Rowany-Festvl-msg - 5/15/11

Comments on and suggestions for those going to the Romany Festival. The largest SCA event held in the kingdom of Lochac, held near Sydney, Australia.

NOTE: See also the files: Lochac-hist-msg, ice-chests-msg, camp-kitchens-msg, cmp-courteses-art, P-Sanitation-art, spice-storage-msg, camp-showers-msg.

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NOTICE -

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.

Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).

Thank you,
    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: Antonia di B C <dama.antonia at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
Date: April 3, 2011 11:09:42 PM CDT
To: Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>

On 4/04/2011 3:26 PM, Stefan li Rous wrote:
<<< I've also started collecting some of the advice which has been given in response to her questions and will likely be turning that into a message file in the Florilegium. I'm assuming that this coming event is Rowany Festival, right? As compared to Canterbury Faire? Or did I get them mixed up? Many of the big SCA events have similarities but there are also differences. And since some of the similarities are already covered in files about other events and in the SCA-CAMPING section, I'd like to put more emphasis on the differences, but we'll see. >>>

This is Rowany Festival upcoming.  Canterbury Faire is in February.

In terms of prep, they are *completely different*.  Festival site has little in the way of amenities-- they have to bring in water tanks, portaloos, etc.  There is no electricity, showers, etc.  Food means cooking in campsite or joining a food fund.  There's no indoor space-- only tents. Prep means bring or hire your own *everything*.

Canterbury Faire site has a hall, bunkrooms, classrooms, a commercial kitchen, two small kitchens, flushing toilets and hot showers, laundry facilities, bells to toll the hours, etc. etc.   If you don't want the hassle of preparing food, there's a meal plan, and if you're flying in, we can arrange things like bedding loan and inexpensive tent hire.

CF has the reputation of being easier to attend than Festival if you live anywhere in Lochac but Sydney/Newcastle.

Festival attracts 800+ people and runs over Easter weekend; Canterbury Faire is getting close to 300 attendees and runs a full week in late January/early February.  Base price for Rowany is AU$98 for a single attendee.  CF is $NZ83.

Festival's web pages. http://rowany.sca.org.au/festival
Canterbury Faire http://sg.sca.org.nz/cf
-- 
Antonia di Benedetto Calvo


The following was submitted to me by email but the writer asked to be kept anonymous.

Stefan
------------

Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
Date: April 3, 2011 11:52:03 PM CDT
To: Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>

You're sounding like you could use some background.

I've been to Festival once and Canterbury Faire once, so this is a new-to-SCA-camping perspective and a new-to-camping-generally perspective as well. You can use whatever bits of this you like for the Florilegium but I would prefer my name is removed. 

Rowany Festival is held near Sydney, Australia, and is nominally held over the Easter long weekend (Thursday night to end of Monday). In reality some people start turning up on the Monday or Tuesday before and help with set-up and do SCAdian things. I've only been there from the Friday morning so I can't give any more information on what goes on. Wednesday and Thursday night of this week are free soup kitchen. From Friday to the end of Monday is the event proper. Most people arrive Thursday or Friday, and most leave Monday or Tuesday, although I think some stay until Wednesday. This is the biggest event in Lochac and last year numbers, including day-trippers, were around 600-650 from memory. This year over 500 people have booked already. I have been told in previous years it was closer to 1,000. This is not a catered event but there are food funds set up by groups/households that can possibly be joined for an appropriate fee, or individuals can feed themselves. There are sometimes open food funds but these too are set up by individuals, not the event team.

The site is now in Glenworth Valley, near Gosford, NSW (about half an hour away), and it is one of the dampest, most humid places I have been (but this I'm told is fairly normal for NSW at that time of year). I'm not sure if it's actually a swamp, but there are boggy areas that are marked out to be avoided, and squelching footsteps from inadequately waterproofed footwear are common. Hems will get muddy. Be prepared to do a lot of washing when you get home and not to feel clean and dry at any time. There are no showers; bring your own. (I have heard there were at the site before this one, in Yass, ACT - portable gas showers.) There is a train to Gosford and from there people can get the shuttle service set up by the event team if they pre-book.

There are portaloos and compost loos on site, but it is possible to hire portaloos for your own camping area, to save people those long, cold walks through the dark in the middle of the night.

The 'short walk' mentioned is to the car park, out of sight of the main event. There is a main area, which includes the tavern, the permanent merchants, the hall marquee (used for dancing and court, etc), the main tournament field, and the A&S tents. Behind the hall is the rapier field, and beyond that is a band of campsites. Behind the merchants there are more campsites, forming an 'L' around two sides of the main area which spreads over the rest of the central valley.

There are four areas outside of this: the war field, two smaller camping areas (I think - I don't know - that one of these is a period camping area, and the other includes the Royal encampment), and the archery field. Up a hill but still in the main section is the children's boffer area, which can be seen if you face away from the campsites while standing in the main list field.

Site differences... Glenworth Valley is damp and muddy; Yass was dry and dusty. Yass got so cold at night people's tents iced over. Glenworth Valley gets cold too, but not so badly. There is a salt water river that runs through the site but what was being referred to was the run-off from rain throughout the site - there are a lot of dips and potholes in what otherwise appears to be a flat-bottomed bowl of a valley. It's very green and grassy, lots of fog in the mornings, but quite hot and humid once the sun burns it off. 

Canterbury Faire, on the other hand... This is a much easier event to travel to. It's held outside Christchurch, NZ, at the end of January/start of Feb, and lasts a week. There are bunkrooms, camping if you prefer, showers, and low humidity (I'm not sure if that was the norm - people seemed a bit surprised that it only drizzled once). Anything you can hire or borrow (like bedding, feasting kits, garb - for the whole week!, etc) was advertised on the event website as well as through e-mailing lists. There is an open food fund run by the event stewards and in exchange for this you pay a fee and (this year at least) signed up for two rounds of chores (such as cleaning the hall after dinner, washing dishes, or kitchen crew). There are about 250 people overall. There is a short walk to a mundane swimming hole outside of site and it's about a 15 minute drive to the nearest small town that has a supermarket.

Both events include heavy, rapier, archery, A&S classes, merchanting, market days, etc. Canterbury Faire also has a feast one night (capped below the event capacity), and equestrian (I think this has happened at Festival before, and it might happen this year). This year Rowany Festival also includes the May Crown tournament. The other big heavy tournament at Rowany Festival is the Fighter Auction tournament, which is held on the Monday. I understand this to be the biggest heavy tournament in Lochac. There is another big tournament earlier in the event which is a Heraldic teams melee. Rapier tournaments there include the Queen's Glove of Courtesy (Friday morning) and a Baronesses' Tournament (Sunday afternoon). There was a Baronesses' rapier tournament at Canterbury Faire too this year, among others, but I don't know which if any of them are regular or anything about the heavy fighting there.


Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2011 18:45:21 +1000
From: "Brett Hollindale" <agro at powerup.com.au>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

I guess my best advice is about cooking.
KISS.  Keep It Simple...

One of my squires was a chef in the airforce.  He offered to cook for the 
household (at his first festival).
I said "Dude, you won't have time.  There are a zillion things to do. 
Places to go, people to kill, campfires to visit - forget it, trust me."
And sure enough, one day I found him eating cold baked beans straight from 
the can because he didn't have time to heat them up!

My advice about food is canned meat meals with rice or potato or bread.  Two 
pots, very quick, very easy.  We often add a self saucing pudding or shake 
and make pancake for dessert.

Nuts, dried fruit biscuits and cheese dip.

KISS

:-)
Agro


Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2011 20:54:17 +1100
From: Ian Whitchurch <ian.whitchurch at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Two words.

Wool. Cloak.

Seriously, it's the one piece of garb that will keep you warmer, dryer
and happier than anything else.

Anton


Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2011 21:12:55 +1100
From: Donyale Harrison <donyale.harrison at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Have sober friends who know your tastes and will intervene if beer goggles
strike. Have a big stick for fending off the manky, aged and handsy. Find a
promising young squire and train him up right! Oh no, hang on, that last
one's my how to get a peerage advice.

In terms of clothes, you need two sets of outerwear and shoes/boots, so one
can dry while you wear the others. You NEED fresh underthings for every day
if you want to smell nice and be remotely clean by the end, so it is for
more worth you effort sewing lots of smocks or chemises than lots of frocks.
Of course, young people can ignore this advice and go for bling over clean,
but smell matters. Bring a pair of undies and socks for each day, plus
spares. Fungus is a bad, bad thing.

A cloak is great, but a coat is better, because it has sleeves and you can
do more things in it. Either way, make it 100% wool -- warm, insulating and
good at staying dry. Can't sew? Buy a plain or appropriately patterned wool
blanket, they're reasonably cheap at op shops, or a good length of 150cm
wide wool (you can fringe or hem the cut ends) and wear them folded and
secured with a pin or brooch. Any of these things will also keep you warmer
while you sleep at night. A square of wool folded in half and worn as a
shawl can be held in place with a belt, giving you a practical garment that
stays on while you cook or do something similar.

Sleep on a cot or campbed rather than air mattress if it's cool (as it may
well be), the more off the ground you are, the warmer you will be at night.
Travel clotheslines are brilliant and work, pack one and dry everything from
your tea towels to spare frock.

Hat, sunblock, drink plenty of water, WASH YOU HANDS REGULARLY -- your first
Festival is full of so much cool stuff that you don't want to miss anything
through heatstroke or illness.

Listen to Glynnis about how to make friends and learn things, and Agro's
food advice is very good, though my take on it was just to pre-prep and
freeze everything. Pour suitable quantities into zip-lock bags if you're
only cooking for one or two, or tupperware for more serious quantities.
Freeze it for at least three days in the coldest part of the freezer. Decide
which order you want to eat things in and pack into a cooler in the reverse
order at the last minute, then pop your fruit and veg in on top.

If you don't have enough food to fill your cooler, freeze blocks of water in
tupperware and use them for additional cooling. The more you pack the cooler
with cold things, the colder it will stay. Everything from proper mediaeval
food to spaghetti bolognese and goulash can be frozen. To reheat, just
remember to pull things out of the esky in time for them to thaw (the night
before at the beginning of festy, maybe lunchtime on the last day), and then
warm gently -- you may need to add a bit of water, especially for things
containing pasta.

Can't cook? Lots of good ready-made soups, pastas and curries at most
supermarkets. Vegetarian ones tend to be tastiest and carry least risk of
food poisoning if they thaw out.

ASK QUESTIONS! Unless people are obviously in the middle of something
important, most will be happy to take a moment to tell you what's going on,
or explain to you who someone or what something is. And if someone is a
twat, it's just because that person is a twat, not indicative behaviour of
all members of the SCA/Laurels/Knights/brunettes/bipedal mammals.

I'm sure I've missed something important ...

Yolande


Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2011 21:38:47 +1100
From: Paul Sleigh <bat at flurf.net>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Veteran of eighteen Festivals here, though only two of them at the new
site.  I can offer some advice I only learned comparatively recently.

One year, I came along with my wife and daughters - aged 3 and 10, I
think, or thereabouts.  We built a fairly impressive tent castle:
three tents, tarp floors, fences all around.  It mostly kept the
BatPup under control, largely because she was a fairly placid babelet
and not especially adventuresome.  But it was a lot of effort, only
made possible because we lived barely an hour from site back when it
was at Crossroads outside Yass and we lived in Canberra.  A better
idea might have been not to bring a three-year-old at all, but we
wanted to see if it was even possible and we were prepared to head
home if it wasn't, so basically we weren't setting ourselves up to
lose.

It worked, but the key take-home was this: Festival isn't a
family-focused event.  The new site is even less so, with that river
nearby and mundanes driving through at random.  It's an event for
adults who want to have fun with other adults.  It's certainly
possible for kids to enjoy themselves, and provided you don't expect
to be able to leave them to their own devices and never have to adjust
your lifestyle you can adapt.  But it's not like mundania, where you
can stick them in front of the electronic brainsucker or drop them off
at school and carry on with whatever it is that parents do when their
kids aren't around (I don't know - we have no truck with television
and schooling).  It's different.

That's not to say everyone under 18 should avoid Festival.  Oh dear me
no!  But they should be aware that this is not an environment geared
for them, and they (and their parents) should adjust to that.
Festival will not make all the allowances for its underage attendees.
The Tavern will not quieten down after 9pm.  The joke about the
Laurel, the club-footed squire and the bucket of eels will not be only
told out of earshot of small people.  (And in the old days I would
have added "the denizens of the waterhole will not put clothes on" but
those days are gone so never mind.)  Parents who plan to go along and
expect other people to make special accommodations for them, allowing
them to go off and have fun while their kids rampage screaming through
the campsite or cause chaos in the kitchen tent, should feel
discouraged and reconsider.  Parents who go along knowing that life
with kids is different and they'll have to find a different kind of
fun, or camp in a happy family commune with a roster of babysitting
duties and mobile phones always charged, will have a much better time.

I have more thoughts, but I have a BatPup who wants to be sung to
sleep, so I'll postpone them for another day.

: Bat :


Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2011 22:02:05 +1100
From: Mark Calderwood <giles at sca.org.au>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Keep a spare set of clothes- at the very least a couple of changes of  
socks and undies- in a waterproof zip bag. Essential when your wicker  
clothes hamper gets wet.

