Another Gulf is Over
Annual Miles 2009: 1936
Another year of Gulf Wars is over. This one was financially better than past years, but it came with a price, as all things do.
We arrived in a timely manner Saturday, which we haven't always. When we got there, though, we discovered that our registration paperwork had gotten lost. They knew we had pre-registered though, since we were set up to merchant, so they let us in anyhow. It became quickly apparent that a lot of organizational things weren't as well done as in previous years. Our merchant space was marked like always, but our spot in the bunk-house wasn't. We had to take a guess at where we were supposed to sleep (although that worked out alright).
It started raining just as we were putting up the tent. This was a mixed blessing; it slowed down the unpacking, but also washed a good bit of the black dirt off the canvas. I got wet and filthy very quickly. The rain continued throughout Sunday and into Monday. Water got into the circuit breaker boxes and caused frequent power losses.
The facilities at King's Arrow have noticably degraded. We weren't drawing any more electricity than we ever had before, but we lost power numerous times. The merchantocrat had to go around throughout the event asking people to disconnect more and more equipment, and the power issues continued anyhow. It was clear to us that the problem was degrading circuits, not our usage, but there isn't much we could do but comply, since Seraphina (the merchantocrat) had to make do with things as they were. It was just very aggravating. We were less productive than we could have been.
None of our immediate neighbors were the same as in previous years. A lot of merchants got shuffled around. We were only one spot away from last year's location. To our right (across a path) and to our left were garb merchants. Across the street were two smaller merchants, a sutler and a reseller.
The sutler was an older man, and apparently a lonely one... He spent the whole event bending whomever's ear he could. I felt a bit sad for him, but it was hard to be sympathetic. His attitude was so confrontational and pessimistic, he offended or drove away folks who might have otherwise befriended him. "Sir BitchaLot" complained about everything, most especially that he had no sales, which was largely his own fault!
The reseller didn't do much better. I doubt she will be allowed to sell at Gulf again. She didn't participate fully. Merchants are supposed to stay open until Midnight one night during the week (which is announced in the program book). She didn't. I've seen her selling at one or two smaller renfairs we've attended. She recognized me as well. She complained to me about low sales as well. In her case, it wasn't her attitude that hurt her; it was her merchandise. It wasn't aimed at the reinactor, really.
But, other than that, war was pretty good. By Tuesday the weather had cleared, and we enjoyed mild temperatures for the rest of Gulf. I didn't do much shopping; only a bit of linen to use for photography, and some dice. The dice have SCA kingdom heraldry on them. I bought every variation they had in stock. They said they'll have more at Pennsic.
Top row: Lochac, Calontir, Ealdomere, Calontir badge, Trimaris, West, Midrealm, Aethelmarc
2nd Row: Meridies, Pennsic XXXVII, East, Fighter Marshal, Trimaris Badge, Outlands Badge, ??? (Some Australian military order they were selling with the SCA stuff, a household maybe?), SCA International (looks like the UN logo, doesn't it?)
The person I bought them from said that they got the dice from someone in Australia, but they look like Chessex custom dice to me... I wonder if their "Australian guy" just did the logo work and then ordered through Chessex. It would be funny.
On another note, "Empress Norton" may not have been at Gulf this year. I saw someone who I thought looked like her, but dressed better and acted a lot more sane. The more I think on it, I doubt it was her. There were a lot of folks who didn't make it this year.
Another year of Gulf Wars is over. This one was financially better than past years, but it came with a price, as all things do.
We arrived in a timely manner Saturday, which we haven't always. When we got there, though, we discovered that our registration paperwork had gotten lost. They knew we had pre-registered though, since we were set up to merchant, so they let us in anyhow. It became quickly apparent that a lot of organizational things weren't as well done as in previous years. Our merchant space was marked like always, but our spot in the bunk-house wasn't. We had to take a guess at where we were supposed to sleep (although that worked out alright).
It started raining just as we were putting up the tent. This was a mixed blessing; it slowed down the unpacking, but also washed a good bit of the black dirt off the canvas. I got wet and filthy very quickly. The rain continued throughout Sunday and into Monday. Water got into the circuit breaker boxes and caused frequent power losses.
The facilities at King's Arrow have noticably degraded. We weren't drawing any more electricity than we ever had before, but we lost power numerous times. The merchantocrat had to go around throughout the event asking people to disconnect more and more equipment, and the power issues continued anyhow. It was clear to us that the problem was degrading circuits, not our usage, but there isn't much we could do but comply, since Seraphina (the merchantocrat) had to make do with things as they were. It was just very aggravating. We were less productive than we could have been.
None of our immediate neighbors were the same as in previous years. A lot of merchants got shuffled around. We were only one spot away from last year's location. To our right (across a path) and to our left were garb merchants. Across the street were two smaller merchants, a sutler and a reseller.
The sutler was an older man, and apparently a lonely one... He spent the whole event bending whomever's ear he could. I felt a bit sad for him, but it was hard to be sympathetic. His attitude was so confrontational and pessimistic, he offended or drove away folks who might have otherwise befriended him. "Sir BitchaLot" complained about everything, most especially that he had no sales, which was largely his own fault!
The reseller didn't do much better. I doubt she will be allowed to sell at Gulf again. She didn't participate fully. Merchants are supposed to stay open until Midnight one night during the week (which is announced in the program book). She didn't. I've seen her selling at one or two smaller renfairs we've attended. She recognized me as well. She complained to me about low sales as well. In her case, it wasn't her attitude that hurt her; it was her merchandise. It wasn't aimed at the reinactor, really.
But, other than that, war was pretty good. By Tuesday the weather had cleared, and we enjoyed mild temperatures for the rest of Gulf. I didn't do much shopping; only a bit of linen to use for photography, and some dice. The dice have SCA kingdom heraldry on them. I bought every variation they had in stock. They said they'll have more at Pennsic.
Top row: Lochac, Calontir, Ealdomere, Calontir badge, Trimaris, West, Midrealm, Aethelmarc
2nd Row: Meridies, Pennsic XXXVII, East, Fighter Marshal, Trimaris Badge, Outlands Badge, ??? (Some Australian military order they were selling with the SCA stuff, a household maybe?), SCA International (looks like the UN logo, doesn't it?)
The person I bought them from said that they got the dice from someone in Australia, but they look like Chessex custom dice to me... I wonder if their "Australian guy" just did the logo work and then ordered through Chessex. It would be funny.
On another note, "Empress Norton" may not have been at Gulf this year. I saw someone who I thought looked like her, but dressed better and acted a lot more sane. The more I think on it, I doubt it was her. There were a lot of folks who didn't make it this year.