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The opening reception for the Caledon Peace Society on Sunday, 26 August, turned out to be quite a nice event, although I was feeling a bit flustered with preparations. I finished the music playlist just a couple of hours before the event, and I had  last-minute decorating to do, including paring down some of the plants in the Garden of Peace on the upper level in order to free up prims for very simple refreshments. I had placed the informational signs that give information about Nobel Peace Laureates the evening before, so at least I wasn’t doing any scripting!

As it happened, I was in the Garden of Peace when the first guests arrived, and we spent the course of the event on that level, standing in a loose circle and having a fascinating conversation. Mr Drinkwater posed a question that proved most effective for prompting guests: “What peacemaker do you most admire?”

I am sorry to say that at the very end of the event the few of us left were orbited by someone who proceeded to do the same to anyone who came near—including the Duchess of Carntaigh, who then had the basis for banning him and his associate from the Independent State of Caledon. (IMing the individual did not bring satisfactory resolution, and the individuals were reported to have been engaged in similar behavior but a day or two prior in Loch Avie.)

In my distress at my initial orbiting (it happened twice), I quit SL, thus losing the accumulated chat from the afternoon before I had a chance to create a guest list. To all who attended, a most hearty thank you.

For those who have not yet visited, the Baroness Bertha von Suttner chapter of the Caledon Peace Society is adjacent the telehub in Caledon SteamSkyCity, and you are welcome to visit at any time. There is an informational display on the lower level, and a conservatory on the upper level in which I encourage you to take a moment to relax.

I did manage to snap a couple of shots, though photography doesn’t seem to be my strong suit. Bizarre Berry graced us with an angelic fountain, and other guests included Sir ZenMondo Wormser, Miss Soliel Snook, Colonel Exrex Somme, and Mr JJ Drinkwater. I am most sorry not to be able to identify everyone in my photos, nor to thank everyone who attended.

I have placed upon the slhistory wiki a new page listing titled Caledonians in alphabetical order.

(Edit 14 July: There is now a Caledon titles page on the slhistory wiki, where you can make corrections, additions, and deletions.)

At one of the recent dances in Caledon, there was a brief conversation about titles and forms of address in Caledon. There was some jesting about Burke’s Peerage or Begonia’s Peepage. Baron Bardhaven stated that there aren’t that many titled personalities in Caledon, so I went ætherically hunting. And he’s right, or at least, I couldn’t find many.

While it’s all just fun and games, with a little role-playing here, a little prentension there, and a good dash of healthy fantasy life, the use of titles does do one thing, which I believe we must have a care about: Titles, especially for those who are new or who do not know the titles being bandied about, create a sense of an in-group. Now I believe that all groups have boundaries (some permeable, some semi-permeable, some closed), and that individuals can be closer or farther from the center. But I also believe that the common hope of all Caledonians is that our society will be free, open, and inviting.

In the spirit of making Caledonian society more open and inviting as regards formal address, having consulted the fine, though brief, histories available at the Caledon Forums and the slhistory wiki (which appears to be down at this writing), done some cursory searches of the æthernet, and paid attention at a couple of recent parties, I venture this very rough draft of the residents and friends of the Independent State of Caledon who affect titles. I encourage all those who read this to offer correction, addition, and commentary. When I am a bit more confident of the list, I shall add it to the slhistory wiki and submit it to the editor of the Caledon Forums for appropriate placement.

(Forms of address, where I know a preference or general practice, are noted in parentheses. Sir Edward Pearse has begun a series of notes on forms of address.)

Proprietor

• Guvnah Desmond Shang (Guvnah, Des)

Stewards

• Khashai Steinbeck, First Steward of Caledon
• Sir Gerami Fizz
• Princesa Yuiko Muromachi
• Vicereine Kamilah Hauptmann, Last Steward of Caledon

Duchies

• Her Grace, Gabrielle Riel, Duchess of Carntaigh (Your Grace)
• Her Grace, Eva Bellambi, Duchess Loch Avie (Your Grace)
• Her Grace, CoyoteAngel Dimsum, Duchess of Primverness, Baroness Lovelace, Defender of the Faith(less), Keeper of the Light (Beer), Speaker to Machines
• Her Grace, Kamilah Hauptmann, Duchess of Lionsgate
• ?? Shenlei Flasheart (former Duchess of Loch Avie)

Knights

• Ordinal Malaprop, Knight of Caledon
• Leosanni Somme, Knight of Caledon

Titled Caledonians

• Baron of Bauerhoff Gottfried Eusebio
• Amber Palowakski, 15th Baroness of Bauerhoff de Caledon (Lady Amber, My Lady)
• Zealot Benmergui, Baron Bardhaven (Lord Bardhaven, Baron Bardhaven)
• Kirawill Collingwood, Baroness Bardhaven (Lady Bardhaven, Baroness Bardhaven)
• Hermione Fussbudget, Baroness Wyre (Miss Fussbudget, Baroness Wyre, Lady Wyre)
• Lady Pym Sartre
• Lady Lavendar Beaumont
• Sir Edward Pearse (Sir Edward)
• Christine McAllister, Lady Pearse (Lady Pearse)
• Sir ZenMondo Wormser, Order of the Red Rose (Sir ZenMondo, Sir Zen)
• Sir Telemachus Dean, Order of the Red Rose (Sir Telemachus, Sir Tele)
• Sir Adso Krogstad, Order of the Red Rose (Sir Adso)
• Sir Amplebeak Tinlegs (Sir Amplebeak)

Foreign titles

• Her Majesty Kendra Bancroft, Kaiserin von Neualtenburg
• His Serenity Otenth Paderborn, Jarl of Orcadia (Otenth; Your Serenity if you absolutely must on formal occasions: it’s an old germanic influence)

Military rank

(I confess to confusion and inability to keep up. The following is so woefully incomplete I hesitate to even reveal it. Won’t someone else, I beg of you, take up this gauntlet?)

• Major Erasmus Margulis
• Captain Lapin Paris
• Admiral Carricre Wind
• Colonel/Post-Captain Hotspur O’Toole
• Colonel Exrex Somme