Set aside a little quiet time for yourself each day, either alone or  
with your family/people you love. Helps keep you grounded and calm  
when dealing with the rambunctiousness to arsehattery spectrum.

You don't have to compromise on period food. The exception to that is  
coffee, you'll need it (coffee bags and sugar in a sealed container  
so ants can't get in works well).

You're not obligated to say yes to anything people might ask you.

Giles


Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2011 21:40:18 +1000
From: "Glynnis Hollindale" <Glynnis at powerup.com.au>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "'The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list'"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Clothes

I keep one complete set in the car with some wipes and a small towel.  It is
really only for my piece of mind.

I know that a short walk means that I can be dry/clean/comfortable if
anything goes drastically wrong.  Strangely, I have only found that walk
worth the effort once in about 25 years.

As a risk, the chance is small but the consequence of feeling miserable is
not worth having all my eggs in one basket.

But more seriously, remember your medication.

If you need anything in an emergency, Murphy's law means that it will only
happen if you do not pack the little white pills.  Whether it is hay fever,
asthma or an allergy to an insect bite, whatever your vulnerability might
be, take the necessary medication that will make you life more bearable.

Label it and secure it properly as well.  And tell someone in your campsite
if you are not camping with a partner who knows what to do / where it is
/when it is needed etc.

Take care of yourself and you then have the capacity to enjoy yourself /
help others, etc

Glynnis


Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2011 23:23:25 +1100
From: Alonya Mazoyer <submarinechick at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

I am attending my third Festival this year so my first one was only a couple
of years ago.

I guess the first this for this site is NO blow up mattress and if you have
no option, ensure you have a floor in your tent and a blanket under the
mattress and a mattress protector between your sleeping bag and the
mattress.  This site can cool down due to fog.  Things can get damp so hang
any bedding out in the sunshine for a couple of hours and ensure you take it
in while the sun is still on it.  Damp bedding is rude.  An extra blanket
could also make a difference especially as late April can start getting
cooler at night.

Also set your bed up first.  Set up can take some time and it is nice to
have a bed to crawl into.

A chair to sit upon is also important.  The ground gets damp at this site
and it sucks to sit on it for long periods.  A good option for a not-obvious
modern chair is the fold up garden chair available for about $40 at Ikea.

Follow Agro and Glynhwyvar's advice on food.  You cannot go wrong with their
advice.  It is sound and comes from much experience.  I would also suggest
you plan your food now, especially if it is only for yourself.  A fuel
operated gas stove should suffice for one person with 6-8 cannisters if you
plan for tea and coffee.

I was lucky to attend Festival with others who have attended every Festival
for the last 20 years or so each.

You can find me at the Guild of Defense campsite which is located directly
behind the main pavilion.  Please drop by and say hello.

Juliana


Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 07:55:00 +1000
From: Jacinta Reid <omnott at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

I suggest that the first thing to organise is the ability to clone yourself.
After my first Festival, I figured that I needed three of me; one to attend
all the collegia and scheduled evening activities (balls, bardic stuff).
Another to attend and learn as much as possible about all the combat related
activities which run opposite other things and to hang out in the tavern
until all hours. And a third to be responsible by maintaining the campsite,
getting enough sleep, doing a few stints at the gate or as directed by the
event organisers, cook proper food, bathe, do laundry, actually *do* all the
"I'll finish/mend it on site, it's just a bit of hand-sewing" jobs I took
with me - while chatting with the lovely people I'd met, of course.

On a more serious note; I'm only just getting the hang of SCA camping, but
I've found that I really enjoy having a garment I think of as a medieval
dressing gown. Think of it as a hands-free cloak or a medieval snuggie. :P

I have learned that my garb should be mostly as light weight as I can get
away with. I can layer for warmth, but having lots of linen chemises and
tunic-dresses is as cool as I can dress and be 'medieval decent'. A chemise
with a sleeveless surcote is cooler and also decent, but barely.

For early morning privy trips, being able to drop a loose, fuzzy wool tunic
on over my head and be warm and decent is brilliant. Also; of an evening,
(most of my camping has been done in places with cool nights) *before* it
gets dark (at about mosquito o'clock.) I find it very useful to be able to
slip that wooly extra layer over what I am wearing  *and* grab a cloak and
hood. Because once it's dark in medieval camping, it's really dark, one is
mostly reduced to sitting or standing around, and cold can take hold very
quickly. And going to bed cold can be painful.

Another point; wool serves as a bit of a spark arrester if you are near a
fire or flames. So a wool cloak or tunic handy as an extra protection of you
and your garb in that way, too, if you are planning on having a cider or two
around a fire of an evening.

Also, a pre-dusk trip to your campsite to get your warmer garb is a great
time to check that everything is in out of the damp (laundry, that tunic you
dropped on a chair mid-morning etc) and to revise what you are carrying --
collegia notes might stay in the dry of the tent, bug repellent and maybe
drinks and a goblet go into your basket/bag/box. Also, arrange your bed
ready to drop in to, and if you have a little 'lectric light source you
intend to use inside your tent, put it where you can remember / find it.

So I heartily recommend making at least one loose, simple tunic out of
blanket-weight wool (plain coloured blankets are good for this, if you can
find some secondhand/cheap). If you don't end up wearing the tunic, it will
still be usable as supplementary bedding or emergency/loaner garb if someone
else is freezing or has luggage which ends up soaked.

Other notes:
Sunscreen! Wear it! Reapply it! No, really!! Remind each other, offer to
strangers, and if you are not in possession of some, ask anybody for some.
It's one of those things which, like water, no civilised person will
hesitate to give you if you but ask.  So do not go without.

Headgear: straw hats are recommended, and you'd be surprised how much sun
protection a veil provides. Oh - and if you have time for a relatively small
neat, fun project; flat caps.  Hats and veils keep the sun off, and they
just look excellent. I never thought I'd adjust to wearing headgear, but I
found that it's *SO* worth the effort to make and to get used to wearing!

Bathing: as a backup minimum have a bulk tub of baby wipes and use handfuls
of them as a washcloth so you can have an approximate wash in your tent if
need be. (Yes, medieval camping may be done without bathing or even changing
one's clothes for the duration if that's your preference, but if you start
to chafe, or get a heat-rash in awkward places, it's good to be able to
wash, even if only after a fashion.) You will need a rubbish bag to put the
used wipes in.

I have seen some great packing lists linked on this mailing list before, but
I can't find it in my bookmarks.  Maybe ask if someone knows the link?

celsa


Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 08:01:14 +1100
From: Catherine Connor <paladin_c55 at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: The Shambles <lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Lots of good advice in the previous posts!

To add to it.. Keep a bottle of water in your tent for drinking and brushing your teeth- makes you feel much better after too long at the tavern.

