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RE: Pennsic Question
I ftp'd this from somewhere. it's pretty helpful-
I hope this attachment thing works :-)
PENNSIC ADVICE COMPILATION
Deudone d'Oxon or Y'honatan ben Simcha
mka Jonathan Baker
360 4th St., Brooklyn, NY 11215
(718) 499-0439
baker@robocop.nyu.edu
Not Copyright by Me
Contents May Be Copyright By the Contributors
I. INTRODUCTION AND DISCLAIMER
This is a compilation of the accumulated wisdom of the Rialto
regarding long camping events, particularly the Pennsic War.
Contributors include:
Joshua ibn-Eleazar ha-Shalib (Stephen Bloch)
Ellisif Flakkingskvinne (Monica Cellio)
Donallain o'f Galaru Glais (Kevin William Ryan)
Dur of Hidden Mountain, Baron of Grey Matter (Dale E. Walter)
Simon of the Beautiful Waters (Dave Aronson)
Caitrin o'r Rhyd For (Kathryn Gandek)
Yaakov HaMizrachi (Harold J. Feld)
Alasdair mac Donnchaidh (Craig Robertson)
Justin du Coeur (Mark Waks)
Arastorm the Golden (Virginia Taylor)
Countess Genevieve du Vent Argent, OP (Mary Knettel)
Duke Sir Cariadoc of the Bow (David Friedman)
Lady Madeleine (Mindy Miriam Rheingold)
Julitta (Ms. Shicoff)
Ilaine de Cameron (Liz Stokes)
and of course, dhe yonge compileur, Deudone d'Oxneforda
(Jonathan Baker)
Contributions are attributed at the end of each section.
They were culled from a collection of postings read by myself
about a year ago (for the most part). Unfortunately, I do not
have the full SCA and mundane names of some of the contributors,
for which I most humbly apologize -- I mean no slight.
Many sections of this compilation begin with a long excerpt
from Bart the Bewildered's "Campaigner's Notes", more commonly
known as "Bart's Pennsic Thingy." These sections are covered by
the following copyright notice: Copyright Paul S. Kay, 1988,
1989, 1990. This document may be freely reproduced as long as
the author's name and this copyright notice are included.
Other than that, copyrights to the rest of the compilation
revert to the various authors, from whom I received permission to
repost and archive their respective postings.
II. PLANNING
(( CHAPTER FIVE FROM BART'S CAMPAIGNER'S NOTES ))
5. WHAT TO TAKE
This is the real reason I started writing this, to give a
basic checklist. For ease of reference, the list is broken into
two Sections: that which you need and that which might come in
handy.
5.1 Necessities
The following should not be left at home. If you have
limited room, the items on this list can all fit in one
duffel bag or two medium sized bags.
* Enough of any medication that you need for the length of your
stay. It can ruin your trip if you run out, and convincing a
local Doctor to write a new prescription can be difficult, if not
impossible.
* Sleeping bag and pad. You can always bum a place to
sleep, but you ought to have something to sleep in, even if it
is just a couple of blankets. This area can get down into the
50's on warm nights. This is no joke. The pad can just be
something to keep you off of the cold ground; a thicker pad
adds to comfort immensely.
* Rain gear. Rain coat or poncho, boots for mucking about, wool
socks, plastic tarps. While a heavy, somber toned poncho most
resembles an oil skin cloak (period rain wear), use what
you have. Better safe than soaked; I have found mundanity is
accepted when it is bucketing rain and you are holding down
a tent (especially someone else's tent).
* Hat. This gets a separate item because it is important. A
hat keeps the rain off, cuts body heat loss in the cold or at
night, and keeps the sun from boiling your brain as quickly. Sun
stroke and sun burn can be a drag. The hat should be mediaeval
looking, but that leaves a lot of leeway. All oriental hats,
many straw hats, and some leather cowboy hats look right. A
note on hat etiquette: remove your hat in buildings, tents, or
even shade. As well as being polite, wearing a hat out of the
sun is almost bad for you as no hat in the sun.
* A warm cloak (or a friend that has one) or a plain
blanket that can be worn as one and can be sat on. Again,
the nights get cold and the dew falls heavily even (especially)
after the hottest days.
* Garb. This is an S.C.A. event, and some attempt should be
made to dress in period as much of the time as possible.
Mundane costumes are fine for under armour or for going into
town (but you might get complaints even then). The following
should suffice:
- Two to four simple tunics or dresses in some light colored
solid, with trousers or skirts to match, if desired. These
should be a natural fiber that breaths well (e.g. cotton,
linen, et cetera), as light as possible, while preserving
modesty.
- A warm piece of garb, or an over-tunic to pull on over a
light tunic (layering is very effective), for cold nights or
days. A solid colored cheap velour or heavy trigger work well
for this as both have a high polyester content and do not
breath much.
- One good or semi-good outfit for court, going to the
taverns, or visiting the campsite of someone you wish to
impress. If the piece in item 2 is well made, it will do
admirably.
- Light shoes or sandals, unless you want to slop around bare
foot. Be warned, the gravel on the roads is sharp.
- Heavy shoes or boots if you plan to go into the woods.
- Accessories. A belt with a pouch and knife are good things
to have around.
* Change of other clothes for the time spent plus two that is
wrapped in plastic to keep dry. If you do not have extra
socks, you will need them, and there is nothing worse than
getting clean and then having to climb back into dirty, sweaty
clothes. While washers are available, it is best not to rely
on them, unless you like hanging out in laundry-mats. It is a
good idea to have at least one change of mundanes in your
vehicle in case all of your clothes on site get soaked.
* Portable light sources, both for camp and the port-a-
castle. Authentic if possible, but a hand flash is
sometimes more convenient. If you use propane lanterns, be
aware that they are bright. They can hurt the eyes of those of
us who adjust well to the dark and provide quite a show if
used as out-house illumination in a plastic port-a-castle.
* Toiletries. The usual stuff (soap, towel, toothbrush,
etc.), and do not forget the shower gear.
* Money to buy fresh food, fire wood, drink, trinkets,
instruments, garb, armour, art, or whatever else you cannot
live without.
* Sun screen. This is new, but only because I over looked it.
If you are typical, this is the most sun you will see all year.
Getting severe sunburn can take a lot of the fun out of the
War; armor chafes in new places, tunics rub, and you feel
crummy. If you are fair skinned and/or do not get much sun, take
precautions.
* A bottle opener, can opener, and/or cork screw. I have seen
people offered peerages for these things.
5.2 Et Cetera
What follows is a list of things that are handy but may be left
out if you do not want (or cannot afford) to overburden yourself.
* Armour. This is not mandatory, unless you want to fight or
scout. There is still lots to do without fighting. I know a
couple of knights who have just left their harness at home and
relaxed at a War (O.K., so one marshalled a couple of times and
the other was doing his thing as a Laurel).
* Instruments. Whether to just use at bardic circles or for
more serious music, instruments can add to the fun. If you are
a serious musician, or would like to be, this is about the
best place you will find for S.C.A. jam sessions.
* Song books. Bardic circles, or a large tent during a
storm, are a great place to sing old favorites and learn new
songs.
* Eating utensils. What type depends on how you plan to eat.
If you are taking care of yourself, you will also need cooking
and clean up gear.
* Grill, spit, tripod, camps stove, or some other way to tame
fire and hold cooking pots. Which of these you use depends on
preference, experience, and level of authenticity.
* Swim suit and towel. Many folks skinny-dip at the
swimming hole but a) I am not skinny, b) the water is better
at the state park down the road, and c) I am shy.
* A tent or tents. An extra tent allows more room for
storage and hospitality. While pavilions are nice, modern
tents are acceptable.
* Coolers are always welcome. They also can be packed with gear
during travel.
* Plastic jugs of any size for water and mixed soft drinks.
Canned and bottled drinks are good, but powdered GatorAid and
Kool-Aid are cheaper and easier to pack.
* Extra and/or fancy garb.
* Camp lights. Kerosene torches, candles with chimneys,
hurricane lamps, or what ever. They give a campsite a nice
look and keep people from literally tripping around.
* Hand Fan. It may not be 100 degrees in the shade, but a fan
is still "a good thing."
* Books and games in case things get slow (or hot).
* Bandanas, Band-aids, bug spray (Avon Skin-So-Soft bath oil
is an effective and pleasant smelling substitute), hatchet,
jack knife, matches (or flint and steel), rope, string, sewing
kit, safety pins, and anything else that is handy in camp.
(( END OF CHAPTER FIVE FROM BART'S CAMPAIGNER'S NOTES ))
------------------------------------------------------------------
Look at the Knowne Worlde Handbook for articles on SCA
Camping particularly that by Countess Arastorm the Golden. Her
packing list has been republished many times on the Rialto.
Unfortunately, she has lost her access as of this writing (July
1992). (ed.)
The Pennsic War is held on the third weekend of August (16-18
this 1992). The Cooper's Lake campground is reserved for two
weeks prior prior to this, and you may come earlier than that if
you pay the Coopers' regular rates. However, there won't be many
SCA campers before then, as most normal campground customers
don't really want to be awakened in the middle of the night by
revellers. (Paraphrased from Winifred de Schyppewallebotham,
who I was unable to contact for copyright permission)
Make a list. Simple to say, but remember it. Plan a menu for
the week for yourself, including what you will buy there and who
you plan to beg dinner from during the week. Check off your list
as you load so that you don't forget anything. And bring a can
opener - everyone forgets that. (Donallain o'f Galaru Glais)
Add a second list which includes all the equipment that
everyone else has. You don't need 3 stoves but extra coolers,
lanterns, tables and chairs are almost always handy. You really
don't need 3 or more dining flys (unless they are to cover a
tent). If you're a group than share the use of just a couple
that everyone can make use of. This not only saves space on site
(it will be appreciated by your neighbors) but it gives some
folks extra room in their vehicle.
Add a third list: Camp chores. With 4 or 40, there are certain
chores (like getting rid of garbage or cooking) that have to be
done. If you schedule it out long before you ever arrive -
everyone knows what's expected of them, the work is shared and
hard feelings are avoided.
For groups of 8 or more the following items are handy (I
believe essential): A GOOD First Aid Kit to which you've added
aspirin (or similar product), an anti-itch product, an instant
ice and an instant heat pack, antacid (of some type), a mild
laxative (I recommend Castoria) and something for upset stomachs
(over the counter) and someone who knows what to do with it; a
garden shovel; a wood axe or saw; a claw hammer; at least one
lantern or large reliable flashlight; a pair of scissors (put a
sheath over the point); 100' of clothes line; a water bucket; a
bag of sand or cat litter (for smothering those fires that should
have water put on them and useful for getting a car out of the
mud); 2 large wash basins; a single burner stove for making hot
water or coffee first thing in the morning when you really don't
want to wait for your cook fire to be ready - or - a 3 burner
stove if it is your primary source for cooking. (Alasdair mac
Donnchaidh)
If you are like the rest of us, you will find your car
filling fast with camping necessities and SCA luxuries. I find it
is best to just bring enough food for the first day or two, and
plan a shopping trip into town. Ice in the cooler melts, and you
can't keep meat more than a couple days safely. Bring things like
teabags, instant oatmeal, and spices from your kitchen cabinet
(and pack them in ziplocks) and plan to buy perishables on site.
You can buy a small charcoal grill for under $10, it is versatile
because you can put pots on it or grill directly over it, put a
pot of water on it as soon as you take the food off, and it will
be hot for dish-washing by the time you finish eating at no extra
cost in fuel. Boiling water is trickier, you might beg or borrow
one of those one-burner stoves for morning tea. (Ilaine)
Recommended supplies: one or two coolers, your own band-aids and
aspirin, any prescription medication you might need for the
entire time, extra socks, dry clothes (to leave in your car), sun
block, a dry tent, a warm sleeping bag or other bedding, more
than one can opener. (Ethan Dicks)
III. DRESS
Which brings up clothing. As Dur put it, bring clothing
appropriate to the conditions, and remember that the conditions
can change very quickly. Hats Are Good Things: when it's cold,
they reduce the "chimney" effect whereby you lose most of your
body heat through your head, and when it's hot, they keep the sun
off your head and face, and (depending on design) can double as
fans. Keep most of your body covered most of the time: if it's
cold, wear several layers of naturalfiber fabrics, and if it's
hot, wear light fabrics of natural fibers, which will keep out
the sun but allow you to sweat-cool. This is not only
comfortable but period-looking (there is NO documentation for the
use of bunny-fur bikinis is medieval Europe, but skin cancer is
indisputably period). (Joshua ibn-Eleazar ha-Shalib)
Simple but often forgotten: bring something warm and bring
something cool. A good cloak is an excellent asset. Bring
clothing (t-shirts, sweats, long underwear even) for putting on
_under_ your garb if you get too cold. I can't count the times
I've seen some poor person shivering because all they brought
were flimsy shifts and t-tunics. BRING A HAT! It keeps you warm
at night and more importantly in my view it keeps you from
getting sunstroke and a lobster tan in the day. Bring enough (or
plan on hitting the laundrymat) to wear clean stuff every day.
