Announcements

Barony of Bhakail Meeting Minutes: January 15, 2026

Barony of Bhakail Meeting Minutes: January 15, 2026

Baronial Council in Attendance

Other officers and populace in attendance: Mael Eoin nac Echuild, Eva, Val, Livia Petralia, Scolastica Capellaria, Melchoir Kriebal

Events

Tavern

Pre-registrations are rolling in. Tink has volunteered to be the head Troll.

Waking of the Salemander

A bid will be forthcoming with an event date of the weekend of May 8, 2026.

New Business

2026 Baronial Annual Budget

Ellyn presented the 2026 annual budget that has been approved by the Council of the Exchequer.

Baron’s Projects for the Year

Mikael plans to begin a monthly craft project day to work on projects for the barony. The first session will be Sunday January 25th at 2pm, at Mikael’s house. He is also planning to hold discussions to review the Bhakail awards.

Bailiwick Craft Night

The Bailiwick of Ivyeinrust will be having a craft night on the Penn campus on Tuesday January 27th at 7 pm. All are welcome to attend!

Old Business

Shower trailer for Pennsic

Darmon will be scheduling information meetings with the Bhakail populace and Pennsic encampment campers  on the proposal for construction of a shower trailer for the Bhakail encampment at Pennsic.

Meeting minutes recorded by Beck of Copeland

January 2026 Officer Reports

Following are the monthly officer reports that have been submitted prior to the Bhakail monthly business meeting of January 15, 2026.

Coronet – Baron Mikael melrakki 

So, I’ve made it through my first year as Baron.  There were a few hiccups along the way, but for the most part, I believe it went rather smoothly.  I’ve learned a lot and now have a better picture of what to expect in the future.

And speaking of the future, I have 2 major things I want to work on during the year.

The first is starting a monthly craft session where we work on projects to better the barony.  Some ideas that I have are decorations, largess, favors, targets, list polls, etc. The day, time and location may change from month to month depending on what works best for the activity.

I am planning the first to be held on Sunday January 25th at 2pm at my house.  For the most part, I want the first one to be a planning session for later sessions, but I also have a large wooden salamander that needs to be painted in Bhakail colors so that it could be used as decor or carried in processions and similar uses.

The second thing I want to do is to hold discussions to review the Bhakail awards.  Some of the things I would like to talk about:

1. a) The service awards (Horse and Salamander) require that I “consult with the order” before giving out these awards.  These are the only awards that have this requirement and since we don’t have a good system for discussions outside of events; this can delay giving an award by several months. For example, if someone recommends a person to me just after Champions and Commons, I could hold a meeting at Yule, but since I need to give the scribes time to produce a scroll, I wouldn’t be able to give it out until Waking of the Salamander (if the person attends).  Meanwhile, in the same situation, I could give a Pasguarde out at Yule.
2. b) Each of our orders has a badge registered with the College of Heralds.  Traditionally, we have been giving out tokens with the awards.  In most cases, the token and the badge are not the same.  For example: the token for the Order of the Pasguarde is “Salamander shield on a gray ribbon” while the registered badge is “Gules, an armored arm fesswise embowed argent sustaining a sword bendwise sinister proper, the arm issuant from a demi-sun issuant from sinister Or.”
3. c) A general review of the existing awards to see if we need to update any descriptions.  Are there any things that the awards don’t cover, but should?  I’ve had people suggest updating the names of some orders.
4. d) Creating a process for making recommendations

I will plan an online session to discuss this in the coming months, but I want people to start thinking about it.

Chancellor of the Exchequer – Lady Ellyn Grene

I’m currently working on the end of year 2025 financial report that is due to the EK Exchequer by January 31. We are waiting to receive the paypal registration check for Yule, then this event report can be finished.

A baronial budget for 2026 has been compiled from the requests submitted by officers and marshals and has been approved by the Council of the Exchequer. This budget has total projected expenses of $2,006.80, and projected income from events of $2,025. I’ll present some details at the January business meeting.

