A&S In the Park

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BMDL A&S in the Park — Sunday, Sept 25

Greetings to the Debatable Lands!

There will be no set topic this weekend at A&S at Washington Blvd, as both I and my Deputy Kameshima will be out of town.

However, you can still bring a chair and a project and be in the shade and hang out.

I look forward to being back there next weekend.

Also, thank you very much to all those who came out to the Guild Hall and Barony Meeting last weekend. There were people there to talk about calligraphy, Japanese cord braiding and woodworking, armor making, pewter casting, fiber arts (knitting, weaving, dyeing), garb and clothing-pattern making, and other random topics of interest.

If any of these topics are still of interest, please let me know and I will get someone to come by on a Sunday and talk in more detail.

Thanks to all who attended!

Elss Augsburg

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From the Kingdom Seneschal — Curia

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Unto the Kingdom of Aethelmearc, Greetings from Duke Christopher, Senechal.

Just a brief reminder that the Curia of Marcus and Margerite will take
place on Sunday, September 25th, 2016. This will take place at the same
site as Cornation, namely the Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center located at
5013 Route 430 in Bemus Point, NY 14712. Curia will start at 10 AM. The
exact site will be announced during Court.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

In Service,

Christopher
Seneschal

NOTE:
If you’re curious about what Curia is, please head over to the Aethelmearc Gazette’s Curious about Curia article.

From the Kingdom Seneschal — SCA Insurance

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Good Gentles:

Below is an official announcement from the Society Seneschal regarding the SCA Insurance. Event autocrats and local seneschals should be familiar with this and the limitations outlined in this message.

If you have any questions please drop me a line.

Yours,

Duke Christopher
Seneschal, Aethelmearc

———-

Greetings to all Kingdom Seneschals,

Questions about the SCA’s insurance coverage have come up over the past year and I would like to clarify matters.

1. An officially sanctioned event conveys “coverage” of officers and the Society against litigation and does not provide medical insurance to attendees. (A participant was recently injured at an event and while the individual had sufficient health insurance, someone had a question regarding our insurance and if it applied to our participants. The answer is no, our insurance does not cover injuries sustained during SCA activities at SCA events.)

2. Our insurance does not cover stolen property. This is especially true if we rent something with wheels, like a golf cart; it is incumbent upon the group renting the item (vehicle, trailer et al.) to obtain insurance for the item with wheels from the company that rents the item. (We recently had golf carts stolen from an event and the group was out of pocket for the golf cart.)

3. The SCA’s insurance does not cover the intentional damage to event sites inflicted by our participants. (Within the last year or so, someone came upon a locked gate at an event and then drove through the gate; this intentional tort is not covered by our insurance and the group was forced to compensate the site owner.)

Our insurance over the past ten years has become increasingly more expensive and there is no way for our organization to cover the insuring our participants, rented property or intentional damage to a site.

Please pass this down to your local group seneschals.

Best regards,

A.J. Pongratz
Vice President of Operations, SCA Inc.
Society Seneschal

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September Letter from the Seneschal

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The September letter is delayed to allow the Althing to publish the letter first. This will happen every month that coincides with the publication of the Althing. Otherwise, look for the letter from the Senschal during the first week of the month.

Greetings to the Most Excellent Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands!

Pennsic has come and gone and the one thing that stayed strongest with me is seeing how many Barony people were not only enjoying the event but how many people donated their time to making Pennsic happen. Everywhere I looked there was someone from Our Barony making it possible for everyone to enjoy themselves. I extend my thanks and appreciation for your taking some time out of your vacation so that others may enjoy theirs.

If you weren’t able to volunteer this year, there are still so many opportunities for you to share what you learned at Pennsic now that it’s over.

If you attended a class at Pennsic, please consider sharing what you learned at one of the weekly A&S classes being held by our A&S Minister, Elss. She will be hosting a variety of classes at the Washington Blvd practice site on Sundays and is looking for teachers. If you would like to teach a class, please contact her via email at ansminister@debatablelands.org. If you’ve never taught a class before and would like to share what you’ve learned, Elss or I can guide you to some resources to help you do that.