BOOTS!!! Waterproof them with snow seal!! Wet feet make me miserable. SOCKS!!! Take extra pairs. Take more than you think you will need.

Take baby wipes. When you can't be bothered to heat water etc for a shower, they are good for making you feel fresh.

Food- take easy snacks like nuts and trail mix. FRUIT! Also a couple of cans of yummy food for when some silly sausage leaves your precooked stew out of the cooler overnight and then says, "but of course we can still eat it!" (HE has never had food poisoning in his life and thinks I am being a big softie!)

Have fun, and try to get some sleep occasionally.

Catherine of Glastonbury


Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 08:15:29 +1000
From: Zebee Johnstone <zebeej at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Earplugs.

Because you *will* be camped next to someone who snores at 747 levels.
Or who makes a habit of staying out till 2am then coming home drunk.

I second the idea of a warm loose tunic or coat that you can throw on
to go to the privy.

If you don't have time to make a tunic, then see if there is any kind
of blanket in your local op shop and put a hole in the middle for your
head.  Head through hole, belt or rope around it, good enough to go to
the loo in.

Some form of easy to get on water resistant footwear is a good idea
too.  There will be dew on the ground at Glenworth, and plenty of
grass for it to be caught in.

You will need something to sit on.  With luck you can find a
wood/canvas director's chair somewhere or an Ikea wooden chair (which
has the advantage that it works as a kitchen chair too, so isn't just
used once a year) or a stool.  If you must then one of those nylon
folding squatter's chairs but please try and find something less
modern looking if you can.

Silfren


Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 08:19:06 +1000
From: "Sideshow Mel" <melinahall at optusnet.com.au>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Everything everyone has said is really great, & I'd like to add my 2c.

I take my garb in plastic boxes, to keep it dry. Modern I know, but also 
inside my tent. (Which is a dome anyway). When I have not taken plastic 
boxes I have put my suitcase up on wooden blocks or some other method of 
getting it off the ground. My first year at Festival there was a river 
through my tent & all my stuff got wet.

To maximise my fun time & minimise my work time I eat off paper plates & use 
disposable cutlery. I ensure it's all biodegradable because I like to be eco 
friendly, but as long as you don't leave it on the ground when you leave, 
you could use plastic. Eating is more of an inconvenience than anything else 
at Festy, so washing up being non-existant is even better.

Waterproof shoes. I take gumboots, I'd rather have dry feet than period 
shoes, but a sneaky alternative is to wear two pairs of socks with plastic 
bags wrapped round your feet in between the two pair of socks to keep your 
feet dry. Wet feet equals misery.

Asa


Date: Sun, 03 Apr 2011 13:18:07 +1200
From: "Bartholomew" <bartholomew.baskin at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: lochac at lochac.sca.org

Thyri asked:
<<< I want to compile all the advice you have about First Time Festival
goers. What lessons have you learned that would be helpful for a new
camper? What advice would you give to someone planning to attend
Festival for the first time? >>>

Some advice which katherina and I once wrote for travellers from our
parts (usually first-timers) can be found here:

http://sg.lochac.sca.org/festival.shtml

It may need updating, and of course isn't as relevant to someone who
can drive from home to site <g>.

Bartholomew


Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 14:11:55 +1000
From: Zebee Johnstone <zebeej at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

On Sun, Apr 3, 2011 at 1:45 PM, Marie Brooker <madmender at gmail.com> wrote:
<<< I have some concerns about our tent, as it has a dodgy made base- the tarp
floor section is sewn at the base of the wall at ground level. ? We're not
sure how best to combat this, as a new tent is just not in our budget. Its a
Jackaroo tent. >>>

Be careful in the siting of your tent so that you are not in a dip,
and have your stuff off the ground or in waterproof containers.

Perhaps bring a small cheap tarp to put the bed on so that you can
lift the edges of that up to stop water flowing under the bed if the
worst happens.

(I don't have a floor at all in my period pav, I have a bamboo mat as
a floor covering and things have been quite dry every Festival at
Glenworth.  Even last year when it rained a lot beforehand and rained
during.   Be careful where you site and you should be fine. I was a
few metres away from one of the aforementioned tent rivers, theirs was
a hired tent put by the tent people in a very stupid place.)

Water is available from a tap, so bring something to put it in, but
you don't need to cart it yourself.

We have a 25l tank and a trolley to wheel it on, if you have a few
people in your campsite then that amount of water holding is useful
and the trolley makes it very easy to manage.

Silfren


Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 16:40:11 +1000
From: Anika Page <anika.page at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

I know everyone is suggesting things and this probably has been covered, but
the two things I think everyone needs to bring for their first event is a
warm wool cloak, and a small torch or handlight (or glow stick) they can tie
to their belt.

The toilets are NOT well lit at night, and if it's your first Festival or
camping event, you might be wearing garb you are not used to. Having a light
in the loo which will not set fire to your tunic is ESSENTIAL. It might be
more medieval to carry a candle, but sometimes it's a comfort and safety
thing. The number of slightly tipsy newbies I've handed my torch to as they
desperately try to work out how to get INTO the loos on a cold 2am Festival
night......  A small (even LED keylight) torch with a loop or something to
tie it to your belt can be really amazingly useful.

And yeah, warm wool cloak, whether it be a dry Festival or a wet one.

--Lyssa.


Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 20:05:18 +1000
From: Cat Colwell <eslyssa at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Absolutely, first thing on our to do list when we took on stewarding
festival

1. Arrange full moon for festival - tick!

Ameline

On 3 April 2011 18:59, Anwyn Davies <anwyn at internode.on.net> wrote:
<snip>  it is always a full moon at Easter, <snip>Agro

<<< Ah, memories of more than one Festival listening to young thing staggering
out of the Tavern musing how lucky it was that there was a full moon at
Festival and wondering if the Stewards had planned it...

Blod, sad to be missing it. >>>


Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 20:06:27 +1000
From: "Sideshow Mel" <melinahall at optusnet.com.au>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

RE; Having to put a mattress on the floor of a tent, whether it be an air 
mattress or a foam mattress. When I've had to do this, I have gotten a tarp 
just slightly larger than the mattress, put it under the mattress & duct 
taped it to the mattress, so if any water has gotten into the tent, it's 
gone between the floor & the tarp, & the mattress has stayed dry. A 
waterproof sheet would also work, but I couldn't find one in a double 
mattress size.

For really wet Festivals, or when I've doubted the waterproof-ness of the 
tent, I've also put waterproof pillow covers on the pillows, under the 
pillow case, & always wool on top of the bed, so that if the tent takes in 
water from above it can't get through into the rest of the bed, since wool 
blankets are fairly water repellant.

Dry equals happy!

