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Happy Heralds!
Sep. 8th, 2008 11:00 amWhere to start?
( Ok, only for the SCA-keen, otherwise too geeky for words )![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nz_bookwyrm
Friday had been the day I'd worried about most: I had visions of losing hapless Americans on the Tube and missing connections to the sites we'd planned to see. Certainly not knowing about whether or not the Parliament tour was a go or not was stressful, but otherwise it went as well as I could possibly have asked.
Friday night I slept normally for the first time in about 10 days.
Saturday and Sunday were easy in comparison - the usual round of running an event with classes, the dance of signs, schedules, questions and answers, starting and fnishing things.
We'd decided to manage coffee in-house rather than using UCL catering (warned off that by the residences staff!) or trying to arrange catering w/ one of the coffeeshops. And blessedly I could recruit Asbjornnz_bookwyrm to shop, and ![[info]](https://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
jpgsawyer and lovely lady M. to manage this. It's such a joy to hand over to people you trust, and just forget about a whole task.
Sounds small, but man, heralds are grumpy without their morning fixes...
M. as always, brought a box of chocolate truffles from Paris - she spoils us!
Regency court went smoothly to investaryanhwy as Pelican herald, with my sweetie as court herald, and Nerissa and Alaric serving as regents, in their splendid Coronation gowns and ermine. HRM ThorvaldR sent a very personal greeting, noting that Ary had helped him get started as a local herald just a few years ago, and vouching for her suitability for the role.
I think Robert wanted a bit more dignity to the ceremony - he works hard to create that 'moment' of solemnity, which is a fragile one, and he had a tough crowd! - but I think it was as dignified and solemn as the people involved wanted it.
The evening pub was a mixed result. Unfortunately, some folks hadn't noticed the descriptor 'tapas menu' - it doesn't serve full meals (they lay on a sit-down meal at Christmas only). It was also busy with the after-work 1-pint crowd, AND we'd brought more people than expected.
So I watched about a third of our group leave abruptly, just as I was sitting down, and head off elsewhere.
However, the folks who stayed enjoyed the pub choice, and then wobbled on to a Wetherspoons to get a cheap-and-cheerful pub meal. (We tried the Cittie of York, but when we arrived they'd stopped taking kitchen orders for 1/2 an hour to catch up, because they were flat out with a private party downstairs and a full pub upstairs. Only a few folks from our group got in before the rush.)
Charmingly, we acquired a new potential T'reacher at the pub. I was sitting near the bar, and saw this really big round guy with a beard, long hair and glasses at the bar, and thought to myself, geez he looks like he belongs with us... only to have him walk up to our table and say 'Society for Creative Anachronism'?
He'd just rolled in from upstate NY the day before, had checked the T'reach and KWHS website, and decided to show up at the pub to check us out! He's a teacher who's decided to work here for a year. Brave soul! Here's to hoping he's able to play regularly.
It's easy to run down Wetherspoons, because they cater to the lowest common denominator of CAMRA drinkers. But by god they serve a reasonable meal promptly, and have acres of seating. I left with a happy few tables of heralds noshing away.
Sunday was the easiest of all for me - with no explicit role in the roadshow, I could just play coffee lady withjpgsawyer , and listen in to the meeting when I sat down. (I did get some smugness points when I could whip out my Luttrell facsimile at one point to show what period musical notes looked like, during a discussion.)
Sometimes I think the level of discussion in these roadshows far exceeds what the rest of the SCA considers useful or needful to determine registrability - the talk is passionate and, well, pretty loud. Even book heralds like to be heard, even when it means talking over others. Bytimes I found folks pretty rude to each other: if this was how your kids talked to you, you'd tell them off for interrupting!
Roadshow meeting wrapped up early, leaving folks free to grab lunch before heading to the British library. Here, I think Nerissa delighted in tormenting people with a survey that was really too short to take in the wonders in the Treasures room, by dragging them at breakneck speed around saying 'but wait, there's more, can't stop here!' and then giving them only 15 minutes in the bookshop. Many folks were resolved to return, or just stay and skip the walking tour.
The walking tour hosted byedith_hedingham was, I think, Edith at her best: cheerful, confident, knowledgeable. We lucked out by gaining a quick view of St. Bartholomew the Greater church adjascent to St Barts hospital (this is where Hugh Grant was punched out in the last wedding of 4 Weddings and a Funeral!). Edith was really pleased, because she says it's usually closed. After a very quick confab the event sprung for the cost of the tour (what the hell, we got a group rate).
The walk actually didn't go far in terms of distance - a circuit around Farringdon St. John's Gate, and Clerkenwell, but honestly you don't have to go far before tripping over history in London, and Edith touched on post-period history (Dickens, Lenin) as well as medieval stuff - it's hard to leave it out, really. We then repaired to a pub (surprise surprise) and had another good yack over beer and chips.
Robert and I rolled home and had a very quiet evening. It was a balm, not having to think, or talk, or plan, after weeks? months? of having nagging 'I ought to be working on...' feelings. No calls. No e-mails. No lists! Hurrah!
