Good people of the shire; Please read! It has been a rough week. Attendance at the populace meeting was discouragingly low, but we still managed to make some progress in the shire business. Fighter practice has been sketchy. Bids have been submitted for Gaelic Games as well as fall Crown. The turnover of offices seems to be going smoothly, and daily we draw closer to Estrella War. A couple of updates from my end: I plan to be attending fighter practice, (the, now official, 4 PM Saturday practice) for the next two weeks; that being the 1st and 8th of February. On the 15th of February Patrick Alger and I will be out of town at the Renaissance Festival. We will be gone for the weekend. After that there is only one more fighting day in February, and I plan to be there for at least the sake of slow work. Right after that is Estrella War (Estrellawar.org if you need details) and there will be plenty of fighting to be had there. Slow work / SCA show and tell / new comer nights / hang out nights are slated for the 5th and 19th of February. The past couple of times I have offered to host I haven’t had any takers, so I am looking for suggestions on venue changes, topic changes, whatever, to push the interest a bit. For the time being Wednesday nights topics will be at the whim of whoever shows up, they will be at my house, and they will run from about 5 -7 pm. (note: these nights are geared toward newer players. I will bend over backwards to help our fresh blood out. That being said; old school vets please don’t be offended if I cancel due to lack of new player attendance. I will happily hang out with you guys when I can, but the night is reserved for our fresh faces, and if they aren’t in attendance I may choose to catch up on laundry or sleep.) To the newcomers: I feel I have been remiss in letting those of you that are new to the game know how willing I am, as are so many others, to help you. I mean it when I say all you have to do is ask. Facebook me, call me, email me, (jekobcaudill@gmail) I will try like hell to be whatever you need me to be, but so far I have heard little from you all. I can’t help if you don’t let me know where it is needed. I love this game, and I want to show you the best of it. To the veterans: A sad thing happened last weekend. We hosted a populace meeting that had 11 members. That doesn’t sound so bad until you realize that 4 of them were new (yes Christina Moorse I am counting you as new) to add to that two of the attendees are leaving our shire within the month, taking us down to 5 members at the table that had a lasting stake in the shire. The point is this: I know I ask a lot, and the SCA at large asks even more, but I am begging those that are vested in this dream with me to keep the faith. On the one hand it seems our shire is doing well. We seem to be attracting new members, if by word of mouth alone. We seem to be buzzing around online about all the various activities. We seem for all intents and purposes to be just as in love with the game as we were the very first time we played. But here is what I see, and forgive me if I offend. Our populace meeting numbers are continually sliding. Our fighter practices usually number 2 – 3 when I know there are more fighters out there. Guild nights seem to be a thing of the past, and though we talk online, I have not seen many of my friends playing the game face to face in some time. I want it plain that I am not perfect. The manner of following reflects the manner of leadership, and I have to find out why this is as it is. The long and short of it is, I need your help. I need the people I have called friend to the exclusion of nearly all others. I need your help to shore my weaknesses. I need your minds to clarify mine. I need you at the practices, and the wars, the meetings and the get togethers. I know that this game can be a burden, and that we have lost key players (Dennis, Mic, Katie we will miss you) but I also know that I never would have become the person I am today if I hadn’t had the SCA to turn to. I never would have come this far, if someone hadn’t opened the door. I have seen the new faces. Not all of them will stay with us, but the one who does, may someday be our leader. Let’s open the door. With the prose put aside, I know all of you feel just as strongly as I do. Mostly I think people are confused on how they can help. The truth is, I don’t know. Be there. Talk to each other. Make awesome happen every day. Look for the good, and shrug off the bad. Whatever it takes. I am struggling just as much, and I try every day to be a better servant to the shire, while kicking myself in the ass for taking this job. Thank you for reading Malcolm the Bold Seneschal; Shire of Windale.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 16:23:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015