Bring more socks and underwear than you think you need, and one
or two towels (one of them will inevitably get soaked by rain or
something when you need it). Be CERTAIN that you have a protected
set of clothing: double bagged or stored in your car. If you get
soaked in some terrible flood you want something DRY to change
into. (Donallain)
Bring a hat, long-sleeved but cool garb (yes this is possible,
esp. w/ wide sleeves), and sunscreen. The layered approach to
clothes for changing weather condition works very well. Too hot?
Take off a layer. (No more layers? Jump in the tub!) Too cold?
Put on another layer. (No more layers? Snuggle up with
someone!) If the weather is likely to turn nasty (eg, heavy
rains and high winds, enough to knock over a flimsy tent) make
sure your tent is very stable! Also leave a complete set of
clothes (preferably one of garb AND one mundane) in your chariot,
or at least in something absolutely waterproof. (Pickle buckets
work well.) Find out IN ADVANCE what the usual weather
conditions are. (Simon of the Beautiful Waters)
Heat beater - On the hottest days I wear a very long cotton veil
aligned on my head so that the long parts are pointed towards my
shoulders. It is wrapped around my neck, drapes down my body and
is held in place by a circlet or hat. Most importantly, it is
soaking wet. This does wonders for my body temperature and at
night, when it's dry, I wear it as bug repellent (cause the bugs
can't reach my neck!). (Caitrin o'r Rhyd For)
Keep your feet dry, & your head covered. Take more dry footwear
(extra socks!) than you can possibly go through. Take waterproof
footwear. Take a hat, or buy one there, but wear one. Don't
forget your part (hairline) with the sunblock, either. Take
several towels. Leave most of your dry stuff locked in your car
(safe from torrential downpours). Take a cloak, extra tunics
(look closely, you'd be surprised how cheap you can find raw
silk, sometimes) remember to wear natural fibers next to your
skin (you'll be more comfortable, they breathe), extra
undershirts/underdresses, (Julitta)
IV. TENTS/SLEEPING
Sleeping. I was brought up camping and backpacking, so I see
nothing wrong with sleeping on an insulating pad on my tent
floor, but I understand many people aren't used to that, or have
back problems, or whatever. I've seen people bring futons and
handmade, collapsible Viking beds, sleep in/on/between sheets and
blankets, down comforters, patchwork quilts, Dacron sleeping
bags, and cloaks (my Cloak From Hell, by itself, approximates a
three-season sleeping bag in warmth. And I can walk in it with a
lady under each arm, all three of us covered :-) (Joshua ibn
Eleazar)
Best ideas for tents are decent big tents without floors
(note that you should not camp in an erosion gully if you do
this, but that dirt drains quite well). This requires that your
bed be protected from the floor. If you have a cheap tent or a
standard enclosed tent BRING A TARP and put it _inside_ the tent
to keep water from seeping through the floors. If you place it
outside the tent under the floor you may have the 'waterbed'
problem with water on the tarp and under your tent. A tarp that
acts as a sunshade on the tent is also an excellent idea, and
will keep things cooler. A good big tarp can shade several small
tents.
Bring enough warm bedding (and/or bed clothing) to survive
30-degree weather. I'm not kidding. It can get that cold. Make
sure you are insulated from the ground with a pad, a cot, or
whatever. Otherwise the ground will suck the heat out of you.
Bring the padding you think you will need. If you aren't
familiar with real camping, ask someone who is, and _follow their
advice_ about minimums. (Donallain)
TENTS: Long before the camping event find out from everyone
who will be camping with you, the SET-UP size of their tent.
This is the amount of space they actually need which often
differs from the floor size of the tent. Also find out where the
entry is located and whether or not they will be putting a
fly/tarp over their tent. Once you've got this info. you can
actually lay out the camp on paper - before you even arrive. At
Pennsic the last couple of years they've asked for such info. If
you are a safe camper with regards to fire you can place most
tents within 3' of each other. Just make sure to leave fire
lanes between each row of such tents and it is a good idea to
have each set of rows set up so that the exits face each other.
A really big tent w/o a floor makes a great kitchen/dining
pavillion and keeps the number of dining flys down to a minimum.
If you've never slept in a tent - do so before a major
camping event. That's the only way you'll know how much padding
YOU require underneath you. Finding out at Pennsic after a 6-16
hour trip to get there will make you very unhappy. (Alasdair)
A PLACE TO SLEEP THAT IS WATERPROOF! It will torrentially
downpour AT LEAST 1 night at the war. Put a warm sleeping bag
inside that waterproof place, on top of a foam pad (it is amazing
how lumpy that apparently flat place can be). Take a clear trash
bag to put your dirty clothes in (It is so sad to hear about
someone who put their dirty garb in a regular trashbag, & well,
someone was helping clean up.....). (Julitta)
V. FOOD/COOKING
(( CHAPTER THREE FROM BART'S CAMPAIGNER'S NOTES ))
3. HYGIENE
For many folks, Pennsic is their first and/or only camping
experience. When camping, the standard rules of hygiene
apply. There are also other, camping related, practices to be
aware of that help make camping safer and more fun. It does
not take much to turn camping from fun into a nightmare.
Many of the of the causes for discomfort can be linked to
disregarding some sensible rules.
3.1 General Hygiene
This topic is an old one. I had it from my parents, in the Boy
Scouts, and in High School Gym class, but it is still
important. If these precautions seem trivial and
unnecessary, think again. The heralds have cried these
through the camp for the last two Pennsics. These include:
* Wash your hands after using the privy.
* Wash your hands before handling food, especially if you are
preparing it for more than yourself.
* Use clean surfaces for food preparation.
* Store food correctly. This means meats and milk products in
a cooler, bread in plastic in the shade, et cetera. All meat
should be kept in a cool place, even sausages. Sausages with
a high fat content, even if smoked, can go rancid.
* Cover or close your garbage container. This makes it
harder for flies to spread diseases.
3.2 Camp Hygiene
Camping also requires some special provisions for hygiene
beyond those above. Looking through my Scout manuals
reminds me of several that were so ingrained I take them for
granted. I was also reminded of some safety and courtesy
rules that make camping more pleasant. Some of these are:
* Keep your cooler(s) closed tightly. The ice lasts
longer, the food stays cooler, and the chances of an insect
invasion go way down. Another good thought is to keep drinks in
a separate cooler than food.
* Check yourself occasionally for ticks and rashes. Poison ivy
is no fun, but can be contained if you catch it early, as
can Lymes Disease (which has been reported in the area).
* Wash dishes completely and carefully. Get them clean!
- Wipe off excess food before you start.
- At least use a basin of soapy water and a hot rinse. Use a
final rinse with a sanitizing solution if you can, especially if
someone in your camp is sick.
- Change the water (especially the rinse water) if it starts
getting dirty.
- Air dry dishes on a clean surface. This may seem odd, but it
is less likely to spread disease than using a towel.
* Dispose of waste water carefully. Under normal
circumstances, this means keep it away from the fresh water
supply, but it also applies to not dumping dirty water around
the spigots. After a day or so, the area around the water
spigots becomes a quagmire from people washing dishes and
performing their personal ablutions there. Put the water in a
bucket and do your washing elsewhere, please.
* Use a sump hole or grease pit to dispose of waste water and
liquid waste (e.g grease). This is your home for a while; would
you pour out dish water on the kitchen floor? This hole
can be sited either near the fire pit or in some area that will
not be used as a walk way. Mark it to keep people from
stepping in it in the dark.
* Use a fire pit. Cut away (and save) the sod and dig a pit
larger than your fire and surround the outer edge with stones.
This reduces the chance of grass fires.
* Never leave a fire untended. If you are leaving the area for
a while, or going to bed, bank the fire carefully. If you do
not know how to bank a fire, put it out. (Actually,
Security will probably put it out any way and, considering the
way some encampments were set up, I don't blame them.)
* Do not throw refuse in the fire. Most common plastics
release toxic fumes when burned, glass bottles can shatter
(explode), and cans will still need to be disposed of
after the fire is out.
* Leave the campsite cleaner than you found it. Clean up as
you go (this really makes the whole trip more pleasant).
When you are leaving, cover your fire pit and refill any other
holes you have dug (replacing the sod is a nice touch).
(( END OF CHAPTER 3 FROM BART'S CAMPAIGNER'S NOTES ))
(( CHAPTER 4 FROM BART'S CAMPAIGNER'S NOTES ))
4. FOOD
Eating during the War is a problem with several solutions. If
the weather is typical (hot), you may not feel like eating
much. Do not give in to this! Drink lots of fluids and force
yourself to eat fruits and easy to digest protein during the day.
This way, when it cools off at night, you will have enough
energy to eat carbohydrates and other difficult to digest
foods that you need.
4.1 Supply Yourself
Bring some or most of the food you need. It can either be
preprepared and frozen or brought as ingredients if they are not
perishable. Perishables (vegetables, ice, and such) can be
purchased at Cooper's Camp Store (which has gotten quite large)
or from a store in town. Butler is 15 miles east on 422 and
New Castle is 10 miles west. There are grocery stores, state
stores (liquor and wines), and beer distributors in
both cities. There are also department stores in case you
need something else, like a new tent. (Mine blew up in a
storm one year. That is right, not down, up. The front blew
right off. I have witnesses.)
4.2 Join or Form a Food Plan
There may be taverns on site that charge a set price to feed you
for the week, however, many groups do their cooking together.
For information on how the local group or your household is
doing things, ask at local meetings. If you do pool resources,
set it up before hand. I advise cash in advance and an
agreed upon work schedule. People resent someone who appears to
be free-loading.
4.3 Catch as Catch Can
The taverns open for general business after the folks who have
prepaid (if any) have eaten. There are sometimes people
wandering around selling food ("Bagels and cream cheese!"
"Here, over here, my good man."). There are even some folks
willing to feed a waif who wanders by at meal time. The
latter may be the most expensive choice of this most expensive
method. (You could wind up doing dishes for the rest of the
War!)
(( END OF CHAPTER 4 FROM BART'S CAMPAIGNER'S NOTES ))
-----------------------------------------------------------
At Pennsic XVII (and previous) I stayed perhaps four days, and
kept my perishable food in a medium-sized Coleman cooler with
ice. At Pennsic XVIII I lengthened my stay to eight days, kept
all my perishables in a small Coleman cooler, a bit larger than a
six-pack, and didn't actually buy any ice in the course of the
War, although I left the house with some.
At Pennsic XIX I lengthened my stay to fifteen days, used the
same cooler, but left my house nine days before THAT, leaving my
car parked for most of those nine days, so there was never
anything RESEMBLING ice in it. It was an insulated box.
(The above figures are for one person, cooking and camping
largely alone. Your mileage may vary.)
How?
You can buy most perishables at either the Cooper's Store or the
grocery store down the road in quantities that you can use up
before they spoil.
Fresh, unbroken eggs should last at least a week, even in Pennsic
heat, unrefrigerated, and if you don't trust that you can oxygen-
seal them first by putting them in boiling water for five
seconds. Milk is hard to buy less than a quart at a time, but
that should be no trouble if you have more than one person; even
with one, my milk has only soured once, and that time I made an
incredibly good batch of Irish soda bread out of it (a period
solution). Or you can cheat and use powdered milk (which I keep
as a backup). Butter doesn't spoil in heat. (Margarine does, I
think.) You can leave a stick of butter in a kitchen cabinet for
weeks (in a bowl, in case it melts) and eat it without fear. I
haven't figured out a good way to keep bread, except either to
eat it quickly or to make it onsite.
Most of the food I cook at Wars is nonperishable, at least under
sanitary conditions I can live with at all: lots of grains, dried
beans, dried fruit, nuts, honey, flour, fresh fruit and veggies
from either the Coopers or the grocery. Lots of sekanjabin syrup
and its relatives (lemon, rhubarb, pomegranate, etc.) And
there's always PB&J.
Oh, were you going to eat meat? OK, jerky is easily made,
stored, and transported; you can either chew it out of hand or
cut it into boiling water for a stew. I have used the "Lord's
Salt" recipe in Cariadoc's "Miscellany" to preserve cooked
chicken; if you use it in a recipe that was going to contain
vinegar anyway, and don't mind the cinnamon, it tastes fine. The
various kinds of sausage were invented to store meat without
refrigeration, and they do it quite well. I find the biggest
problems with storing food at War to be insects and dust, both of
which can be dealt with by using Tupperware or (slightly less
jarring) glass jars leftover from storebought jelly, applesauce,
etc. Neither is a period solution. Nor is the flypaper the
Coopers sell, but I use it anyway.
