May Crown - The Short Version.

.....I actually enjoyed May Crown. Unlike TBT, I'm very much a provincial, so I don't suffer the same angst she does in re-living personal history. When TBT started in the SCA, she shot up the ranks like a comet. Became a Laurel within a few years, and a Royal Peer (Princess / Viscountess) very early on in her career. She hung out with all the cool people early and was an integral part of many a momentous occasion in Artemesia. When she travels to the big Kingdom Events, so sees an overlay of the excitement of days past. The thrill of adrenaline. The knowledge that you could affect things on a very large scale.

.....For me, I started out very slowly. For the first three years of my SCA career practically the only event I attended was June Faire. After that I took on very small jobs and hung out with only a small group of friends. Then slowly built on that foundation. I played almost exclusively inside the confines of Dragon's Laire for almost a decade before I started exploring the big world of An Tir. So when I attend the big Kingdom events, there is still a sense of awe that permeates them. When I roll into site, there is the excitement of knowing a new King and Queen are going to be decided, or Crowned, shortly. There are people to meet that I don't see all that often. There are experiences to have that aren't a part of the fabric of Dragon's Laire.

.....The Kingdom Events are also enhanced, of course, by being the Baron and Baroness. You are there to represent a group of people who are vital to the make-up of the Kingdom. I do my best to watch out for them and enhance their experience in any way I can. Being an introvert by nature, this can sometimes be difficult and I am out of my comfort zone on a regular basis. But I think the exercise is a good one for me. I certainly learn much, make new friends, and experience things that I fondly recall later. For all the whining I do about how difficult it is to wear a Coronet, I will miss it when it is gone and am glad to be doing what I am doing now.

.....The drive was a long one on Friday, but the scenery was good. Lots of good conversation with TBT. We don't often get that kind of extended time alone to discuss any and all subjects under the sun, so I took advantage of the time and kept her talking the whole way to site. :-)

.....We caravanned with Madrun and Dylan (in Florence Radcliffe), Dame Eleanor (in Lord Burghley), and Gwenllyn & Tsuruko (in 'the Tahoe' :-)). I'm not big into caravanning with others as I like to go at my own pace. But it is a good feeling to know that there are people traveling with you in case something troublesome comes up. Stopping for a bit to eat and you have instant companionship. And there are others to help you find your way if you get lost. :-)

.....We ended up getting a start from the Mullenix Park-And-Ride at about 8:30 to 8:40AM. Gwenllyn was LATE!!! :-) We made good time though going over Snoqualamie Pass and stopping for lunch in Wynatchee. About three quarters of the way to site we ended up following along with Jess Roe of Prose And Steel, who drives a little slower than I would have liked. Which surprised me considering the type of person he is.

.....We rolled into site about 3:30PM. Jullila (the Autocrat), julillamagna, greeted us at the gate, with her ever present smile and wave. An attitude she managed to maintain the entire weekend. She did an absolutely fantastic job of being the Autocrat Team Chairman for May Crown. I hope she does more of these events as she is a natural. After a break of course.

.....THL Mateusz had a site marked out for the Barony fairly close to the Erics, right behind Merchant's Row. We had a rather good turn-out for the weekend. We had ten pavilions in our enclave and nineteen people in that area alone from Dragon's Laire. Over in the RV Ghetto were also Master Ralg and Dame Ellen. Over in the Royal Encampment were Master Cedric, Dame Brighid, Don Talentus, THL Jenae, and Lady Magdalena. What is that? Twenty-six people? I would definitely consider that a good turn-out.

.....TBT and I shared a pavilion. THL Madrun was to our right. Lord Radmund started out to Madrun's right, but was moved across the street by the burst water pipe later in the evening on Friday. To our left were Dame Gwenllyn and Tsuruko Sensei in the 12x12 with awning that I lent them for the weekend. To their left were Master Andras and THL Liesel, along with CeCe and Lady Elisabeth Trostin and her daughter Cassie in their own tent. Across the street from them were THL Alaricus and THL Kassandra in their large tent. THL Renart and THL Aelianora were next to them. Then Mateusz and THL Rycheza. Dame Eleanor was beside them. With THL Caius and THL Nidda in the final tents (before Radmund moved in next to them).

.....The weather on Friday was not bad at all, although the sun was fierce. Set-up of pavilions did not take all that long. We headed out to dinner at about 7PM and had dinner at an Australian Steak house on the north side of Omak, which was tasty. After a stop at Safeway for ice and water (after we learned that water to site had been shut off), we made it back to site around 10PM. At that point I thought about wandering site, but I was done for the day and just went to bed.

