The November commons meeting was held November 15 at the Greenvale Diner in Lions End. Here are the minutes as recorded by Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin.

Attendance

Present

• Suuder Saran, Il-Khan
• Lada Monguligin, Il-Khatun
• Alec MacLachlan, Acting Seneschal, Fencing Marshal
• Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin, Herald, Youth Marshal, Deputy Webminister
• Arnbiorg Helga Niálsdóttir, Archery Marshal
• Zahra al-Andalusiyya, Chronicler
• Ian of Clan Mitchell, Chamberlain
• Brandr Aronsson, Brokenbridge Seneschal
• Katherine Gilliesfleur, Deputy Chamberlain
• Duggmore Dougles, Lions End Castellan
• Marion of York, Lions End Lieutenant of Fence
• Alienor Salton
• Oliver de Bainbrig
• Jenna Childslayer
• Drasma Dragomira
• Monkey Makgee
• Ronan FitzRobert

Online

• Francisco de Braga, Exchequer
• Vika Grigina z Prahy, Whyt Whey Seneschal
• Bahja al-Azraq
• Gavin

Absent Officers

• Laila al-Sanna’ al-Andalusiyya, Chatelaine 
• Donnchadh mac Eoin, MoAS
• Ervald LaCoudre, Armored Combat Marshal
• Anne of Østgarðr, Webminister
• Sofya Gianetta di Trieste, Historian
• Arnora Ketilsdottir, Chancellor Minor 
• Nagashima Ichiro Ujimichi, Lions End Seneschal

Opening 

• Called to order at 8:27pm.

• Alec: Thanks for coming out to the edge of the empire.

• Consolidated officer reports were circulated by email earlier today, and I have printouts here for review.

Officer Report Items For Discussion

• Alec: Herald is stepping down.

• Alec: Youth combat practice scheduled for this weekend.
  • Mathghamhain: Unfortunately this is being cancelled because some families’ plans changed and we only had two youth fighters available, not in the same division.
• Alec: I have received the paperwork required to become a youth fencing marshal.
  • Mathghamhain: Thanks!

• Alec: The Exchequer submitted his report.

• Alec: The Chronicler reports that the newsletter will be out December 1.
  • Alienor: Did you post a call for submissions to the populace?
  • Zahra: No, I only sent that message to the officers, will re-post for the public.

• Alec: Brokenbridge just had elections. Morwenna is becoming the canton exchequer.

• Alec: Chancellor minor’s report looks good.

• Alec: The Historian’s report was very long, includes good news and bad.

• Alec: Whyt Whey Solar was Elizabethan clothing. Debating whether to have a Solar in December. 
  • Vika: Also debating rescheduling business meeting on Jan 2.

• Alec: Chamberlain has no news.

• Alec: Archery reports no archery happening.
  • Helga: We’re done for the winter.
  • Lada: Friderich may be doing some indoor archery in Westchester on Thursdays over the winter, check with him for the schedule.
  • Helga: We no longer have indoor archery here in Nassau.
  • Lada: There’s a Flying Arrow archery in Queens.

• Alec: No A&S report from Donnchadh. He’s stepping down.
  • Lada: He’s trapped in Aethelmearc.

• Alec: Bahja, is there any news from the Chatelaine?
  • Bahja: Nothing to report tonight.

• Alec: Ervald isn’t here, but he has a new practice site in Manhattan. He’s held two practices there. 
  • Mathghamhain: The night I visited, there was one room available, with enough space for the two fighters and Ervald.
  • Alec: Could we have a second night or a second room?
  • Mathghamhain: I think that we are still operating under the umbrella provided by Damian and the ACL, so I don’t know if we can do things when they are not around, but we’ll have to ask Ervald.
  • Gavin: I’m checking to see if I can provide storage space for armor via a family connection on 158th Street.

• Alec: We’ve had a couple of fencing practices. Will pause for the winter unless we can get indoor space.
  • Ronan: Maybe you could use my space in Levittown?
  • Alec: It’s too far for our Manhattan folks, but talk to Marion about a Lions End practice.

• Alec: As Seneschal, we’ve been working on elections.