Now... cooking all that yummy stuff. A cookfire is hard to
maintain safely without a good-sized encampment sharing the work,
and there are mornings when you NEED SOMETHING HOT NOW, so I take
a Coleman stove for those purposes. But if you can do a
cookfire, it adds immensely to the ambience, and doubles as a
sitting-around-chatting-staying-warm fire (you can't do that with
a Coleman). There are merchants at Pennsic who sell all sorts of
iron tripods and pot-hooks, and others who will deliver firewood
to your encampment. A merchant at Estrella last year sold at
least a dozen different sizes and shapes of Dutch ovens. Fire
extinguishers should need no discussion: you need them.
By the way, if you happen to be a morning person, you can become
either very unpopular (by being wide-awake when others emerge
from their tents uncertain which way is up) or very popular (by
handing them a mug of coffee, tea, hot sekanjabin, or whatever
when they emerge from their tents uncertain which way is up).
(Joshua ibn Eleazar)
If you're going to bring perishables, an ordinary 18"x18"x36"
cooler will stay cold on about one block of ice every two days,
if you keep it out of the sun. This is enough room for
perishables for several people. Use block ice, not cubes - it
will last a little longer. Keep everything in the cooler in
garbage bags: this will keep them dry _and_ quite naturally lend
itself to cleaning up at the end of the War. Check the ice block
and drain the cooler regularly. I normally bring two or three
frozen one-gallon containers of water for myself that serve as my
ice for the first three-five days and then double as clean water
supply. (If you do this, freeze them with an inch or two of water
taken out, so they don't split.) Smaller coolers will require
less ice, but keep them out of the sun and out of enclosed tents
(the worlds most annoying ovens).
Buy extremely perishable items like fruit, juice, milk, et
cetera at the Coopers store or in town, and only buy enough at a
time to use before it goes bad.
Sealable freezer bags of various sizes are light and will
keep bugs out.
Hard boiled eggs keep quite well for a week or so. Yogurt
(Mongols take note) is already fermented milk - it takes a lot to
destroy it. I've had no problems with yogurt going bad in a
weeks time if kept out of boiling hot tents. Bread lovers, I have
a product endorsement: Kings Hawaiian Bread (sp?) which keeps
without refrigeration for weeks. Tasty, too. I sometimes get
breakfast with it by wandering into an encampment and saying
"Anyone want some bread?"
Non-perishables: jerky, sausage, nuts (good for keeping up
your food level without having to take the time to cook
something), dried fruit and such. Non-period stuff includes (eek)
PopTarts, which give a quick 200 calories when you have a fighter
or someone else who hasn't been eating enough.
Take some one-a-day style vitamins - we all know that you
won't eat properly.
Cooking is best handled as a group activity. Work with a
group, bring enough or buy enough to make up your contribution.
Stews are easy, rice is _easy_ and can have nuts/spices/greens
thrown in as well. If you get desperate, hit Sades or one of the
other food merchants. Splitting cooking among a group means that
everyone may only have to cook one meal that week, and you can
certainly manage that.
It's not period, but a few cans of stew or chili can hold you
for dinner if you need to resort to that.
Bring Gatorade. You will need it, or something like it. If it
tastes good, you need to drink more. (Donallain)
Jerky and dried fruit - This year (via someone's suggestion on
the Rialto) we purchased "The Happy Hiker's Guide to Good
Cooking". One of the best books of it's kind I've ever seen.
After building a dehydrator out of about $20 worth of supplies
(from the directions in the book), we started drying everything
in sight! We were much happier with the taste and contents of
homemade as compared to store bought. We also had the delightful
ability to leave the tent in the morning with a cloth napkin
filled with jerky, fruit and bread--tastes great for lunch,
travels well and feels absolutely delightful to be able to do.
Bread - The above mentioned cookbook has many recipes for breads
designed to be tasty and able to travel for a week with a hiker.
I make a couple of loafs of her soda bread and rye bread (and
blueberry cake :-), then froze them. None of them went bad on
me. It also felt great to be able to pull out a loaf of home
baked bread--without having to bake it at Pennsic. I have to
confess that I'm rarely in the mood to take the time to do
serious baking at a camping event. The more I can do at home,
the happier I am.
Frozen other meals - Most people probably thought of this option
already, but here goes. I cook stew and a curry at home, freeze
it, use it as ice in the cooler and eat it at Pennsic. (Caitrin)
Indian food keeps real well. I've had curries and yogurt that
lasted several days of Pennsic heat. Ditto marinades in vinegar.
One rice salad with onions, tomatoes and bits of meat/chicken
lasted a looong time.
Stir fry is a good way to make yummy, satisfying, easy-to-
cook meals with what's available at the Coopers.
Planned for this year: (1991) We are going to try to have a
24 hour stew pot over the cook fire. As volume gets lower, we
just add more stuff. Let you know how this works out. Kumis is a
good way to keep milk from spoiling! :) (Yaakov)
Figure out a meal plan that's simple and unless you're
planning something very unusual, buy your groceries locally.
(More space saved in the vehicle.) A short distance from Pennsic
are some good (large) markets. One of them will even take your
out of state personal checks. In fact they got so sick and tired
of having to key in my 14 digit acct. number and my NYS driver's
license no. that they issued me a check cashing card. They might
do the same for you. Also when you go shopping, bring a cooler
with you for the perishable stuff. Ice is cheaper at the market
and the food gets back to camp without spoilage. [It also gives
you the option of doing some other shopping or doing laundry in a
large laundromat while in town.]
YES - keep coolers out of the sun. A great cover for them which
helps keep them insulated can be made from those inflatable air
mattresses that have sprung one leak too many. Some of them even
come in great colors. [When dumping the excess fluid, be sure to
do so away from tents, water supply, power lines and the road.]
YES - block ice does last longer but having some cubes around is
also handy. Keeping a small cooler for just cubes keeps ice
available for chilling drinks and saves cooler space. Those
soda/juice/other beverage cans & bottles can be stacked
elsewhere. Doing this also helps to convince people to always
make use of period looking drinking vessels instead of drinking
out of the can/bottle. Milk in pints & quart sizes are now
available in shelf storage containers in many areas. Such milk
locally comes in 'Skim', 2%, Whole and 2% Chocolate. Shelf life
(not refrigerated until opened) is about 6 months. That's an
item worth toting to war as I've never seen it in the stores down
there and the small sizes are real handy. "Sealable freezer bags
of various sizes are light and will keep bugs out. " This is
useful but 'tupper-ware type containers have more uses and keep
the water from your cooler out of your food better. Fresh eggs
need not be refrigerated - just kept in the shade and they will
last for a week. (Make sure there are no cracks or pin holes by
sinking them in water. Cracked eggs should be thrown away - NOT
eaten.) You also might want to consider pickled eggs - they last
for months. Most commercial Yogurts must be refrigerated under
Pennsic conditions - check with any doctor and likely he/she will
confirm this. " Bread lovers, I have a product endorsement:
Kings Hawaiian Bread (sp?) which keeps without refrigeration for
weeks." I second that endorsement. Black breads also tend to
last much longer than white breads, hard breads longer than soft
- unless you're eating the kinds with all the additives. The
Food Arena (Lyndora), my favorite market for Pennsic offer rye
and pumpernickel rolls as well as oat and whole wheat and these
individual sizes offer greater variety and keep well.
"Cooking is best handled as a group activity." My experience
has been that having one or two reliable cooks for a group works
out better than sharing this chore. Of course those who cook
have no other work to do and those who cook, or the chief cook
the one that does all the shopping.
If you are camping alone or with one or two others, instead
of spending money at the inns, you might ask around at some of
the bigger encampments and find out if they'll let you partake of
their meal plan. "Bring Gatorade. You will need it, or
something like it. If it tastes good, you need to drink more."
There are beverages similar to 'Gatorade" on the market that are
far less harmful to your health; the best of them are
specifically geared for children. Children should not be
drinking a lot of undiluted 'Gatorade' - ask a pediatrician. For
that matter - most of us shouldn't be. If the camp water bothers
your system and you don't want the hassle of bottled water simply
boil up a large batch of water first thing every morning and keep
a cover over it. Boiled water rarely upsets anyones system if
you take the water out by dipping since you've boiled off many of
the chemicals and many minerals will settle to the bottom of the
pot.
Cooking/feast gear: Bring enough (collectively) for your
encampment and the unexpected guest but no more; and, LABEL
everything. Cooking over an open fire? Soaping the bottoms and
sides of your pots/pans really does work but it works best with
real soap - not detergents. (Alasdair)
What this is is an adaptation of a couple of recipes for
corned beef and pastrami. For the first, the only seasoning is
the garlic, and you leave the meat in it- refrigerated- for three
weeks, for the other, you add the seasonings and vinegar, and
smoke after marination. I also leave out the saltpeter because it
makes some of my guests nervous. It's an anti-botulism ingredient
and you may feel nervous *without* it.
I generally put the cauldron on as soon as we can get a fire
started and add such of the ingredients as I can put my hands on.
(those of you who have seen my kitchen know what this means).
Basically I let it boil until I am sure that all the sugar and
salt are dissolved. Then I pour it over the meat in a large
container.
I use pre-cured meat: corned beef, pastrami, and ham. I have
used a wooden bucket (clean and well pre-swollen), and a
stoneware crock. We first lined the wooden crock with a plastic
bag, but found later that the bag leaked and the barrel didn't so
now we dispense with it. Frankly, because all the meat is in one
pickle, by the end of the war it does begin to taste similar, so
if you can find separate crocks and season each piece of meat
individually, I think that might be preferable. In that case I'd
season the ham brine with mustard seeds and maybe a few cloves,
the corned beef with garlic and pepper, and the pastrami with the
spices, and the vinegar. Don't forget that you can make your own
jerky- which also does not need refrigeration, and is a great hit
with the fighters around lunch, and serve commercially prepared
salt beef, or even salt cod. None of which needs a cooler.
The most important thing about this is that the meat MUST
stay under the brine. Put a plate or a wooden disc on top of the
meat and weight it down with a clean rock or brick. We have a lid
on our crock as well. We have been using this system since at
least Pennsic 12 and have had NO problems with the meat going
bad, or anyone getting sick. For me, coolers are to keep your
fresh chicken on ice for the one day between buying and eating. I
suggest a fresh meat one day, a marinated meat or sausages the
next (say shish-kabob) then something from the salt crock, then
something dried- then you go to the market again. Or you can eat
boiled salt meat all war, but I prefer variation.
Boil 2 gallons of water (may be partially replaced with red
wine vinegar)
1 pound of sugar
2 pounds of salt
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. ginger
1 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tbsp. pepper (Arastorm the Golden)
Take a big enough ice chest (this will be larger than you
will believe), esp. if you are staying 1-2 weeks. Most of what
you take as food should be frozen hard before you leave. It will
thaw out over time, add to the coldth of the ice chest, & keep
longer. as it thaws, you will add ice to it, replacing the
volume of what you have used. Make sure your (very large) ice
chest has a drain plug at one end. Learn how to use it, & do so,
keeping the contents from getting soggy.
Zip-lock bags are a wonderful invention. I particularly
commend to your attention the 1/2 gal. size, with the pleated
bottom. They hold more, & stand up better. zip lock bags are
the most efficient way to pack food in a cooler, & get the items
from getting soggy or diluted.
I strongly recommend a bag full of boiled, peeled eggs. It
is my experience that normal human beings get more carnivorous at
the war, & that carnivorous people..... well, are best fed
often.
Pickles are a GOOD thing. Vinegar of any kind is, & people
will eat pickles. The salt is good for those sweating a lot,
too.
LOTS of non-alcoholic, non-dairy (not that I have anything
against dairy products, on the contrary, but they are
ridiculously (& artificially) low-priced in PA, & they are
cheaper to buy at the campstore, than to bring in with you.
Also, weight over mileage = money, if you're coming from any
distance. Bring something you LIKE to drink. A case/person is
not unreasonable (of quart bottles) for a little over a week. It
is too easy to forget to drink at the War. If you've brought
something you LIKE the taste of, you're more apt to remember.
You don't have to bring cooking gear, if you do it right.
Take already-cooked sausages (frozen), like kielbasa, or smoked
sausage, or whatever, skewers, & some of those mini French bread
loaves, about 6" long. All you need is a friendly fire to heat
them over. Are there any friendly fires at Pennsic?
Naaa....:-). Take zip lock bags of your favorite stew, made
ahead. DON'T TAKE anything you haven't tried before. Might I
suggest beef & barley, or mutton & barley stew?