If you aren’t comfortable teaching a class, consider submitting an article to either the Althing or the Debatable Blog. The Chronicler and Webminister are always looking for articles and can be reached at chronicler@debatablelands.org and webminister@debatablelands.org. The Althing is published quarterly and the Debatable Blog publishes on an as-needed basis, so you can work on your schedule and still be able to share your knowledge with the Barony. Articles are not restricted to the Arts and Sciences, if you have a martial bent, an article about how to get started in Heavy Weapons, Fencing, Thrown Weapons, Equestrian, Youth Fighting, and Archery would be very welcome, particularly by our new participants who may be curious about what the Arts Martial are all about. If you would like to share new techniques or information about your Martial Art, please share those as well.

That’s not all – on the 28th through the 30th of October, we have our yearly Agincourt event. It will be at Camp Bucoco and there will be a little something for everyone. Head over to the event page for details.

We are also very proud to unveil two new social media accounts for Official information from the Barony – An Official BMDL Facebook page and a BMDL Twitter feed. The facebook feed augments the already very active unofficial group and will be regularly updated with posts from the Debatable Blog, official news, and event announcements. There is no reason to unsubscribe from the unofficial group and it will continue to be a place for conversation and information. The Twitter feed will feature the same information and is provided for those who are on one platform but not the other.

To subscribe to the Official BMDL Social Media Accounts —

The Official BMDL Facebook Page

The Official BMDL G+ Page

The Official BMDL Twitter The official hashtag is #DebatableLands

If you prefer to get this Official information via email, you can subscribe to the blog via email, just look for “Subscribe to the Blog via Email” on the right-hand side of the blog page. The Barony’s email list will continue to exist as there are still so many people that get their information that way. This is just another way to access information about things happening in and around the Barony.

There is so much going on and we are providing as many ways as possible to share this information in a way that people can access easily. We don’t want you to miss anything!

As always, if you have any ideas about how to improve anything in the Barony or have concerns, I am available via email (seneschal@debatablelands.org) or in person at events and meetings.

In Service to the Barony,

Odriana, Seneschal

Sycamore Herald Calls for Voice Heralds for Crown Tourney

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Greetings from the Sycamore Herald,

Crown is fast approaching and there will be limited time in between Coronation and Crown Tournament to know who the combatants are.

The Kingdom needs the service of all available voice heralds for Crown Tournament. Heralds help create the magic for the tournament. If you are a voice herald and have the ability to help that day, please contact me so I may have a list of those attending.

If you plan to be a combatant at crown please contact me and let me know if you have a herald, or will be in need of one.

I am going to try to put those in need of heralds in contact with combatants before crown so that they can plan early, rather than the morning of crown.

Thank you in advance,

Maighstir Liam MacantSaoir
Sycamore Herald

Scriptorium – Basic Manuscript Flora

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Wed, Sep 21, 2016: Scriptorium, Basic Manuscript Flora

Scriptorium is the monthly gathering of calligraphers, illuminators, wordsmiths, and anyone interested in taking up and learning more about these creative arts. We welcome all skill levels, from the most accomplished Laurels to those that have never picked up a pen or a brush. Become part of creating the atmosphere and visual splendor of the SCA!

This month, join us on Wednesday, September 21st, from 7:00pm to 9:00pm at Kameshima and Isabel’s house in the North Hills. (Our address is listed in the Dark Pages, or you can contact us at scriptorium at debatablelands dot org for more information.) Our topic for September will be “Basic Manuscript Flora” taught by THL Isabel Fleuretan.

This is an overview and “step-by-step” class on drawing a selection of basic flora found in period manuscripts throughout the middle ages. Not only can this class help you learn how to draw basic flora, it can also help you start to break down the different elements of a piece to make more complex illumination more approachable. This class is aimed at beginning scribes or those that would like help improving their flora skills, and is taught with the permission of Baroness Ekaterina Volkova, originator of the material.

Please be aware, our house contains a cat, a dog, and an infant: medicate or otherwise prepare yourself as necessary.

