Category: SCA

Time to plant a stake in the ground. The East Kingdom King’s and Queen’s Bardic Championships are this Saturday. At my mentor’s and my wife’s suggestion, this year I will be competing.

My goal is to make it to the final round (round 3). The first two rounds require competing bards to perform a documentably period piece (which will be my first time doing so), and a song about the Modern Middle Ages in the SCA (I’ve prepared “Lady of the Rose”), in whichever order they prefer. The third round will be their Majesties’ choice for the finalists. That part is a job interview, so I can’t control the outcome.

But regardless…consider it brung.

I am honor bound to report the results of the Winter Nights bardic competition yesterday. Sir Michael of York won the competition, and Lady Lorita de Sienna was chosen as Baronial Bard of Concordia for the coming year.

I am happy for her, and disappointed for myself. I wanted it, and I honestly had already counted the chicken and was planning out what I’d do with the eggs. The Baron said it was the toughest choice he’d had to make, and I’d made it harder by not making any mistakes.

I’ll post at some later point some of the learning I’m taking out of this. I didn’t make any mistakes…but I did make choices that were driven by wanting to win, that resulted in staying in my comfort zone with pretty much all my performances. I’m taking a look at that, and starting to see the blessing under the disguise.