Re: Golden Dolphin and Pearl

[Heather Swann <swannh@psi.com>]

Poster: Heather Swann <swannh@psi.com>

>Dafydd ap Gwystl greets Cheapside!
>
>In response to a request for better definition of the requirements for a
>Dolphin, Falcone wrote:
>
>snip>
>I agree completely.  "Hammering out guidelines" is roughly equivalent to
>"defining award checklists" -- when you have done X, Y, and Z, you get the
>award.  It ain't like that, and it shouldn't be like that.

Well, of course not!  I didn't mean a checklist....
>
>Everything factors in.  Local service is good, but broader service is much
>more good.  Courteous people gain my approval faster than more brusque
>ones.  And so on.

I can see that....
>
> 
>Miri writes:
>
>>  Is teaching a service, or is it Pearl stuff?  And so on...is travel
>> important, or just local work?  Or both?
>
>Teaching what?  
>
>Teaching the arts and sciences is under the Pearl umbrella.
>
>> I'm not saying stringent guidelines here...I'm saying a general clue would
>> be helpful, and no one seems to have it.
>
>If you want someone to say something authoritative, here I am!  :^)

I thank you!  I just want something better than the really vague notion
folks seem to have at the nonce- it promotes an inequity that seems a
little unfair.....to me, at least.  
>
>> I'd like to be a conscientious
>> goldfish, but there is no general guide as far as I can tell, having asked
>> several other fish, as to what would be more of a Pearl thing and what
>> would be more of a Fish thing.
>
>I look at it this way: making garb for newbies and clothing a dozen people
>is Dolphin work.  

I would have called it Pearl stuff- see?  It's a service, but it's also
actively doing an art.

Teaching newbies how to make garb is Pearl work.

I'm with ya on that, Excellency.....
>
>Sometimes it is complicated: making high-quality medieval garb for newbies
>is both Dolphin (helping others) and Pearl (making high-quality medieval
>stuff).  But that's not a big deal -- mention it in a letter to both
>orders, or to the Monarchs (making clear both aspects of the activity).
> 
>The Pearl has a very strong emphasis on teaching the arts.  Anything
>having to do with teaching arts and sciences is almost always going to be
>under the Pearl umbrella.  The other main thing under the Pearl umbrella
>is excellence in the arts.

What if someone teaches a basic level of something, but teaches it a heck
of a lot, instead of doing a lot of higher level work?  Is that then
Dolphin stuff or Pearl stuff?
>
>The Gold Dolphin (as everyone knows) is for service to the Kingdom.  That
>can be running events, being an officer, or lots of other types of
>service.  In my evaluation, broader (impacting more people) service is
>more what the Dolphin is about than smaller (local) service.  But that
>isn't a hard and fast rule -- it is possible to have a large impact on the
>Kingdom by serving in a large number of smaller roles, in a lot of places,
>without being Kingdom Seneschal (for example).  

I would think Kingdom Seneschal would be more in the Pelican range, actually.

Still, local service is
>what gets you an Award of Arms, or local recognition.  It has to be
>exceptional, long-term, and have other aggravating factors before I am
>inclined to respond positively to a Dolphin polling for someone whose
>service is mostly local.

What if they're in a shire that's not part of a barony?
>
>For any Kingdom order, and even more so for Peerages, I value travel
>highly.  
>
>
>Dafydd ap Gwystl, getting grey-haired by the moment.
>
Miri, contributing at the moment to his grey hairs...btw, I'm the Real
Miriam this month....
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