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Visitors Welcome
Oct. 30th, 2005 07:07 pmOr, 'Why the Barony of Blackstone Mountain Rocks, Rolls, And Generally Makes My World A Better Place.'
This may come as an utter shock to some of you who have never met me or interacted with me at all, but I'm shy. Really quite painfully shy, when it comes to initiating contact with other human beings or groups thereof, in any way. So when I found myself in a new area for weeks on end, with no local friends other than my hosts (who are quite reasonably preoccupied with their infant son, and even so have gone out of their way repeatedly to keep me entertained), I hunted down the contact information for the local SCA group - and then proceeded to do absolutely nothing about it.
My dear sweet husband, knowing that under my shyness lies a true extrovert, gently encouraged me to contact them, though, slowly wearing away at my arguments of 'what if I don't like them,' 'what if they don't like me,' 'what if they eat Arts & Science weenies for dinner,' and 'what if sending an unsolicited email to their list makes the world explode,' until I finally choked down my anxiety and posted to their mailing list, asking if they might have any sort of activities that a visiting SCAdian would be welcome at.
I am so glad that I did. Words cannot express the wisdom of my sweetie in making me contact them.
Within hours I had a reply, inviting me to their fall event. Lack of garb was no problem; neither was lack of feast gear, or lack of directions, or lack of knowing anyone - all could be taken care of.
I showed up at the event yesterday morning, and was promptly greeted with enthusiasm and sincere happiness by the woman I had been chatting with online, who promptly dressed me up in her spare garb, introduced me to the local Baron and Baroness (and everyone else we walked past on our tour of the site), and brought me down to the list field to watch the Baronial Fighting Championship. For the rest of the day, I was treated like someone halfway between old friend and honored guest. Everyone I met had a hello, and a hug, and an invitation to join whatever they were doing - gossiping, watching a tournament, learning how to throw axes, singing, painting, and probably half a dozen other things that have slipped my mind by now.
It was a bit of culture shock, coming from a large, slightly segregated, authenticity-intense barony. Their A&S display had one entry, and I managed to accidentally win their A&S competition. I'm fairly certain their baron was wearing a sweatsuit with a tunic over it, and dessert at the feast was made with Duncan Hines cake mix - but the sense of community was overwhelming, and their fighters all gave speeches on historical battles, and the main course at the feast was venison their hunter had brought down earlier that week (one of the most authentic feast experiences I can imagine).
I was formally welcomed during court. I sat at the high table for feast, and I have apparently been inducted into the Baron's personal harem. After, I was treated to a performance of the Aethelmarc Topless Male Dishwashing Revue and Muppet-Dance Team, an experience which truly defies description. I had gone to the event intending to wander around for a little while, watch from the sidelines, and make a quiet retreat before dinner; I wound up staying until the last bits of cleanup were done, and leaving with orders to come to a neighboring group's event next month, and the big regional to-do in April.
I feel a bit guilty that I didn't make a formal visit as an ambassador of my barony, or bring a suitable hospitality gift. But I have three weeks until my next event, and that should be enough time to come up with something suitable. Though I really don't quite know if there's anything I can give them that would be enough to show how much I appreciate their incredible hospitality.....
This may come as an utter shock to some of you who have never met me or interacted with me at all, but I'm shy. Really quite painfully shy, when it comes to initiating contact with other human beings or groups thereof, in any way. So when I found myself in a new area for weeks on end, with no local friends other than my hosts (who are quite reasonably preoccupied with their infant son, and even so have gone out of their way repeatedly to keep me entertained), I hunted down the contact information for the local SCA group - and then proceeded to do absolutely nothing about it.
My dear sweet husband, knowing that under my shyness lies a true extrovert, gently encouraged me to contact them, though, slowly wearing away at my arguments of 'what if I don't like them,' 'what if they don't like me,' 'what if they eat Arts & Science weenies for dinner,' and 'what if sending an unsolicited email to their list makes the world explode,' until I finally choked down my anxiety and posted to their mailing list, asking if they might have any sort of activities that a visiting SCAdian would be welcome at.
I am so glad that I did. Words cannot express the wisdom of my sweetie in making me contact them.
Within hours I had a reply, inviting me to their fall event. Lack of garb was no problem; neither was lack of feast gear, or lack of directions, or lack of knowing anyone - all could be taken care of.
I showed up at the event yesterday morning, and was promptly greeted with enthusiasm and sincere happiness by the woman I had been chatting with online, who promptly dressed me up in her spare garb, introduced me to the local Baron and Baroness (and everyone else we walked past on our tour of the site), and brought me down to the list field to watch the Baronial Fighting Championship. For the rest of the day, I was treated like someone halfway between old friend and honored guest. Everyone I met had a hello, and a hug, and an invitation to join whatever they were doing - gossiping, watching a tournament, learning how to throw axes, singing, painting, and probably half a dozen other things that have slipped my mind by now.
It was a bit of culture shock, coming from a large, slightly segregated, authenticity-intense barony. Their A&S display had one entry, and I managed to accidentally win their A&S competition. I'm fairly certain their baron was wearing a sweatsuit with a tunic over it, and dessert at the feast was made with Duncan Hines cake mix - but the sense of community was overwhelming, and their fighters all gave speeches on historical battles, and the main course at the feast was venison their hunter had brought down earlier that week (one of the most authentic feast experiences I can imagine).
I was formally welcomed during court. I sat at the high table for feast, and I have apparently been inducted into the Baron's personal harem. After, I was treated to a performance of the Aethelmarc Topless Male Dishwashing Revue and Muppet-Dance Team, an experience which truly defies description. I had gone to the event intending to wander around for a little while, watch from the sidelines, and make a quiet retreat before dinner; I wound up staying until the last bits of cleanup were done, and leaving with orders to come to a neighboring group's event next month, and the big regional to-do in April.
I feel a bit guilty that I didn't make a formal visit as an ambassador of my barony, or bring a suitable hospitality gift. But I have three weeks until my next event, and that should be enough time to come up with something suitable. Though I really don't quite know if there's anything I can give them that would be enough to show how much I appreciate their incredible hospitality.....