If you MUST have potatoes in your stew, & are asked about
them, pretend that they are turnips (which are seen in period
stews). Take extra stew. Some one will be willing to heat yours
up, if they can have some, too. Take a bag of individually
frozen steaks (chuck steaks actually grill quite nicely, & aren't
too expensive). Follow the recipe above for getting them cooked.
Take bags of ready-to-eat frozen fruit---my favorite grocery
store here used to carry frozen black sweet pitted cherries--
sigh, it was SO decadent!
DO TAKE a plate, bowl & spoon, your knife (of course!), & a
cup/mug/goblet.
If you take cheese, put it both in a zip-lock bag & in a tray
in the top of your ice chest. Slimey cheese (from moisture) is
very unappetizing.
Don't give the bread valuable space in your ice chest. It
will neither profit from the experience, nor appreciate it. All
it wants is to be away from the air. Speaking of bread. If you
want hot bread at the War, (don't laugh, some things seem SO
decadent, after a week of camping) take bags of frozen bread
dough, in their very own styrofoam cooler. They will thaw out
over the course of the war. Use whoever is ready that day. If
no one volunteers, take one bag out, & leave it (sealed) out. It
will thaw & rise (the bag will make room) in it's own clean bag.
Take a wok with you, a slotted metal spoon, & a bucket of
lard/fat/oil. Some one will lend you their Coleman, 'cause
they'd love some hot bread, too. Heat whatever fat in the wok,
shape & flatten pieces of dough no larger than 3x5x1/2", & cook
in the hot fat, turning to brown the other side. Very good.
Better if you brought some sugar-and-cinnamon. There is a very
yummy journey-bread that is period, called Prince Biskit (well,
the recipe was published not long after 1600). Scotch eggs are
also good. Post me if you need recipes for stew, Scotch eggs, or
Prince Biskit (I make it with a Cuisinart).
I suspect that one can make one's own orange-banana juice,
freeze it & carry it to the war more cheaply than one can buy it.
In any form, potassium is a GOOD THING. It is one of the 2
reasons people drink Gatorade. I was summoned to Oliewood last
war, because Duke Olaf had a TERRIBLE leg cramp. "So", I says,
"Had any bananas lately?" "I HATE bananas!" groaned Olaf, from
behind gritted teeth. "What about Gatorade?" "Gatorade's
yucky." "I see. What about oysters?" "What about oysters? I
love 'em!" "Ah, will you eat some, if I fix them?" "Sure!"
Let me commend to you the lowly oyster, that confused mollusk
that can't remember which sex it is, but which is one of the
highest known sources of potassium, & which also live quite
happily in cans (which need no refrigeration), as well as in
shells. A casserole of oysters would make a decadent part of
breakfast (better to be ahead on potassium, than play catch-up)
for heavy fighters, & others who sweat a lot. (Julitta)
>Ice in the cooler melts, and you can't keep meat more than a
couple days >safely.
This I have to disagree about. At Beltane last year, we were
quite successful at packing meat for a 10 day event. I ordered
the meat in advance from our butcher and had him freeze it--he
being able to freeze it more quickly and colder than I could. We
took one ice-chest with the frozen meat packed with dry ice. It
was only necessary to open that chest once a day--to take out the
meat to be thawed for use that day (and--it helped keep the food
that was only on ice chilled as well). It was only the last
couple of days of this event that meat was already thawed--and
that is within the limits you gave for keeping meat under camp
conditions. Net result: We lost no meat to spoilage. (Hal
Ravn)
VI. SANITATION
Bringing your own little roll of toilet paper is a good idea
for when the Porta-Castles run out. If you won't have any
facilities in your camp for washing up, you can get by with a) a
large bucket filled with water and some bleach, which you wash
your hands in before cooking or eating, or b) a good set of
Handi-Wipes or baby wipes. Wash your utensils and self after
eating; it keeps the bugs to a minimum. Get rid of your wash
water in approved fashion, which is to say AWAY FROM THE WATER
SUPPLY!! Ask your more experienced people where to rid yourself
of wash water properly. Period or not, sanitation is something
you cannot let slide. (Donallain)
It's work but very worthwhile to dig a drainage pit in your
encampment. Don't forget to remove the sod and save it for when
you refill the pit. Adding a capful of bleach to the pit
everyday keeps germs and bugs at bay; especially if you DON'T
scrape your dishes into the pit. Bringing a small trash can with
a lid might not look good but it makes the camp smell better. I
also suggest adding a few drops of bleach to both the wash water
and the rinse water for all cooking/eating equipment. Wipe up
all spills when they happen and if food has fallen to the ground,
pick it up and dispose of it in the garbage. If liquids, other
than water, spill on the ground, rinse the area off with water.
Sweet liquids attract bugs, especially bees and other liquids may
not all soak into the ground and may sour - causing a
disagreeable odor in your encampment (and attracting bugs). No
one in our encampment has ever come down with any of the Pennsic
Flus or a case of the 'trots' and I think that keeping things
clean is the main reason.
Part of sanitation is making sure that food prep. and eating
surfaces (tables) are also clean. Table cloths can be picked up
cheaply at garage & rummage sales or can be made out of old bed
sheets. Anyway, they look nicer than a bare table.
Next to keeping things clean, the most important thing is to
keep food properly stored. If you want to leave a bowl of fruit
out - fine - but put screening over it. ANY food left out
attracts bugs - often bees (which many find dangerous to their
health) and flies which can be dangerous to everyone's health.
(Alasdair)
VII. SAFETY
...Keep the Campfires Burning...
By Baron Dur
At Pennsic XVIII, I wandered the War discussing fire safety with
the assembled folk in the guise of the "Pennsic Fire Marshall".
When Pennsic XIX occurred this year, there was no such beast to
haunt the lands (by command of the Autocrat). Nobody died. To
my knowledge, nobody burned down a tent, got seriously burned, or
was thrown off the site for "playing with fire". However...
Let me start this story with what happened months before Pennsic
XIX. The report written about exploits of the Pennsic XVII Fire
Marshal was published in _Pikestaff_, the East kingdom newsletter
in the June edition, in all its gory details. Then, word reached
me that the Autocrat for the War didn't want a Fire Marshal for
the war, me in particular. While the second part of the message
didn't bother me, the first part did. But, it was her assets and
therefore her problem.
Some good-hearted soul who read the article in the news letter
was apparently so impressed with the urgency of fire safety that
they called me in the wee hours one day. He said he had a line
on a fire truck, and he wanted to know what to do with it. So I
told him. Call the autocrat.
Fearing that this would continue, and possibly undermine the
office of the autocrat, I contacted the East Kingdom Chronicler.
"Would you please publish a short announcement to the effect that
I am NOT the Fire Marshal for this Pennsic War, and that people
should instead go to the Autocrat?" The announcement appeared in
the following _Pikestaff_ (July).
However, the news never got to any outside of the East Kingdom.
When I arrived at the War this year, people were comming to me
with questions on fire safety, and asking if I was still
patroling the site. Arval was enlisted to spread the news to
ensure that people would not seek me, but go to the Security
Force with their concerns. "Baron Dur is NOT the Fire Marshal"
was cried to the camp. (Later, Arnoff had them change the cry to
"..is STILL not the Fire Marshal. He is Smokey the Baron!")
Even after all that, people STILL wanted to know who the Fire
Marshal was. I told them to ask the autocrat. That was her
problem, not mine.
Arnoff later recruited me to the Chirurgeon General Staff as the
Combustible Consultant. Everybody then waited for me to burst
into flames, I guess. This is what you get for practicing safety
without a licence, a silly title and more paperwork. The job is
to observe, evaluate, and report on fire safety issues within the
SCA.
This War, only four issues were noted as significant, and are
summarized hereafter.
Torches: Four separate incidents were either observed or told to
me.
First: Someone was walking through the campsites with a torch
canister on top of a long pole, held high above their head. The
pole was waving back and forth as the gentle weaved his way down
the road. The distance between the observer and the culprit was
large enough that the observer was not able to catch up to him
and advise him of the consequences of his actions.
Second: The short (two feet long) canister tiki torches are
appearantly being labeled by the manufacturer as "hand held"
these days. On three separate instances, young men were observed
carrying these around the camp. They were accosted, and asked to
extinguish them, which they did. I happened to follow one pair
of gents back to Trimaris encampment, which seemed to be their
home. In another incident, the gentle identified himself as one
of Baldar's squires (Trimaris).
Third: The placement, care, and feeding of torches was still a
problem this year. I observed several cases where torches were
placed under dining flys, or where they would fall on tents if
knocked over. Several torches were overfilled, or the wicks were
loaded up with soot, causing fire to spit and spark from the top
of the torches.
Fourth: At a large gathering, a gentle tripped over a tent rope,
and knocked a torch canister off the top of its pole. The
canister broke open, and covered the ground with burning fuel,
all of this adjacent to one of the rental pavillions (Grimms
Tents). He got up and tried to stamp out the fire, but the pool
of fuel was too large for him to be effective (about three feet
across). The rest of the story is almost comical, if it wasn't
for the situation.
The crowd drew back from the fire, as the gentle continued
valiantly to stamp away at the fire. Many of the camp occupants
rushed away to find their fire extinguishers, while my protege
started hollering "Fire!". I got up, and was walking over to the
fire to smother it with my large jacket, when one of the "camp
firefighters" slammed me in the chest with the warning, "Get
Back! We're waiting for the Fire Extinguishers!" I stepped
back, as I could see someone arriving with a thirty-pound CO2
extinguisher. With three blasts, they dealt the fire a mortal
blow. A great cheer went up from the crowd at the completion of
the evolution. As the excitement died down, the party returned
to normal.
I thought the incident was closed, until the chirurgeons later
complained to me about the number of injuries resulting from the
fire. Seems that the responders had been so zealous in running
to get their firefighting equipment, that they had tripped and
fallen and hurt themselves trying to save the camp.
Awareness and Misdemeanors: Many cases were observed of both
preparedness and carelessness. Several folk who remembered the
discussions from the previous year were eager to show me how well
they addressed the issue of fire safety in their camp. My kudos
goes to those who took this to heart. But, for every good deed,
it shall not go un-punished. There were an equal number of
occasions where the danger of fire was increased through plain
carelessness.
I observed numerous cases of liquid fuels stored next to fire
sources, tents staked too close to fire pits, fires burning in
unattended, crowded campsites, and yes, open flame sources in
tents. I interviewed several of the security teams to determine
what, if any, briefing they had received on fire safety
enforcement. Less than half of them had been instructed, and
less than one in ten had any idea what to do if they came apon a
fire situation, other than call it in on the radio.
As a side note, one of the PA Volunteer Fireman on site had
brought his personal turn-out gear (fire-fighting clothing and
helmet), and had it stored readily available at his camp. I'm
glad it was not needed.
Felonious Firebugs: At least this year the firebugs waited until
the War was over. Sunday night's Calontir Bonfire was again the
scene of the "Burn everything on site" fire fest, with the usual
stupid Peer pouring flammable liquids on a roaring blaze. I hope
he still can grow hair on his arms.
Offical Preparation and Regulation: Pennsic XIX was atypical in
that information was widely available and clearly defined well in
advance of the event. My compliments to the appropriate members
of the staff.
The regulations for Pennsic XIX concerning fire safety (listed in
various publications) were adequate from a legal standpoint. The
issue of structure proximity (tent spacing) and equipage (amounts
and placement of fire fighting gear) were the best thus far of
any war.
However, promulgation of this information assumes that people
will "read and heed". The fact that there were multiple
violations of these strictures indicates either wanton
misbehavior or ignorance of the rules. Worse yet, some of the
rules are misinterpreted and further increase the dangers of the
incident. People will respond better to a personal visit by a
designated advocate than to an impersonal edict from on high.
An example of misinterpretation would be the "Fire Extingusher"
requirements. Most of those brought to the War were
inappropriate for the situation. They were either under-rated,
or were not rated at all. The most likely of fires would have
burned out of control while three and even four of these units
were discharged. In the case of the torch fire mentioned above,
the extinguisher was improperly employed, requiring multiple
attacks to douse the fire. This lack of training is too common
to make any of the "required" equipment even marginally
functional (see the report on last year's tent fire for example).
Obviously, the situation, while improved, is not resolved.
However, some are working towards a possible solution. Two of
the large household camps at the War instituted their own fire
safety advocacy, superior to that provided by the Pennsic staff.
This idea has great merit.
Therefore, I propose that _every_ camp have a fire-safety
advocate. This designated person must report for daily training,
and is responsible to conduct training at their camp. The
indoctrination and training of the advocates should be a
responsibility of the Pennsic _Safety_ and Security staff.
