In the last couple of weeks, Bhakail has hosted two very successful and very different events. We are always and forever amazed by the talents and dedication of the people of the Barony, Bailiwick, Canton, our many friends and neighbors who help make these events possible.
The Coronation of Their Majesties Darius called Omega and Etheldreda in the Canton was an absolute dream. We cannot thank you all enough for making this event such an incredible success. The site was beautiful, the day ran smoothly, and the food was delicious. Sayyida Suba and Mistress Juliana have both sent out thank yous to their staff, so we would like to send out a thank you to both of them. Your hard work paid off, and your vision for the day was splendid. Thank you for letting us share in the dream this way.
I would also like to thank the retainers who helped keep me together and well-taken care of. Lady Katrin and Lady Lianor both helped to get me ready in the morning, and I will say with some modesty, they did an excellent job. They also spent the day running after me with cup in hand and smiles on their faces. I also had assistance from a good gentle named Engel who helped to Baroness wrangle. As is often the case, Lord Staldo was on hand to help move furniture and whatever other little whim I happened to have.
I was well guarded by our martial Champions as well. I would like to thank Lord Fearghus and Lord James especially. Fergus makes a fine guard and was quietly menacing as I chatted with the merchants and visiting dignitaries. James was on hand to discuss the finer points of fencing with me, which is always a great pleasure. Did any of you happen to notice that all four of our martial Champions were helping guard Their Majesties? Thank you all for being such good representatives of Bhakail!
A special mention must go to Master Rowen for helping me represent the Barony. When it was found that some scrolls that were needed for Court had not made it to the site, he sat with me, and together we created words to go out to the worthy recipients. Although only one of the texts went out during Court, knowing that both were available and on hand made the day less stressful.
Speaking of Court, congratulations to many Bhakailis and close friends of Bhakail who received awards. Lady Miriam, Lord Vachir, Lady Melanie, Lord Patrick, Lord John and Lady Rosie all received their AOAs during Court, and we were able to present Lord Markus der Jaeger with his AoA scroll later at Noisemakers. Congratulations also to Baroness Alesone and Lord Martyn who received both the King’s Cypher and Tailor to the Crown. Lady Daminana received her much deserved Silver Crescent. Thank you again for your 12+ years of service as our Exchequer. And for those folks who have not yet heard, Sir Antonio, Don Donovan and Lord Frasier all received their Writs to be premier members of the Order of Defense in the East Kingdom. We look forward to their elevations!
To these good gentles, and to all others who worked to make the day so enjoyable, again we say thanks!
Exactly one week later, the Baliwick ran a superb Noisemakers X. Special thanks to Lord Ælfric for doing such a fine job of running his first event. The classes were excellent and enjoyable and we both learned a great deal in a short amount of time. We do have some of the most talented and generous folks we have ever met living in and around Bhakail. We held a bardic competition and, although it saddened us to do so, the outcome was to replace our two fabulous bards, Lady Siobhan and Lord Ian. The competition was slated to be pieces of poetry, and three very strong contenders gave inspired performances. In the end we decided that Lady Girsell would be chosen as Baronial Bard. We look forward to working with her this year, and to encouraging our other competitors – Mistress Sabine and m’lord Marcus of Bhakail – to continue their performances!
Ysmay took a couple of classes – Juggling by Ian Douglas, and Beyond the Notes by Isabeau d’Orleans, which was a class about interpreting choral music, and has managed to put both of them to use this week. Mael Eoin took Lord Martyn’s breathing techniques class, Lord Berrick’s silk banner painting class and picked up a couple of tips in a visit to Lord Reijnier’s calligraphy class. We were also treated to a performance by our commedia troup, I Zanni Illuminati, while folks enjoyed dayboard. Dayboard was, it should be noted, beautiful, tasty and abundant. Vivant to Meesteres Annetje and the Kitcheners van Woerden!
In preparing for Court, we realized we had need of some scribal expertise, and were flattered to have not just one but two talented folks in the right place at the right time. Siobhan was able to put Girsell’s name to the Bardic Champion scroll in a very similar hand to the scroll’s own style – done entirely by milady Cassandra – and Reijnier was able to help with a missing letter and added a name to a backlog Champion scroll. Watching both at work and seeing all of the scrolls that were made for the event reminded us that not only is there a lot of skill in the Region, but those who routinely give of their time and talents are some of our true treasures.
Mistress Sabine ran our Baronial Court, and did an excellent job. Even though this was her first time running a Court, she was able to incorporate two people who were new to reading in Court – our own Sayyidda Suba who did a lovely job and milady Ravenna who had taken Master Rowen Cloteworthy’s class earlier in the day. We were pleased to have them both try their hands, and voices, at reading. We awarded Ian and Siobhan Harlequins for all of their work as our Champions, not the least of which included the support and teaching they have done in the area of performance over the last year. Lady Violet received her Horse and we were honored to give a Flame to milady Dorian of Eisental for transporting the beautiful Bardic Champions scroll from Bethlehem.
For all of our event staff members, teachers, scribes, cooks, illuminators, heralds, Zannies, and everyone who came out to participate, we thank you. Noisemakers was fun, and we heard more than one person say that they appreciate the chance to advance their learning and discuss subjects and aspects that they might not otherwise get to focus on. It was a well done event, and we are pleased to be a part of it.
Lastly, in addition to both of these events, it should also be noted that Lady Lissa Underhill has a wonderful piece in the most recent Tournaments Illuminated, Meesteres Annetje has taken Lord Martyn as an apprentice and if we think Lord Reijnier is talented with period lettering, his modern counterpart, Rick Wolff, is challenging that skill with some amount of fame in creating a colorful typeface based on a political hopeful’s campaign logo.
Please join us in congratulating and thanking everyone on their accomplishments, awards, service, skills *and* the sharing thereof!
In Service,
Ysmay and Mael Eoin
Baroness and Baron of Bhakail
No responses yet