Jomsvikingar!
The winter has ended, and while the Hordes of Unnameable Things are currently upon us, we know that eventually we will be free from their depredations. On Thursday the 16th of June, the assembled Vikings of Jom will hold their annual Veizla- the annual dinner for both Jomsborg and CUSFS. While in previous years the Veizla has been held in the New Hall (on top of the hill), the guardians of that hall have saddled the Jomsvikingar with iniquitous conditions concerning the numbers of us they would allow in. Of course, we cannot give our hard-earned (all right, I mean pillaged) gold to those who would insult us in this way- Cambridge has other halls for us to feast in, after all! So, this year the Veizla has moved to the University centre (aka the Grad Pad).
The next day, the Jomsvikingar shall invade Norway! They have remained un-pillaged for too long, and may even have begun to forget what the sight of an orange scarf means. On Friday, we will remind them as our armada of longships negotiate the fearsome Dead Man's Corner and the flocks of marauding waterfowl on the way to Norway. The longships may look suspiciously like punts, and Norway like Grantchester- but this does not matter. We are Jomsvikingar, and if the Reeve says we are invading Norway, then Norway it is!
But first, the Veizla itself must take place. There will be food (and wine and mead for those who wish). The precise menu and prices are not certain yet, but I suspect it will cost in the region of £30-35. More importantly, there will be the Reeve's Challenge and the choice of a new Reeve, who will then choose their companions.
The Veizla will be at some point in the late evening of Thursday the 16th of June (precise time is uncertain, probably starting at 7.30 or 8). If your name is on the attached spreadsheet, I assume that you want to come - in this case, please tell me any dietary requirements, whether or not you wish to drink alcohol (there may be an option for people to drink mead but not wine), and whether or not you are a current member of CUSFS. If you are not, the Veizla will cost you £3 more. If your name is NOT on the spreadsheet, then I don't think you are coming to the Veizla. You will not have a place unless you reply to tell me that you want to come (plus dietary requirements, drinking, membership, etc.)
In both cases, please reply by Saturday the 21st of May. Norway will be invaded the morning after the Veizla. While I do not need this information yet, please consider whether or not you can take part in the invasion, so I can ensure that there are sufficient longships!
As happens every year, I, Alexander Guttenplan, Reeve of All Jom, issue the following Challenge which all those attending the Veizla should be prepared to meet:
The X-Reeve bid us perform feats of strength, in order to show that we were true Vikings and had not been weakened by a harsh winter or a lack of pillaging. But of course, what makes a Jomsviking a Jomsviking is not strength, or speed, or cunning, but what they do with it!
Therefore, the Reeve's Challenge for the Year of the Apple-Shaped Sun is as follows:
Tell us of a fearsome monster you have slain
or (the vegetarian alternative):
Tell us of a priceless treasure you have stolen.
In both cases, the display of trophies from these glorious deeds is encouraged.
While the Reeve is omnipotent, their time as Reeve is limited- it would be Bad Form for me to use my omnipotence to extend it, and I must therefore pass my powers to another among the assembled Jomsvikingar. The new Reeve will then pick their Companions from among those there. The Companions are:
Runecaster, who writes down the deeds of the Jomsvikingar in the Jomsbook (currently Roseanna Pendlebury)
Meadkeeper, who has charge of the Jomsvikingar's supply of mead (currently William Brooks)
Geldjarl, who is in charge of the money (currently Philip Bielby)
Bard, whose role has yet to be clearly defined (currently Clemmy Pleming)
Therefore, I ask all of you to consider who your Companions would be if you were chosen as Reeve. If you do not wish to be the next Reeve (and are coming to the Veizla), please tell me.
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