[MR] (no subject)

[Arthur Donadio]

Unto the Good People of Atlantia do Their Royal Majesties, Cuan and 
Padriagin send Greetings this 5th Day of April, Anno Societatis XXXVIII:

This week we face the happy task of writing thank-you notes to all those who 
contributed to making our Coronation such a special event.  But since the 
marvels of modern communication allow us the option of getting a jump on the 
process, we thought we would take a moment this morning to express our 
admiration to a wide audience.  This weekend was a whirlwind of activity so 
please forgive us if we fail to mention any deserving soul in this initial 
letter.

First, and most obviously, our thanks must go to Lady Collwen and her event 
staff.  The site that Lady Collwen selected for the event was everything you 
could want from an SCA site.  There was plenty of room for martial 
activities, archery, arts and sciences displays, merchants, childrens 
activities, meetings, and a beautiful amphitheater facing the water for 
court.  The site had ample parking and both cabins and tenting, plus we hear 
the nearby Waterway Inn was lovely.  The hall was big enough for our needs 
and was beautifully decorated by Maestra Francesca and her staff.  Although 
the site was not right off of an interstate highway, we think it is one of 
the best sites in the Kingdom and hope to see it used again.  And those who 
worked at the site certainly matched its beauty with their service and 
courtesy.  The people of Seareach and Ravens Cove, aided by volunteers from 
all over the Kingdom greeted everyone at Troll with a cheerful smile and 
were ready to help unload vehicles and set up tents.  The list fields were 
decorated with dozens of wonderful silk pennons made by the people of 
Seareach and flown from poles affixed to the list fences provided by 
Seareach and Caer Mear.  The majority of the site tokens, which were cast by 
Mistress Clare, were hung from lucet cord woven by a Seareacher just for the 
purpose.  On Sunday morning, when we asked Lady Collwen if she had enough 
people for site take down and clean up, she smiled and said it was covered.  
We looked around and saw that most of the people we had seen working all 
weekend were happily cleaning the site and taking down tents and 
decorations.

Second, The feast was simply spectactular.  Master Kevin, Master Robear, 
Lord Egil, Count Valharic, Mistress Seonaid, and many others contributed 
some of the tastiest dishes we have ever tasted.  The beef, the pork, the 
lamb, the shrimp tempura (sorry folks, that was just a surprise for me but I 
did share with high table . . .honest), the sauces and sides, and the 
delicious deserts of cheese cake and tarts, and terrific wafer thin cookies 
were the equal of anything you could find in a restaurant with the finest 
Michelin rating.  And everything came out hot and on time.  Credit also goes 
to the servers, who moved together like a well oiled machine getting dishes 
on the table and keeping glasses filled.  And thanks also to the 
entertainers who moved through the hall providing music to accompany this 
great meal, as well as to Lady Elanor, our Royal Bard, who played a song she 
wrote in honor of our Coronation accompanying herself on the harp.  We 
regret that with all the activity going on we did not take the time to 
publicly recognize her for her wonderful work at feast.

Third, we would like to thank the MOLs, the Marshals, and Mistress Cicillia 
and the waterbearers for their efforts.  Master Alan stepped in at the last 
minute to handle MIC duties, Earl Mika ran the combat archery,  and Lady 
Giselle and Sir Axel hosted the first oficial youth combat practice in the 
Kingdom of Atlantia!  That's right, youth combat is here!  Please contact 
Lady Giselle (contact info on the Marshal's page) if you are interested in 
enrolling your child in the youth combat program.
The MOLs handled a large Bedford points tourney with patience and grace, and 
the fighters greeted the inevitable waiting such a tourney involves with 
patience and good humor.  And we would like to thank the armored and rapier 
fighters for their excellent efforts at improving their appearance on the 
field.   People have shown both initiative and innovation in covering their 
modern items and can be proud of the work they have done.  Just one example 
would be the leather covers over the hockey gloves worn by Kieran and 
Roderigo from Storvik.  Kieran and Rodrigo worked on Saturday and drove 
through the night to attend the Hastilude on Sunday morning.

Fourth, we give thanks to our landed Barons and Baronesses.  Those who were 
able to attend lent additional majesty to our Court by sitting with us.  
Their Excellencies Nottinghill Coill brought their new gallery for the use 
of the populace watching the tourneys.  The gift baskets from the Barons and 
Baronesses were full of wonderful items, many of which were thoughtfully 
intended for use as tokens to recognize good works during our reign.  No 
Kingdom is better served by its landed Baronage.

Fifth, we thank all those who gave us gifts during the event.  It always 
seemed that we did not have quite enough time to properly show our 
gratitude, but we truly are grateful, and each of you should receive a note 
of thanks in the near future.

Sixth, we want to thank our staff and that of Their Graces, Ragnarr and 
Kyneburh. Sorcha and Idonea did a marvelous job of coordinating our 
retainers, and Alejandro and Morderyn made sure that we were well gaurded at 
all times!  Our people made sure that we were where we needed to be when we 
needed to be there.  We appreciate and admire those people who are willing 
to help us do the work while we get all the attention.  We recognize that 
after being on our feet most of the day, we get to sit down for court and 
feast and meetings, but after following us around all day, you folks are 
still there, standing behind us.

Last, for purposes of this letter, we thank all of you who attended the 
event and celebrated with us.  Artists and fighters, musicians and 
merchants, from peers to newcomers and everyone in between.  We hope you all 
had as much fun as we did, and that you made new friends along the way.  We 
hope that everyone had safe journeys home, and we look forward to seeing you 
all at Night of Fools, Hidden Mountain Baronial Birthday and Investiture, 
Crown Tournament, and Sapphire Joust.

Sincerely,

Cuan and Padraigin

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