[MR] Newcomer Discussion....

[JR Tyner]

As a “Newcomer” in the Society for Creative Anachronism, I enjoyed WOW
so much I decided to share my experience too. I am going to try to get
everyone's names right, but I knew a lot of the people before I joined
the SCA so it's like when you introduce a mundane friend to a SCA
friend and they have already met under a different name. The Captain
of The Dark Lady pirate ship, Lady Kellia Ironrose invited me to camp
with them at War of the Wings V. So their scout, Lady Eluned Hwylard
gave me a ride. The trip was normal. We passed fields of wheat, fields
of corn, and fields of leather. I mean fields of cows . . . the point
was it was the usual trip.

I got there around noon, and after helping Eluned set up Ethelred
Blenkensop (Big Brian)'s tent and campsite in that heat, I decided my
own could wait till it cooled off so I headed off to the Marketplace.
The marketplace was fantastic, I soon wondered if I could find a
chainmail hauberk for my dog, Apollo. Yes, my 5 pound dog has the same
name as the Greek and Roman god of music, healing, prophecy, and
enlightenment. At the Marketplace I meet a dog named Pete who reminded
me of Apollo, and Pete was just as nice and friendly! I was not sure
if Apollo could take an event like WOW yet, so I left him with my
Landlord and his Wife.

My first stop was at Psaltry Dreams because I had saved up since the
Sacred Stone Baronial Birthday event to go on a shopping spree here,
and it's where I spent the majority of my money. It was worth it! I
got a fantastic Atlatl and 3 true darts! Next, I'll probably save up
for some SCA RBGS (rubber band guns that stimulate flint lock
weapons). Then at the Amber Lady / Hagerson Forge I learned about
amber and pre-amber. After that I looked for Camelot Treasures but I
did not see them or Efenwealt Wystle during the event. I was told he
was at the Heraldic Procession, but I was so far back I could not see
or hear him. I also could not hear Baron Axel of Sacred Stone's
introduction / theme song, so I hope someone has it on video. I
browsed though E. Campbell Books a few times and they had a great
selection, but sadly I did not bring enough money with me.

After checking the time, I hurried off to Cog's Atlatl class with my
new Atlatl and darts. I really enjoy learning from Cog, and I would
also love to learn how to set up a target archery field, and keep one
in service. I stuck around to skewer a few more dragons before I
headed off to the Atlatl Battle. I made a detour by the Second Wind on
my way from Unk's Atlatl class to Oog's Atlatl battle, where we won. I
think that those names probably should be right, but more people know
them as Cog and Axel respectively. The most important thing is we
showed them no mercy as we quickly and efficiently decimated the
enemy's Atlatlers before killing their Shaman / Chief .

Afterwords I meant to stop by Takeda Campaign Supply because they
sounded so great in the War of the Wings Merchant Guide, and I was
curious as to what “make-you-own” kits they carried. If I had not
been so tired from hours of Atlatl I would have stopped by to buy some
flavoring essences for cordials. I hope they are at the next event I
go to so I can remedy my mistake. I did not see The Silver Cauldron in
the Merchant's guide, but I brought a Dragon bead to Crest my new
Atlatl. With all the Atlatls I noticed, I was glad I had put a Dragon
Crest on it so I could quickly identify it. I was then offered some
alcohol as if the 6 gallons I brought with me was not enough, but much
to my surprise it was like trying to pick out one gem in a bottomless
treasure chest of flawless gems! After much time and a great internal
struggle I picked the Dragon's Breath cordial made with Habanero with
a sweet vanilla accent.

I had baked a Nutella chessecake shaped like a giant cupcake for the
Welcome Social. It looked like a foot tall chocolate cupcake. Sometime
I told the following joke to some people I had just met:
An Irishman, out of work, went a board a vessel, and asked the captain
if he could give him a job.
"Well," grinned the captain, handing the Irishman a bit of rope,"if
you can find four ends to that rope, I'll engage you."
"Four ends, yer Honor! Well . . . now," showing one end of the rope,
"there's one end."
"That's right."
He took hold of the other end, and held it out. "An there's two ends, right?"
"Exactly."
"An one end and two ends make three ends, Capting?"
The Captain laughed. "But I said four."
With a sweep of his arm, the Irishman threw the rope into the harbor's
water. "There's an end to the whole rope, sir. An three ends and one
more end makes four ends!"