Rapier Marshal – Don Melchior Kriebel

Practice continued to be held at the Reformation Lutheran Church in Media, PA. Due to X-Mas and New Year’s Eve being on Wednesdays the last two weeks of practice were cancelled. We resumed practice on 1/7/26.

Archery Marshal – Lady Ellyn Grene

Nothing to report.

Thrown Weapons Marshal – Kennari Mikael melrakki 

Practices on hiatus until weather improves.

Webminister –  Máistir Mael Eoin mac Echuidh

Some updates to Champions on the website following Yule and might have a deputy in the works. Also working on getting the weekly ‘Weekly upcoming activities’ service working again.

Barony of Bhakail Meeting Minutes: December 18, 2025

Baronial Council in Attendance

Other officers and populace in attendance:Melchoir Kriebel, Grainne, Mael Eoin nac Echuild, Katrin, Eva, Philadelphia Brown, Darmon 

Events

Bhakail Yule

Grainne thanked the barony for letting her steward the event. The event went well, with many people helping. Total attendance was over 250, and the event made a profit.

Now, it’s time to start planning for Yule 2026!

Old Business

Shower trailer for Pennsic

Darmon had a display and Yule with a draft plan and had discussions with several people. There is no proposal budget yet.

Meeting minutes recorded by Beck of Copeland

December 2025 Bhakail Officer Reports

Following are the monthly officer reports that have been submitted prior to the Bhakail monthly business meeting of December 18, 2025.

Chancellor of the Exchequer – Lady Ellyn Grene

A reminder to all officers to please submit any requests you have for the 2026 baronial annual budget.

There is a new Society Financial Policy that was approved by the Board of Directors in November and that goes into effect January 1, 2026. The new policy can be found at: https://www.sca.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SCA-FinPol-2025-Revised.pdf. The East Kingdom will be updating its Financial Policy in the new year to reflect the changes in the Society Financial Policy, and Bhakail will also need to update our financial policy to reflect these Society and Kingdom changes.

Archery Marshal – Lady Ellyn Grene

Bhakail’s weekly archery and thrown weapons practices are now on hold until the spring, whenever the weather gets nice enough to resume practices. Thank you to all who attended practices in 2025, and looking forward to seeing you in 2026.

December 2025 issue of the Salamander

Here is a link to the latest issue of the newsletter of the Barony of Bhakil, the Salamander.

Click to access Salamander-2025-Dec.pdf

November 2025 Bhakail Officer Reports

Following are the monthly officer reports that have been submitted prior to the Bhakail monthly business meeting of November 20, 2025.

Coronet – Baron Mikael melrakki 

You know when in school, you would get a huge project in school and you would have tons of ideas. But then time passes and suddenly the deadline is approaching and you realize that you don’t have the time to do all of the great ideas that you had.  

Well, the same thing applies for events.  The more time that you have the more that you can plan to have for an event.  When you are rushed, we don’t have time to look at the little details that can add color to an event. Small details can make or break an event.

Lately, the bids for events have been coming in at the last minute.  That doesn’t give time to organize extra activities for an event.  

Event stewards have been starting the process with the financial bid.  That doesn’t have to be the case.  Coming to a meeting and just saying, “I was thinking of running XYZ event” can be extremely helpful.  It allows us to help supply information that could be helpful in preparing both a financial bid as well as planning the general event proposal.

Six months is really a minimum time to run an event.  Larger events like Yule should be closer to a year.  For some of the last few events, we have only had 2 – 3 months.  

One thing to note, to hold an official event, the deadline for materials to be published in Pikestaff is the 1st of the month, one month prior to the issue in which the item is to be printed. For example, a submission received on or before January 1 will appear in the February issue.  So, there are times that we would have to have an event announcement submitted nearly 2 months in advance.   Add in the time it takes for the officers and financial committee to approve, we really need more time than we have been using.

Social Media (Deputy to the Seneschal) – Honorable Lady Scolastica Capellaria

Social Media is active with no issues to report. I have asked for some folks who are going to be at PAX if they want to take some photos/videos while there to show off. If you would like to volunteer, or send me material to post please contact me.