Asa


Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 21:18:22 +1000
From: Paul Sleigh <bat at flurf.net>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Asa wrote:
Dry equals happy!

Ah, memories.  A song on that topic:

http://flurf.net/batpage/WatchingTheTents

: Bat :


Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2011 13:25:04 +0930
From: "Anwyn Davies" <anwyn at internode.on.net>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "'The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list'"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Rowany Festival has shifted sites several times. It used to be on a private
farm, (several site-moves ago) which had a waterhole in a gully, and so was
always pretty cold as it received direct sunlight for only a short period of
the day. Because it was a short trek away from the camp site, and visually
isolated, you had no idea if the waterhole would be in use as you headed
down until you were pretty much on it. The water also wasn't what you'd call
crystal clear - if you chose to swim in your chemise, your white linens
would come out looking yellow from the algae. It was notorious for being the
swim that left you grottier than when you went in - but on a hot Festival
day, it was divine!

I still remember my first Festival, aged 20, swimming with three female
friends. As we had limited numbers of chemises with us, and the waterhole
was empty when we arrived, we chose to swim naked. Before we were ready to
leave, however, Sasha (a big burly Russian chap, notorious for suffering
from foot-in-mouth disease) came tromping down with a bunch of new fighters,
stripping armour as they went, and with Sasha loudly explaining the whys and
wherefores of Festival to these young, male Festival-virgins. I still giggle
when I remember the look on his face as he realised there were several
young, stark naked ladies frolicking in the water; after a second of
wide-eyed shock, he decided to play it cool. His young companions were not
quite sure where to look, but Sasha decided to go the route of 'not
concerned, seen it all before, this is the SCA, women swim naked in the
waterhole all the time and no one thinks anything of it'. He, however, made
the choice to enter the water with breeches and shirt still on.

So in Sasha went, still talking loudly, nonchalantly wading in, determined
to prove how unfazed he was, until he hit waist-height in the water,
whereupon he stopped, with an agonised look on his face.

"What's wrong?" we called out from the freezing cold water.

"I forgot to take my box out," he replied, "and it's leaking in!"

I'm not sure if we laughed more then, watching his face, or re-telling the
story at the campfire later that night.


Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2011 16:18:57 +1000
From: "Sideshow Mel" <melinahall at optusnet.com.au>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

> What does the event have in the way of public shower facilities?

There are NO public showers at Festival, only what you bring with you, or 
your campsite brings. The only public facility provided at Festival are 
toilets, a mix of plastic porta-potties & composting toilets.

Asa


Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2011 16:43:29 +1000
From: Zebee Johnstone <zebeej at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

On Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 4:18 PM, Sideshow Mel <melinahall at optusnet.com.au> wrote:
<<< There are NO public showers at Festival, only what you bring with you, or
your campsite brings. The only public facility provided at Festival are
toilets, a mix of plastic porta-potties & composting toilets. >>>

There have been other facilities at previous sites.  As Glenworth is
not a  facilities campground, we have what we bring in.  It's also low
lying so massive amounts of waste water from temporary showers would
be tricky to deal with.    I believe the owners of the site have
vetoed constructing public showers but I could be wrong.    Even if
they haven't someone has to commit to trucking the materials in,
setting them up, maintaining them, taking them down, and taking them
out.  And someone gets to pay for all that too.

There is a creek running through the camp (it was running beside it
the first few times,but it's through it now!) which people swim in,
and other users of the Glenworth site sometimes kyak through.
(getting exclusive use of the place would be horribly expensive as
we'd have to pay for forgone revenue)  There isn't enough privacy for
stripping off, so people wear anything from modern swimwear to
shirts/chemises to trews and tunic.

I'm a natural grot (and spent a portion of my childhood living in a
packing shed with the "bath" being a basin by the fireplace) so a
wipedown and maybe a quick basin bath does for me.  I do rinse my
fighting shirts which get to dry for a day each, that seems to work
well enough.

Silfren


Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2011 17:05:21 +1000
From: Anika Page <anika.page at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Festival Article Help
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

There are no public showers on site, but the river is clean and free to swim
in. You can bring your own shower equipment if you wish.

The public toilets are great composting toilets, which smell much better
than the portaprivies, but have about four steps to walk up in order to
enter them. Some people find these steps inconvenient, and they hire the
portaprivies.

--Lyssa


Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:33:40 +1000
From: Keith Luc-Romanis <keith.romanis at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Lochac Digest, Vol 29, Issue 79
To: lochac at lochac.sca.org

Ovens at Festival a quick history:

- At Wilton there were 44 gallon drum ovens out the back of the tavern that
were wood fired

- At Wilton Master John of the Hills and Master Charles of the Bark ran a
bakery for a while on site using gas powered commerical ovens

- Mistress Marguriete and Mistress Gabriella used a similar gas powered oven
to make pies (I think at Tara)

- At Crossroads the Lemmings built a brick woodfired oven

- At Crossroads and Glenworth Valley Abbotsofrd have a woodfired brick and
earth oven to bake bread and currant buns!

I've eaten out of all of them and they are all great!

Hrothgar (being a bit boring, but there you go)


Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:20:28 +1000
From: Del <del at babel.com.au>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] ovens at Festival
To: The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list <lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Here's the Abbotsford bread oven, during construction:
http://images.jeremygregson.com/festival/IMG_2240.JPG

... and after:
http://images.jeremygregson.com/festival/IMG_2241.JPG
-- 
Del


Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:40:15 +1000
From: Laura Iseman <laiseman at optusnet.com.au>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] ovens at Festival
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Abbotsford has built an oven from bricks and mud in camp for many years now.
At Crossroads we could leave it up and only re-build when we thought we
could improve the design. At Glenworth we store the bricks in the storage
container. I built this years in about 2 hours (possibly less), with a
couple of people hauling mud for me. It did help that we were on the river
bank and so didn't have to haul it very far. the mud had chopped grass mixed
in to it since we didn't have any straw.

You can see it under construction at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36906401 at N00/5667590532/

Miriam

On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 7:11 AM, Willhameena Power <
willhameena15 at optusnet.com.au> wrote:
<<< We have gas ovens that we bring for camp use, there are no permanent ovens
on site, though you may be able to build  ovens for use if you can ensure
that nothing is left after festival that would injure horses etc, it would
be something to discus with the stewards if you were interested, as they
have similar rules for fire pits

Dominica >>>


Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:10:10 +1200
From: "Zane R. V. Bruce" <zane at paradise.gen.nz>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Lochac Digest, Vol 29, Issue 79
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Hrothgar wrote:
<<< 
- At Wilton there were 44 gallon drum ovens out the back of the tavern
that were wood fired
- At Wilton Master John of the Hills and Master Charles of the Bark ran a
bakery for a while on site using gas powered commerical ovens
- Mistress Marguriete and Mistress Gabriella used a similar gas powered
oven to make pies (I think at Tara)
- At Crossroads the Lemmings built a brick woodfired oven
- At Crossroads and Glenworth Valley Abbotsofrd have a woodfired brick and
earth oven to bake bread and currant buns!
>>>

There was also the chuffer furnace and oven I built at the St Florians
campsite at Crossroads.  Mainly mud-mortared stone, a couple of steel
doors for the fire chamber and oven, plus two beer keg chuffers and a
chimney to keep a good draft on the fire.  Unfortunately derelict now as
the chuffers were removed when Festival moved.


Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2011 20:30:37 +1000
From: Ian Whitchurch <ian.whitchurch at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Vehicles on site
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

All Festival sites have issues.

Wilton was too small.

Tara was used occasionally.

Crossroads had dust, and air-braking trucks.

Peats Ridge has quad bikes, and others that share the site.

Any site we choose will have issues.

Anton


Date: Sun, 1 May 2011 13:39:28 +1000
From: Cat Colwell <eslyssa at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Minority of one...
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

On 1 May 2011 13:23, <masterwolf at optusnet.com.au> wrote:
<<< No not the only one - I like crossroads

I would like it more after a bit of regular rain - but it was a site with a
lot of potential

Luan >>>

Oh, I'm certain that Del is not the only one.

I only experienced 2 Festivals at Crossroads (each with a trip to hospital
for dust exacerbated breathing problems), and even so I would have probably
kept attending a Festival held at Crossroads, likely to the annoyance of the
Chirurgeons.

But I'm not sure I would have been ambitious enough to *Steward* one where
each of the trips to site and back took 3 hours. Yes, I do realise that 3
hours is nothing to the marathon drives by many attendees, but doing it
multiple times and still having enough energy and patience to *run* Festival
at the end of it is a level of sanity that I both wonder at and applaud in
the past Crossroads Festival Stewards.

(...I can't deny that Crossroads seemed a site with a lot of potential. But
many who were attendees at all the Crossroads based Festivals have suggested
to me that it had much of the same unfulfilled potential at the end of our
time there as it did at the beginning. Your experience may differ.)

As for whether Rowany should renew its contract with Glenworth, or look
elsewhere, or even back to Crossroads - I am sure will be a topic of great
discussion within the Rowany Senate. But I must admit, I will find it very
hard to support a move that makes it even more difficult on those mad enough
to Steward such a massive event.

Regards
Ameline
no-longer-Festival-Steward


Date: Sun, 1 May 2011 14:17:44 +1000
From: Irina Lubomirska <ilubomirska at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Minority of one...
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

On 1 May 2011 13:39, Cat Colwell <eslyssa at gmail.com> wrote:
<<< But I must admit, I will find it very hard to support a move that makes it even more difficult on those mad enough to Steward such a massive event. >>>

That seems like a very important consideration - if a site is inconvenient
for stewards, either the event doesn't happen, will be run badly or will
result in only a few people being willing to steward, risking their burnout.

Personally, I've only ever been to two festivals - both at Glenworth, so
have nothing to compare it to. But I like how green and beautiful the site
is and the atmosphere it creates. I like the fact that it is not sub-zero
temperatures at night. And that you can't see street lights, major roads and
other such distractions.

I'm not much bothered by the humidity, but I don't like how wet/muddy/flood
prone it is (our campsite had to be moved as the original site was under
water). Or the length of the drive from Melbourne. Or that it gets dark
pretty early. Or the road in/out.

And frankly, if I don't like it, I can either suck it up or not go to
Festival. Its my choice. It is not the job of the stewards to meet my every
like.

There will *always* be something something, someone will dislike about any
site. People with dust-related breathing problems will probably prefer the
flood-prone Glenworth to the dusty Crossroads any day. People who can't bear
the humidity will prefer the opposite.

Unless people can propose a solution to problems, without creating more
problems, there's no point whingeing.

Alliette


Date: Sun, 1 May 2011 18:21:56 +1000
From: Paul Sleigh <bat at flurf.net>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Minority of one... (plus one)
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Ameline the Confused
> ...who was hospitalised because of the "irritation" of dust at Crossroads

I was rather vocally in favour of ditching the Crossroads site after
five years of dust, hills and fire bans, and I'm glad the Senate
managed to find possibly the best available site in all of NSW.  That
said, the closest any of my family came to hospitalization was when my
twit of a daughter decided to spend a day without any food or drink
and played in the enormous mud puddles.  Result: hypothermia and blood
sugar crashes all over the place, and she's lucky we had friends in
the Agaricus site who knew better than I did what to do about it.

There were deal-breakers about all the sites except, in hindsight,
Tara.  Fairholme Park had the simple problem that we weren't allowed
to use it -- it was a rented farm, and we couldn't keep accommodating
a thousand campers without repercussions.  Crossroads had the dust and
the distance (though it was quite convenient for Politarchopolans) and
the eternal fireban that did immense damage to the ambiance of
Festival.  Glenworth Valley has the rampaging mundanes (who weren't
that bad the two years I saw them, but may have gotten worse) plus the
whole flood-plain-with-only-one-exit problem that might never matter
but might one day cause fatalities.  The funny thing is that we (well,
the Senate at the time) ditched Tara because they'd broken the
contract of exclusivity, and nearly a decade later we have even worse
problems with mundanes and fewer options.

So if I had a time machine, I'd pop back to 2001 and convince Rowany
to put up with the girl guides and stay at Tara.  At the time, of
course, I was gung ho about the possibilities of Crossroads, and very
much in favour of ditching Tara, so if I had that time machine I'd
have to convince myself first.

All of which is to say: hindsight is 20:20, and no site is perfect.
My personal opinion is that I strongly dislike Glenworth Valley but I
*hated* the Crossroads site, and if the choice were between those two,
I'd pick Suthmoot.

This opinion has been provided free of charge.  Two cents worth would
be way overpriced.

: Bat :


Date: Mon, 2 May 2011 03:30:20 +1000
From: Corinna <umbra at iinet.net.au>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] other locations
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

To be fair, Glenworth Valley doesn't give us the site to ourselves either - just a small part of it.

Of the three sites I've been at (Tara, Crossroads and Glenworth) I liked Crossroads the least because of the ferocious winds (our household was on the ridge) which pretty much made our period tent unusable and festival very uncomfortable. Tara had the advantage of being easy to access with no real likelihood of getting flooded out. Glenworth has the atmosphere - misty/foggy evenings with campfires enhance the medieval feel.