That night, Lord William of Scarborough kept the entire camp warm with
his mastery of flame while Sara the Barefoot kept us in line. I made
two new drinking buddies, Michael and Faith. Roberto Degli Azzuri with
his fancy new vest kept us entertained with his music while Lord
Richard the Bear kept us laughing. Lord Etxatxu Enequy
Jaudonebiquendiosteaco showed off his art skills. Come to think of it
the work Enequy did with wire is proportional to the size of my dog
Apollo to the point I wonder if he could make him a chainmail hauberk
out of wire? But once again I forgot to ask Lord Etxatxu Enequy
Jaudonebiquendiosteaco about his name!

My big thing the next day was the Atlatl Prize Fling which I hit all 3
targets and would have won if I had hit them in the right order. Still
I thought it was impressive putting that dart though the gold dragon's
heart! Besides improving my Atlatl game, I want to learn how to set up
and take down a target archery field, and how to keep it in service. I
also participated in the Thrown Weapons War Points  and while I had a
lot of fun throwing axes and daggers, not only was having to not hit
the target counter-intuitive, I found it as annoying as an inflatable
dartboard.

I missed most of Axel's Court because I did not hear any Heralds
announce it. The Atlatl Prize shoot ran over so I immediately returned
to my camp to await the Call of the Heralds and when the sun dimmed
and I had yet to hear the call from my camp I went to set up anyway to
find it almost over.

During Baron Flaithri and Baroness Rhonwen of Stierbach court, I
presented them with a half dozen jars of my Jarlath Riley's
Philosopher's Juice (AKA: JR's PJ ). I had mixed 2 gallons of Apple
Juice, 2 gallons of Apple Cider, 1 gallon of pure Everclear with the
highest proof I could find. I had also thrown in 3 pounds of apples, a
pound of raisins, and around 3 cups of herbs and spices. After mixing
for 2 weeks, the raisins looked like Jelly Beans. It's a good idea to
chill it and then shake it well. I wonder if anyone tried it warmed
like Hard Apple Cider?

The King and Queen's court featured several expected awards such as
Gisela vom  Kreuzbach becoming a Court Baroness which it seemed
everyone but her saw it coming; congratulations again!

I had checked out some Heavy and Rapier fights, but tried to keep my
distance, especially in the Field Battles. I wanted to learn, but not
get in the way. Apparently “GET THAT DAMN ARCHER” is a war chant now,
or at least I heard it enough it sounded like it was being chanted.
Several people requested the last of my Nutella mini-chessecake
cupcakes that day. I am sorry I only baked a couple dozen!

I could not find the Brewer's Conference nor the Atlantian Brewer's
Tasting Tent which was a disappointment. I have assisted Brewers and
Vintners in the past, but I am now trying to start myself. I also wish
to learn more about Cordials and Meads but I guess that will have to
wait for now. That night I once again wandered off and ended up
telling a joke. It was too dark to tell if it was the same people so I
told a new one:
Patrick hurried down to where poor Riley's body lay surrounded by
rope, after Riley had fallen three stories from the building on which
they were both working.
"Are ye dead, Riley?"
"That Oi am."
"Faith, and ye're such a liar Oi don't know whether to belave yez or not."
Riley did his best to lift up his head. "That proves Oi'm dead, ye
dirthy doubter; if Oi wuz alive, ye wouldn't dare call me a liar!"

Later that night I returned to camp and chatted with Gisli and another
guy, Mike I think his mundane name is. Anyway we stayed up till 5:30
talking about Guinness beer, old jobs, customer service, etc . . .
Lord William of Scarborough mentioned something about a local wine
shop in Salisbury selling something to make Guinness taste better. I
must look into this.

When I woke up Sunday morning, I had a beer with some of the apple
pieces from my "Philosopher's Juice". I was out of clean water so I
brushed my teeth with the last of my beer. Then while getting dressed
in mundanes I donned my Atlatl over my shoulder out of habit. When I
got home, I realized the only time I can see my bedroom floor is when
I am packed for an event and I need a van so that I can store all my
SCA stuff.

