This was my second Great Southern Gathering having attended my first in Krae Glas in 2015, and I have to say it continues to be one of my favourite events of the year. Somehow, through a combination of voodoo sorcery, goat magic and black alchemy – the event seems to remain action packed while remaining relaxing – even for those running around doing things.
It’s a scary concept.
This weekend was the first event where I debuted my new SCA name – Amos Ironbeard. After previously having issues getting people to use my first SCA name (Járnskeggi the Mad) – along with my own desire to explore other cultures and later time periods, this seemed to make sense. However, it seemed to be too great a success, the name has caught on quicker than my own reaction to it, resulting in some hilarious “Amos. Amos. Amos. AMOS.” moments. I appreciate the effort you all put in, and I’m still happy to answer to Járnskeggi, after all, I am still Ironbeard and still Mad.
I had the privilege of being Deputy Steward for the event which mostly involved carrying stuff, answering questions and making sure people didn’t burn the place down (They didn’t even come close). A vast majority of the hard work was done by Mistress Ingerith as Event Steward and Baroness Aeschine as Event Cook – they both worked hard to make the event great – along with the many others who pitched in from assisting in the kitchen, taking out trash and running out into storms at night to help with tents.
The weather was chaotic across the state but thankfully the site and event avoided most of the chaos. There was mud on site, and vehicle travel had to be limited to save cars from bogging but overall it wasn’t terrible – a combination of angles and drainage probably helped.
I was impressed by the amount of people taking classes and teaching them across the event, it looked like a lot of people were having fun trying out new things and I know a few friends who are taking away ideas and projects to work on in the future.
I was lucky enough to be able to teach my Krapfen class, with special thanks to Lady Safiyya for her translations, and had attendance from some truly talented individuals. Scarcely did I have to give instruction to find dough being rolled, apples being peeled and witty banter being slung across the kitchen – it felt more like the kitchen team at a feast than a class and the atmosphere was enjoyable. We ended up making enough Krapfen to feed the event, a few times over, with platters going out for people to sample only to return empty minutes later. I continue to learn from teaching and it served as an excellent dry run for cooking Krapfen for my next feast this month.
On the Sunday the weather held out enough for guild prizes to be fought, I was lucky enough to test multiple Free Scholars including His Excellency, Baron Cullan, my dear language tutor and translator the Lady Safiyya and the distinguished Lord Mikołaj. There was a moment I had to leap between fields to consult for two candidates at the same time, much to the amusement of my fellows, but it was an enjoyable experience.
I was sponsored for my Journeyman prize by Lord Guildmaster William Blackwood, and managed to take away the green sash at the end, although I now have several things to work on in the near future and after witnessing some of the fighting and classes over the weekend my to-do list more than doubled as I start my very long journey to the path of becoming a Provost.
I got the chance to make new friends, catch up with old, including the ones I hardly get a chance to see. I drank far too much on the Friday night which made prepping for my class Saturday morning interesting, however overall I really enjoyed the event.
That said, I will greatly enjoy being in my own bed tonight.
