[MR] Queen's Corner

[chagankhulan at clan-whitewing.org]

>
> So, I have heard that if a person does art and wants to be a Laurel or if
> a
> person does service and wants to be a Pelican someday, people have been
> know
> to say “The only reason they do XXX is to become a peer”  BUT, a person is
> not faulted if they fight and say “I plan to be a Knight someday”.  Why is
> that?

Sadly , Your Majesty, as long as we have rank and file in our Society we
will have "Social Climbers" and even sadder, "Political prizes".  However,
considering the size of the SCA these poor souls are actually relatively
few in number compared to the actual number of Peers.
Frankly, I see nothing wrong with aspiring to a Peerage and saying so as
long as "getting the cookie" isn't the only reason for that drive.  It
would seem to me that one of the duties of the members of the Peerages
would be to try and determine whether or not an individual being looked at
for a peerage, was a "Cookie Hunter" or not.  That is NOT an easy or
enjoyable task and many would possibly avoid that task, but looking at a
potential candidate's overall drive, skill, talent, bearing, attitude -
the list goes on -is very much a duty of the peerages in choosing suitable
candidates to present to Their Majesties for consideration to be elevated
to the Peerage.
As to why this is less of an Issue for those desiring Knighthood - well,
there's nothing socially offensive about someone wanting to become a
"Knight in shining armor" - perceived to be the embodiment of our
Chivalric Hero.  It's like being on a pilgrimage or Quest.  It's all for
good.  Whereas the Laurels and Pelicans, while having equally important
aspects, are not automatically equipped with such an inspiring example and
historical precedent.


>
> I have noticed a lot of trash being left on the field after people remove
> their pavilions which makes for a more time consuming cleanup for the
> event
> staff.  We can all do our part by picking up our own trash (and that
> includes cigarette butts).
>
   The human race has gotten far to used to "labor saving devices" and
have gotten, simpky, LAZY.  In the push to pack up after an event most
folks are tired or cold and wet or sore and cranky.  Those who have
developed some good habits will include cleaning up their site along
with packing their belongings.  The others need to be told and shown
and , I would hope, would learn from the telling.  Some never will,
generally because they just don't care.
   As to the smokers, well, I'm willing to bet  that the person seen
smoking out in the common areas is also the person who won't police
their butts.  There are rules concerning smoking in various areas -
many "common areas" of SCA events.  Perhaps it's time to be a bit
stricter in enforcing those rules.  I am not a smoker, don't like the
odor and avoid it when ever possible - BUT - I do believe there should
be areas where folks can go and enjoy their tobacco at events other
than inside their own tents. Those "smoking commons" could be provided
with buckets of sand or some sort of ashtrays  for the smokers
convenience in hopes of eliminating the offending 'butts' entirely.  To
those folks who are considerate smokers and who police their butts -
THANK YOU!! It IS greatly appreciated.
>
>
> *Why don't more events hold youth/page A&S competitions?  If we are going
> to
> legitimately call this a family activity, we need to provide opportunities
> for our children to participate. My daughter routinely makes A&S displays
> and sometimes has had to compete against adults as there were no youth
> contests.  At every event I am going to through the end of our reign,
> either
> I or Princess Royal Katherine will be willing to sponsor a youth A&S
> competition.  Anyone under age 16.  Please let me know in advance so I can
> arrange to bring a prize.


I come from Bright Hills where, until very recently, we had all manner of
children's activities and a fair number of competitions for children.  We
have fewer now for the simple reason that we have fewer folks willing or
able to handle children's activities.  Why?  Because most of the first
crop of children are grown and moved on and the Mom's who supported those
children and their activities want a break from taking care of that aspect
of the events.  We have fewer parents to draw from at the moment and even
fewer who actively want to support those children's activities.  Is the
phrase "I did kid's stuiff for 18 years, I'd like a break, thank you."
offensive - no, not really - it's more an indication that once you find
one or two people willing to do the job over and over you have to realize
that those folks need a break too.  What we need is more interested
parents and sponsors of all types of children's activities, displays,
competitions, etc., so the burn-out factor is less.  Currently we have one
couple and a random helper or two who have stepped in to handle activities
for Children and do it with a very keen eye to the benefit of the children
(Thanks Nina, Luke, Tsura, Wynne) but they are not enough and I, for one,
do not want to see them burn out for lack of help.  We have more children
-we need more adults to see to their needs but also to periodically give
those same adults the time away from herding children and running their
activities to eliminate the threat of that burnout.
   Having Children's competitions is simply a matter of having a two-stage
A & S competition rather than a single stage.  Two prizes instead of
one AND plenty of notice that there IS a children's division in the
competition.  The truly hard part is having to judge the children's
competition.  I don't like the practice of giving each and every child
a prize but a token for participating is acceptable.  Kid's need to
learn that they won't always succeed or fail - it's what they put into
something that determines what the outcome is.  The trick here is to
find suitable judges for the children's competition.  Having 7 or 8
five year olds staring at you while you pick which one made the
prettiest box is the hardest thing I ever faced in the few times I was
asked to judge.  Possibly that is one of the less mentioned reasons for
not holding more children's competitions.

Your Majesty, there are no pat answers to your questions and many angles
on your observations.  The comments here are simply my observations and
experiences over my many years in and outside of the SCA.  It would be the
duty of the Society to police ourselves in any  areas that we have found
wanting.  I suspect that diligence of duty will be the only cure for our
weaknesses, whatever they might be.  I pray none of my words give offence
to anyone.

Chagan Khulan, Baghsi, OP
>