Then the next morning I was bruised black and blue, I couldn't raise
my arms above horizontal, and I had some unusual sunburns, but I
enjoyed the event and can't wait to do it again!
-- 
~ From:
Jarlath Riley (AKA:JR)
Pressed Man of The Dark Lady
Pirate ship of the fleet of Corsairium
Docked in the Canton of Salesberie Glen
In the lands of the Barony of Sacred Stone
Of the ancient and glorious Kingdom of Atlantia



On Fri, Oct 15, 2010 at 12:47 AM, Jack Black of Flint
<qm_blackjack_flint at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Ahoy the tavern-
>
> **chuckling as he hears the groans a'ready**
>
> I'd have to make a rough assessment that many on this list know who I am, so I
> won't go into all of that.  Many of you who know me well, also know that the
> Chatelaine's office and how we as an organization treat newcomers, is my biggest
> passion....
>
> That said, I'm dropping my two doubloons into this conversation....
>
> Folks, the biggest way that we can improve retention, and recruitment of new
> comers is to remember what it was like when we were new.  My first event was a
> Toy Tourney in the Midrealm, and I noted that someone had left their wallet on a
> table, unattended.  That wallet sat all day, untouched, until setting up for
> feast, when the hall steward asked after the owner, who then claimed it.
>
> I was shocked, awed, and thrilled to find a group of people, who had that much
> honor in this day and age.
>
> I was treated poorly by the first group I got involved with, and went to another
> group, where I was welcomed.  I've seen it in both Kingdoms I have lived in,
> where the "established" members of a group either treat newcomers as intruders,
> or just totally ignore them until they go away.
>
> Yes, things like eating feast by candlelight are great, and add to the ambiance,
> but as has been pointed out, not always possible... I have noticed a trend the
> last several feasts I have been to where the Hall Staff has worked diligently to
> cover modern lights ((if they are reachable)) to improve that Ambiance.  And I
> for one would like to thank those people, because that is a lot of work.
>
> Yes, as I like to say all the time, THIS IS A GAME, and we are supposed to be
> having fun.  But let's NOT FORGET our new comers, and forget that they don't see
> the fun when walking in, they have to be SHOWN what makes everything we do fun.
>
> As has been said, get them involved, show them what is available in your local
> group, and **GASP** TALK to them and find out what THEY might be interested
> in!!!!!!  They may not be interested in something that your local group does
> well, but maybe the next group to the west of you does.  Take the effort to get
> them in touch with someone who DOES what THEY are interested in.
>
> I had a newcomer at an event a few months ago, was the young lady's first event.
>  She walked in, very shy, and the first thing that was done was the gentle in
> our group who was working on Glass Beads sat her down, and within five minutes,
> she was making her first Bead.  The look on the girl's face was worth the price
> of site that day, she loved it.  And has been hooked on the SCA.
>
> Something I have seen in the past that had been suggested, as a way to improve
> the "Medieval Feel" of events, is encourage folks to go more in depth into
> personas.  I know there are many in the SCA that have a name and device, and
> know nothing else about the time period that they got the name from.  And before
> folks get angry with me, let me say, THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH THAT..... IT'S A
> GAME, play however much you want.  But there had been a suggestion long ago to
> put "enchanted grounds" at all events, where everyone in that area HAS to be in
> persona.  We'd even challenge each other to see how long we could talk about our
> lives as our persona before we got stumped.
>
> I personally enjoy thinkin about the things that I in persona would have been
> eating, or the garb I should be wearing.... As I do more research, I'm going to
> slowly begin wearing more appropriate garb for my time period, because that is
> my choice, and the way that I want to improve the medieval feel.
>
> Painted Wheel is another GREAT example of the feel. ((Yes, Dulcy, I'm throwing
> you guys under your vardo for a second **laughs**))  I don't know how many of
> the folks who were at WoW got to go by the Painted Wheel encampment on Saturday
> night.  I stood outside with another newcomer talking quietly while listening to
> them play for several minutes.  He thought that they were the coolest thing he
> had ever seen.
>
> Just walking about the site on Saturday evening, as folks were hanging around
> their fires, talking, and drumming, and having a good time, THAT is the medieval
> feel that I personally love the most about the SCA.  Being able to look up in
> the sky, and see nothing but stars above the tops of pavilions is what brings
> the dream alive to me....
>
> Sorry for the long post, but wanted to share my thoughts...
>
> In closing, I'm going to paraphrase an ad campaign.... "How do YOU play SCA????
>  Until the next,
> Yours in service,
>
>
> Lord Jack Black of Flint
> ((AKA: BlackJack))
> Captain and Master of "The Raptor"
> Chirurgeon, Canton of St. Georges
> Chatelaine, Barony of Nottinghill Coill
> Brute for Hire
>
>
>
>
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