Upcoming Events

• Alec: Twelfth Night is coming up.
  • Mathghamhain: It’s going to be fun. Music and dancing and fun! Come! Help!
  • Feast has sold out. There’s a waiting list. Pre-reg and then email us. Volunteers will be prioritized.
  • Jenna: I could do a van run to drop people off at the LIRR mid-day.
  • Monkey: Can we use the kitchen Friday to pre-prep some of the food?
    • Mathghamhain: Good question, I will check.
  • Alec: I will do general work at Twelfth Night — let me know what’s needed.
  • Marion: I’ll help with Friday setup.
  • Alec: Do we need to get all tables and chairs back into the exact same place?
    • Mathghamhain: Good question, I will check.
  • Monkey: how many tables are there at feast? 
    • Mathghamhain: I think it’ll be twelve tables of 9-10 people each.
  • Jenna: There are not very many designated handicapped spaces; it would be good to set aside some additional spaces, with no-parking signs or barricades or something.

• Alec: Lions End is planning two events.

• Jenna: Lions End Schola
  • Looking at May 2 for the date.
  • Event name to be determined

• Jenna: Farmingdale demo, June 6; rain date that Sunday or the next Saturday.
  • Jenna: Armored list is in shade all day.
  • The firefighters set up our green-and-white pavilion the night before.

• Alec: Brokenbridge is doing Valhalla on January 11.
  • Brandr: Ragnarr is organizing. Please volunteer and help organize.
  • We’re looking for teachers for classes — talk to Randve.
  • Lada: I was thinking that, given recent stressful events, we should do something local and fun. So I researched Viking Yule gift traditions. We will have gift exchanges at Valhalla. If you can, bring something to exchange. But note that you do not have to bring things; we will ensure that there are enough items to go around. Ragnarr is researching logistics.
  • Bahja: Do home-made SCA-related items count?
  • Lada: Yes, but don’t overextend yourself with anything super expensive or too labor-intensive, this should be fun and casual.

• Alec: An Dubh challenge
  • Suuder: The budget is 75% done. Target date is May 16
  • I’m currently researching alternative sites. Looking at Estonia house, but also thinking about other options. 
  • Alec: What about the church in Plainview?
  • Suuder: The kitchen there is very small, all food would need to be prepared ahead of time.
  • Jenna: We could cater or do potluck
  • Suuder: Could have a feast at Estonia house, but not at the Plainview church.
  • Jenna: I am on a local community board and might be able to recommend a space.
  • Suuder: I also tried a couple of other places but they didn’t work out.
  • Monkey: Look into North Hempstead Beach Park, near Port Washington.
  • Suuder: If none of those work out, Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park is a possible backup site, but not convenient for the Ducks.
  • Suuder: I am still pricing out materials for hobby horse race gates and fences.
  • Jenna: Talk to Fiona the Volatile; she did something like this with kids. 
  • Suuder: If you make your own hobby horse you might get a blue ribbon for best in show.
  • Østgarðr-An Dubh Challenge: A Day At The Races

• Alec: Northpass had been planning four events. The first of them is already on the EK calendar, but the others need more discussion. We had some concerns, which I discussed with Oliver and Viceregents prior to the meeting.

• Oliver: Bear’s Tavern, March 6-8, at Blue Mountain.

• Oliver: Brew U, May 1-3
  • Jenna: That’s the same date as the Lions schola. We were trying to do the schola a week later but that’s Mother’s Day and the site is unavailable.
  • Lada: FYI, May 2 is likely to be Crown Tourney, but that’s in Tir Mara.
  • Jenna: Oliver and I will discuss afterwards to find dates that don’t conflict.

• Oliver: Goat’s Tavern, Oct 16-18, at Blue Mountain.
  • Oliver: We missed this event this year, would like to not miss it twice in a row.
  • Past years have been kid-friendly and fun.
  • Relatively inexpensive, previous years have been profitable.

• Alec: Lada, should we talk about the other event? 
  • Lada: not today

• Oliver: Because of our history, we have had a special privilege of reserving spaces in the Westchester Park system prior to January 2 when everyone else can reserve. We can reserve now, but need to put in deposit checks for the events fairly soon.
  • Alec: yes, we can do that as soon as budgets are finalized.
  • Ian: Because they’re county parks, in the past, we’ve had to use checks with a Westchester address. Many years ago there was a problem when we used a Østgarðr check with a New York City.
  • Oliver: I’ll call the Parks office on Monday to check.

