Greetings unto you from the BMDL Land Agent for Pennsic 36!<br><br>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.
<br><br>If you wish to camp with the Barony, please go to <a href="http://www.pennsicwar.org/penn36/index.html">www.pennsicwar.org/penn36/index.html</a> 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".
<br><br>After completing your pre-registration, I'll need a bit of information from you. Please email me at <a href="mailto:warrewyk@gmail.com">warrewyk@gmail.com</a> to let me know the following information:<br><ol>
<li>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.</li><li>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.
</li></ol>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.
<br><br>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.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">
<br><br>* </span>Anyone wishing to camp with the Barony *MUST* pre-register.</span> 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.
<br><br>To avoid these problems this year, <span style="font-weight: bold;">you MUST pre-register</span> 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
<span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> to pre-register.<br><br><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">* </span>Fire pits may only be placed in the area(s) designated by the land agent.
</span> 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.
<br><br><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">* </span>The ditch will be clearly marked.</span> 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.
<br><br><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">* </span>You must set up your tent in the proper spot.</span> 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.
<br><br>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.
<br><br>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.
<br><br><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">* </span>Please keep the common areas clean!</span> 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! ;-)
<br><br>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!
<br><br>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
<a href="mailto:warrewyk@gmail.com">warrewyk@gmail.com</a>.<br><br>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.
<br><br>Here's to having a great Pennsic XXXVI !<br><br>In service to the Barony,<br>Lord Clemente de Warrewyk<br>BMDL Land Agent<br>