[MR] From a SCA Cook

[Scribe0002 at aol.com]

Greetings Hrothgar,
 
The discussions on this topic are interesting, showing a wide range of  
thoughts on what many considered to be standard practice. It is good that  various 
opinions come to light and are understood.
 
Many bring this conversation back to profit and I take exception with that  
as the issue for me has no bearing on profit ultimately. You said:
 
"Not  to be rude, as Simon Cowell would say, but if you can't feed a hundred  
people based on the budget of 85 on board, perhaps you're not ready to be a  
head cook..."
 
I  don't think the difference of 15 at this level would be difficult for many 
 people to handle. However, as Lady Adriana pointed out, a smaller feast is 
more  problematic because the percentage of non-paying seats becomes  
significant.
 
When  this issue was first brought to me in May I will admit my first 
reaction was  making my budget. Not making a profit, just not blowing my budget. The 
event is  not huge, the site is not optimal for bad weather and the feast is 
small with no  kitchen. Having worked all my life in businesses where care of 
the P&L is  important, my knee-jerk reaction was money.
 
As I  thought more about it . . . as the opinions expressed on the Sacred 
Stone list  made me think and challenged my reactions and assumptions, I came to 
understand  that profit had very little to do with it in reality regardless of 
His Highness'  insistence. I suspect I would not be alone in this revelation.
 
For  me, high table might possibly have had two extra seats. For this feast 
that's  $10 and I could have, and was prepared to, pay that out of pocket if it 
came to  it. 
 
Because this concept was completely out of the realm of what I've grown up  
in the SCA doing and seeing, I asked people with more experience then I have. I 
 read the rules and discussions on the topic and listened to what people had 
to  say.
 
When I made the decision to stick with my usual methods and comp  only Crowns 
and Coronets at my high table, it was because to do otherwise ran  against 
the expectations of my local group, though there is no financial policy  in 
place one way or the other. It ran against how I read the Kingdom and Society  
policies. It ran against my sense of fair and right and I could not accommodate  
His Highness' wishes.
 
Courtesy and honor are very important. How we treat other people is very  
important. 
 
Comping everyone at high table, in my mind, is not fair and has no bearing  
on courtesy or honor. If it is something the group decides to do, that is their 
 rightful decision. If it is something the group decides not to do, that is  
also their rightful decision to make and by doing so they are not being rude 
or  discourteous. They are simply making the decision that makes the most sense 
to  them.
 
If I feed you for free, why not feed Lord X for free? Why not let Lady Y  who 
worked all day come through gate for free? Why not allow Mistress Z who  
didn't have the right paperwork for her nephew to attend bring him anyway? 
 
No one is chasing after invited guests at high table and asking them for  mone
y. I've never spoken to anyone who thought that would be a good idea, let  
alone actually do it. It's a ridiculous scenario. There is no mechanism in  
exchequerate policy to refund the feast fee to someone invited to high table . .  
. is that fair? Courteous? Honorable?
 
So . . . some groups . . . some head cooks . . . some autocrats . . . will  
find different ways to resolve the issues brought up in this discussion. It is  
exceeding unfair, however, to deride any of them for their opinions and 
holding  to what they believe to be right and correct and honorable. Discussion is 
always  a good thing. We grow and learn and become stronger.
 
Perhaps His Highness will achieve his desire and groups will find ways that  
are acceptable to their populaces, Kingdom policies and Federal laws to  
accommodate such expectations. Perhaps others will not agree. That is their  right.
 
Civil discourse is lovely. Unity and comradeship is what many live  for. If 
the discourse takes a charged and divisive track, that comradeship will  be 
lost in many ways. I hope we can avoid that.
 
Be well
 
~Gisela
 


The SCA in Atlantia has lost a lot over the years. As it's grown  and 
interests have diversified, the sense of unity has greatly diminished.  
Everyone's off doing their own thing all day. The only time for real unity  
is court and feast. Those should be made to be accessible by as many people  
as possible...






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