If anyone has something they would like posted on our Instagram please let me know.

Chancellor of the Exchequer – Lady Ellyn Grene

Financial Report: The third quarter financial report was submitted to the Kingdom Exchequer on October 26. Here is a summary of the barony’s finances as of 9/30/2025:

2026 Annual Budget: All SCA branches are required to establish annual budgets that are authorized by the branch’s financial committee, which for Bhakail of the Council of the Exchequer. It appears that Bhakail has not had an annual budget for several years, and I have a goal of making sure we do have one in place for 2026! Having this budget will ensure we have a plan for how to allocate funds towards the activities of the barony. It will also streamline administration so officers or marshals don’t have to go through the process of receiving the required authorization from the CoE for every purchase that might come up. I will be contacting the baronial officers and asking them to fill out a budget request form by the December business meeting for compilation and review by the CoE.

Chronicler – Beck of Copeland 

Nothing to report.

Rapier Marshal – Don Melchior Kriebel

Fencing continued to be held at the Reform Lutheran Church in Media, PA. Attendance has been medium to heavy.

Archery Marshal – Lady Ellyn Grene

We will plan on having at least a few more weeks of archery practice this year, as long as the weather cooperates. Since thrown weapons practices have ended for the year, archery practices will move up an hour and begin at 1 pm so we have more daylight.

Thrown Weapons Marshal –  Baron Mikael melrakki 

Practices have ended for the year and will restart in the spring.

Minister of Arts & Sciences – Lady Dillena o’r Gwyrddol

Yule is fast approaching, and with it is our baronial A&S competition. We look forward to seeing what our amazing populace will be presenting! 

If you are interested in pursuing local A&S opportunities (such as hosting an A&S night or teaching a class) please feel free to reach out to me by email at MOAS@bhakail.eastkingdom.org

October 2025 Business Meeting Notes

Barony of Bhakail Meeting Minutes: October 16, 2025

Baronial Council in Attendance

Other officers and populace in attendance:  Philadelphia Brown, Mael Eoin mac Echuid,Grainne, Tink, Darmon, Alexander, Livia Petralia, Eva

Events

Bhakail Yule

Event steward Grainne reported that the event planning is going well. Preregistrations are coming in on Paypal. Requests will be going out for kitchen help, and event setup and breakdown.

Tavern 2026

A bid is anticipated soon from Aiden, with an event date of January 31, 2026 at the German Society.

Old Business

Shower trailer for Pennsic

Darmon and Alexander are working on a proposal that they plan to submit to the populace at the November business meeting for funding of a shower that would be housed in a trailer for the Bhakail encampment at Pennsic. 

Meeting minutes recorded by Beck of Copeland

October 2025 Bhakail Officer Reports

Following are the monthly officer reports that have been submitted prior to the Bhakail monthly business meeting of October 16, 2025.

Coronet – Baron Mikael melrakki 

There are many events coming up in the next few months.  Everything from the coronation of the first Rapier Crowns to 100 Minutes War to Yule and a bunch in between.  And don’t forget our biggest Demo at Pax Unplugged is coming up in November (early this year).  

Look through the calendar and see what you may want to go to. Check out something new.  Bring back new ideas and spread the word to the Barony.  

Hope to see you soon.

Social Media (Deputy to the Seneschal) – Honorable Lady Scolastica Capellaria

Social Media is active and there are no current issues to report. Facebook continues to be our most active platform. I created an instagram reel of photos from Commons and it was reposted by the official SCA Platform. I would like to get some photos together and a social media posting calendar for advertising for Pax this November. Please let me know if you have good photos/video we can use to advertise for our booth at Pax.

Chancellor of the Exchequer – Lady Ellyn Grene

I’m currently working to finalize the third quarter financial report that is due at the end of the month.

Chronicler – Beck of Copeland 

Nothing to report.

Salamander Pursuivant – Lord Finnólfr Hrafnsson

I have completed research and given all appropriate paperwork and documentation to Bryan Deemer for registration of his new name and device.  I am also in the early stages of preparing court for Bhakail Yule.

