20 October 2004

Report: Monthly to Kingdom

Greetings unto Mistress Leah de Montgomerie, Outlands Seneschal, and to all others who come by these letters, from Lady Sorcha MacLeod, White Stag Principal Herald!

This report may be summarized. Any questions should be directed to whitestag@outlands.org. I have received my signed warrant from Laurel, but it appears to have gotten misfiled during my recent spate of getting things out of boxes and into filing cabinets. I have requested a new copy from Laurel, and the first one to arrive will be copied and mailed to the Crown and Kingdom Seneschals.

Specific issues:

• There have been some issues with payments to Laurel and to the Heraldic Packet Service (Squidpak), and steps are being taken to resolve those issues.
• I await feedback on suggested updates to the pertinent sections of Kingdom Policy to the Crown and Kingdom Seneschal for review, and to the Kingdom Exchequer for review of the financial policy, sent 14 July 2004. I have re-sent this information to the Crown and Mistress Leah for perusal on 17 October 2004.
• Vacancies in kingdom staff: Palmer Herald (permanent), Trefoil Herald (CoA commenter), Fretty Herald (CoA commenter), Stag’s Attire Herald (title currently not in use).
• Upcoming vacancies: Rampart Herald (01 January 2005). I have decided to perform the Rampart duties myself for a period of three to six months to allow for the completion of some new tools, to audit the office for potential resubmissions and determine how much of the surplus must be kept for those resubmissions, and to write a procedures manual for the office. Beginning on 2 December, all submissions packets should be sent to me at the address in the Outlandish Herald. THLady Alia Marie will spend December wrapping up the final letters for the year, and her work has been greatly appreciated.
• Transfer of files is not yet complete. Mistress Tatiana was unable to attend Queen's Prize, on 9 October, but I'm pleased to know she is feeling better. Lady Halla has graciously picked up the remainder of the files and regalia. Since I will be attending Unser Hafen Newcomers, Crown Tourney, and Coronation, I should have the rest of the files by the date of my next report.
• The White Stag Seal has been found, accidentally packed in with some of Baron Timothy's belongings during a move. He plans to bring it to Crown on 6 November, but reports that it is in poor shape and may need to be repaired.

Current activities:

• Updating Kingdom Policy pertaining to heralds. Goal: 15 July.
  Updates submitted for review 14 July. Awaiting feedback.
• I had requested that the kingdom consider transferring the $10 for the recently submitted Outlands Scribe's Guild badge from the general fund to the submissions fund, instead of from the Kingdom Scribe's budget. It would be a nice token of appreciation for the long service by the scribes in providing scrolls for the kingdom, and I have recently clarified my request with the Kingdom Exchequer. My original message was unclear as to what, exactly, the "Scribe's Guild" was.
• Informational/Educational articles for Outlandish Herald. Goal: Each month.
  Meeting goal.
• Informational/Educational posts to Outlands-heralds list. Goal: Each week minimum.
  Exceeding goal. I am pleased to announce that other heralds have taken up the torch and are also posting thought-provoking messages to the list, some at my request, and others by their own initiative. Since this has always been a goal for the College as a whole, and not one for me individually, I appreciate that others have stepped forward to promote education, and consider their posts as part of this goal.
• On 18 September, I posed a question to the outlands-heralds yahoogroup hoping to spark some good discussion and thought about heralds and heraldry. I asked that each heraldic rank - starting with the newest heralds on Monday, 20 September - take one day to post their answers to the list. The question was "What does it mean to be a herald?" and suggested things to consider were the duties of office, to whom obligations were owed, and when or where those obligations end. I am very proud of the Outlands College of Heralds. The answers received from heralds of all levels were considered and well-written, and I am very pleased with the results of this exercise. I refer interested parties to the archives of the Outlands-heralds yahoogroup.
• Lord AEthelwulf issued a challenge on 27 September, developed between himself and Master Adam Stedefast, to the field heralds of the realm, by which they may earn points toward a prize set to be given at Known World Heralds and Scribes held July 22-24 as a joint venture between the Baronies of Unser Hafen and Caer Galen (http://kwhss.sca.org/). Heralds may earn points by performing any of a number of field heraldry tasks, including heralding rounds, working as a personal herald for a specific fighter or fighters in processional, and participating in the weekly field challenge on the Outlands-heralds yahoogroup. These two fine gentlemen also plan to submit articles on field heraldry to the CoH Webminister for inclusion on the outlandsheralds.org site.

Summary of Reports

Kingdom Staff - 82% of 11 filled positions. Kingdom Staff are required to report quarterly, but are encouraged to report more frequently.