Elysant


Date: Mon, 2 May 2011 03:42:15 +0000
From: Melinda Elliott <mel_elliott100 at hotmail.com>
Subject: [Lochac] Stuff about Festival site
To: <lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Some facts about Festival site:

Glenworth Valley has a number of areas that we would be able to use to run Festival, not just the spot that we currently use. The original Festival site was further down the valley. It is gorgeous. It's really isolated, and there would be no passing traffic of any kind. No quad bikes, kayakers, etc. It's roomy.  There's a fair bit more space than we currently use.

But...

The road to get there is terrible. It's over 4 kilometres of winding, narrow, muddy trail. You think the access to the current site is dodgy? You ain't seen nothing. When Gillian and I ran the first Glenworth Festival, we knew it was going to be problematic. But the real kicker was that the original site was much more of a sinkhole than the current site. We made the strategic decision to move Festival to the current spot when it became apparent that there was only about 1 acre of ground that wasn't ankle deep. This was 2 weeks before Festival 2008. We have stayed at the "contingency site" ever since. The other areas that were offered for our use were: too small; no better in terms of standing water and access; or were right up the top of the valley, well within sight of the public. I think we made the best choice available to us at the time. That is not to say that another area within Glenworth could be investigated for future Festivals. We had not been told that our site was also used for the kayaks and the quad bikes when we chose it...

Rowany is not "locked in" to a contract with Glenworth Valley. I believe that the agreement made with them is fairly informal, and we have made no commitment to them. If you have a better idea for Festival site, then please, let the Rowany Senate know! Don?t just say ?Oh, it should be here? - do a little bit of research, find out the cost, any pros and cons of the site, etc. Cataract Scout park may well be worth considering. Are there others like this? Unfortunately, Tara has been sold and is no longer an option. There are relatively few provisos for a Festival site, but these can be hard to meet: it must be in NSW, and the closer to Sydney, the better. It is still Rowany Festival, after all!* It has to be big enough, they have to allow us to erect marquees, toilet blocks, have archery, and so on. It's highly unlikely that the Senate will consider a new Festival site for 2012, but it may be considered for 2013 or beyond.

When it comes down to it, the only way that you can make Festival more to your liking is to volunteer for something. Don't like the way the campsite is laid out? Volunteer to be the campsite coordinator. Want more control over who enters the site and how? Volunteer to run the Gate. Have serious issues with the way Festival is run? Volunteer to run it yourself. The SCA is not a spectator sport. You get out what you put in, and the more effort put in by more participants, the better it will be for everyone. Solutions are always a better thing to bring to the table than problems.

Hunydd

* I was not involved in the process at the time, but I believe that the Kingdom was offered the opportunity to take over the management of Festival, and was either unwilling or unable to do so. The other reason that NSW is going to be a... more fair... place to hold this event is that it is sort of central. A bit. Yes, a very small bit if you are coming from Tassie or Perth, this is true. 		 	   		  

Date: Tue, 3 May 2011 08:34:52 +1000
From: "Sideshow Mel" <melinahall at optusnet.com.au>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Ow
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

The NEWCASTLE airport is about an hour away from Glenworth Valley. I know this because every year Draco flies down while I drive, & I pick him up. A shuttle or pick up offer from NEWCASTLE airport could be much easier. [than Sydney]

Asa


Date: Tue, 3 May 2011 09:14:01 +1000
From: Irina Lubomirska <ilubomirska at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Ow
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

On 3 May 2011 08:48, Zebee Johnstone <zebeej at gmail.com> wrote:
<<< I had no idea people used that (Newcastle airport], learn something every day!  Which airlines fly into Newcastle, is this likely to be a viable option for enough people to make a shuttle worthwhile? >>>

Virgin Blue, Jetstar, Qantas. Tiger doesn't. Don't know re any regional
airlines.


Date: Tue, 3 May 2011 09:19:31 +1000
From: Alonya Mazoyer <submarinechick at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Ow
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Newcastle airport would be a great idea for those who are flying
domestically.  Not so if you are an international.
I was one of the people assigned to be a shuttle for those arriving at
Gosford train station as it was something that was physically possible for
me to do this year being so soon after surgery.

For those who have not utilised the shuttle service from Gosford before, it
is a great way to get to site. 

Gosford is about 20-30 minutes from site, and has a fantastic little
shopping centre for all your last minute needs.

The shuttle service is provided mainly by the kind residents of Rowany but
other baronies and shires as help out as well and is essentially a volunteer
service.  If you are flying in a day or 2 before, let the stewards know as
there are people who do multiple trips from site to the city again and could
potentially collect you from the airport and transport you to site for the
cost of airport parking, which is cheaper than getting the train from either
airport.

Another thing you can do to make your travels easier is if you are from a
far flung group and there is a person who is crazy enough to drive your gear
to site, put cash into the petrol fund, provide some nibblies for the
driver/s and travel with less equipment.  I know a few people who do this
and then help out to unpack the vehicles or pack up as required.  It works a
treat and those who are travelling by air are not so encumbered by stupid
amounts luggage.  As a regular traveler with stupid amounts of luggage, I
speak from experience.

Glenworth Valley is not the easiest to get to but there are things that the
stewards, various attendees and you can do to make your travels easier and
smoother.  Please, please, please let the stewards know well in advance as
they can do anything within reason as long as they have the information and
enough notice.  If left to the last minute there is the risk of being left
out.

Juliana


Date: Tue, 3 May 2011 09:26:17 +1000
From: "Sideshow Mel" <melinahall at optusnet.com.au>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Ow
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Well a person could fly into Sydney from anywhere, then get a flight from 
Sydney to Newcastle, & get picked up from there. I reckon it's actually 
easier to get from Glenworth Valley to Newcastle Airport than Gosford Train 
station. I've picked up people from both, & the airport doesn't need complex 
inner CBD navigation.

In my experience, I have always picked up people travelling from Brisbane, 
so one short flight or a direct train trip Bris - Gos.

Qantas, Virgin & Jetstar all fly into Newcastle. I can't say where FROM, as 
we've only ever flown BRIS - NEW.

I can't comment on the rest of Silfren's questions, as I will always, always 
drive to Festival, so I can ensure I have the infrastructure I need.

Asa


Date: Tue, 3 May 2011 09:31:37 +1000
From: Georgia Winter <winter.georgia at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Ow
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Virgin doesn't fly Sydney-Newcastle, only to/from Brisbane, Gold Coast and Melbourne.

Qantas the same. And jetstar.

I suspect that is why people don't fly there from other places ;-)

Honore


Date: Tue, 3 May 2011 10:03:52 +1000
From: John Colwell <milesdecolwell at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Hiring Tents for Festival
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

It's probably worth pointing out that there is now year round storage
at festival, for a reasonable fee, and has been for several years. I
think its $20sqm but don't quote me.

The northern duchies liked it sooo much they added a second shipping container.

If your big cook/eating tent for your household is going to be paid
off in two/three years then you only really need the extra expense to
get it to festival once.