Other Business

• Alec: I reviewed the minutes from the last meeting, which included two items that we can return to in a couple of months — the officer election calendar and the native-land acknowledgment.

Upcoming Commons Meetings

• Alec: We need to pick sites for the upcoming commons meetings.

• Lada: Check with Ervald about his work site.
• Alec: We can figure this out later.

Officer Elections

• Alec: We’re holding elections. 
  • For seneschal we have myself, Piglet, and Brandr.
  • For herald we have Drasma, and Ragnarr who wasn’t able to make it tonight.
  • I will renew as fencing marshal.
  • Anne will renew as webminister.
  • Sofya will renew as historian.
  • Thorfinn has volunteered for A&S. 
  • Still looking for someone for MOL.

• Lada: Marion, would you be willing to sign up for MOL?
  • Marion: Yes, if someone will help me get to events that aren’t transit accessible.

• Ian: Did Kingdom officers approve Piglet’s candidacy?
  • Alienor: That’s a good question. Yes, the Kingdom seneschal and the Southern Region deputy both specifically approved.

• Brandr: I have reconsidered my candidacy for Seneschal. I looked at my calendar for next year and I am too busy to take this on. I am withdrawing and endorsing Piglet.
  • Alienor: Thank you for your support.
  • Brandr: I will post an update on Facebook so other people know.

• Alec: Mathghamhain set up an online form to handle voting.
  • Lada: We will provide a link to be included in the newsletter. Voting starts when newsletter is published, December 1. Continue for two weeks. Also announce in mailing list and Facebook.
  • Ian: The bylaws used to restrict voting to officers, were they changed?
  • Lada: Yes, bylaws were changed. Contested offices are voted on by the populace with member accounts. Single-candidate offices are confirmed by the officers.

• Alec: To vote, you need a registered membership that is active through voting period. I’ll use the member numbers from the census to verify voting eligibility. If your membership expires this month, renew it. I need to figure out how to get information on any people who renewed during November.
  • Vika: The census file has expirations; 14 people have expirations this month.

• Lada: Any questions for any of the candidates?

• Jenna: I have a question for the herald candidates: it seems one of you is more interested in book heraldry, the other more in voice heraldry. Do you want to learn the other area?
  • Drasma: Yes, I’m fully committed to learning it.
  • Mathghamhain: Whichever of the candidates ends up in the office, I will encourage them to take the other as a deputy.
  • Drasma: Yes, that’d be great.
  • Jenna: I can assist with court, as long as someone else handles the paperwork.
  • Drasma: Paperwork is no problem for me.

• Ian: You should know that a traditional title for the Provincial Herald was “The Old Weird Herald of Østgarðr.”
  • Mathghamhain: Huh, nobody told me that I was old and weird, but I guess those are both true.

Closing

• Meeting closed at 9:33 pm.

November 2019 Reports • Østgarðr Commons 

Viceregents • Suuder Saran & Lada Monguligin

No report submitted.

Seneschal • Alexander MacLachlan

The main items that I have been working on are assisting with event budgeting for events that are being proposed in Northpass, and also on the officer elections.  We will be having a populace wide election for both Seneschal and Herald, and this will be done on the internet. So we (their excellencies, and our Webministers) have been working on the technical points of this to keep it fair and confidential.

Exchequer • Francisco de Braga

There has not been much activity the past month.

Kingdom has allowed a 2 week extension on submission of Q3 reporting which i have taken advantage of.

Additionally they have requested that everyone update to the new ledger which will need to be completed prior to submission of 2019-Q4 next year. This would be applicable to all Canton reporting being submitted in the future.

We have recieved several event bid submissions for 2020 events which are typically run by Northpass and the Financial comittee will be reviewing the proposed budgets after Commons.

Our Vicereine has also suggested that we generate a standard event bid submission form which we will be working on in the near future. Hopefully this will help streamline the process in the future.

Chatelaine • Laila al-Sanna’ al-Andalusiyya

No report submitted.

Chancellor Minor • Arnora Ketilsdottir

I will be looking for help to prep some activities for 12th night and valhalla.  Also, looking for volunteers to teach a children’s class or do a storytime (books can be provided) at 12th night.

