2003-07-21 - 3:45 p.m.

AoD wrote recently (it�s virtual-today to me, since I haven�t been online in several days) about supporting the new rules on covering plastic armour. I�m 100% in favour of the concept (as anyone who has seen my kit would realize) but I am not convinced that the legislation will accomplish anything besides a) developing an industry in spats and tabards, and b)making people cranky.

I�m as big a geezer as the next person, and quite a bit more than some (I think it�s 23 years this summer that I�ve been practicing this hobby?). I can see that there have certainly been the changes AoD reports � better pavilions and furniture, coupled with less care in covering/dealing with the small things. I�m as guilty as others on some of them (my biggest recent failings are not having a period container or cover for the miscellaneous bags of stuff such as groceries (but that was mostly in Drachenwald in June where I couldn�t carry everything I�d have wanted) and not covering the keg at Sapphire, but it was *pouring* out and any cover I used would immediately become soggy and muddy).

But in an organization as, um, flexible (not sure it's a good thing, but it's true!) as the SCA, I think that requiring period boots or spats over supportive boots is dumb. Or at least so far down the list of �things we don�t do well� as to be ridiculous. According to the interpretations I�ve heard/read, such things as Tuchux armour will be legal (because they�re leather, and therefore medieval) yet we're bouncing combat boots? Sigh.... Note, I think the idea of tabards to cover plastic (or otherwise unsightly) body armour is a great step forward, and I'm tempted to pack a couple of stray "loaner tabards" from now on.

On the 'doing it well' front, I think I always hoped we�d improve (as we have on other things) by enthusiasm and interest (and a certain amount of oneupsmanship!) rather than requiring legislation.

That said, my life is also officially a Drama-Light zone (see Nia's Fish Tales for a description!), by virtue of being no longer on the Board of Directors. Whoohoo! (I can�t wait for the email deluge to dry up!)

Happy birthday to the birthday folks � sorry we couldn�t make your collective party!

The meeting was interesting - I'll have to do a whole separate travelogue on that. Maybe tomorrow when I'm not quite so tired....

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