archery gear, I found that one set of limbs from the Samick bows has fiberglass with a crack/lift.  Those limbs should not be used and I would like to dispose of them.  We have an extra set of limbs for the bow, and considering the state of archery, I would not advise replacing the limbs at this time.

There is discussion of a possible archery practice in the neighboring shire of Midland Vale.  If this comes to pass, I will let people know.  May I offer the use of the provincial archery gear to help support that practice when I attend it.  The gear would travel to and return from the practice with me.   Additionally, Midland Vale is trying to have archery at a proposed event on October 23rd.  May I offer the loan of the gear?  As I will not likely attend the event, it would be out of my immediate care for a short period.