24 August 2000, AS XXXV

Greetings! Today I have both the saddest position and the most hopeful position in the world.

Today, I bid farewell to our most recent Guild Mistress: Mistress Annastasia Diaz de Leon. The good Mistress steps down after two long years of trying to spark our creativity, roust us from our abodes, and lead us into the arts so that we may flourish. The good Mistress did all of the above quite well, but we as a membership did not always heed her call and continued on with our mundane lives. I'd like to publicly thank her for keeping us afloat so that as of today, I too, may grasp the reins of leadership and steer a course into the sea of creativity.

At Pennsic, I volunteered to be the Guild Mistress, with the support of the membership (at war and at home). I am seeking to return to our roots to recreate what we all joined the Guild for those many years past. Many have expressed to me that we seem to have lost our way, but I say we have merely stumbled on our path.

Today, begins the new day.

I ask all of the membership that are still interested in the Guild to contact me, so that I might provide the paperwork from which we will work. We are returning to the original charter, bylaws, membership forms, and requirements of the Guild. I will work with our most valiant webmistress to get them up online at our website as well.

I charge you all with the recreation of the Guild. Dispel the rumors that you have heard. Show our true face to the populace and they will join us.

My background: I have been in the Society for 23 years. I received my AOA in AS24, my Silver Crescent in AS33, My Maunche in AS34. My main area of interest is in cooking, but I am also an archer, a writer, a dancer, and as of recently I am learning the fine art of sword and board (a novice fighter at nearly 40). I have held the positions of Chronicler for Carillion, the canton of Marwick in Settmour Swamp, and the Canton of Northpass in Ostgardr. I have also held the Chirurgeon office and the A&S office and the Seneschale office in Northpass, and I am currently in my second term as Seneschale of the Crown Province of Ostgardr. My future interests are in the Mistress of Children's office and to dive headlong into my cooking research. (I can be found this month at http://www.godecookery.com/ssite/ssite.htm). I maintain several SCA newsgroups and websites and consider myself "online." I can more often be reached at my online addresses, but I make every attempt to keep in touch with those not online as of yet.

My persona: Tudor, I am of French and Scottish birth. My interests lie in cooking, art, the written word, housing, and the furniture of the times. And oh yes, the clothing....

So what, you say....

I merely bring this up to show you that:

1. I am not a peer (rumor: All Gilded Pearl Members are peers)
2. I believe in hard work, and do not expect instant fame from this position.
3. I am not a costumer (though I do sew, it will never be of excellent quality)
4. You can expect me to do my best for you at all times
5. I will always be available to you for correspondence.
6. As an old timer, I long to "create" history, not only recreate.

Today, I charge you all to ride along with me. Join the others who think like you do. Find your haven to be creative. Pass on your knowledge to someone who REALLY wants to learn from you. Reactivate your membership in the Gilded Pearl!

Forever in Service,

Lady Andrea MacIntyre

Scheduled Meetings/Workshops to Watch for - Important!