Historically, the Roman's response to fire was to create a
nightwatch called the Vigilants. Their responsibilities were to
raise the alarm in the event of fire, and then combat the fire
with the citizens. As the War continues to become more civilized
(citified), those who attend (its citizens) need be more
vigilant. Remember the outrage of Rome when the "Christians"
were blamed for causing the fire? Be outraged at those who
through ignorance or misbehavior endanger you, your kin, and your
friends!
Dur the Nasty, Baron of Grey Matter
PS As a fireman, I've "bagged and tagged" enough strangers. I
don't want to do that to my friends too. (Dur of Hidden
Mountain)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(( CHAPTER TWO FROM BART'S CAMPAIGNER'S NOTES ))
2. WARNINGS
There are possibilities for danger in any camping trip,
knowing what they are and how to deal with them can be the
difference between a little excitement and a disaster.
Included here are some of the things to be aware of, and have
plans for, when you go to Pennsic. This is by no means a
complete coverage of dangers, but it hits the points that cause
the most trouble to most folks.
2.1 Storms
I would like to emphasize a climatological fact. The area the
War is held in is part of the Great Plains weather pattern.
This means the area is subject to disturbances at the leading
edge of a cold front (a 15 to 40 degree temperature drop).
Friends from the East (and West) Kingdom have variously
referred to these as monsoons, typhoons and
Storms_of_Great_Ferocity_and_Note. Those of us who grew up in
the Midwest call them thunder showers, except for some folks I
know from Kansas who call it mild rain (no twister and it did
not flatten the crops). These storm cells are 15 minutes to
three hours of high winds (50 plus knots), heavy rain, and
spectacular lightning. A storm may be followed by several hours
of rain. The fronts seem to roll through every six to nine
days in August. I advise all to expect at least one storm.
The people who grew up with the weather do not ignore the
storms, these folks respect and plan for the weather. It is
unpleasant, but need not be a disaster. Some things to
remember:
* Do not panic. If you are truly terrified, tell someone so
they can keep an eye on you, keep busy so you will not have time
to panic until the camp is secured, and then find company
and cuddle or sing or give back rubs or whatever it takes to
get through the storm (this can make storms fun).
* Storms usually come from the west. Avoid setting up your tent
with the door facing due west. A slight cant to the north or
south will keep things drier and lessen the chance of having
the tent blow down or tear.
* Make sure that your tent is set up with all of its pegs and
tie downs (dome tents may need extra guy lines; once they start
rolling, they are hard to catch). If you do this in the first
place, you will spend less time in the rain doing it after the
storm hits.
* If you are camped on an incline (probable), then you
might consider a small drainage ditch on the uphill side of the
tent. This channels water around rather than through your
tent.
* Do not use heroic measures to save a dining fly or
awning. Some things were not meant to stand high winds. A
flapping piece of plastic with a pole attached to it can do
a lot of damage, both to people and to property. If the wind
gets high and the fly starts to take off, drop it down
over what you want covered and weight the edges.
2.2 Temperature Extremes
A more subtle climatological fact is that the average
temperature and humidity in August is horrendous during the day,
while the nights can be down right cold. (Can you say frost?
I knew you could.) Either of these extremes can lead to
health problems that have one symptom in common: the affected
person gets stupid. As someone who has suffered from these
medical conditions, I can think of no better description.
The mental processes slow (or shut) down and you are in a
walking stupor. The sufferer stops listening to reasonable
advice and will do things that will seem stupid to them
when they have recovered. Many other injuries at the
War are probably related to these conditions. Watch your
friends and yourself.
2.2.1 Heat Daytime high temperatures average in the high
90's with humidity to match. If you are not used to this, or
are not in prime condition, take_it_easy. More people, fighters
and spectators, are lost to heat than all other types of
injuries. Folks who are used to desert heat are as likely to
drop as any. The high humidity, which they are not used to,
slows heat loss via sweating. If the temperature and humidity
get high, drink lots of water, stay in the shade, eat fruit
(especially bananas)-, and occasionally taste metabolite
replacement drinks (drinks that replace minerals that the body
sweats out). While Gator-Aid is not the best, __________
- If you are not used to eating lots of fruit, you may
experience some intestinal changes. Some fruits can cause
constipation, others make you watery. Heat illnesses and water
change can have similar effects, especially diarrhea. Just
another warning.
it is easy to get (too high a concentration of mineral salts and
too much sugar; dilute with water for best effect). If Gator-Aid
does not taste bad, drink up until it does, you are in
trouble. (How is that for rough and ready sports medicine?)
Go easy on the alcoholic beverages. An occasional beer
or wine cooler is a relief, but alcohol speeds dehydration by
replacing water in the body and then using more to be
metabolized, so, in quantity, it is a very bad thing. Other
symptoms of heat disorders include flushed and dry skin,
lethargy, no sweat, and, as I said, acting stupid.
2.2.2 Cold The large difference between daytime and
nighttime temperatures (night temperatures range from mid 30s
to the 50s, e.g. chilly) common to the area can also lead
to another problem encountered at the War, hypothermia. This
is a drop of the core temperature of the body, which can lead
to coma and death if not treated. Treatment is to warm the
person up as quickly as possible. It is easier to avoid
hypothermia by changing out of wet clothes, drying off, and
getting warm. If a friend is wet (say after being out in the
rain) and getting cold (since the temperature dropped 30 degrees
in the last hour) help them out. Get them into dry clothes and
get them warm. Strong drink (liquor) is not advised if they
are still wet or cold. While they may seem to feel warmer,
drinking alcohol speeds heat loss, which is what you are trying
to avoid.
2.3 Fire
The next point I will touch on moves from cold back to hot, i.e.
fire. This wonderful tool is like any other, it will turn and
bite you if you mishandle it. The Chirurgeonate would like
to mandate a minimum of 10 feet between open flames and tents.
I wish them luck since common sense is hardly common. The
rule of thumb I use is far enough away so that the fire cannot be
knocked into the tent. Never have an open flame in a
tent. Lanterns in tents are an issue I will not address except
to point out I use battery lamps in tents. Most modern
fabrics melt too fast and too hot for me to want to take chances.
In case of tent fires (Heaven forfend!), the Autocrat has
demanded 3.5 feet between tent walls, hoping this will keep a
fire from spreading if and when. If this seems like a lot,
look at the guy lines from a properly set 3-person Aframe tent
and you will find that two of them will end up having their
walls three to four feet apart. If they use that much (my
pavillion uses more), I find this request reasonable.
As for campfires, if you are not good friends with
Prometheus, be very careful. Amateurs make me nervous.
There are very few people in the world (let alone at
Pennsic) who are good at treating amateur fire gods who
become burn victims.
2.4 Invertebrates (Bugs)
If you have never been camping, you are about to find out one
of the less thrilling things about nature; God must love insects,
he sure made a lot of them. Something for folks from the left
coast to remember is that there are a lot more insects, both type
and number, on this side of the Rockies. I never saw a tent
with zip-out netting until I helped Duke Paul set his up at a
Pennsic. They just are not sold in the Midwest or East. Bring
mosquito netting and bug spray and remember to keep garbage,
coolers and tent netting closed. If you are allergic to bee
stings, bring your medication! Some types of note:
o House flies - That friend you thought you left at home is
here at the war, too. Just like at home, he never wipes his
feet before landing on your table (or food), no matter where
he was last. Keep food and garbage covered and clean food
preparation areas, just like at home.
o Horse and deer flies - While you can go the whole war without
seeing them, these beauties are not uncommon in the area. They
both bite and leave a welt. Horse flies are slightly larger
than house flies. Deer flies are dark with white "eyes" on the
wing and are slightly smaller than house flies. They are
both easily discouraged by using insect repellent.
o Ticks - Both Woods and Deer Tick are indigenous to the region,
each can vector for some nasty diseases. Insect repellent
works, but a "tick check" twice a day is still a good idea.
o Mosquitos - While not in the same class as the ones in Alaska
or Minnesota ("It is awe inspiring to watch as the mosquitos
majestically flap their wings as they carry off sheep and
small children."), mosquitos are a pest in the wooded and low
areas. Insect repellent makes the evenings more pleasant (and
pungent).
o Ground Hornets and Wasps - There are usually several nests
in the woods. If you find one, mark the area and walk away
passively. Do_not disturb the nest. Contact site security about
it, if it is in a high traffic area they will probably bomb it.
There are other bugs out there -- ants will find any open
food, given time, and a cricket is not an ideal tent
companion -- but they are not threats to health or comfort.
Some are downright good companions. A Cranefly (Mosquito
hawk), for instance, looks like a mosquito, but eats several
times its weight in mosquitos a day. Spiders are also on your
side, unless you rile them.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(( END OF CHAPTER TWO FROM BART'S CAMPAIGNER'S NOTES ))
DRINK ENOUGH WATER!!! Doctors usually recommend at least half a
gallon a day for adults, under NORMAL conditions. More for
Pennsic. I dunno just how much (I try for a full gallon), nor
what to do about kids. Drink extra water (and, at night, wear
warmer clothes) whenever you drink alcohol; this will help
prevent hangovers too! (Which reminds me, do NOT drink alcohol
if you're on antihistamines!!!) (Simon)
Keep Aloe or burn cream in an easily accessible place very close
to the fire. Make sure everyone knows where it is. I treated--I
think--three burned hands at my campfire last year.
(Our medical set up was: 1 massive medkit containing everything
we could think of, including air-splints. I am a Chirurgeon and
my lady is a Pharmacist. We sat down and went through every
possible accident and what we could do about it. As you might
imagine, we missed one that happened.
2. My "portable" medkit to take on duty. Pretty much what was in
1) but not as much of it.
3. The "fireside" medkit. A plastic bag full of Aloe, alcohol
wipes, first-aid cream, and band-aids.
4. My "pocket" medkit. A small pouch I carry at all times with
alchohol swabs, first-aid cream, and band-aids.
We went through a lot of bandaids.
Oh yeah, don't forget insect repellent and caladryl, for bites.)
(Yaakov)
SAFETY: Establish fire safety rules and stick to them.
Don't forget the fire extinguishers. 1 for the firepit (if
you're going to have one), 1 for the cooking area, 1 for every
three or 4 tents. Keep them highly visible, let everyone in the
encampment know where they are and how and when to use them (ABC
variety is best). Drive stakes as deep into the ground as
possible and put reflective tape on the tops as well as on tent
lines. If you have smokers, use ashtrays not the ground,
drainage pit or fire pit. Do not burn garbage. If you must use
tiki torches or similar lamps make sure wicks are in good
condition and that the torches can't be knocked over. It goes
without saying that they should never be within striking distance
of any tent/pavillion/tarp/etc. and should NEVER be inside. Keep
fuels out of the sun and away from flames. (Alasdair)
TICK...TICK...TICK
PENNSIC TERRORISTS
As a regular warrior of the Wars and a hunting master of these
same woods, I often engage the menaces which lurk beside the
trails. As yet, they have not brought me down for I am wary of
their ways. However, I fear many of the campfollowers and un-
seasoned warriors may be ensnared unwittingly. Furthermore,
without proper training in the combat of these dangers places
them and those who aid them at greater risk.
The terrorists of which I speak are three in number, and are
present along all wooded paths of these forests. Their names:
Brown, American Dog, and Deer (Tick). These highway men match
the peak of their activity coincident with the months of battle.
Of the three, the most likely to attack man is American Dog, and
he may be found on any pet anywhere.
Some characteristics of these terrorists are as follows: All are
attracted by the carbon dioxide of the victims breath. Sensing
this, they will move from the bush or branch from where they rest
towards its source. Once aboard the victim, they may mate and
the female will lay her eggs before feeding. Then, they will
penetrate the skin with their mouth parts, which the victim never
feels. Next, a cement is secreted which bonds the mouth parts to
the skin ("stuck like a tick").
The feeding tick uses an enzyme to break down the blood, and if
the tick is diseased, this enzyme can transmit the disease to the
host. (It is uncommon for dogs to be infected with these
diseases.) These include such maladies as Rocky Mountain spotted
fever and Lyme disease (common in the East Kingdom, by moving
into Atlantia and the Middle as well.) Rare, but still included
are tick paralysis and tularemia though uncommon in humans.
Removal of these pests is hazarduous, because of the disease
bearing enzymes and secretions. Tweezers should be used to hold
and gently pull the tick off the victim. this will hopefully
remove the embedded mouthparts as well. If tweezers are not
available, tissue paper or disposable gloves may be used instead.
Extreme care should be observed when removing ticks bloated with
blood, so as not to squash the beastie and spread diseases
contained in its (or yours) bodily fluids.
Once the tick is removed, the area must be washed with soap and
covered with antiseptic. If the bite becomes infected or the
victim ill, a doctor should be notified immediately.
