Darwin… waiting for a Train.

Posted on May 12, 2022 by borysSNORC

Arrived in Darwin yesterday – had a lovely and uneventful flight. Business class worth every penny (well, QFF points, but same/same) for the Tall Guy who for the first time had leg room to spare. A couple of piccolo bottles of sparkling and the flight passed quickly enough.

Darwin is quite the change from my recent cool and relaxing trip to Tasmania. It’s hot and unpleasant, and feels very deserted – literally no one was around and the streets felt eerily empty, at both 2pm when we arrived as well as 8pm when we went out for dinner.

There’s more CCTV cameras than central London and more massage parlours per square inch than Bangkok – together these give a palpable sense of imminent violence and/or criminal activity. With signs that say children are not allowed in stores without being accompanied by parents (and similar), the local business owners aren’t exactly doing their bit to dispel this notion either…

Had a late dinner reservation at a place called, ‘Phat Mango’ – was widely and positively reviewed as being a ‘foodie favourite’ in Darwin but actually was a bit of a disappointment. The entire restaurant smelled of burnt olive oil from the moment we walked in, and every dish seemed to be deliberately charred. For whatever reason, this restaurant that prides itself on local produce had exactly three seafood offerings – some barramundi (smoked and served cold; wasn’t great), some king prawns (served charred with a nondescript creamy sauce) and peri-peri Spanish mackerel?! Go figure. There was some kangaroo sausages (which of course, being kangaroo, fell into dry crumbly mince as soon as you cut it), a Brahman hump silverside bruschetta (served with some weird pickles that didn’t complement the cold grey silverside), a beef marrow dish (which had oil drizzled all over it because marrow isn’t rich enough?!). For a ‘local produce’ restaurant – I was curious where all the buffalo, crocodile, emu the plethora of fresh fish options were? We tried seven different dishes and shared them tapas style. None were super impressive. All up about 6/10, chef needs to buy a sous vide and branch away from the chargrilled everything.

After our late dinner we wandered back to the hotel for a quiet night in… lest we be caught between all that CCTV, the heightened police and seemingly anticipated criminality of those visiting beautiful family friendly Darwin!

Thankfully, some friendly travellers named Mat and Iz left themselves logged into their Netflix account so we watched a rather good mini-series called ‘Anatomy of a Scandal’ (starring a rather sweary Michelle Dockery who we haven’t seen this angsty since Cousin Matthew was killed in an automobile accident).

Tomorrow… I have BIG plans, (HUGE!), for staying out of the heat while we continue to wait for our train.

PS: thanks so much to the Branch Da-Gideons for their in-room bible… it’s been super useful: as a support under our afternoon snackage of washed rind D’affinois, a block out for some annoying LEDs on the TV, a door stop for the odd plastic (?) bathroom door, a coaster and as a prop/chock to hold open the fridge cabinet which seemed to be overheating.

Niall’s Iron Chain

Posted on May 7, 2022 by borysSNORC

There has been quite a bit of curiosity about the Iron Chain that was bestowed upon Jarl Niáll at Coronation… Please see the text below for the words that were shared at the time of presentation regarding the history and intent of the award:

Good populace, We beg your indulgence, for We have a tale that We would share with you all… a letter of Our Gratitude, an Unusual Quandry and an Extraordinary Request.

“DEAR…? During this reign, We have found in Our midst, a singularly unusual Gentle who is a citizen of Our Fine Kingdom of Lochac. This Gentle is one We would see showered with accolades for His exceptional personal virtues of courtesy, grace and chivalry; His uncommon valour, exceptional bravery and Laudable sense of
Honour – attributes which he exhibits in Our Society, as well as in His Mundane Life.

Sadly, We found Ourselves faced with an Unusual Quandry as there is no fitting Award that exists in Our Kingdom that would appropriately mark the deeds of this Extraordinary Gentle. The singularly
honourable person of whom We speak is Niáll inn Orknevski, Duke of the Kingdom of Lochac and mundanely a high-ranking Commander with the Australian Border Forces

*Let Jarl Niáll be bought before Us *

Within the Society, the valiant and selfless deeds of this Honourable man are but little known – with the exception of one occasion where he saved a woman from choking at a local feast. For those who
never heard of this deed, Niáll noticed a commotion across a candlelit feasting hall and saw a Gentle in obvious distress. He strode across the room, took charge of the situation, lifted the afflicted gentle to her feet and performed a Heimlich manoeuvre to clear her airway, thus saving her life. We dread to think how an incident of this nature may have played out had He not been present and in possession of a
particular level-headedness in a crisis. We relate this story as but one example to convey how Niáll is, and continues to be, an Asset to Our Society.

However heroic this rescue may have been, it is actually His mundane deeds that We wish to draw Your attention towards. Niáll has worked in law enforcement of diverse types over the years, where he has
variously been responsible for coordinating border management across
numerous multicultural stakeholders throughout the Australia/Pacific arena. Additionally, he has extensive experience in investigations, counter-proliferation and immigration. Indeed he has applied all these skills to Our Society’s benefit as well, having acted for two years as Deputy Kingdom Seneschal, in charge of investigations.

In September 2021 (which now seems ever so long ago!) Niáll was called upon to be Forward Commander in a very particular response operation responsible for the evacuation of the entire Australian Cohort
from Afghanistan, which included a large number of Australian civilians and refugees. As part of His execution of these duties, He unexpectedly found himself responsible for the extraction of a number
of unaccompanied minors. His role in the rescuing of these children from an uncertain fate under a pernicious foreign power, is such that We cannot provide much detail – the exact nature of the work executed by Niáll is not widely known and We are not able to paint a clearer picture for the Wider Populace due to the nature of His work. The only reason We are privy to the personal cost that Niall faced to
secure these children – is because We recently have had the unusual Honour of assisting Him in updating His curriculum vitae.

