The next opportunity to serve came to me without warning or preparation, kinda just fell in my lap.
We are friends with the then Seneschal of the Shire of Coill Tuar (Southern Ulster Co., NY & Northern Orange Co., NY) Lorenz Greylever
We attended their Winter Holiday event, and specially drove through NYC (specifically Brooklyn) to pick up the then Vicereign of OstGardr, Johanna I Visby.
We could have taken the Cross Sound Ferry into Connecticut from Long Island, but we picked up the Vicereign instead.
She's a Lovely woman who has since been admitted into the Order of the Pelican...
More about her later.
When we arrived at the event site, we found Lorenz (the Seneschal) sitting at the admissions gate.
This was unusual, because the Seneschal is typically moving around and about an event, getting things done, and making sure any sparks don't turn into fires.
We did not know the place was already 'ablaze.'
I volunteered to sit troll until the regularly assigned person showed up.
Lorenz told us she was down with the plague.
I told him I would handle troll for the day, and he should go do what needed to be done.
At this point my Lord Husband, Ronan FitzRobert, volunteered to help in the kitchen, along with our daughter, Miriam Giant-Slayer, and asked where they could find the Feastocrat.
She was also down with the plague.
My hubby and daughter promptly rolled up sleeves and took over the scut work in the kitchen, ending up basically running the Feast for the event.
This was the start of the Family FitzRobert getting known for attending events outside our own area and working them so the locals can have fun.
SCAdians are a pleasant group as a whole.
When the locals were told I was a foreigner helping out, they were quite patient & helpful to me in return.
I got to really place name to face for folk I otherwise would not have.
At Troll you get their real and SCAdian names, and their monies.
You give them a site token, (a commemorative souvenir as proof of admission,) and help them head off to the activity for which they showed up.
This part was a bit challenging, because this was the first event I had attended in the Shire.
I really didn't know where anything was.
I muddled through.
The paperwork got completed correctly.
The monies balanced.
The Feast went off without a hitch.
The food was enjoyed by all.
Lorenz got to return to his Seneschal-ly duties and the 'fire' was extinguished.
I had fun.
So did Ronan and Miriam.
I got to sit beside Johanna for Feast, and see how things are done in a Shire as opposed to a Barony. It felt a bit odd to not have an Event include Court, but it does make it feel more casual and homey like. It also allows things to end a bit earlier when you don't have to include time for a Court and all the things that go with it. I can understand why an area might want to stay a Shire, all the fun stuff without the extra layers of formality that accompany even the most casual of Courts... and if you want that at any given event, ask your sponsoring Coronet to come to that event.
Best of both worlds, really
