Meeting Minutes - January 2007

Present:  Vitaliano, Vettoria, Brilliana, Bronislava, Valgarth, Ariella

Meeting called to order at 2:02 p.m. on 21 January 2007 in the Wedgewood Commons party room.

Note:  In default of our Seneschal, then snowbound in Ettrick, Lady Bronislava put on her "Drop-dead-deputy-for-forty-five-minutes" hat and officiated for the meeting.

As a result, the minutes differ just a wee bit from their usual format.

New Business

Autumn Rose 2007

• The Autocrat, Ahlwin, had proposed (via the Yahoo! Rokeclif message board) that we discuss the pricing for A.R. He proposed keeping the $8/person site fee, plus either $2 per tent or $1 per person camping fee, and Feast fee of $12.
• Vitaliano won't be able to price the Feast for approximately another month, because he won't have costs for all the ingredients (particularly lamb's liver) until then.
• An $8 per adult site fee was agreed upon.
• Camping fee will be $1 per adult, because keeping track of people is easier than keeping track of tents.
• The Camping fee will be waived for Shire members.
• Vitaliano will try to make arrangements to purchase bakalava from the coffee house for the Middle Eastern dessert, as it will be difficult (if not impossible) to make in the Lions' kitchen.
• Some discussion of themes:  Ahlwin had suggested a "Fall Harvest" theme. When it was pointed out that this will be the 13th Autumn Rose, the idea of themeing the event on superstitions was raised. Vitaliano pointed out that there are a number of supersitions specifically related to harvests, so perhaps the themes could be combined. Further follow-up research/discussion needed.
• Kudrun, in her post to the Yahoo! message board, asked whether or not we will hold a demo again this year. The general consensus was that the local folks are so used to the site being open that it could cause more trouble than it's worth to reverse policy now.
• Besides, if it's not a demo, then the Milkshake Ladies won't come. At the end of August, that's A Bad Thing. Some discussion of whether or not T-Bones would agree to provide lunch without the extra customers that a demo would provide. But the point is moot, because we pretty much are locked into the demo now.
• The question of whether or not to have a demo being decided, the next question was how aggressively to promote it. The question was ultimately tabled for a future meeting, hopefully one not one so snowy.
• Ahlwin will post the event to the Northshield Calendar shortly, with a disclaimer on the prices.

Viroqua Demo (February 24th)

• Brilliana and Valgarth briefly described some of the highlights from last year's demo, including merchants and a really big drum.
• Basically, the building is a converted auto dealership building that is now home to a number of artsy, boutique kinds of stores. This makes a very good backdrop for a demo.
• Vitaliano, Vettoria, Brilliana, Valgarth and Ariella confirmed that they will be able to make it. Bronislava is a quot;maybequot;.
• Last year, Eliane and Sarra came up from Jararvellir for the demo, but this year the date conflict's with Nordleigh's A Day of Squirrely Wrath event.

Garb Day in Ettrick

• ...is not happening.
• But. We still need to sew, particularly loaner garb.
• Ariella suggested A & S Nights as an ongoing sewing gig to beef up the garb closet, although Valgarth added the caveat that this would only be a good idea if it didn't step on the Chatelaine's proverbial toes.
• Valgarth will talk to Arnora about bringing the loaner garb over for A & S Nights.

Upcoming Events

• Our neighbor, Coille Stoirmeil, is hosting Tournament of Chivalry on February 3rd.
• The Shire of Falcon's Keep is hosting An Artful Hare Affaire on March 3rd, which will revolve around the Arts and Sciences displays, classes, judging, etc.

Officer's Reports

Arts and Sciences

• The list was passed around.
• Only Kudrun attended the last A & S Night; however, another one is coming up this Thursday.
• Vitaliano will bring a prototype of a soup that will be served at Autumn Rose. This is a predecessor of won-ton soup.
• As always, ideas and themes are solicited. Please contact Valgarth at brewer1(at)charter(dot)net for
• Semi-annual report was submitted and copied to the Rokeclif Seneschal.
• Vitaliano is looking for an idea of what wood the Scottish would have used to cook, because he will be making haggis on the Lion's grill and would like to use a "period" wood. However, the Lions need to approve the wood type, and out-of-state wood is not an option, given the dangers of importing parasites.

Exchequer

• Vettoria's computer did not synch the totals with her handheld, so approximate balances were given. (Precise figures are below.)

• The Domesday report will go out in two days' time. (It is due the 30th, and must be mailed, not electronically submitted.)
• Topping up the officer's funds is usually standard practice in January. Those present agreed to carry on the tradition for 2007.
• Because the Chiurgeon's Fund tends to run short on a consistent basis, a motion to raise the budget to $75 (from $60) was made, and passed unanimously.
• Bronislava will bring the receipt from the deposit on the Wedgewood Commons party room to A & S Night for Vettoria.

Herald

• Brilliana won a very nice Herald's tabard at Twelfth Night, which she is donating to the group.
• The pointy-haired Powers That Be are making noises about rearranging work schedules, which could mean that she would have to work on Sundays, and would thus miss meetings. Brilliana doesn't know for certain that this could happen, but it's a possibility.
• Her Domesday report was filed on time.

Webminister/Chronicler

• Per the group's earlier approval, the default format of the Birch will be PDF, rather than paper, starting with the February edition.
• One request for a paper version has been received thus far, graciously accompanied by a donation. Another donation was received after the meeting. (Huzzah for donations!)
• December's online meeting minutes marked two full years that they have been posted. The page at which the archive listing is available is at http://www.rokeclif.org/meetingminutes/archive.html.
• Ariella will contact Ahlwin regarding a bare-bones Autumn Rose website to link to from the Northshield event announcement.

Meeting adjourned at 2:38 p.m., giving us nine minutes of Stunt Seneschaldom to spare.

Credits: Exchequer details provided by Vettoria Soranzo.

Page last updated:  28 January 2007