Niáll’s conduct during the Operation went far and above His remit in his role as Forward Commander. We are fortunate He and his team were returned safely to Us, and We are all surely grateful that through
his service there are families and children living safely in Australia today because He is the sort of person who does not think twice about putting himself between Innocent Children and Dangerous Men.

Niáll does not readily speak of this trial, (nor should anyone press him to), but having known him for many years, We can say that for some time, this experience noticeably changed him.

Which brings Us to Our Unusual Request… We would from the depths of Our ever so humble heart, recommend unto Your Most Gracious Majesties King Sven and Queen Rauokinn of An-Tir, this extraordinary
Gentle for Your Consideration. Though He be distant from Your Lands, We believe that this remarkable Soul is deserving of admission to An Tir’s famed Order of the Iron Chain, for He is the very epitome of
everything this Order stands for. We know it is not common to bestow awards to Gentles across Kingdoms in this manner, particularly during these Plaque Years when Wayfaring is difficult to impossible, but it would be the singular greatest Honour of Our Reign if We were
able to see this award home to such a worthy recipient should You find Our petition agreeable.

Yours in Service to the Crown and
Kingdom of Lochac,
Queen Sabine”

For any who may be unaware, the Order of the Iron Chain is a polling order established in An Tir in AS 12 (mundanely 1978) it has been bestowed but 17 times in the 44 years since its inception, to recognise rare acts of selfless bravery in a mundane and/or Society setting.

“Niáll, it is therefore Our very great honour and privilege to announce that on the 23rd day of April, Anno Societatis 56, at Honor War held at the College of Lyons Marche, Their Most Gracious and Undoubted
Majesties King Sven and Queen Rauokinn of An Tir, did admit Niall inn Orkneyski, Duke of Lochac, resident of Politarchopolis and Noble member of the Ravning, to An Tir’s prestigious Order of the Iron Chain.

Assembled populace, Pray join Us in offering three of your heartiest cheers for the newest member and only the 18th Gentle in the last 44 years, to be admitted to the famed Order of the Iron Chain of An
Tir!

For Niáll inn Orkneyski, Hip hip, HUZZAH!”

Niáll inn Orkneyski was admitted to the Order of the Iron Chain
By King Svenn & Queen Rauokinn of Antir at Honor War, Held in the College of Lyons Marche, (Clarkston, WA, USA).
The award was conveyed through the hands of King Leofric I and Queen Sabine II at the last court of Their Reign in the Barony of Borders Cros May 7th, Anno Societatis 57

Lochac Order of Grace – Lokki Rekkr

Posted on May 7, 2022 by borysSNORC

I am delighted to be bestowing this award today, though I do regret that the Plague has meant it is being awarded in absentia.

Our modern medieval society has been built as the embodiment of the courtly ideals of honour and integrity, courtesy and Grace. We can live these ideals by being kind, sincere and genuine in Our interactions with the community around us. Too often, this means exemplifying a conduct that sometimes we feel is sadly lacking in Our modern lives. Even under the very easiest of circumstances, Our best selves can inadvertently be buried under the strain of modern and mundane commitments.

The ability to face adversity with grace, courtesy and honour is a an even more uncommon virtue. I wish to speak to you of one who has shown Us exactly that virtue.

During my previous reign, We encountered an extremely stressful and difficult situation where the confidentiality of a grievance procedure had been breached. Our procedures for complaints and grievances are by necessity, confidential – to protect the dignity and privacy of those who may find themselves victims of poor behaviour, and to protect the reputation of any being complained against from premature reputational harm. Are our procedures perfect? Certainty not… but We promise you, there are a team of hard working and well-intentioned Gentles charged with overseeing this less than pleasant aspect of Our Society. They are extremely diligent in their duties and take great care of each and every incident brought to their attention.

Unfortunately, this particular confidentiality breach led to widespread condemnation of an individual before to the facts and the minutiae of the investigations, or the formal outcomes of the complaint process were able to be released. The result saw one of Our populace widely and publicly criticized, and the administrative arm of the Society left somewhat powerless to take any action to rectify this. Given this happened under my previous tenure as Queen – I have felt a heavy responsibility for this situation.

The Gentle of whom I speak is the Honourable Lord Lokki Rekkr of Aneala. I did not know Lokki at all prior to travelling to Aneala in Nov AS54. When I did finally meet with him, I was and continue to be, impressed by the graciousness and the generosity of spirit that he has displayed throughout this situation. When faced with numerous slings and arrows, Lord Lokki expressed himself humbly and with uncommon grace and courtesy. His countenance at the time was one of sadness – not for himself and the attacks he was enduring, but for unknowingly having left such an impact on someone in his past. He had thought the apologies he had offered at the time, had been accepted and was visibly pained to discover that wasn’t the case.

To be completely honest, I think I expected to be met by a young man feeling aggrieved at being lambasted so publicly, but instead I was met with mature member of our populous who displayed an extraordinary grace, courtesy and empathy, even under the weight of this enormous stressor. Surprisingly, he repeatedly took pains to defend his detractor’s right to speak their version of events, and would not allow any within his earshot to speak a single bad word against them.

Ever since, I have been somewhat awed at the courtesy, grace, integrity, and honour that he displayed in the face of this adversity – I somewhat suspect that I might not have been able to face a situation such as this, with half so much of his grace, courtesy, or generosity. His conduct for the last decade in Our Kingdom has been exemplary – he is as chivalrous and gentlemanly as any Knight of Lochac. There is no doubt in my mind that he is a role model to his Barony and a positive influence in Our Society. I believe him to be a good man, with a good heart and would therefore see him awarded with one of the most precious gifts in my favour – the Lochac Order of Grace.