New Social Media Accounts – What to Expect

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As you may have seen in the September Althing, we are adding some Official Social Media accounts. These accounts were created in order to provide Official information and updates from the Officers, Guild Masters, etc. directly from the Althing Blog. This is only possible with Facebook and G+ “Pages”. The current, unofficial, groups are classified as “Groups” and can not be posted to directly using the blog.

These groups were not created to displace these unofficial groups, but entirely as a supplement to them. I was quite disappointed that we were unable to post directly to the unofficial groups as that would be far easier for everyone, but, having a central point of information distribution means that we don’t accidentally forget to post something somewhere and leave people out of the loop. I want to be sure that everyone has lots of time before we fully transition announcements and updates to the Official pages, so, starting on 15 September 2016, official announcements will appear in both the Official and the Unofficial Facebook and G+ groups for a period of two months (ending on 15 November 2016). At the end of each announcement will be the following:

Subscribe to the Official BMDL Facebook Page by going to https://www.facebook.com/BMDLOfficial/

Subscribe to the Official BMDL G+ Page by going to https://plus.google.com/b/113124989304184885338/113124989304184885338/posts?gmbpt=true&hl=en

Follow the Official BMDL Twitter feed by going to https://twitter.com/the_bmdl and using the official hashtag #DebatableLands

This will happen until 15 November 2016 at which point all announcements will only appear on the Official Pages. I have blocked out those dates on the Baronial Calendar with the same information above in the details of the event as an additional point of information. Every effort will be made to ensure that this information is distributed in as many places as possible so that no one is unaware of this change.

For those of you who rely on the BMDL email list for information, that will not be changing. Announcements and official information will continue to be posted on the email list as they have in the past. We do encourage people to subscribe to the Blog via email but are not eliminating the email list at this time.

The Blog is also in search of content. Do you have an article that you’ve been thinking about writing? Are you of a poetic bent and would like to share your talent with the Barony? Are you making something and want to share how you did it with others? Please consider sharing that with the Blog. If you have something that you’d like to share or just an idea that you think would be good to put on the Blog, please send email to either the Webminister, Ishiyama, or the Seneschal, Odriana.

Coronation Gift Basket Donations Needed

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Hello Debatable Lands! Coronation is right around the corner, and as is custom their Excellencies will present the new King and Queen with a gift basket from the amazing artisans of the barony. This is a great opportunity to showcase your work, but also to provide useful items to the new Royalty for use during Their Reign.

If you have something you would like to contribute please let me know, so I can arrange to pick it up.

In Service,
THL Sumayya al Ghaziyya
للفرح منه هو مقدس

For ideas of what Their Highnesses are looking for, please go to their interview at the Aethelmearc Gazette.

Reminder: Fiber Guild Meeting TOMORROW

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Greetings!

This is a reminder that the BMDL fiber guild meeting is next Tuesday, September 13, at 7PM, at Songbird artistry in Lawrenceville, 4316 Penn Avenue, across the street from the Children’s hospital.

The theme is “what I did/saw/liked/bought/was inspired by at Pennsic”. Come talk about what you did last Pennsic, or what you are planning to do next year. Less than fifty weeks left!

There will be snacks and tea.
All are welcome.

See you all there!

Luceta

P.S. Please let me know if you have any dietary restrictions snack wise.

September Barony Meeting – Guild Hall/Newcomer’s Meeting

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The September Barony Meeting will be held on Sunday, 18 September 2016 at 1:30 p.m. at the Environmental Charter School (829 Milton Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15218). Martial practices will be moving to the ECS to share the space with us and be able to participate in both the meeting and the Guild Hall.

The September Barony Meeting has traditionally been our Newcomer’s Meeting and this year is no different. This year we will be featuring a Guild Hall to highlight our various Guilds. If you’re a new member, long-time member, or something in between come join us that the Environmental Charter School and learn a little bit more about the kinds of activities available in the Barony.

THL Elss of Augsburg is coordinating the Guild Hall. If you would like additional information about participating in the Guild Hall or have any questions, phone or text Elss at 724-759-3333. If you would like additional information about the Barony Meeting, please contact Meesteres Odriana at seneschal@debatablelands.org.