Southron Gaard Groups and Meetings
Whether formal guilds or simply a get-together of friends, one of the best ways of learning about the various arts and sciences is by making contact with others practicing in your area of interest. Southron Gaard has a variety of groups and individuals with a broad range of interests and skills.
Arts and Sciences Workshops are often held in conjunction with other events. There is also a general Arts and Sciences space each Sunday from 11am – 1pm.
Dance
Southron Gaard Dance Practices are held the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month.
In addition to our dance practices, the UCMRS (University of Canterbury Medieval and Renaissance Society) also holds dance practices. These are usually each Monday night on the University of Canterbury campus, with the specific location announced on the Southron Gaard Mailing List and on the Southron Gaard and Ordo Cygni Facebook groups.
Fibre
Southron Gaard Fibre Guild meetings are held the 3rd Sunday of each month. There is a Trello board for members to organise events and meetings – please email Maestra Ginevra for access details. The fibre guild covers a broad range of fibre-based interests including spinning, weaving, dyeing, knitting, nalbinding, and many others.
In addition to meetings, the Guild also organises events and workshops. You can register your email with the Southron Gaard Fibre Guild discussion list if you wish, and receive or send notifications of activity that way.
Check the Events Calendar for notices of all workshops, meetings, or other planned activities.
Kingdom-wide and Beyond
The Kingdom of Lochac has a number of guilds dedicated to specific topics in the arts and sciences area. You can find out more about Lochac’s Guilds here; many communicate via mailing lists or Facebook to bring people together from across the Kingdom. The guilds most active in Southron Gaard currently include:
The Brewer’s, Vintners’ and Imbibers’ Guild
The Lochac Guild of Brewers, Vintners & Imbibers has an enthusiastic and active presence in Southron Gaard, with members meeting for tastings and discussion of their craft on a regular basis. The Guild meets annually at Canterbury Faire, and there are often additional tastings at significant events on the Baronial calendar such as Yule (midwinter) and Golden Flight (usually November).
You do not need to be an active crafter of fermented beverages to be a member of the Guild (we happily welcome Imbibers into our company). The only formal requirement for membership is to join the Guild’s mailing list.
For further information, see the Guild web page, or email Lord Dauid de Cochrane.
Custard Guild
The Custard Guild serves to promote the cooking, consumption and enjoyment of custard. As well as membership of the Guild, there are the competitive awards of Golden Custardeer and Champion Custardeer.
The Guild can be contacted by email at custard@sg.lochac.sca.org.
Membership of the Custard Guild
I. Admission to the Guild is by provision of a custard of your own making for tasting by two adults who are not of your household. If it is not awful, you will be admitted. Please contact the Guild to arrange testing.
II. Custards must contain milk or almond milk, and egg yolk, at minimum. Other ingredients are optional.
III. Custards may be in the form of pies, slices, etc., as long as they are at least 50% custard by volume.
IV. Custards may be served hot, or cold, or in-between.
V. Other substances that share some of the ingredients of custard will not be accepted. For example, ice-cream, quiche, cheesecake, are not acceptable.
Golden Custardeer award
At times it will be announced that a competition for best documented custard will be held. The creator of the finest custard with good documentation will be awarded a title of Golden Custardeer. Judges are usually the Baron and Baroness of Southron Gaard, and Guild founders Lady Ellen of Wyteley and Master Brian di Caffa.
Champion Custardeer prize
This is typically contested in the courtyard at Canterbury Faire on the first evening after Soup Kitchen. The Champion is chosen by a three round elimination custard eating competition. Custard wastage by any competitor can lead to disqualification from the competition.
Round 1: competitors must eat a bowl of carton custard (bring your own custard, though there is often spare), placing the empty bowl upside-down on their head and standing up when finished. If two people stand up at the same time, then the person with least custard on their head wins.
Round 2: the four fastest eaters from Round 1 must eat a custard square (supplied). Competitors must stand up and whistle when finished, to show that they have actually eaten the custard square. Whistling (or similar sound) must be tested for prior to the round commencing.
Round 3: the two fastest eaters from Round 2 must scull a pint of eggnog (supplied, with optional rum), upending the tankard on their heads when finished. If there is a tie, then the person with least eggnog on their head is the Champion.The winner is presented with a Champion Custardeer napkin.
People are encouraged to run custard eating competitions at other times, but the official Champion Custardeer contest happens annually at Canterbury Fair.
Clan Blue Feather
Clan Blue Feather is a research and social group of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). This group was originally formed to encourage and facilitate research on homosexuality in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and teach other members of the Society about LGBTQIA+ issues in the Current Middle Ages.
We now also exist as a social organization to facilitate interaction among the members of the Society, especially those who are members of a sexual or gender linked minority (i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, questioning, asexual, aromantic, non-binary or *fluid, etc.); and our allies. Members of the Clan attend many SCA events around the world.