Rapier Marshal – Don Melchior Kriebel

Baronial practice continued to be held at the Reformation Lutheran Church on Wednesdays at 7PM. Attendance has been moderate.

Commons was also held along with the Baronial Rapier Championship. Your reporting marshal won the tournament.

Archery Marshal – Lady Ellyn Grene

There has been a small but regular attendance, including a few newcomers at the last few practices. Weekly practices will continue on Sunday afternoons as long as the weather cooperates. We should be able to get in at least a few more weeks of practice before we go on hiatus for the winter.

Thrown Weapons Marshal – Kenarri Mikael melrakki 

Thrown Weapons practices will be canceled on 10/12 and 10/19 due to the marshal being out of town.  Archery will be on as normal.

Chatelaine – Lady Chana Freidl the Maker

It has been my absolute pleasure to be the Barony’s chatelaine for the last *mumbledy* years, but alas my time is up.  Thank you all for the support towards our newcomers!

September 2025 Business Meeting Notes

Baronial Council in Attendance

Other officers and populace in attendance: Mael Eoin mac Echuid,Grainne, Ysmay Lynn, Darmon, Alexander, Milan, Scolastica Capellaria

Events

Champions and Commons

Commons was last weekend. There was good weather and everything went well in the long run. There was $248 raised in the rummage sale, and 52 in attendance.

Bhakail Yule

Event steward Grainne reported that the event is on the EK event website and planning is going well. There is a list of people who have volunteered so far, including Maedhbh who will be head troll. Grainne commented that she is seeking a deputy steward, and Chana volunteered. 

Tavern 2026

There is a bid forthcoming from Aiden. 

Old Business

Officer Position, Chatelaine

A letter of intent has been received for the position of Chatelaine, from Tink. A vote was taken and she was voted into the position with a start date on in October. Chana will act as Deputy Chatelaine. 

New Business

Shower for Pennsic

Darmon led a preliminary discussion on the shower for the Bhakail encampment at Pennsic. The showers need replaced, and consideration is being given to building a shower trailer with some help from baronial funds. A formal budget proposal and timeline will be discussed at a future business meeting. 

Meeting minutes recorded by Ellyn Grene, filling in for Beck of Copeland

September 2025 Bhakail Officer Reports

Following are the monthly officer reports that have been submitted prior to the Bhakail monthly business meeting of September 18, 2025.

Social Media (Deputy to the Seneschal) – Honorable Lady Scolastica Capellaria

Social media is active and no issues to report. I would love to share more pictures of Bhakailis doing cool things on our instagram. Please forward pictures when you have them. Also, if there are any announcements that need to be made, graphics perform better than stand alone posts, so please forward me the information or create your own graphic that I can post online.

Chancellor of the Exchequer – Lady Ellyn Grene

I’m happy to report that Bhakail is all up to date on reporting to the East Kingdom Exchequer’s office. I’m currently working on the event report for Champions and Commons.

Rapier Marshal – Don Melchior Kriebel

The first week of Bhakail’s rapier practice was cancelled due to Pennsic happening. Practice resumed the week after and attendance was moderate. There were no incidents.

Archery Marshal – Lady Ellyn Grene

Thank you to all who participated in the Bhakail archery championship this year! Former champion Sabine de Kerbriant designed an a-peel-ingly fun William Tell based tournament. Congratulations to the new archery champion of Bhakail, Ragnall Cennétig.

Chatelaine – Lady Chana Freidl the Maker

Not too much to report this month.  I spent some time at the Bucks County Renaissance Faire with the Barony of Buckland Cross and talked to people about the SCA.  One of them came to Bhakail’s fencing practice later that week!  Coming up, I will host the Gold Key Rummage Sale at Commons to raise more money for newcomer things – bring your cash and your sense of adventure!  Looking ahead, PAX Unplugged is November 21-23, please let me know if you’re able to help out at the booth, and especially if you’re a heavy fighter not going to 100 Minutes War (which is that Saturday) and would like to fight at PAX!