Fretty [CoA Commenter] fulfills reporting requirement with LoCs. Fretty reports her resignation due to lack of interest by her commenting group. Her efforts are appreciated, and I hope that interest will pick up again in the future.

Rampart [Submissions] – fulfills reporting requirement with LoIs. Notifications backlog is significantly reduced, and Rampart continues to work on that project. Emergency deputy is Master Walter Kempe of Falconhold.

Gimlet [Protocol] - Reports continued activity. Emergency backup is Baroness Anne Bigod.

Wharrow [On-line Roll of Arms] – continues working on cleaning up some of the graphics and correcting a few errors in the Roll. Emergency deputy is Lady Halla inn heppna Knorsdottir.

Wimble [Precedence] – Reports updates made. Emergency deputy is THLady Seuilla de Cordoba.

Palmer (Interim) [Emergency Replacement] – does not report currently under this title.

Kingdom Scribe – Mistress Bennet reports 49 scribes have worked on around 170 scrolls this reign. She also reports new scribes are becoming involved, and some experienced scribes are holding classes on various topics and organizing scribes for blank scroll projects. Huzzah to the scribes! Emergency deputy is Mistress Averil du Bois d'Avignon.

Plover [Field Heraldry] – Emergency deputy is Lord AEthewulf of Golias. Deputy Plover reports on the new Plover Challenge and continues his promotion of field heraldry.

Blue Iris [Queen’s Herald/Royal Court] – no report

Weel [Herald Education/Publications] – Master Balthazar reports nothing new for September.

OCoH Webminister – THLady Alia Marie reports having updated the look and usefulness of the OCoH website, and plans to improve upon several areas in the near future. http://www.outlandsheralds.org

Baronies – 86% Baronies are required to report monthly.

Caerthe: I have received communication from Aspen indicating computer failure. She has resent her August report and provided her September report.

al-Barran: Scorpion's report was thorough as always, listing the status of submissions, awards received by members of the barony, and miscellaneous heraldic activity. He is working on an appeal for a client, and he has started to look for a deputy specifically to handle shopping for materials for the Scorpion library.

Dragonsspine: Scalene sends a detailed report and outlines current plans to increase heraldic activity in the Barony. She reports new deputies, along with an accounting of finances and awards. Efforts to promote field heraldry are largely successful.

Citadel of the Southern Pass: Rook reports planned consultation meetings and continued low activity levels.

Unser Hafen: Barbican reports an attack of Real Life, and she will pick up the September information in her October report.

Caer Galen: Rayon du Soliel reports two items registered and no financial activity. There were a few awards for September, and Regana reports court and consultation activity. She reports that Sir Magnus performed court heraldry for evening court at Caer Galen A&S.

Fontaine dans Sable: Black Fountain reports receiving those submissions held up by his deputy's recent illness for processing and includes a number of awards for the month. He also reports the activity of some new heralds in his area. I hope to hear that Lord Fergus is well soon.

Shires, Cantons, Colleges - 42% of 12 filled positions Branch officers except for Baronial Pursuivants are required to report quarterly. Shires, Cantons, and Colleges are not required to have branch heralds. If I haven't heard from you in the last quarter, send a report right away.

Aarquelle - Vacant Bede's College - Lady Zoe? - no report Blaiddwyn - Ecgþeow reports having taken over the office from Lord AEthelwulf, who will be moving on to kingdom staff office in the near future. Welcome to the College!

Bofharrach - Vacant Drygestan - Vacant Dúthaich Beinne Áird - Baroness Christina reports some submissions activity and an award.

Gleann Medonach - Lord Lance - no report. Hawk’s Hollow - Herr Conrad reports in detail on the submissions, awards, and other heraldic activity of his canton.

Hinterland - THLord Peregrine - no report. Kahlland - Vacant Nahrun Kabirun - Gideon reports some submissions activity. Northwolde - Vacant Plattefordham - Lord Aelfraed - no report Rio de las Animas - Freiherr Gerhardt - no report Saint Golias - Vacant Scola Metallorum - Lady Tangwystl - no report Scorpion's Hollow - THLady Margaret reports steady activity in submissions, vocal heraldry, and display projects. She has obtained the petitions for the shire's upcoming change of name and device submissions.

Three Spires - Vacant Tygre's Keep - Vacant White Mountain - Vacant Windkeep - Lord Cameron - no report

My emergency deputy is Maistre Louis-Phillipe Mitouard, Palmer Herald, whose contact information is on a previously enclosed roster.

In service and in duty,
Sorcha White Stag