Drachenwald University 2018, and presenting my Golden Egg
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My Panache tolken and ‘hatched’ Golden Egg resting on the finished hood
This year’s Drachenwald University was held last weekend at the beautiful Ingestre Hall, a 17th c. Jacobean mansion in Stafford, England. These beautiful surroundings framed a busy but rewarding weekend. Two personal highlights were presenting my finished Golden Egg project and receiving the Order of the Panache, a kingdom-level Arts and Sciences award.
A summary
I will share my post from the Drachenwald FaceBook page as an initial summary of the weekend’s activities:
“I cannot begin to set words to all the thoughts I have after Kingdom University last weekend, though I will try to sum up with three favorites:
Elevation! It was through her service that I first came to know Constanza of Thamesreach, and through Drachenwald University we first met in person. It was such a joy to be able to witness her elevation to the Order of the Pelican, seeing her recognized for her hard work and amazing skills at herding cats. I am so proud of you, sister!
Golden Egg! A giant Thank You to Countess Isabetta del Verde for creating this challenge household, and making yet another way for artisans of all levels to grow and support each other right across our far-flung kingdom. It is an honor to be inducted into this household, and I look forward to many more joining me. Magdalen Yrjänäntytär and Yda v Boulogne, my co-challengers, your classes were inspiring and I look forward to learning more from you. Thank you all for your kind words about my hood. <3
People!!! It was so very good to spend time with my family of choice, and also to meet friends in person for the first time. So much hard work goes into events, so that we can come together and play this game of ours. Hats off to the event staff that has made this University a resounding success! Huzzah!
And one last item for good measure:
Panache! So cool to know that my obsession with Northern Norway hasn’t scared people off, and that they find my various projects interesting. I promise there’ll be more fish and wool in the future.
My heart is full, and my batteries recharged. Time to plot more shenanigans for next time!
Beata Sigridsdotter- I love the Panache tolken you made! Thank you!!!!!”
And a little more
I presented my completed hood, a detail of which can be seen in the above photo, in the form of a class. It was hard to condense all of the information and reflections from the work process into 50 minutes. Definitely a skill area I want to develop more. I will be creating further blog posts to present the stages of the work, so stay tuned!
During court, Countess Isabetta del Verde presented the Society of the Golden Egg challenge household, then called me forward. She presented me with an egg wrapped in a pretty gold band and instructed me to crack it open. Thus was hatched the First Golden Egg. I am honored to be the premier member of this household, and look forward to supporting others as they make their own journey toward membership.
A short note on travel
I stayed in Manchester a few days on either side of the event, and I absolutely recommend it for a future visit! The town was easy to navigate, with free busses circuiting the city center. There was a wide variety of interesting architecture, as well as museums and good food in abundance. The airport is easily accessed by train, and the current work on the terminal should make moving through the security zones more efficient.
Links:
Society of the Golden Egg: currently hosted here (http://brandkvist.com/goldenegg/), but will migrate to Drachenwald Kingdom’s website at some point in the future (http://www.drachenwald.sca.org)