.....The night was cold, but not unbearably so. I managed to sleep rather well and slept in the next morning until at least 5:30AM or so. Gwen and Tsuruko woke up around 6:30 or 7AM and make short work of preparing breakfast, for which I was very grateful. I took off fairly soon after for my 8AM Pelican meeting.

.....If I end up having any influence whatsoever, I'm going to push to move the Pelican meeting out to 9AM or 10AM (or later) at September Crown. Wish me luck! :-) The meeting itself was really foo-free for the most part (or, the foo that was experienced was expected, which made it not so bad to experience). It went by rather quickly as well. A little after 9AM, I was wandering back to camp to pull stuff together for the rest of the day and putting them into the Dragon Bag, which made its usual appearance at the Pelican Meeting. :-)

.....At 10:30AM we met with a group of the Western Regional Barons and Baronesses at the Aquaterra Pavilion to talk about the June Faire Board of Directors as a concept. I had invited Madrun and Magdalena along for just that purpose. But the majority of the time, almost two hours, was spent talking about Serjeantry. It is interesting how Serjeantry as a concept is really taking off again around the Kingdom. It is modifying itself to fit new uses. Everyone has ideas on what they want to see happen with it, which is making each Barony's 'plan' more and more different from both the original model and from each other to fit their own individual culture. A very fascinating conversation it was. There seems to be consensus that we should do more as a Region together, but there is still a lot of gap to bridge before we can really talk of combined Trials.

.....We lined up for the Grand Processional a little after 12:30PM. There were not a whole lot of branches represented after the seventy-seven fighters were introduced to the Crown. But it was good to come together as a Barony and process into Court. I think that most, if not all, of us in attendance for the weekend processed in. A rather nice sight that was. :-)

.....After the Processional, TBT and I handed out our tokens to those fighting in the Crown lists. Master Cedric and Master Andras were first as they were direct representatives of Dragon's Laire. But we also presented tokens to Sir Rauokinn and Mistress Inga, two people both TBT and I find incredibly inspirational.

.....During the fighting of Crown we had a lot of fun from the Baronial Pavilion recognizing practically everyone who crossed in front of us. Many were surprised, but most found our antics to be amusing and were friendly in return. I think people like being recognized in any situation, even in such a silly capacity.

.....The silliness only expanded though during the evening Court. TBT and I sat directly behind Countess E. and we messed with each other the entire time. We passed out booze by the bottle, teased each other incessantly, and, I think, even managed to embarrass Master James in his capacity as Court Herald. Although he deserved it with how he butchered names of those being called forth! :-)

.....Upon completion of Court we migrated back to camp for dinner. Even though we didn't plan a communal dinner, practically everyone there shared a little of what they had made for themselves. Then we gathered around the firepit for the evening bardic gathering. It started off a little rocky, as per usual. But picked up steam as the evening progress. We were rarely, if ever, in key. But everyone there had fun, which was the intent. Lady Magdalena joined in at one point with her absolutely wicked sense of humor. Master Cedric sang with us a little, completely off-key, which matched my off-key rather well. So it was still a win as far as I was concerned. :-)

.....Caius and Nidda pulled out their ukelele's after a while and played instrumental to a few songs. They ended up playing one of my absolute favorite songs of all time, Hallalujuha. I know the words by heart, but couldn't seem to make the decision as to whether I just wanted to listen to it sung, or to sing along. It ended up being a hodge-podge on my part. But I still enjoyed it immensely.

.....After a couple of hours we all grew tired of singing and migrated in different directions. I followed Brighid and the Seneschallettes over to the big party of the evening. But I didn't stay long as I was rather tired at that point. I ended up in bed by 11PM. I AM getting old. :-)

.....The next morning was another early rise. I was up around 6AM and started quietly breaking down camp before everyone woke up. By the time TBT was stirring, all the decorations were down and ready for stowage. The Curia meeting started at 8:30AM, and I managed to get quite a bit of the campsite put away before having to run.

.....The Kingdom Financial Committee meeting was extra long due to the discussions on Kingdom Events. I did witness Jenae and Magdalena present their bid for An Tir / West War. They were very professional! :-) The bid was a shoe-in, although I did get volunteered to help. Etiennette insisted that their event have its own warranted Exchequer and they asked me to do it. I could not say 'no'. :-) Besides, it will not be a big deal at all. I just reminded myself that I have a couple of questions to e-mail Etiennette about funds for the event.

.....I gave my September Crown report a little later, and it was probably the shortest report I've ever given! I was antsy at that point as I wanted to breat down camp and get on the road! :-) And about an hour and a half later, we were. Still in our caravan. We made it home by 6PM.

.....It was a good weekend. I enjoyed it. And I missed Lobelia only a little bit. :-)

.....Aaron / Arontius.