[SCA-BMDL] Pennsic 36 BMDL camp

[Clemente de Warrewyk]

Greetings unto you from the BMDL Land Agent for Pennsic 36!

It's getting to be that time of year again.  Time to start registering for
Pennsic!  Anyone in the barony may camp with us, and this year the BMDL camp
should be better and more organized than ever.  If you do wish to camp with
the Barony, please read on for some important information regarding this
year's camp.

If you wish to camp with the Barony, please go to
www.pennsicwar.org/penn36/index.html and pre-register.  You can pre-register
for Pennsic via mail by May 15th, 2007, or online until June 15th, 2007.
When entering your information, you'll be asked which group you wish to camp
with.  The group name for the BMDL camp is "Debatable Lands".

After completing your pre-registration, I'll need a bit of information from
you.  Please email me at warrewyk at gmail.com to let me know the following
information:

   1. The dimensions of you tent.  I need to know the length and width of
   your tent, as well as how far the ropes extend from the edges of the tent.
   2. Who you would like to camp near.  If you have friends that you
   would like to camp near, or if you have special requests, like keeping your
   tent away from campers with children, or away from (or near to) the communal
   areas, please let me know.  When designing the camp layout, I will do my
   best to accommodate everyone.

As anyone who camped with the barony last year will know, there were a few
issues which disrupted the quality of life in the camp.  This year, I am
implementing some steps to eliminate those problems.  I fully expect the
BMDL camp to be comfortable for everyone this year.  My goal is to make the
BMDL camp a pleasant place for every member of the barony, whether they're
camping there or just stopping by to visit.

To that end, here is my plan.  Please keep in mind that the goal is to keep
the camp nice and foster a pleasant environment for everyone.

* Anyone wishing to camp with the Barony *MUST* pre-register.  In the past,
people who did not pre-register to camp with the Barony were allowed to set
up their tent in camp at the last minute.  Since the camp is allocated space
based on the number of people who pre-register, these unregistered campers
took away valuable space from the camp and disrupted the layout of the
camp.  Tents ended up getting squished more tightly together which made the
whole camp less comfortable and less safe.

To avoid these problems this year, you MUST pre-register to camp with the
barony.  Single campers who did not pre-register will NOT be allowed to set
up their tents in our camp.  There will be no exceptions.  There are still
six months left to pre-register, so there is plenty of time.  In addition,
there is a discount of $10 for anyone who pre-registers for Pennsic.  So
there is no reason not to pre-register.

* Fire pits may only be placed in the area(s) designated by the land agent.
There are regulations at Pennsic governing how much open space must be
around fire pits or braziers (or open flames in general).  To ensure that
the camp does not violate these regulations, I will allocate space for at
least one fire pit in camp.  Fires may only be placed in the designated
area(s).  Any fire pit placed outside of a designated area will be promptly
extinguished and filled in.  For the safety of the camp, there will be No
Exceptions to this rule.

* The ditch will be clearly marked.  Remember that drainage ditch that runs
through camp?  The one that everyone used to trip in at night?  Well, I am
taking steps to clearly mark it, so you will be able to see where it is even
at night.  Hopefully there will be no twisted ankles this year!  I'm also
going to make sure there's at least on actual bridge over the ditch to make
movement around the camp as safe as possible for everyone.

* You must set up your tent in the proper spot.  The Pennsic Land office
allocates 250 square feet of space to the camp for every camper.  That space
is used not only for people's tents, but also for the common areas and
things like the showers.  That means that unfortunately, we can't just set
up our tents wherever we'd like.  Things have to be arranged in an orderly
fashion to make sure there is room for everything in the camp site.

To that end, I'll be making a map with the layout of the camp, as has been
done in the past.  You must set up your tent where it says on the map.
Anyone setting up their tent in the wrong spot will be made to move it to
the correct location.  So when you arrive, please check with the land agent
or one of my team of helpers, to make sure that there is no confusion.

Remember, I'm going to be working very hard to accommodate everyone's
preferences, so hopefully everyone will find their spot in camp acceptable.
I will be making the map as soon as possible after the registration
deadline.  Once I have the first draft, I'll send it off to everyone
registered to camp with the Barony.  If any campers have suggestions on how
to lay out the camp better, those will be taken into consideration for the
final map.  Once the final map is done, it will be sent to all campers
before Pennsic.  Everyone will have plenty of opportunity to take a good
look at the layout of camp BEFORE they arrive.  This will hopefully minimize
any confusion once people actually get to the camp.

* Please keep the common areas clean!  Last year, the common tent was, well,
a bit messy.  It got to the point where sitting in there was not very
pleasant.  This year, I'd like to ask everyone to do their part to keep the
common areas of camp clean.  There will be a list of tasks to be done every
day posted in the common tent, and it would be great if everyone would pitch
in and sign up to do these every day, to help keep the camp nice.  Don't
worry about forgetting - there will be someone appointed to help make sure
that everyone stays motivated!  (Yes, there will be at least one "camp
mom".)  If you would like to volunteer to be one of my elite group of
enforcers, let me know! ;-)

Also, there will be a Box of Shame in the common tent.  Anything left
sitting out in the common tent will be placed into the Box of Shame.  So if
you're wondering where your mug went, you can sneak over and take a peek in
the box.  Be warned that the lid may have bells on it, to make sure everyone
knows who didn't clean up after themselves!

That's it!  Hopefully these guidelines will help make the camp a nicer place
for everyone to live in at Pennsic.  I already have a small group of
volunteers to help me out with enforcing my plan.  If anyone else would like
to pitch in and help keep the camp nice, please send me email at
warrewyk at gmail.com.

Finally, don't worry about misplacing this email or forgetting what I've
said here.  I'll be posting reminders periodically, as well as making
regular announcements in the monthly Barony meetings.

Here's to having a great Pennsic XXXVI !

In service to the Barony,
Lord Clemente de Warrewyk
BMDL Land Agent
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