Cluain Council Meeting 8^th April 2017

Start time:           2.10pm                                

Finish time:         3pm

Present:               Liz Brodie, Sue Whitby, Roger Win, Dave Whitby (Ed), Rob McIntyre, Sarah Pitcaithly.  Trent Deakin, Michelle Deakin and Jeanette (Netty) Reid joined the meeting fairly early on too.

Apologies:           Alex Allison

Minutes of previous meeting approved by Ed and seconded by Trent.

Officer’s Reports:

Reeve – Roger

• The current balance is $4302. Roger to e-mail Sarah with amount paid for Midwinter Coronation so far. Report for final quarter has been sent to Cluain council list and Lochac reeve.
• We need to find a new reeve before May 2018 and as soon as possible.
• St Sebs finances have been finalised with a late payment now settled and the event made a profit of $270.
• Waldorf School Medieval Carnival brought in $189, plus $100 for the school.

Marshall – Roger

• Fighter practice was cancelled in recent weeks due to rain. Newcomers have included Nate, his flat-mate James and Quinton Ellis. Adam Bazley came along for a little while but has dropped out again.
• Roger was asked to pass details of any new fighters on to Sue to do her Chatelaine duties.

A&S - Liz

• Pewter and quill-making at Waldorf were very popular and the pre-made declaration forms worked well.
• Group device banner would be great for Coronation. Liz to ask Trent to do a nice drawing of the Cluain bull for the banner.

Seneschal – Ed

• Nothing specific to report.

Webwright- Ed

• New photos have been added to Cluain’s website from St Sebs.
• We need populace photos for Rob, Sarah, Gareth, Geoff and Roger – suitable photos to be e-mailed to Ed to upload. (N.B. Mundane names and contact details are not given on the website, so this should not cause privacy issues for anyone)
• Quartermasters Stores section to be revised. Location of items to be added. Detailed list of food items not useful so will be deleted.

Chatelaine - Sue

• We met 2 potential newcomers at Waldorf.
• Getting newcomers along to events can be problematic due to a variety of reasons, even when they seem keen. Sue persevering with trying to get people along to events.

Event report:

St Sebastian’s – Ed

• About 70 people attended this event.
• Most people used the food plan but having self-catering as an option is still useful.
• We didn’t take enough account of catering requirements for people with dietary restrictions (vegetarian and gluten-free) this time. Having food left over and running out of some of the special foods showed the importance of communication. $360 for 2 portaloos was felt to be a worthwhile expense.

Upcoming events:

Midwinter Coronation  - Rob & Sarah

• 52 adult and 8 youngsters booked so far and likely to be more after Rowany Festival and May Crown.
• 7 vignettes booked so far. It would be good to have music and dancing offered.
• Only 2 or 3 people so far have wanted help finding cheap accommodation. The Hardy Centre Girl Guide place on site is not available, but the Melville School marae may be if required.
• Sarah’s keeping an eye on food intolerances and liaising with Bill. No money is needed to reimburse for food yet. Clarification was given that food bought from roadside stalls etc, where there is no receipt can be itemised for repayment.
• Sarah noted that it would be useful to get a full list of banners available from Ildhafn and asked for an audit of the Cluain banners and any other decorations. Sarah/Rob to send an e-mail to the lists to find volunteers for logistics and for bling.
• The amphitheatre is closed to the public 11am – 1pm and these time limits are strict. Waterproof runners to sit on were agreed as a good idea, perhaps with the event stamp on.
• Promotion of the club to the public could be business cards and leaflets distributed at the site of vignettes and also at a central area in the gardens.
• Timing of fencing tournament, peerage meetings and vignettes are all being considered by the stewards.
• We’ll need to borrow the list field from Ildhafn, which takes about 1m³ to transport. Stewards are trying to get different locations for the heavy and rapier tourneys.
• 1-2 pavilions are required for shelter in case of inclement weather. Emrys should be contacted about the potential use of his pavilion. Use of the Braythwayte pavilion was offered. The Cluain awnings will also be required. All canvas structures will need to be erected and taken down the same day due to lack of security overnight.
• Ed is to try making a snowflake and crown pewter token as the event token, ideally for use as a pendant.
• Trent is sorting scrolls for the programmes. 

Other business:

Ed announced that there’s a plan to rebuild the bread oven at Braythwayte Manor over Queen’s Birthday weekend. He asked if some of the materials could be funded by Ildhafn and Cluain -  Trent and Roger agreed to this concept. 

Meghann is to be asked about marketing the club.

Next meeting

3^rd Saturday in May – venue to be decided depending on the weather.