Adam & Tom expressed some interest in training, so I have given Tom an initial training session in the garden - static eights against a shield (AKA control). He has promise, as I expect from all of the second generation. It is in their jeans. He trained until his arm hurt, and then carried on when I urged him.
Need I mention the Riddle of Steel?
I showed him some sword tricks too, of course. I will happily teach these to any Draum member, even Mick.
I've also attended Sandra's officer training today, it was very good, awakening ancient memories and revealing new requirements.
One thing I did learn from today's session: if you want to fight at Training and you are not a Society member, we need your details. Name & address required, so we can register you as Guest Members .... insurance, bluntly.
Anyone can fight, of course. If you want personal training sessions, I'll happily kill you in the privacy of my own garden 24/7 - just turn up. Alternatively, any pre-booked location within the range of a Vauxhall Corsa. Honestly, just ask - I'll throw some kit in Judy and be round to assault you in a jiffy.
I am minded to get Officer appointments sorted now. Even bearing Rule No. 1 in mind, if YOU want to be an officer, it is better to speak up now than to hope you get picked. If you want to review the session yourself, I can get a recording link from Sandra. It was QI.
Any volunteer to be an Officer will be given fair consideration, nay: eager acceptance. Just ask. We'll find you something.
The following roles are definitely open: as group leader I currently hold all of these positions, but will happily divvy them out.
Combat Training Officer - you DON'T have to be an RTT. You just come up with decent training exercises. Which I will disrupt.
LH Training Officer - I'm tempted to call this the Living History officer. Pretty much the only thing I think you'll have to do is arrange Basic Villager tests; which means you can fuck around with fire and knives in the LH. Anyone appointed to this role should force me to get my Basic Villager test done, so I can mess with fire with the Society's approval. I'm going to do it anyway, might as well be official.
First-Aid / Safety - currently Helen, but if anyone else has a current First-Aid certificate, she could relinquish that role to give someone else an officership.
And the big one: Treasurer.
We should have two Treasurers - I will be happy to be the second signatory, but we need a primary Treasurer. Currently, we have no group bank account, but I suspect we may need one before the year is out, especially if we train regularly and start claiming at shows. I'm not going to ask Beccy directly (Actual Group Leader), because she has done it more than enough in previous incarnations of our group. She'd save me a headache if she did take it, but if anyone else is up for it, let me know. Beccy - if you don't want to do it, let me know ASAP; otherwise I will keep slyly poking at you about it. I promise I will do everything I can get away with to get your Silver Thegn back (though I think you'll have to get your Drengr first, and I'll help with that too).
I have appointed Helen as Authenticity Officer - this is because she has actually read the latest kit guides, and I have not. On 8th March we will have to talk about kit, and some of us old hands may be tearfully bidding adieu to old tunics. Helen is looking into material acquisition. Let me know if anyone else would like to take this role, everything is open.
Can you think of any other officerships we need? Lore-keeper? Fire Lord (don't kid yourself, it's me)? Master of Beer? Literary Critic? Group Mother? Pub & Chippy Scout? Cat Liaison? Admiral? We can make up any we want.
Bear in mind that group officers and 1994 founders are the only ones who get to vote in this version of Draum.
I have access to the Society Admin DB. I think I have the power to promote from Fri-Hals to Thrall. Obviously, Beccy is a shoe-in for this (and any other old hands), so I will be looking to do that as soon as I can get away with it. But others can achieve it pretty quickly too.
There are some pretty easy requirements for Fri-Hals. It comes down to: kit, commitment, and a basic assessment. A simple (group-level) authenticity kit assessment from Helen will give you one, turning up to training sessions / shows will give you another, and your own preference will give you the last: combat is not the only option - you can do villager or acting too. I think I can pass you on the combat, and probably on acting (because I am Laurence Fucking Olivier).
Learn to love assessments if you want to be a Drengr - I will support you fully in anything you need to do, and the Society will definitely help too.
Get hyped.
Comments