Camp Courtesy

Ten Simple Rules of Courtesy

1. A gentle hand when opening or closing a biffy door keeps the bang down, the sound of which can rouse many from their slumber. The nearby residents will appreciate you for it.

2. While accidents will happen, please remember that others will use the biffy after you. You don’t wish to step into a puddle of ‘ick’. Neither will anyone else. If you find a biffy in dire need of attention, NOTIFY someone on the Autocrat team.

3. A person’s campsite is their home during event. Do them the courtesy of asking rather than taking an unannounced shortcut between tents. Would you like it if someone thought nothing of traipsing through your living room?

4. When passing tents after dark, please keep voices low and be mindful of your language. Tent walls are notoriously thin, and you will have no idea if a child sleeps on the other side, or who may be awake listening. No one wants a 4 year old repeating *that* particular phrase all the next day.

5. Be aware of any shadows you may cast while your lantern is on during the evening. Children need to go to the biffy during the night, and may not understand what kind of ‘wrestling’ is going on in your tent. Applause or commentary from the passing public may not be to your liking, either.

6. If someone with a Coronet, regalia of a Peerage, or a Crown passes by, bow or curtsey. Do the same when passing the Thrones, even when empty. They represent An Tir.

7. Respect quiet times as posted in the site copy. You may not need to be up at 7 am to attend a meeting at 9, but your neighbors may.

8. Be proactive. Do not expect someone else to report the good deeds of others to the Crown. Take the initiative, make notes, and recommend those you feel deserve it.

9. Individual campsites, the eric, and the site in general are not your personal trash can. If you have trash, find a proper receptacle instead of the ground beneath your feet. Lacking a receptacle, keep it with you until you find a trash bag at your site.

10. Volunteer when and where you can. Even the simple act of asking someone if they need help carrying a basket can make the difference to another. Help set up a tent or pavilion when you’ve been on site for a few hours and others are just now pulling in. Offer to help pack and clean up. You can make new friends, and a great impression, by offering a smile and a helping hand. If the Heralds make an announcement that volunteers are needed, answer the call.

This list was compiled by Lady Kate the Candelmaker, with aid from Mistress Arlys o Gordon and HL Elewys of Finchingefeld. Permission is granted to reprint in its entirety among Kingdom newsletters and for use at events.

Ten Simple Rules of Courtesy or How to Have Fun at Events Without Annoying Your Neighbors.

1. Hear, all ye people; hearken: sound carries with the wind. A gentle hand when opening or closing of a biffy door prevents a startling noise which will awaken those gentles asleep nearby.

2. Whilst accidents will come upon those in times most private, remember thus that others will use the biffy after you. Take heed; your fellow brethren will not wish to step in a puddle most foul. If you find a privy in dire need of attention, and be not capable of tending to the deed yourself, NOTIFY someone on the Autocrat team.

3. A gentle’s campsite is their home for the duration of an event, be it weekend or week-long. To avoid a look of askance from these your neighbors, do grant them the courtesy of requesting passage rather than making an unannounced shortcut between tents. Perchance you might not enjoy a late-night visit by a stranger into your living quarters at your residence in town?

4. When ambling about on a summer’s eve, and passing tents in the cover of darkness, pray keep your voices low and be mindful of your language. These tent walls ensure visual privacy, but never that of sound! As is wont of a child, a refusal of sleep and who may be awake listening to the myriad sounds of the night and passers-by. Narry a mother alive wants her child of merely 4 years repeating *that* particular phrase for the fortnight following.

5. Be aware of any shadows that you may cast whilst your lantern is employed during the evening. The puppet shows you may demonstrate unknowingly to passers-by may end in a round of applause, or perhaps a request for an encore.

6. As you are about your business, be aware of the regalia of your superiors. When you come upon someone with a coronet or crown, or a circlet of pearls or adorned with leaves of strawberry, bow or curtsey, as befits your persona. Do this also when passing the Lions Thrones, even when empty, for it is respectful and they represent Our Kingdom and her many great deeds.

7. Be ye respectful of times of quietude as may be posted in the site copy given you upon arrival. You may not need to be up at the rooster’s first crow at Lauds to attend an early meeting at Terce, but your neighbors may. Your continued celebrations well into the night may make for an unpleasant greeting at an early hour should revenge be their plot.

8. Look to others’ good deeds and be proactive in reporting thus to the Crown. Take the initiative, observe, make copious detailed notes, and recommend those you feel are deserving of honor. Allow them the distinction of being called to court to receive, from the hands of Our Appointed Royals, titles, arms, and to be lauded for their efforts.

9. Be ye not a wastrel! Leave not your camp, nor public spaces as the eric, and the site in general as one might a rubbish pile! If ye have trash, carry it upon your person until the time as ye find a proper receptacle, rather than the ground beneath your feet. The locution of our collective Kingdoms is to leave any gathering site of our particular pilgrimages cleaner than it was found.

10. Be ye neither a shirker of duties! Lend a hand and volunteer when and where you are able, be it in the smallest of ways. The simple act of offering assistance carrying a basket of goods will spread more than good will. If ye be of strong back, lend your time to set up a pavilion or delay your voyage home to aid our hosts to put aright our weekend’s sanctuary. Verily, ye may make new friends, and leave forthwith a great impression, by offering a gentle smile and a helping hand.

This list was compiled by Lady Kate the Candelmaker, with aid from Mistress Arlys o Gordon and HL Elewys of Finchingefeld. “Forsooth” version translated by HL Elewys of Finchingefeld.

Permission is granted to reprint in its entirety among Kingdom newsletters and for use at events.