Arts & Sciences • Donnchadh mac Eoin

No report submitted.

Herald • Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin

No provincial courts were held this month. My quarterly report was filed with Kingdom on schedule.

We’re waiting to hear back on the paperwork submitted earlier this year for the Order of The Sea-Urchin of Østgarðr; commentary has now closed but we won’t get an official decision until closer to the end of the year.

The bi-weekly online heraldry chats sessions have been continuing and a number of new local beginner heralds have been attending — I’m hopeful that this process will help seed a new generation of talented heralds in and around the Province.

After two years in this office, I’ll be stepping down as the Provincial herald when my term is up. I’d like to thank the Province for giving me the opportunity to take on this job — it’s been an interesting challenge and I’ve enjoyed learning some new skills along the way.

I’m very pleased that we’ve got two solid candidates poised to take up the role; one is stronger on the court/voice side and the other is stronger on the submissions/book side, so I will encourage whichever one ends up with the office to take on the other as their deputy to help round out the team. (And of course I will remain available to support them both as they get their feet wet over the coming year.)


Armored Combat • Ervald LaCoudre

No report submitted.

Fencing • Alec MacLachlan

We’ve had two practice’s since the last Commons. We had 8 people at one (with three from NJ, including the Provincial Champion Engel) and 3 at the last week’s practice. 

I will confirm if we have sace at the 133rd St Community Center for next week’s  indoor practice.

Archery • Arnbiorg Helga Niálsdóttir

No report submitted.

Youth Combat • Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin

There hasn’t been any youth combat in the province this month.

We’re trying for a youth practice on Sunday in Lions End; we’ll have loaner gear on hand, so first-timers are welcome to come and try it out.

The weekend after that we’ll be out in Rusted Woodlands for Hundred Minutes War, the last outdoor fighting of the season — hopefully there’ll be less snow than there was last year.

Webminister • Anne of Østgarðr 

I’ve renewed the domain for ostgardr.org and moved it to a new registry, Pair, and will submit an expense report. 

My deputy Mathghamhain has also been doing many things to help our office, recently some examples include working to migrate mailing lists for the province’s cantons and set up provincial voting systems for next month’s election.

I would also like to thank Kunigunde for her recent service as Northpass webminister. I’m grateful for her work, especially on the WordPress site for Northpass, and it is my hope that when the canton is reinstated all will be able to see what an excellent job she did.

Chronicler • Zahra al-Andalusiyya

Chronicler is seeking submissions for the E-Horse! The next issue is to be published Sunday, December 1. I am looking especially for shoutouts and village square items, but as always, all submissions—in any medium—are welcome and appreciated.

Thank you to those who have already contributed.

Chamberlain • Ian of Clan Mitchell

Nothing to report this month.

Historian • Sofya Gianetta di Trieste

[Attached] is a draft of my report for September and October. I am still editing and trying to find a court report that seems to be missing. If you find errors, please let me know. 

Whyt Whey • Vika Grigina z Prahy

This month’s Solar was on Elizabethan clothing.

Next month’s Solar is TBD (or we might skip, because holiday madness)

It’s quiet uptown.

Lions End • Nagashima Ichiro Ujimichi

Planning for spring schola has started. 2020 date set for Farmingdale demo –

Saturday June 6 RainDate June 7 , 13

Brokenbridge • Brandr Aronsson

Our October commons was a rousing success as our wonderfully talented Viceraine showed us all how to put our people up for awards. 

It was very informative.

Elections were held, we have a new Exchequer, Morwenna, we have great faith in her organizational skills. 

All other positions remain the same. We are now in need of a Canton Herald as Lord Ragnarr has stepped down to ply his trade in the wider Ostgardr pasture. 

Plans for Deck the Halls of Valhalla continue.

Upcoming Events

Twelfth Night • January 4 • Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin 

We’re less than eight weeks out from this event and things are looking good!

There’s a growing collection of event information posted on our site at www.ostgardr.org/twelfth-night/.

We’ve recruited a great team but could use some additional volunteers to help fill out the squad; you can sign up here: https://forms.gle/kFAgvVwkv3go3Mtg6

Last time I checked there were only about thirty feast seats left, so it’s likely to sell out before the end of the month — if you haven’t pre-registered yet, don’t put it off any longer!