Prevention (and education) is the best medicine that can be
proscribed to combat these fiends. As they tend to concentrate
along paths frequented by potential hosts, appropriate attire is
the first line of defence. Long sleeves, trousers, boots, and a
hat are strongly recommended. Ticks initially crawl into a
person's clothes and not the skin. It will then search for an
exposed area on the victims body.
It takes a tick about two hours to get oriented on the victim.
Then, it will generally move to head, underarms, waist or groin
as feeding sites. Repellents applied to the skin will discourage
them from attaching themselves. From experience, some repellents
will cause feeding ticks to detach, and they may simply be washed
off.
Man is not a natural host for these villains. However, children
tend to be at risk, as they like to play in areas generally
inhabited by these pests. Parents would be wise to regularly and
often inspect their kinder so that they may not suffer overlong.
On a more factual note, ticks are not insects. They are more
closely related to mites and spiders. Adult ticks have eight
legs, not six as do insects. Those persons who use period "straw
ticks" for their rope beds are not subject to attacks by ticks,
but by mites. I'm aware that some herbs are natural repellents
to these buggers, but I'm not sure which ones, You could add
these herbs as well as other sweet smelling ones to the mix of
straw and have a truly fine "bower" for a bed. (Dur)
Sunblock! A very good thing, for fighters as well as wenches with
off-the-shoulder blouses. I have seen some pretty badly burned
nose & eye areas )all that the sun could get to, thru the helm,
but it did double duty there. 23 or higher, no paba, is my
preference. (Julitta)
VIII. HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY
Oscad writes: >Another Pennsic myth(?) is that the idea for
Pennsic was put forth by >Cariadoc when he was King of the
Midrealm; The war took place when he >was King of the Eastrealm.
Thus becoming the first king to declare >war on *himself*...
and lose.
Well, it's a myth, but it's not *that* far from the truth.
Cariadoc may not have declared the War, but he was in large part
responsible for inciting it. As the story goes, on one of his
many back-and-forth trips between the East and Middle, he brought
word back to the Midrealm King that, while the East had many
valiant fighters, the Middle could take them in combat; then, on
a later trip, he brought the War Arrow before the King of the
East, who then broke it, accepting the challenge. Never
underestimate the influence of ambassadors on history...
(Of course, Cariadoc himself tells the story beautifully, and in
vastly more detail; it's well worth hearing, if you can catch him
at a campfire sometime...) (Justin du Coeur mka Mark Waks)
I have been playing around with a certain idea lately and
decided to share it with you. Those who know me, and many who
don't, but have heard of me, think of me as an expert on SCA
camping- the lady who wrote a booklet on it, whose packing list
is in the Known Worlde Handbook, who has the *BIGGEST* viking
tent at Pennsic, etc.
But, really, what I do isn't camping. Camping is roughing
it. Camping is taking as little as you can, simplifying, doing
without... None of that is what I do. I sleep in a bed (and if
you have never slept on feather bed, you must try it!); I eat
sitting down at a table, but I cook and wash my dishes standing
up, and when I have done, I put them away in cupboards. This
year I will be sleeping within four wooden walls, with my
children upstairs- albeit the roof will be cloth.
When I raise and bake yeast bread in a dome oven, this is
not a simplification. What it is is a celebration. I celebrate
the life of the Dark Ages- I do it because it is a joy. I am not
at the war because it is the only place I can fight with 2000
other fighters at once, or sell to a captive audience of 7000, or
go to workshops that are not available elsewhere (although these
are perfectly valid reasons for going to the war and are probably
the main reasons for many other people who go). I go because it
is a place where I can be in a medieval village (or city?) of
7000+ for two weeks- where I can *BE*, without distraction, my
persona for long enough so that when I wake up, it isn't a shock
to look around and see nothing modern. Sure, I must, as everyone
else at the War, see selectively, I ignore the coke cans and
popsicles, the buttons, and tapes and T shirts. As anyone who
wishes to be negative can tell you, we do a unique culture, but
it isn't medieval- but I can feel as medieval as I want to in it.
Why am I mentioning this? Because I am just exploring the
concept and would welcome new perspectives. I have always
wondered why anyone would go to the War- or any camping event-
and eat corn on the cob or chili. I *think* I may have figured it
out- they ARE camping. They are living in tents because they
can't afford (one way or another) a hotel room. The main reason
for being there is not to live medieval life, but to fight, or
talk to other artists, or sell, or whatever. Food is just fuel
and shelter is just protection. To those of you who already knew
that I must seem rather dimwitted, but it is still sinking in....
Wow! there are some people who aren't doing this for
the opportunity to be medieval.
Probably Lady Tudor Glitz could have told me this a while
ago- but I might not have been able to hear it- I wonder if I'm
getting it right even now.
And, of course, this is the basis of conflicts over how the
war should be organised. Without the basic understanding that
there are large bodies of people, often within the same campsite
who have different reasons for being there, you can't consider
their different needs. Wow. I will be happy to hear from anyone
on this subject. Thanks. (Arastorm)
Those bored with Pennsic discussions -- please skip this message.
I agree with Countess Arastorm's theory of why Pennsic is so
special. There is a distinct "Brigadoon-like" quality to the
event. Every August this village springs up, with the "houses"
and shops in about the same place every year. Mentally, I too
experience the "yesterday" or "last week" phenomena, when it
seems that I'd just taken a short, one-week vacation and come
back home to my camp at Pennsic. Of course, that "week" was 50
or so mundane weeks, but it all seems to vanish once I get the
car unpacked, the camp set up, and get garbed and head for the
barn to see whether Merowald and Thrym are still "holding court"
on the steps of the Cooper's store, to see who's dancing in the
barn, and to see whether any of my other friends have come "home"
yet. Perhaps this is why people's "no-shit" stories tend to
blend wars together -- they really can't remember which
particular war it was as they all blend into one experience.
My first war was PW-9, so I've been used to the larger wars, not
having experienced the early days of 500 people. But after two
or three wars, I started to notice this phenomenon, especially
after being involved on the staff of the "Pennsic Progress" --
the first newspaper at the Pennsic Wars, published PW-11 through
14. Even though we are no longer involved in the newspaper
business, the ex-staff and friends still camp together as a loose
collection of households. For almost 10 years we camped across
from where the Sated Tyger used to be. It still gives me the
feeling of "home" when I go to visit the Cooper's in the fall or
spring, and take a walk around the lake, cutting through to the
place where "our" camp usually sets up -- even though the site is
empty in the offseason.
Last year we camped in the boats. It was weird, but actually was
a better site. This year, who knows? I like the idea of
"traditional" camping sites. You can easily find everyone. It
gives the feeling of "home". You can refer to your camping spot
or someone else's as being "next to Ostgardr" or "across from
Horde hill" (or "Dagan's Hill" if you still remember it as such),
or down by the Tuchux, or next to the Runestone field, or
whatever, and have a good idea of just *where* that is!
The other interesting thing is that Pennsic provides a microcosm
of the whole Known Worlde. You can visit Indiana and Ealdormere
and Calontir -- all in the same day!
It's my annual "end-of-the-year" celebration. My personal new
year begins when I get home from Pennsic, dazed and confused.
It's a wonderful experience -- worth dealing with all of the
hassles and details that we must to put on such an event.
A lady in my group came up with an interesting idea -- If
everyone who attended Pennsic (or any other large event or war)
donated 2 hours of service *anywhere* -- troll, security,
chirurgeon's point, scribes, guard duty, cleanup, -- there
wouldn't be enough jobs to go around, and everything would be
taken care of.
Two hours is a very short period of time when you are spending
two weeks at an event. Think about how you can best donate two
hours of service at Pennsic XX. (Or at the event of your
choice.) (Countess Genevieve du Vent Argent, OP)
I realize that those on the coast sinistre can't go to
Pennsic, and this is not going to be another suggestion to just
skip any item that doesn't interest you- it *is* frustrating to
go to the net and find that there are 50 items of which only 5
are something you want to read.
However, I hope I can explain at least a bit WHY Pennsic
looms so large in the right coast SCA experience.
Obviously, it isn't just camping talk that bothers you- I
expect that advice on camping with kids, or camping where no
ground fires are allowed, or making your camp look more period
doesn't bother you, because it would be just as applicable
anywhere in the SCA. (Personally, I would love to hear about
camping in the snow in Wintersgate, or what is different about
camping in Lothac.) So it must be Pennsic alone that bothers you.
I must start by mentioning in our defense that we *do* camp
out a lot (I assume this is true in the Middle, Calontir and
Atlantia as much as the East.) Looking at the May Pikestaff- the
East Kingdom newsletter- let me run down the next few weekends
(leaving out Drachenwald); first number: camping events, second
number: non-camping events: 5:2, 3:0, 4:1, 2:1, 9:1, 4:1, 5:1,
5:2. *If* one camps seems to be as much a personal/lifestyle
choice as *how* one camps. (For us, the more complex I have made
it, the less we seem to actually make the events- we used to go
every weekend, and now try for two a month- and miss some of
those. But I also blame it on our having four kids who are
getting to the ages that they have other conflicting
commitments.)
But even when we do camp other places- 3 to four days
running, Pennsic is special. Now, when those kids are old enough
to leave behind, I would love to go to Estrella, or Burro Creek,
or some of the other long-large events in other parts of the
Known world. But there is a phenomenon many of us experience
which makes it special. And simply that is when we get to
Pennsic, we are *HOME*. (Dorothy hugs her dog and her eyes mist
up: "Home, Toto!" The audience sighs, collectively.) After your
camp is set up the intervening 50 weeks disappear. Yes, the
configuration of tents is a little different, but the land is the
same, the people are the same, the roads are the same, the market
is the same. It is hard to remember that this is not just a
continuation of last year- and the year before that.
My husband remarked the first day, as he pulled the cart up
the the Great Middle Highway,: "This hill seemed so much easier
yesterday!" Many, many people who we have spoken to experience
the same thing. We may have a mortgage, more time elapsed, etc.
on our white clapboard house in New England, but for whatever
reason, Pennsic is far more home than this is. It may be that it
*is* because it is the same site, and one can say "the Great
Middle Highway", "Horde Hill", "the Marketplace", "Runestone
Point", and 7000 other people will know where you mean. If so,
changing sites, might be disastrous, even if it got us more space
and services. It may be because we know more people well at
Pennsic than we do in our "mundane" neighborhoods- we share
common attitudes, as the perhaps mythological neighborhoods of
the fifties did. It may be that we have in those two weeks more
"quality time" than we do in the 50 with our "mundane" neighbors.
But for whatever reason, I have found that about half the people
I have spoken to have experienced it.
And more important to the discussion of why we right
coasters bore you with discussions of land allotment and other
specifically Pennsic problems, last year the magic didn't happen
to me. It is an awful thing to admit, because I set up the same
camp, the same tents I've used for seven years; but I never felt
the feeling of home. It *shouldn't* have mattered that Our barony
was forced to park in the parking lot, I've camped in at least
seven completely different places at Cooper's lake, and I know
other people have been stuck walking around parked cars and boats
at Pennsic before. But it did. (Maybe those are the people who
don't get the feeling of home.) For me, last year's Pennsic was
just another camping event.- and I want and expect Pennsic to be
home. If you only got home two weeks a year, you would want it
too.
That's WHY we talk Pennsic to death. That's why it is so
important to us to try to develop a system of real estate
planning that will allow people to experience the special
something that Pennsic offers. Does Estrella do that for you out
west? I hope so. I hope you can have that experience. On the
other hand, I have heard that many out west think of the trip to
Pennsic as the medieval English thought of the pilgrimage to
Jerusalem. It is something that you do once in your life, at
great expense in money and disruption to your normal life, for
which the rewards are largely spiritual. As a concept, that
works.
Sorry that this was so long, but I hope it helps you
understand. (Arastorm)
IX. THE ENCHANTED GROUND
This has probably already been said, but -- don't be afraid to go
into the enchanted ground. Duke Cariadoc is a gentleman who would
always welcome visitors- just leave the future behind.
Of course, since this won't have reassured you at all, let me
suggest that you sneak in under the cover of dark. In my
experience, this is the Best Time to make acquaintance with the
enchanted ground. It's dark. All you can see is the dim shape of
tents from the glow of a campfire. Before you are black shapes
directly in front of a blazing fire- some one adds a log and
sparks fly off into the stars. Behind the fire you can see faces.
You approach. There is a voice singing or speaking. Slide in
around where the people are the thickest. His Grace is a short
dark man in a turban and eastern clothes. If he hasn't missed
your coming, he will smile and nod- no one interupts the story
teller or bard who is performing- but he may not see you. Sit
down and listen. There will be marvelous entertainment. If you
are carrying a musical instrument, or if you seem to be trying to
catch his eye, his Grace will ask you if you would care to share
some bit of music or history with the crowd- a simple shake of
the head is all it takes to decline. Stay and be wrapped in
magic. Slip away when you must (I have never managed to stay up
to the end, parenting has cut into partying a bit), it is better
to not thank your host than to interrupt the current performer.
