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Went to West Kingdom Twelfth Night and Coronation this past weekend and had a BLAST. Friday after I got to the hotel was spent chatting with people at the bar (including the Prince of the Mists, which I didn't know at the time XD), and also on harpery shenanigans with Tangwistel Telynores, or just Telynor, who's a harp Laurel and has an absolutely gorgeous harp styled after the Queen Mary in Scotland. I met Telynor at Boar Hunt a few weeks ago, and we nattered each other's faces off about harps, so we decided to get up at some point and have her look at my wee harp. Which we did! She has a spreadsheet program she wrote to calculate string length and notes based on the wire gauge; measurements were taken, during which we determined that the strings were steel (!) as opposed to brass or bronze. She also took a look at the split on the side, and we talked to a friend of hers who does woodworking to see what he thought. A specimen was taken of the glue inside the harp body and dunked it in a cup of water to see if it dissolved; if it did, it was hide glue and we were golden to fix it, and if it didn't it was wood glue which is horrid to work with. It dissolved! Yay! So Telynor is going to give me a copy of the program and the numbers and I'll run up a string chart so I can restring it in bronze wire of the proper gauges. She also gave me the website of a luthier down in Palo Alto who might be able to repair the split! All in all a very productive evening!
We also stopped by the Bardic Circle and as I told everyone the harp's history, there were several audible gasps -- including from the owner of Siobhan's other harp. They sang her most famous song, the West Kingdom anthem "To The West", and I nearly cried. It gave me chills. ^__^
Saturday was the event itself. First up was the final court of Hans and Helga, during which the first Order of the Acorn (youth award!) was given. Then I went out to the hall and sat with the display of West Kingdom crowns -- the Ancient and Venerable Regalia -- and learned some of the history of the West Kingdom, which is where the SCA got started. (Just down the road in South Berkeley, in fact XD) Then there was Coronation, when Hans and Helga stepped down as King and Queen and Uther and Vera stepped up. There was a lot of fealty swearing during that court. XD a LOT. XD After a break was Uther and Vera's first court, where they appointed the Queen's Guard and various Champions. It was a GREAT court, filled with magic and pageantry with a touch of shtick. I think I'm going to like this reign. XD
Sunday I was going to attend the Herald's meeting, but I woke up feeling lousy and just skipped out and came home without managing to say goodbye to anyone. *sadface* But all in all, a wonderful time was had, I learned more about my harp, plotting and planning for future stuff happened, and I got to see friends I have made and met new friends. Yay! I'm really beginning to fall in love with the West Kingdom....
We also stopped by the Bardic Circle and as I told everyone the harp's history, there were several audible gasps -- including from the owner of Siobhan's other harp. They sang her most famous song, the West Kingdom anthem "To The West", and I nearly cried. It gave me chills. ^__^
Saturday was the event itself. First up was the final court of Hans and Helga, during which the first Order of the Acorn (youth award!) was given. Then I went out to the hall and sat with the display of West Kingdom crowns -- the Ancient and Venerable Regalia -- and learned some of the history of the West Kingdom, which is where the SCA got started. (Just down the road in South Berkeley, in fact XD) Then there was Coronation, when Hans and Helga stepped down as King and Queen and Uther and Vera stepped up. There was a lot of fealty swearing during that court. XD a LOT. XD After a break was Uther and Vera's first court, where they appointed the Queen's Guard and various Champions. It was a GREAT court, filled with magic and pageantry with a touch of shtick. I think I'm going to like this reign. XD
Sunday I was going to attend the Herald's meeting, but I woke up feeling lousy and just skipped out and came home without managing to say goodbye to anyone. *sadface* But all in all, a wonderful time was had, I learned more about my harp, plotting and planning for future stuff happened, and I got to see friends I have made and met new friends. Yay! I'm really beginning to fall in love with the West Kingdom....
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