This is something we tried to get done for 5 years at Crossroads and
couldn't. At Glenworth it took two years.

Miles de Colwell


Date: Tue, 3 May 2011 12:34:51 +1200
From: David Robb <ender at paradise.gen.nz>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Ow
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

On Tue, 03 May 2011 10:48:23 Zebee Johnstone wrote:
<<< I suspect most people who fly in to Sydney would prefer a shuttle from
the airport to negotiating the train system from Mascot to Central
then to Gosford, is there anyone who has done the train thing and can
they share what it was like? >>>

All of us travelling from Ildhafn this year caught the train from the airport 
to site. It was easy and relatively comfortable on the way to site, and easy 
but less comfortable on the way back because the train was already pretty full 
of people travelling to the Easter show by the time it arrived at Gosford.

I'd also like to say big thanks to Don Loyola and Miles de Colwell for 
providing a very welcome shuttle service to and from site from Gosford 
station!

If you are going to travel by train, limit the number of bags you're trying to 
wheel/carry/drag. More than 2 per person is a pain to load and unload from the 
trains, and the carriages aren't really set up for people with large bags.

I'll certainly plan on catching the train again next time.

--William


Date: Tue, 3 May 2011 10:49:56 +1000
From: Braddon Giles <braddongiles at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Ow
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

On 3 May 2011 09:26, Sideshow Mel <melinahall at optusnet.com.au> wrote:
<<< Well a person could fly into Sydney from anywhere, then get a flight from
Sydney to Newcastle, & get picked up from there. I reckon it's actually
easier to get from Glenworth Valley to Newcastle Airport than Gosford Train
station. I've picked up people from both, & the airport doesn't need complex
inner CBD navigation. >>>

The train from Sydney airport to Gosford station requires one change
at Central. That is easy if you are used to public transport and have
a little foresight, or a complete nightmare if not. Not everyone is
used to public transport. No blame or judgement here - this is about
horses for courses. The train to Gosford is great, if you can do that.
The flight to Newcastle is great as well, in a different way. You
choose. This year I drove from Festival to pick up Maud from Sydney
Domestic terminal at 9.30pm - if it was during the day she would have
caught the train to Gosford.

I prefer the pick up at Gosford station over Nexcastle airport, but I
fully understand where Asa is coming from.

I have travelled to Festival from both within the Central Axis and
from distance. I have always found the Festival Stewards to be
understanding and cooperative to my transport needs. But I know that
we have a relatively large logistic effort, so we arrive early and
leave late, and that way we are not causing any problems and no one is
in our way. I don't know if it would still be kisses all round if I
drove a big truck from Queensland onto site at, say, Friday midday, so
we don't do it.

The dates and times for Festival aren't a secret. The road down isn't
a secret. The stewards have a great reputation for assisting and
guiding people who travel from a distance, and also for legitimately
denying access to vehicles when that would diminish the overall
experience for the rest of the players.

If you drive onto site on Friday then you are carrying your stuff from
the carpark. If you have an emergency then a car on site is the sign
that our courtesy and chivalry is winning, which *enhances* our game.

More power to the stewards.

Giles.


Date: Wed, 4 May 2011 09:33:17 +1000
From: "JTStewart" <jtstewart at westnet.com.au>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Hiring Tents for Festival
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

Moving Festival to Crossroads helped increase the numbers attending. I 
believe that the numbers attending Festival at Tara had just broken the 
1,000 barrier before the move. Except for a drop to 800 odd on the first 
year at Crossroads the numbers stayed over 1,000 each year. However the 
numbers attending festival plummeted from well over 1,000 to around 600 for 
the first 3 festivals at Glenworth. I haven't heard what the numbers were 
for this year but I would be surprised if over 1,000 turned up even with the 
Crown event there. For whatever reasons since the Rowany Festival was moved 
to Glenworth people have not been going to Festival in the numbers that they 
had in the past. In some ways I have found the smaller festival more 
enjoyable than when it was larger.

As to atmosphere that is a very subjective thing. I preferred the Crossroads 
site with its more interesting terrain, fewer bogs, no leeches and cleaner 
air. YMMV

As to injuries I have no idea and it would be interesting to see actual 
numbers on reported injuries for all festivals.

Contrary to certain opinions Festival did not make Crossroads any more 
commercially viable than it was before Festival turned up. My personal 
opinion is that Festival went to Crossroads too early and a couple more 
years of preparations would have had the site organised better. In matter of 
fact festival was a huge distraction from the goals of Crossroads. Again 
YMMV.

John of the Hills
(Also a Crossroads member)


Date: Wed, 4 May 2011 10:49:16 +1000
From: Somhairle Mac Nicail <sorle.sca at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Hiring Tents for Festival
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
	<lochac at lochac.sca.org>

On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 9:33 AM, JTStewart <jtstewart at westnet.com.au> wrote:
<<< I haven't heard what the numbers were for this year but I would be
surprised if over 1,000 turned up even with the Crown event there. >>>

Be surprised. My estimate (from my position of Head Troll with access
to the booking numbers and signed waivers) is that 1000+ people who
came to Festival this year. This is a rough personal estimate. Formal
numbers have not been finalised.

Sorle
Booking Officer and Head Troll
Rowany Festival 2011
-- 
Somhairle Mac Nicail: Lochac Historian, Shambles List Boss, etc.


Date: Wed, 4 May 2011 20:01:04 +1000
From: Catherine Connor <paladin_c55 at hotmail.com>
Subject: [Lochac] Wonderful Spirit!
To: The Shambles <lochac at lochac.sca.org>

I would like to put on my Miss Mary Sunshine hat here for a bit and share some happy observations about Rowany Festival.

After (nearly) a week living in our version of the Middle Ages, where things are oh so much nicer than the real Middle Ages, we had lots of practice being polite and nice and courteous. This stood people in very good stead on that last Tuesday, when we were packing up in the rain, and driving cars through the mud, and dealing with wet feet, wet clothes, and tired to the bones!

I walked all through the encampment in bare feet with my umbrella, on a couple of errands. I gave out a few necessary hugs, but all in all everyone was wonderful. There were smiles and cooperation and all was good! Some people had a bit of bother driving their cars out in the mud, so some helped drive and some helped push. People helped their neighbours when needed.

In all this post Festival blah, please remember that the SCA is about a wonderful spirit that we share. It has been with us from the beginning, and hopefully will continue. I refuse to get jaded or turned off, even at my advanced age.

To all my wonderful, wacky and creative friends out there- BIG HUGS!!!
Now be nice, or I shall have to get stern.

Catherine of Glastonbury

<the end>		 	
Edited by Mark S. Harris	Rowany-Festvl-msg	26 of 26