See how simple it is? If you stay outside the golden ribbon
you will not be able to hear enough. Go in! There isn't any test.
No one frisks you at the gate to find out if you've hand stiched
all your seams (or even secreted a flashlight you used to get to
the gate under your cape).
Actually, in my experience, if you go by the enchanted ground
during the light, you may well find no one there. His Grace is
often at workshops or in the market from early in the day until
just before dark.
I do solicit correction if I am wrong, Cariadoc. And I expect
that by the time this reaches the Rialto it will have been
preceded by several other similar messages. However, I feel that
I may have contributed to Enchantedgroundophobia a bit, so I did
want to help combat it. (Arastorm)
------------------------------------------------------------------
From His Grace, Duke Sir Cariadoc of the Bow:
The Enchanted Ground: An Invitation
As many of you know, I regularly run an in-persona encampment at
Pennsic. The purpose of this note is to invite people to camp
with us and to visit.
Many people seem to assume that our requirements are much more
difficult than they actually are. We do not generally speak in
Latin or Arabic, we do not spend our time talking about what is
happening in January of 1103 A.D., we do not care whether you
used a sewing machine to make your garb.
What we do care about is whether we are talking and acting in a
way that makes it unnecessarily obvious that we are in the
twentieth century. In the case of the bardic circle, for
instance, I do not mind if the song someone sings was actually
written in 1660, provided there is nothing in it that makes that
fact obvious (i.e. it does not mention dates or prominent
events). I object very much to an introduction apologizing for
the fact that the song was written in 1660, since the
introduction, unlike the song, is obviously out of period.
Similarly, we normally light our fires with matches (unless
Aelfwyne happens to be around), but we do not talk about matches.
If you want to visit, the only requirement is that you are
willing to behave appropriately--to talk about things as your
persona, not as you talking about your persona. If you want to
camp with us, there is the additional requirement that your
equipment not be obviously and unnecessarily out of period.
Obviously means ripstop nylon, poptents, coleman stoves and
lanterns and the like. An example of something that is permitted
because it is too hard for some people to do without, although it
is obviously out of period, is a modern pair of glasses. We just
don't notice them. Our restrictions do not apply inside your
tent, where nobody else can see you.
If you are interested in camping with us, or have questions, get
in touch by EMail, phone, or letter as soon as practical, since
we will be making our plans in the next few weeks.
Arastorm, in her recent posting, mentioned that the encampment is
often empty during the day. That was true a few years ago. As a
way of dealing with the problem (and for other reasons) we
started the Academy. It consists of in persona classes and
conversations, and is held after lunch in the encampment; in
persona classes are classes where teacher and students are
speaking as their personas. Anyone is welcome. If you want to
teach a class or lead a discussion, get in touch with Madeleine
(Rhe6@Midway.Chicago.Edu); she is in charge of the Academy.
Come on in, the water's fine.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Lady Madeleine:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: This is an outdated version of material that |
| I give to people who will be in the Enchanted Ground. I am currently |
| preparing an updated version. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Visit the scenic Enchanted Ground! Attend the colorful and
stimulating Academy! See the Majestic Duke! (My boyfriend was
squired by a Duke once. No, really...)
The Enchanted Ground really is great fun. If you are uncertain
what to expect or have heard dubious rumors about us, let me try
to give you an idea of what to expect and not to expect should
you decide to honour us with your company.
We will welcome you, introduce ourselves, ask your name, and
invite you to join the Academy or the Bardic Circle if either is
going on. We will offer you refreshment. If I am there, I will
set wafers and spiced wine before you (Cariadoc will frown but I
will not care) and be utterly charming to you, even you are
English. If there is not an Academy or Bardic Circle going on, I
will speak to you about various and sundry. If you are a lady,
perhaps I will talk about Christine de Pisan's latest book,
gossip about how handsome Sir Whosits looks in his armor, or ask
you where you got that charming gown. If you are a gentleman,
perhaps I will flirt ever so decorously with you and then
Cariadoc will ask you if you want to marry me (Pay him no mind.
He does this all the time, poor deluded soul. Seems to think
it's part of his guardian duties or somesuch) If Rebecca,
Cariadoc and Elizabeth's daughter, is about, then all attention
will be focused on her and we will all exclaim over how adorable
she is and ask her what the cat says so that she will say "Meow."
WHAT WE WILL NOT DO:
Contrary to contrary opinion we are not the Authenticity Police.
To be Authenticity Police is both tedious and un-medieval and we
are neither. Medieval people did not go around lighting threads
on other people's clothing and talking about polyester and we are
pretending to be medieval people. I, for one, don't care if you
are wearing a Swatch or purple leather underwear as long as you
don't show them or tell me about them. Nor will ask you what
century you are from or whether that Italian Renaissance gown is
proper for a Scots bard. Since we are pretending to be medieval
people we can not comprehend that there can be anyone from any
other time than our own wandering around. This attitude neatly
eliminates any need for any mention of centuries, or, for that
matter, of the Middle Ages. We are pretending to be medieval
people and medieval people didn't know that they were medieval
(Can you imagine what ghastly epitaphs they're going to put on US
in 500 years? I'd rather not even think about it.) We will not
give you persona history quizzes. We may ask you how the weather
in Venice is, but that's about the extent of it. Most of us in
the Enchanted Ground don't know lots about our own persona's
period, let alone anyone else's, and even if we did, we wouldn't
grill you on them. We want to make you feel welcome, not
uncomfortable. We also won't talk about specifically SCA related
things, like whether or not the Laurel Herald passed SoandSo's
badge or the outrageous things that were passed at the last BOD
meeting, or how Lord Whatsis has just completely ruined the
baronial newsletter.
What we at the Enchanted Ground want to do most of all is to have
fun pretending to be medieval people. If that sounds good to
you, please come and join us.
All right, Madeleine, you say, so you've told us what to expect
should we venture into the Enchanted Ground. Now, what's the
catch? What do WE have to do?
Well you don't HAVE to do anything really, except die and pay
taxes, and, if you have your own religion, not even that. But
here are some guidelines anyway.
What you DO NOT need to visit the Enchanted Ground:
1. A history degree
2. A full and detailed persona history
3. A Laurel
4. Meticulously researched and handsewn garb
5. Skill in fancy, high-blown language
6. 1001 poems, tales, or songs
(If you have any or all of the above, you are still welcome.
Just don't make a big deal about the history degree)
What we DO ask of our gentle guests:
1. Courtesy. This just means be polite to folks.
2. Appropriate behavior. this consists of:
A) Pretending you are a medieval person living in the Middle
Ages, who has no knowledge of or contact with the modern world.
B) Not talking about non-medieval things and not talking
about medieval things as if you were a modern person.
3. Appropriate attire. This consists of :
A) A reasonable attempt at medieval clothes. This does not
mean fancy or hand-sewed, though we certainly make no objections
to your looking decorative.
B) Not wearing, not showing, and not mentioning non-medieval
items. What this boils down to in practical terms is: please
don't carry a Coke can in the encampment, keep your watch hidden,
and don't apologize for or mention your glasses or your crutches.
We are certainly not asking you to forgo items that are necessary
for your health and safety, but it is easier for us to ignore
them if you don't mention them. I myself will probably be
wearing a wrist splint (carpal tunnel, doncha know), but will
cover it with a white cloth bandage and tell all inquirers that I
sprained it while hunting. If no one inquires, I won't mention
it.
4. A desire to have fun. This is indispensible.
Oh, and about the Academy. There is still room for a few more
classes. Please let me know if you'd like to teach. You can
email me at: rhe6@midway.uchicago.edu or phone me at
(312)363-8271 or smail me at: Mindy Miriam Rheingold 5322 1/2 S.
Drexel Avenue #3B Chicago, IL 60615
Any sort of appropriate subject matter is welcome, and anything
on Philosophy, Poetry, or Theology would be most appreciated.
{{and later -ed}}
Okay, Madeleine, you say, so maybe I don't need a history degree
and an authentically made cote-hardie to visit the Enchanted
Ground, but I know next to nothing about my persona's history, or
even the Middle Ages in general! And I'm not an actor or even
very much at ease socially. I'm the sort of person who gibbers
helplessly at cocktail parties! I mean, I'd really like to visit
the Enchanted Ground, but I don't know what to say and I don't
want to look stupid or unmedieval.
You go to cocktail parties?!
Just relax. You don't have to say much. You don't even have to
say anything. There are plenty of us able and willing to natter
on endlessly in pseudomedieval fashion, and you can just sit
there smiling and we'll think you're merely the strong, silent
type or the shy, modest type. Once you've been around us and
listened to us a bit, you'll get an idea of what to talk about.
But I just hate sitting there and not saying anything.
Alright, alright. I will now give you Madeleine's Two Golden
Rules of Social Interaction (Medieval or otherwise)
1. Compliment
2. Ask questions.
We will, no doubt, be plying you with food and drink. You can
talk about them. Say how good the wafers taste. Ask me what
spices are in the wine.
You have now consumed a modest, though substantial quantity of
wafers and wine and are feeling somewhat more at ease. you become
less reticent. You tell Griffin how pretty her gown is. You ask
if the French ever drink beer. You wonder why Cariadoc tells
every marginally eligible male that he has a ward he is trying to
marry off. You ask about my dowry. You smile winningly at me
and say that no doubt I am a very accomplished young lady. I
talk about my skill with philters and herbs and mention the
Italian branch of my family, smiling sweetly all the while. I
offer you more wine. You hastily decline and wax eloquent about
remaining single. You discuss armor with Cariadoc and say how
adorable Cariadoc's daughter is. Cariadoc offers to tell a tale.
You listen. You eat more wafers, say thank you and go back to
your camp for dinner.
See how easy?
Madeleine
X. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND SOME FILKS
bloch@mandrill.ucsd.edu (Steve Bloch) writes: >Now: does anybody
have brilliant ideas on how to store and carry >multiple musical
instruments, safe both from dampness and from >Authenticity
Police?
Well, it's hard to say without knowing what instruments are
involved, but here are some suggestions. Brilliance, I don't
claim, but this works for me.
Every year I take my hammer dulcimer and my bodhran to Pennsic.
The dulcimer is quite valuable and would be expensive to replace
if it were damaged. It's also nearly 4 feet long in its longest
dimension, so it's a bit on the awkward side. :-) The bodhran
has a skin head (rather than the cheap plastic ones you see
sometimes). So, both instruments require care, though there are
certainly more fragile instruments out there.
Your main concerns are heat, moisture, and transportation (bangs
and such). I was very worried about the heat until I bought a
pavillion to replace my nylon tent; the only reason I brought
instruments at all during those years is that I live less than an
hour from Cooper's Lake and knew I could take them home at the
first sign of trouble. If you don't have this option and have
more than one of a particular instrument, you might want to leave
the good one at home and bring a secondary one. (I say this, but
I was *not* willing to go back to the old dulcimer once I had the
good one, so take this with a grain of salt.) Anyway, getting a
pavillion solved the heat problem, as it is considerably cooler
inside than any nylon tent. If you must keep wooden instruments
in a nylon tent, keep all the doors and windows open all day (and
be prepared to run *quickly* back to camp at the first sign of
rain).
The moisture problem can be mainly dealt with by using an
appropriate case for your instruments. My bodhran lives in a
heavily Scotch-guarded bag (also somewhat thick fabric). My
first dulcimer had a large quilted bag, also scotch-guarded
inside and out. My current one has a wooden case instead (for
other reasons; the cloth bag was more convenient to haul around,
but the wooden case provides better protection and doubles as a
stand); while there is nothing in the construction that would
seem to especially guard against water getting in (like
overlapping "lips" at the closures), I haven't had a problem yet.
I, of course, thoroughly checked my tent (and later pavillion)
for waterproofing, and I carefully consider where inside it my
instruments will live. If you have a pavillion and can build a
little platform for them (or put them on a table), you're much
better off in case you get flooded. A local harper who does not
have a pavillion adds a layer of plastic (garbage bags work well)
to his harps when they're in his tent (at night or on cool days
only, I presume).
The last problem is protecting your instruments when you carry
them around the war. Mostly this just requires that you pay
attention to what you're doing: consider how close to the fire
you want to get, whether you'll have to negotiate any tricky
areas with a large unwieldy object, and in general whether you'll
be able to protect your instruments to your satisfaction, before
you head out with them. Some people with large or numerous
instruments build carts for them. I carry the bodhran slung over
one shoulder and the dulcimer over the other (each strap goes
across my back and chest; I don't mean *just* over the shoulder),
which makes it easy for me to keep track of both without
sacrificing both hands all the time. (The dulcimer in its case
weighs 35 pounds; I don't *just* use the shoulder strap. :-) )
If you have guitars/lutes/etc, then you might want to consider
replacing the standard hard case with a good cloth bag so you can
sling it across your back without exposing the instrument itself.