( Ok, only for the SCA-keen, otherwise too geeky for words )
nz_bookwyrmFriday had been the day I'd worried about most: I had visions of losing hapless Americans on the Tube and missing connections to the sites we'd planned to see. Certainly not knowing about whether or not the Parliament tour was a go or not was stressful, but otherwise it went as well as I could possibly have asked.
Friday night I slept normally for the first time in about 10 days.
Saturday and Sunday were easy in comparison - the usual round of running an event with classes, the dance of signs, schedules, questions and answers, starting and fnishing things.
We'd decided to manage coffee in-house rather than using UCL catering (warned off that by the residences staff!) or trying to arrange catering w/ one of the coffeeshops. And blessedly I could recruit Asbjorn
nz_bookwyrm to shop, and jpgsawyer and lovely lady M. to manage this. It's such a joy to hand over to people you trust, and just forget about a whole task. Sounds small, but man, heralds are grumpy without their morning fixes...
M. as always, brought a box of chocolate truffles from Paris - she spoils us!
Regency court went smoothly to invest
aryanhwy as Pelican herald, with my sweetie as court herald, and Nerissa and Alaric serving as regents, in their splendid Coronation gowns and ermine. HRM ThorvaldR sent a very personal greeting, noting that Ary had helped him get started as a local herald just a few years ago, and vouching for her suitability for the role. I think Robert wanted a bit more dignity to the ceremony - he works hard to create that 'moment' of solemnity, which is a fragile one, and he had a tough crowd! - but I think it was as dignified and solemn as the people involved wanted it.
The evening pub was a mixed result. Unfortunately, some folks hadn't noticed the descriptor 'tapas menu' - it doesn't serve full meals (they lay on a sit-down meal at Christmas only). It was also busy with the after-work 1-pint crowd, AND we'd brought more people than expected.
So I watched about a third of our group leave abruptly, just as I was sitting down, and head off elsewhere.
However, the folks who stayed enjoyed the pub choice, and then wobbled on to a Wetherspoons to get a cheap-and-cheerful pub meal. (We tried the Cittie of York, but when we arrived they'd stopped taking kitchen orders for 1/2 an hour to catch up, because they were flat out with a private party downstairs and a full pub upstairs. Only a few folks from our group got in before the rush.)
Charmingly, we acquired a new potential T'reacher at the pub. I was sitting near the bar, and saw this really big round guy with a beard, long hair and glasses at the bar, and thought to myself, geez he looks like he belongs with us... only to have him walk up to our table and say 'Society for Creative Anachronism'?
He'd just rolled in from upstate NY the day before, had checked the T'reach and KWHS website, and decided to show up at the pub to check us out! He's a teacher who's decided to work here for a year. Brave soul! Here's to hoping he's able to play regularly.
It's easy to run down Wetherspoons, because they cater to the lowest common denominator of CAMRA drinkers. But by god they serve a reasonable meal promptly, and have acres of seating. I left with a happy few tables of heralds noshing away.
Sunday was the easiest of all for me - with no explicit role in the roadshow, I could just play coffee lady with
jpgsawyer , and listen in to the meeting when I sat down. (I did get some smugness points when I could whip out my Luttrell facsimile at one point to show what period musical notes looked like, during a discussion.) Sometimes I think the level of discussion in these roadshows far exceeds what the rest of the SCA considers useful or needful to determine registrability - the talk is passionate and, well, pretty loud. Even book heralds like to be heard, even when it means talking over others. Bytimes I found folks pretty rude to each other: if this was how your kids talked to you, you'd tell them off for interrupting!
Roadshow meeting wrapped up early, leaving folks free to grab lunch before heading to the British library. Here, I think Nerissa delighted in tormenting people with a survey that was really too short to take in the wonders in the Treasures room, by dragging them at breakneck speed around saying 'but wait, there's more, can't stop here!' and then giving them only 15 minutes in the bookshop. Many folks were resolved to return, or just stay and skip the walking tour.
The walking tour hosted by
edith_hedingham was, I think, Edith at her best: cheerful, confident, knowledgeable. We lucked out by gaining a quick view of St. Bartholomew the Greater church adjascent to St Barts hospital (this is where Hugh Grant was punched out in the last wedding of 4 Weddings and a Funeral!). Edith was really pleased, because she says it's usually closed. After a very quick confab the event sprung for the cost of the tour (what the hell, we got a group rate).The walk actually didn't go far in terms of distance - a circuit around Farringdon St. John's Gate, and Clerkenwell, but honestly you don't have to go far before tripping over history in London, and Edith touched on post-period history (Dickens, Lenin) as well as medieval stuff - it's hard to leave it out, really. We then repaired to a pub (surprise surprise) and had another good yack over beer and chips.
Robert and I rolled home and had a very quiet evening. It was a balm, not having to think, or talk, or plan, after weeks? months? of having nagging 'I ought to be working on...' feelings. No calls. No e-mails. No lists! Hurrah!
