Category: Uncategorized

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

There’s a chill in the air and the days are getting shorter. It’s time to pull out the woolly sweaters, cocoa, and fuzzy slippers. It’s also the time that many of us turn to more peaceful pursuits to help us get through the long nights.

While you’re planning your winter activities, please consider taking a few moments to write in the people that inspire you for a Baronial or Kingdom award. It only takes a few minutes and it is a good way for you to share the accomplishments of others. There are online forms available at the Baronial website and at the Kingdom website to make it even easier to share the accomplishments of the many talented people we are fortunate to have here in the Barony. The Online Award Recommendation Form for the Barony or the Kingdom Award Recommendation Form are the quickest and easiest way of making sure that the right people are contacted.

For those of you who use social media, we recently welcomed a new Social Media Deputy, Brehyres Gwendolyn the Graceful, OL. She will be moderating the Facebook group and is your point of contact if you would like to have something posted to Stórfréttir, our online blog. She can be reached at socialmedia (at) debatablelands.org.

We have also unveiled a new way for you to share your ideas, concerns, or recommendations for things that you would like to see happening in the Barony, the Baronial Suggestion Box. The Suggestion Box has is space to enter your name and email address if you would prefer a direct response. You also have the option to submit your feedback anonymously, as that tends to clear barriers to offering honest, constructive feedback. Please contact us so that persistent problems are not permitted to continue becoming a source of conflict, unhappiness, and apathy towards participating with the Barony.

We have our annual Twelfthnight celebration coming up on 13 January 2018 at the North Park Lodge. This is also when we will be holding our next Barony Meeting. The event announcement is on the BMDL website (here is a direct link).

We also have another event coming in February – Tavern in the Park. You should see an event announcement from Elß soon.

My term as Seneschal will be coming to an end in February, and I will be seeking a second term, however, I am calling for letters. Send your letter to the Baronage and to me – baron(at)debatablelands.org, baroness(at)debatablelands.org, and seneschal(at)debatablelands.org. The deadline for letters is Thursday, 1 February 2018 to allow sufficient time for your letter to be reviewed by the Officers’ prior to the February Business Meeting on 7 February 2018.

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), in person at events and meetings, or using our new Baronial Suggestion Box.

In Service to the Barony,

Odriana, Seneschal

From the Master of Cookies, 

Once again at Baronial Twelfth Night on January 13th, we will have a competition to determine the finest baker of cookies in the Debatable Lands.

Those who wish to compete should bring a large sampling for the populace and a separate plate of a dozen cookies to be set aside for the judges. All cookies will be open for populace judging throughout the day. Submissions will be accepted starting at 10:00 and judging will begin at 11:00 and continue until 4:00.

As a Royal Progress event, Their Majesties and Their Highnesses have offered to select Their Favorites.

This year, pending availability, Their Excellencies, Brandubh and Hilderun, will pick their winners. If the King and Queen of Fools are selected early enough, they too will be judges. Please remember that Maistir Brandubh requires gluten-free selections and there are others in our Barony that have similar restrictions.

Of course, should any other appropriate guests attend, they may be asked to judge.

There will be a people's choice as well to be run the same way the pie contest was run at last Barony Meeting by dropping beans as votes for the cookie of choice.

Please include a recipe if you wish and any nutritional information to protect our Barony.

In service to the Debatable Lands,

Mestari Urho Waltterinen

Good Afternoon Barony!

I wanted to post my expected schedule for publication of the Althing, the Debatable Lands newsletter. This news letter is published quarterly and includes content from officers, populace, and pieces published here, on Stórfréttir.

The schedule for submission deadline and release of the news letter will be:

March 15th – Deadline for submission
March 30th – Issue release

June 15th – Deadline for submission
June 30th – Issue release

September 15th – Deadline for submission
September 30th – A&S issue release

December 15th – Deadline for submission
December 30th – Issue release

Unless something unforeseen happens we will be releasing on those dates. If you are an officer please have a report or notes from your office (from you or a deputy). If you’re submitting for the Althing as a member of the populace please don’t let the deadline scare you away! Anything that misses the deadline will be posted to the blog and then published in the next issue!

We will be looking for any and all content, do you write period poetry? Want to share a recipe? Have tip for new fencers? Put out the results of your tourney? Send it all in! We’re looking to publish more frequent content through the blog as well as our newsletter.

If you have any questions please contact me at Chronicler@debatablelands.org or through social media!

Tigerna Alister Sionnach MacLeod
Chronicler@debatablelands.org
Greg Straub

Hello,
Due to so many people having other plans for Christmas Eve, there will be no fight practice on December 24.
If you would be interested in attending a fight practice on December 31, please contact me at Knightmarshal at Debatablelands dot Org.  If there is enough interest in either fencing or fighting, we will hold practice.
Have a Happy Holidays.
Robert

Greetings! On-line Heraldic Office Hours are in session! Click here to join!

https://hangouts.google.com/call/1vFxshacYdt41cXL7QXoAAEE

Kieran MacRae

Greetings from your Comet Pursuivant!

I will be holding on-line office hours this evening from 7pm – 9pm! Please watch for the Google Hangout link and join me with your heraldic questions and conundrums!

Kieran MacRae

Dear Friends,

We are very sad to bring you tidings that our own Mistress Achren of the Debatable Lands passed away this weekend. Please heed the words of John the Artificer:

Mistress Achren (Ruth Reilly) of BMDL passed peacefully Sunday evening after a long chronic illness. Per her wishes, there will be no funeral. Please do not send flowers, a charitable donation is suggested instead.

Cards may be sent to the Reilly Family, 1753 Beechwood Blvd. Pittsburgh PA 15217. Email condolences may be sent care of my email: jartificer@aol.com.

These last several years she was not up to attending SCA events. She missed seeing her many friends.

We  are greatly saddened by this, and have missed her quick wit and mischievous smile. Our heartfelt condolences to those that were close to her. We welcome ideas on how to honor her memory here in our Barony.

Greetings,

There will be fencing practice tomorrow, December 17, from 2-6 at the Chinese Church. Loaner equipment for both fencing and Cut n’ Thrust is available.

A message from the Knight marshal regarding practice for the next two weeks:

“As any of you who have looked at the calendar will have figured out, the next two Sundays after this one are Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve. I would like to know how many people are available, and interested, in fighting on those days. If you are a fighter, or fencer, and would like to fight on either of those two Sundays, please let me know. If you are interested, please send an e-mail to KSprague1959 at Gmail dot Com. If enough people are interested, we will have practice.”

If you are interested on attending practice on either December 24 or December 31 let Lord Robert know as soon as you can, otherwise practice will be cancelled until January 7.

In Service,
Jorundr

Hello
There will be fight practice on December 17 from 2 PM to 6 PM at the Chinese Church. Loaner armor will be available.
As any of you who have looked at the calendar will have figured out, the next two Sundays after this one are Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve. I would like to know how many people are available, and interested, in fighting on those days. If you are a fighter, or fencer, and would like to fight on either of those two Sundays, please let me know.  If you are interested, please send an e-mail to KSprague1959 at Gmail dot Com.   If enough people are interested, we will have practice.
Robert

A Call for SNOWBALLS!
We are in search of good snowball builders, for our BMDL Twelfth Night Event. The snowballs are the size of baseballs, sewn together with colored cloth and stuffed with stuffing and a superball in the middle to give it some weight without hurting anyone. Please bring any contributions to the BMDL Twelfth Night event in time for the snowball fight at 2:30pm, January 13th.

If you have additional questions please contact Katheryn Täntzel at designsbymlb@gmail.com.

Continue reading “A Call for SnowBalls”