If you have small woodwinds, you can sew a quilted bag that holds
each in its own compartment, put a strap on it, and have them all
out of your way at once.
I hope some of this helps. (Ellisif Flakkingskvinne)
Well, since everyone else seems to be posting their filksongs,
and since I just typed this one in for someone, I might as well
pass it along. Cooked up one flaky afternoon a couple of years
ago. Not to be sung at any time when authenticity is a concern...
Bound for Pennsic (To the tune of "Banned From Argo") by Justin
du Coeur
Oh, we pulled into Cooper's Lake, a-lookin' for the War,
Then searched 'round for a camping space for sixteen tents or more;
So we went to the autocrat, who looked up with a smile,
"Okay," she said, "set them right there, in a fifty-foot-tall pile!"
And we're bound for Pennsic, everyone;
Yes, we're bound for Pennsic, just to have us a little fun.
We're gonna have a battle there, for just three days or four,
At Cooper's Lake, at the great Pennsic War.
We had a mighty fighter, who was powerful indeed;
He lacked only one skill: he never learned quite how to read.
He died amongst the leeches from a tragical mistake;
His tombstone reads: "Here lies a knight, consumed by Cooper's Lake".
Our brewer loves to party; he's a gallivanter true,
But he vanished Friday night, and we don't know what we should do:
The Midrealm's claiming we're unfair at how we win our fights,
With bottles flying out of trees and knocking out their knights!
Now, Art went to the swimming hole, to cool off in the shade;
A maid rose from the waters, and she gave to him a blade.
So Arthur took the sword from her, but hasn't fought again --
He's scared to be seen duelling with a weapon named "Smurfbane"...
Our banner-bearer Bob's a loyal soldier, there's no doubt,
But when he's in the woods, he doesn't know his North from South;
We told him, "Guard the banner", but we didn't know the cost --
We sent in in on Friday; it's now Sunday -- he's still lost.
We are the finest in the East, a fighting band elite;
Our knights are strong, our ladies fair, our scouts are fleet of feet;
But now we're missing fourteen men, and nearly half our gear;
Not bad, I guess -- we'll see if it's more interesting next year!
It's the sort of song that just cries out for more verses; if you
come up with any, please send them along... (Justin)
XI. MISCELLANEOUS ADVICE
(( CONCLUSION FROM BART'S CAMPAIGNER'S NOTES ))
6. CONCLUSION
This is not a complete list, nor should it be taken as one. It
is a start based on more than 10 years of War experience and more
general camping experience. I still tend to use my old Boy Scout
manual checklist, I just substitute "garb" for "uniform" and go.
If you forget, or do not have an item, you can probably
obtain it on site or near by. The main thing to remember is to
have fun. See you there!
(( END OF CONCLUSION FROM BART'S CAMPAIGNER'S NOTES ))
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Bandaids, sunblock (strong), extra cup, knife, some extra
rope (always useful), soap, and enough $$$ for emergencies and
that ever necessary Diet Coke when you're running out of energy.
Blister pads if you're susceptible or your boots are new. Aspirin
or equivalent.
Be careful in your boozing: camping requires some reserves of
health, and if you overdo things you run yourself into the
ground.
Drink fluids, drink fluids, drink fluids, drink fluids, drink
fluids. Dehydration is one of the worst problems at the war.
(Donallain)
Make sure that any rug rats in the immediate vicinity, especially
your own, are properly supervised at all times. Marion Greenleaf
posted a msg chock-full of excellent advice on handling rug rats
at Pennsic a couple years ago. If you don't have rug rats of
your own, it's still worth looking at for advice to give to
irresponsible parents "next door". (Simon)
Dur mentions bringing a tub. I ass-u-me he means a rubber or
waterproofed cloth tub with a collapsible wooden frame.
Excellent idea for cooling down, easy to pack, etc. It strikes
me as the sort of thing that *may* even be period. Anybody know?
Be very very careful (we'we hunting wed dwagons,
heheheheheheh) with fire. Dur posted some general advice on the
topic many moons ago.
Sadly, it looks like locking up valuables is starting to be
necessary at Pennsic and, I would assume, other large camping
events. I have yet to be burgled (at least, of anything I
noticed!), but there was a rash of thefts at Pennsic the year
before last. Haven't heard about this year. You may want to
camp in a group that will always have at least one person in
camp.
Don't leave the lamp on when you and your mate are, shall we
say, romantically entangled in a tent at night - unless you like
providing x-rated shadow plays.
Make the most of your time there. For instance, I haven't had
the pleasure of witnessing this, but rumor has it that Cariadoc
tells stories while waiting in line for showers.
And above all, BE CONSIDERATE! If everyone within earshot isn't
also partying loudly at 3 AM, keep yours quiet....
> Also, Ideas for Projects for Medieval Campsites.
There is of course the Enchanted Grounds; extensions may be to
have Grounds of a specific place and era, or with showings of
some particular craft that requires "physical plant" such as a
smithy or glass-oven. Someone usually brings a Gypsy wagon (an
early form of "mobile home") to Pennsic, tho I don't quite know
how period that is (does anybody?). (Simon)
Washing water - This idea I got from Malice who got it from
Countess Mara. Keep a pitcher with water, soap and a bowl
available on a table. It's:
a)Handy - I rarely wait in line for a sink at the bath house.
Most anything requiring a sink can be done there
b)Healthy - I wash my hands many more times when preparing food
than I normally would be able to--which can sometimes be a very
good thing!
Hand carried sources of light - I haven't found something that is
comfortable to carry, "looks right" (i.e. period) and is *safe*.
Any ideas? (Caitrin)
*** Baron Dur's (Period) Pennsic Weather Predictor
(Whether it's cold or whether it's hot, we shall have weather,
whether or not!)
Talk of the weather is nought but folly; When it rains on the
hill, it suns on the valley.
When the stars begin to huddle the earth will soon begin to
puddle.
Pale moon doth rain, red moon doth blow, white moon doth neither
rain nor snow.
Clear moon, frost soon.
The moon and weather may change together, but change of the moon
does not change the weather.
South wind brings wet weather; north wind, cold and wet together;
west wind always brings the rain... the east wind blows it back
again.
Yellow streaks in a sunset sky, wind and day-long rain is nigh.
Evening red and morning grey speed the traveler on his way.
Evening grey and morning red brings down rain upon his head.
It rains as long as it takes the rain to come.
The sharper the blast, the sooner it's past.
No weather is ill if the wind is still.
When dew is on the grass, rain will never come to pass.
>From twelve 'till two tells what the day will do.
Rain before seven, quit by eleven.
Rainbow at noon, more rain soon.
Rainbow in the east, sailors at peace; rainbow in the west,
sailors' distress.
Rainbow in morning, shepherds take warning; rainbow at night,
shepherds' delight.
(These words of weather lore have been tested at each Pennsic,
and have accurately predicted the conditions each time. Now, if
only there was an equivalent augury for the battles....) (Dur)
*** Matches vs. Flint and Steel
It's true, we haven't bothered to carry matches to camping
events for a few years (Aelfwine and I). I used to think, along
with everyone else, that flint and steel must have been a true
pain to get fires started with, but since we've been using them,
it has not turned out to be so. I have actually seen Aelfwine
pull out his tinder-box and have a flame for a gentles (sigh)
cigarette ready before the next gentle could "flic his bic".
The keys are 1) Practice and 2) Dry Tinder.
When your children become old enough that you are willing to
risk your flints and their tender knuckles- this may be just
before or about the same time that you institute blade training
(oh, I'm sorry- adults can take it up anytime they are ready to
invest the time and flints)- you let them practice making fires
with flint and steel. It will take time, like sewing a straight
seam, or throwing a straight spear. Luckily, there is in the soul
of most folk- especially children- a burning desire to master new
and useful skills.
We buy our flints from Ewan, but I'm sure that there are many
other sources. Ask your peddlar to show you how to strike the
flint. Then practice. There will be a LOOONG time between the
excitement of that first spark, and the assurance that you can
make it in a reasonable time. It seems to be all in the angle of
strike, and I can't teach you that in this medium.
However. That spark must fall into a nurturing bosom. Your
tinder-box should be suitable to create char-cloth. Char-cloth is
like charcoal. To make it, you put pieces (we generally use about
3 or 4 inch squares) of pure cotton (it MUST not have synthetic
fibers in it) in an airtight, fireproof box. If you can't buy one
you can use an old (cleaned) shoe polish tin, throat lozenge or
candy tins, any fairly tight metal box. Put in a dozen or so
layers of clothdepending upon how big your tinderbox is. Throw
this in the campfire, stick it in the back of your wood stove, I
guess you could leave it at the back of your oven while you make
a cake. As you heat it, the volatiles in the cloth burn off,
leaving char-cloth behind. Fish it out of the ashes, let it cool,
and check. If it now looks like black cloth, you're set. If not,
stick it in a while longer. It will be a bit crispy, and will
smudge your fingers, but cleans up with your handkerchief
alright. Leave the charcloth in the tinderbox, and when you carry
it around, the tinderbox will also hold the flint and
steel.(These are removed while charring the cloth.) We have to
replace the tinderbox every year or so, as the fire weakens the
metal of the box; this would be very dependant upon the box
itself.
When you want to make a fire, set the kindling and other fuel
ready, set the tinder ready also (see below on birch bark). Then
wrap a bit of this charcloth (half a square) around your flint.
This insures that the spark WILL fall onto the charcloth.
Charcloth starts very easily, and this is good. What you are
looking for is a little red spot on the charcloth. Blow on it
gently. It will jump into flame. Now take this flame and put it
to your tinder.
We have the best luck with birch bark. Birch bark will burn
even when wet, so you don't need to protect it, just keep a few
curls with your tinder box. I suppose that for some city folk, it
could be harder to get than excelsior, but prowl the outskirts of
the camp at camping events. Where there are birch trees, one can
usually find some spare birch bark without pulling it off live
trees. I try to keep a small sack of it in the camp kitchen.
With it I can kindle the fire without the flint from the coals in
the ashes nine out of ten mornings. Our children have found that
a pack of birchbark is a welcome gift on father's or mother's
day, since it represents a useful item that takes work/time that
we may not have, and we appreciate their donating.
Do make sure that you have the bark ready when you are
striking the spark. When the birch bark is lighted, you can use
it to light your cookfire, lantern or pipe. (Do have the kindling
etc. ready.) {as to Master Dickens, I have never tried to light
a fire in Londinium, but I have heard that there is fog there
every day, and it is a city. He probably had no birch bark, and
continual fog would make it very hard to keep one's tinder dry}.
I hope I did make it clear- I would plan and expect to use
up/ ruin 3 or 4 flints in the process of learning to use one
easily. (I am still not as good at it as Aelfwine, because I
generally use the banked coals, and haven't put in the required
practice.) Please take this advice as intended. You may certainly
choose not to invest the time in learning how to do this,
however, I think you need to know that once the skill is
attained, it is no big deal to get your fires going with flint
and steel. We have found that as with many other things (for
example: wool keeps you warm, even if you are wet; a linen
undershirt keeps you cooler; salt meat in brine requires no ice)
using the period solution to a problem we run into in the SCA is
often the MOST convenient solution. We don't have to worry about
matches. We need only keep our tinder box dry. (and since it is
in a leather pouch at one's side, unless one takes a prolonged
dunking, it will be fine. (oh, if your charcloth does get damp-
throw the tinder box back in the fire to dry it out.)
I'll be only to happy to share the recipe for meat brine. It
is more than I care to deal with to worry if the meat is good at
hot events. Aren't you tired of continually bailing your ice-
chest? (Arastorm)
*** Driving Directions
There is a shuttle service of some sort from the Pittsburgh
Airport, I am told. It's run by Lenz Travel. I don't have a
phone number to hand.
If you're driving: from Pittsburgh Airport, take 60 East (follow
sign for Pittsburgh when leaving the airport) to I-79 North.
Take I-79 to Exit 29, Butler/Newcastle. Turn left onto Rt. 422,
go about half to three quarters of a mile, and turn right on the
first road, labelled "Cooper's Lake" with a small blue sign and
probably marked by a big SCA sign if you're not beating everyone
there.
More generally, I-76 (the Pennsylvania Turnpike) intersects I-79
south of Cooper's Lake (Exit 25 on I-79, I *think* Exit 3 on
I-76). I-80 intersects I-79 north of Cooper's Lake (Exit 32 on
I-79, unnumbered exit on I-80). I-90 intersects I-79 near Erie,
about an hour and a half north of Cooper's Lake. (Ellisif)