Words from Their Excellencies
They’re excited to see who volunteers for the upcoming Baronial transition.
They went to Ursulmas as did many other Madronans. Temetgen de Worde was elevated to Master of Defense, Tabytha received a Goutte de Sang, and a couple members of the Barony received recognitions from Aquaterra, including Kate McKim & Adrianna the Fierce. Sir Athos came in 2nd in the tournament.
Words from the Seneschal
Regarding the Governor’s announcement of upcoming COVID rule changes, we are still awaiting word from TRM/Kingdom Seneschal of any potential changes to the SCA protocols, but in the meantime we will continue to mask & check vaccine status at all activities to protect the vulnerable members of our community. Kapka’s rules remain unchanged for now as well. [Rumor has it that King County will extend Masking requirements beyond when the state mandate is relaxed.]
Remember to always check first for any updates/cancellations before heading out to any event or activity!
There are inconsistencies in the barony re: who is using antir.org addresses vs BaronyOfMadrone.net addresses amongst the officers & baronage, which has been problematic as Kingdom level officers keep trying to reach our people via the wrong addresses/non-existent addresses. We’re working on sorting that out.
We have several open officer positions including Chatelaine, Gold Key, Scribe, Chronicler (1 applicant), and Chamberlain (1 applicant).
Upcoming Baronial Transition: Their Excellencies will be stepping down this Summer and the process for Their Majesties to select successors will begin in April. Please consider if you or someone you know might be willing to take on this vital role for our Barony. If you have questions about what the role entails, please contact Kerij-e, Their Excellencies, or the Kingdom Polling Deputy. You can also find useful information in the section of kingdom law regarding Baronies, and Madrone’s baronial Customary. https://baronyofmadrone.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Madrone-Policies-and-Traditions-Final-6-20-2019.pdf (Her Excellency also recommends speaking with other local Baronages for additional insight.)
Kerij-e has coordinated with the Kingdom polling secretary, and Their Majesties have approved the following schedule for the transition:
- Applications for interested candidates must be submitted by 04/15
- 1st Meet and Greet 05/03 online
- 2nd Meet and Greet 5/08 online
- Registration for Baronial populace to participate in the polling opens online 05/05-05/10
- Polling will be open online 05/16-05/23
- Their Majesties will then deliberate and once They have made a decision, it is the intention to have the transition take place either at Athenaeum (July 9) or Emprise (Aug 27) as Their Majesties will.
Officers/Guilds/Groups reports
Exchequer: We still have $ in the bank. Had to reissue a check to the 12th night hotel. We received our payment from PayPal for 12th night, but the Bank put a temporary hold on the funds, so we are delaying payments to Kingdom & Port de L’Eau until the funds clear.
The Financial Committee Meeting will be delayed until we have a little more data for a full report/discussion. It will be (via Zoom) on a Tuesday or Thursday in the next few weeks & will be published in advance.
Chatelaine: a few new folks have joined the Facebook group so she has reached out to them.
Gold Key: would like to find a successor. The office is in good order, with everything photographed, catalogued and ready to hand off to a new volunteer. (Thank you Margaret for that huge project!)
Chamberlain: Items sent to 12th night, and confirmed returned to storage. Will stay in the role until the Baronial Transition. The Baroness suggests that doing our annual inventory during the transition period (once Their Majesties have chosen baronial successors) would be a good time in order to acquaint the new B&B with the baronial holdings.
Herald: had a couple of device inquiries this month & a transplant to the Barony from another Kingdom who is interested in Heraldic activities.
Armored Combat: continues but quiet this month. The sign in process is going well. Ready to adapt as needed if the kingdom changes policy in response to new rules in WA state.
Rapier Combat: lots of rapier fighters attending Monday nights.
Scribal: will need some Generic charters for the transition period.
Social Media: 10 new people joined the Facebook group this month. Has been kept busy forwarding Kingdom messages to the Baronial lists.
Webster: Going smoothly. Hopes to have fun analytics data to review starting next month.
Chronicler: Out sick – Eden filling in.
Sergeants: will be holding a Zoom this Saturday 2/26 with both Sergeants & Candidates to discuss updated handbook & review training. Also scheduling test dates. Captaincy changeover will take place at the Raging Rogue Tavern in April, along with some testing. The Baroness adds that the Sergeants & Candidates were invaluable in their help at 12th night & Sgt Emma particularly commends Basilius for stepping in to help when she was unavailable.
Port de L’Eau: Considering whether to try & fit an in-person event onto the calendar later this year or request a variance.
Culinary Guild: Still meeting online each 1st Wednesday for at least another few months until the weather is conducive to gathering outside.
Dance: February Dance gathering was happily attended & continues to follow safety protocols.
Equestrian: No updates yet. Will probably need to activate eq. insurance for practices soon.
Events
Raging Rogue Tavern, 4/16/22: The site is not concerned with imposing their own COVID rules, so we will just go with whatever the SCA & King County require. For now we assume that will still include masks & Social Distancing. The site will open early for set-up. Bag meals will be for sale. They will be made the day before, according to kingdom safety guidelines. Raph will bring an eric, his pavilion & a pop up. If you have pop ups you can bring please do so. Bardic Championship will take place at the event, pending confirmation from the current Bardic Champion. Sergeants testing & the change of the Captain of the Seargeantry will occur. Per discussion at last curia, Raph has been in talks with Kit (who is the Event Steward for Lionhearts, see below) about combining the two events to reduce strain on volunteers & the summer calendar. Both event stewards are open to this if it is the will of the Barony. This would add both Heavy & Rapier Championship to the event.
Discussion of combing the two events elicits that we don’t really have feedback from the Fighter & Rapier communities as to their opinions on this change. His Excellency will reach out to the fighting communities for input and a decision will be made by March 1st so that Crier copy can be submitted/updated.
Lionhearts, 5/14/22: see above. If not combined with the Tavern will (per discussion at last month’s curia) be trimmed back to a simpler afternoon of fighting & a brief court.
Athenaeum, 7/9/22: Master Aeron reports that Gera has agreed to handle Pre-registration. Has a possible Gate Head TBD. Expects that most onsite work will be handled by Aeron & Charles’ household given the scaled back nature of the event. Has not heard back from Scottish Rite re questions about room sizes, or COVID precautions. Reached out to a couple other potential sites. Waiting to hear back. One is the North Seattle College where we first held Athenaeum. Discussion of that site & its problematic staff vs how much more space it has for both movement & airflow. [similar pricing expected.] [Subsequent site research shows that the North Seattle College space is no longer available to rent.] Some confusion about the date change if we don’t go with Scottish Rite (not available on the original June date), but we agree to stick with the July 9th date regardless of site, so we can at least get initial communications out. (Kingdom A&S is coming up in early March and we want to be able to make at least an initial announcement there!) A final decision on site must be made by next month so we can meet Crier deadlines & let Artisans make plans.
Emprise, 8/26 – 8/28/22: discussion postponed to next month
Peasants Revel: we will look at what energy/participation/safety/etc look like in another month or so & if we decide to spin up the event we can do so on short notice.