Well phoo!

One of my new neighbors just got loaded into the back of an ambulance with their head and left hand wrapped in bandages.

Please the Gods, all turns out to be well. They were in the sitting-up position on the stretcher so I'm hoping that means that the injuries are not major (the attendants weren't worried about them going shocky, so hopefully they'll come out of this with no scars and full use of the hand).

MTA concerns

I've never been a participant at MTA - have always ended up going as a visitor. So while I've done demos before, it's never been at a juried event. And I have a bit of a dilemma that is making me wonder if I ought to just go as a visitor again. You see, it is Drama and Politics (and one little question of behavior concerning glasses).

The easy one is the glasses - as a member of Vikings North America, our rules state that we do not wear glasses during demos. And this is not too much of a problem for me since I usually end up in my chair embroidering all day and because I'm an idiot, forgetting to drink enough so that potty breaks don't really happen during visitor hours. So. But at MTA, I want to *shop*. At the Sutler's. And I'll still be in garb. The sub-group that is sponsoring "our" participation doesn't like the rule about the glasses and thinks that V-NA is too strict. I like the rule, even though it is a hardship for me, because I enjoy 'doing things right' and correct for the period I am portraying. And so instead of getting my kit together for this weekend, I am waffling on what to do about my glasses during my breaks. The folks I could ask and get a definitive answer from are all visiting Gulf Wars right now. (Funny how they are comfy 'not liking the SCA' and yet they are so often off to one of our Wars.) So I kinda think I might carry my glasses with me and hold them up to my face 'as needed' but try to navigate as much as possible without them. The group says, "you don't have to wear your glasses when you're off duty" but my idea of our standards says that as long as I'm in garb, I'm on duty - whether or not I'm at our demo station. Got any thoughts on this, oh, demo folks?

Here's the harder bit... there are politics in the Viking-re-enactor world. No, really? You're surprised? Yeah, there are. And part of the stress revolves around a particular group in the US who have, because they were barred from the US-based Viking organisation, joined the Canadian one. And they are hosting the Vikings-Canada folks this weekend in conjunction with a US-based group who are their friends. I will most likely be the only person at the Vikings area who is a provincial member and who could care less about scoring points off of the US organisers of the Vikings (none of whom are attending). So I'm feeling a little conflicted about that as I don't enjoy politics or back-biting comments barely heard (or as I expect, whined at me for hours as if I had some sort of power to change things for the whiner). So there's that.

And then there's this: the local (Canadian member) group's standards are stated to be in accord with those of the Vikings-NA/C/UK's but in fact, are not. How do I know this? I have attended other demos with them. I don't LIKE using pottery that is A-S 500s when I'm supposed to be a 10th century Norsewoman. In fact, I have my own, thank you very much. But I cannot bring it because it has not been 'judged' by our hosts. And while it is tasty as all-get-out, the food demoed and served is not correct-to-research for the period. So I plan to try to keep my nose in my part of the demo, which I am comfortable can stand up to any challenge, and try not to critic my hosts and their friends... but this will be the second time that I am at a demo that is an 'official Vikings-NA' event and I *know* that the presentation will not be up to standards. So why am I going and not helping out Bruce and his friends over at the Anglo-Saxon camp? Because I am an officer of the Vikings-NA and this is an officically-sponsored event for my group. Duty.

But I'm still feeling conflicted. I should practice Brigit's "speaking my reality" thing and see if I can turn my thinking around on this. Or something. I know I can only control what *I* do and I know that I will do my best to be a good rep of my group and to teach and show our visitors what I know about life as a Norsewoman of the 10th century. And I guess when it comes down to it, that's all I should be worried about, yes?

Oh - and for those of you who have attended MTA before - is it common to bring our documentation with us if we are not the 'group rep' who will be judged? I don't know if I should bring a packet or not. And... my copy of the new Oseburg textile book *might* make it to my house before the demo (it is travelling UPS ground from California as I type). Should I bring it for anyone to look at? Do we do that sort of thing there?