#Uncle Impy

[upallnightmovies]

Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama

Howdy folks, who’s your favorite Imp? Let me introduce you to our sorority posse!

Yeah, I stole those lines from the “Lester’s Possum Park” scene in “A Goofy Movie”. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?! Nothing…and like it!

What are we actually here to talk about? That’s right, Sorority Babes. Mmm, babes…pledging to sororities…Sorority…babes. Sorry, where was I?

[whinlatter]

The movie ootp showed this differently, but in the books, Sirius doesn't really show much physical affection to Harry. In book 4 he helped Harry to a chair, and held his shoulder, but when he left bc Dumbledore told him to (weird on it's own but that's my opinion) he parts from Harry with a handshake. When Harry stays with Sirius in ootp he isn't described at any point to have hugged him, expect a quick, hurried, half hug at the end of the Xmas holiday. I always found this curious, because the intensity and even co dependency that these two have is huge. Harry relies soo much on Sirius, Sirius does so much to be in Harry's life but that emotional affection never translates into a physical thing. Molly is the first to give Harry a bear hug when he needs it most. Maybe I'm missing something? Harry is far from a physical boi, I know. Maybe it's me, I'm Dutch, English culture is quite different than my own Dutch culture in ways of interaction, we never adress someone in last names, that's considered very rude here for example. We are very direct and familiar, even with authority and family. What do you think of this? Is this JK not computing Sirius's character in every scene or is there a reason I'm just missing? I just wish Sirius and Harry has more physical moments. My Dad and uncles hug me all the time, families do that, I'd just think Harry's Godfather would be familiair and safe enough to hug more than just one time. Their emotional bond seems to impy so. Sorry for the long ask lol. I'd love to hear someone on this!

this is a super interesting question, thank you so much!

i think you're totally right that it's striking how little physical contact/affection sirius and harry share in the books. (film sirius is king of the cuddles). i don't think this is an oversight in the text, but something quite deliberate, both as a characterisation choice for sirius, which i'll get into below, but also to set up something that's still 'missing' in harry's relationships - loving physical affection with a loved one - even after sirius comes into his life, that will be, in part, resolved by ginny.

you're right, i think, that cultural factors do come into sirius' lack of comfort with physical touch towards harry. sirius is a posh english man born in 1959, which would be enough to make for a pretty repressed character prone to limited displays of physical affection towards friends and family members of all genders at the best of times (not huge huggers, that lot). but sirius also enters the series in the canon timeline after twelve years of intense physical and emotional isolation, living in a body that's been through a lot and must be uncomfortable and sometimes painful to inhabit. sirius is arm in arm with james in the marauders photograph on his wall at grimmauld, and at james' wedding, so it's entirely possible he was more comfortable with physical contact prior to azkaban - the kind of breezy, easy display of contact he does on occasion to show to harry that's a bit reminscent of ron (a clap on the back, a hand on the shoulder, a handshake) - and reasonable to assume that an ease with such physical displays of affection might be something prison cost him.

i also think, though, that the physical distance sirius keeps from harry is supposed to be a sign of more complex and difficult parts of their relationship (sirius' attempts to maintain some distance from harry so as not to make harry feel responsible for him emotionally, sirius grappling with the guilt he feels for his part in lily and james' deaths and subsequent inability to be able to protect harry from all that he's endured since). harry wants more displays of affection from sirius than sirius feels he can comfortably or easily give (it's why i've never been much on board with fanon reads of harry that have him as someone touch averse - he seeks and accepts physical contact with friends and loved ones throughout canon, particularly in the later books). harry even seems to experience these moments of one-armed hugs and handshakes as disappointments. sirius, of course, would prefer to show his devotion and love for harry in other ways, including putting himself in danger to protect his godson, which harry increasingly doesn't want him to do by ootp.

for harry's sake, the absence of much physical touch in his relationship with sirius bolsters this sense of something still missing in harry's life even while sirius is alive, and serves to imbue moments of physical contact with other parental figures - and eventually in his romantic life - with greater significance. this is especially true, as you say, with molly. that GoF hug means a lot to harry, and the big hug he gives her in DH after the birthday present is supposed to be an important moment for both characters, but especially for harry's feelings for molly as a maternal figure. meanwhile, in harry's romantic life, it's striking how little he and cho ever actually touch: they have one (seemingly weirdly hands-free) off-stage kiss that harry recalls as quite physically unpleasant, and harry has to give himself a fifteen minute pep talk to try and hold her hand (flop). so then when ginny finally comes along, the reader's supposed to be like, oh damn, finally harry potter's getting a hug or two (and, you know, more than that, but the physical touch love language point still stands!)

[hermitagereheadcanons]

Impulse regressing around zits crew head canons!

He's cheery and giggly as a little, very easily entertained by his friend's antics. He's also entertained by his own mischief, which doubles while small. There's nothing like seeing his friends react to his pranks or silliness.

Zits love how silly he can get, even if sometimes it means him spooking them or making messes. Sometimes during a good day, they can get him to tire himself out on giggles and make naptime easy.

This is good bc his overworker tendencies as an adult transfer over as a very restless and curious kiddo who Hates being told to stop what he's doing unless the new thing is equally or more interesting.

He's also extra sensitive. Poor baby cries easily. He's not big on cuddles unless it's with a stuffie or blankets, but he likes being picked up, even though big Impulse gets embarrassed by it. Lil Impy NEEDS positive reinforcement and delights over making people happy and helping, so naturally if someone gets upset with him, his whole day is ruined.

Grumpy baby Impulse comes about from: too much teasing, not enough sleep, things not working how he wants them to, etc.

Skizz and Tango are his "uncles". Zed isn't exactly opposed to the term for himself, but it does make him feel old. Skizz is actually fairly paternal about it, he can get protective over lil Impy- which Tango thinks is funny and endearing- but he IS still a best friend and as such is obligated to tease the little guy, albeit in a gentler way.

Joker (from jits streams) eventually is let in on it and he's more of an older sibling figure who is constantly encouraging Impulse's mischief. There's a bit going on where Joker also gets put in time out for things despite not being regressed himself, which everyone gets a laugh out of, and it keeps Impulse from always listening to his bad influence.

I'm gonna be giggling about Joker being put in time out for ages. I can imagine him protesting, all indignant, and Impulse giggling hysterically when Tango and Skizz add 5 more minutes to his time out for backtalk.

[bayoubashsims]

Cousin Itt's extended family came to see the new baby What and welcomes Margaret into the family!

(clockwise from left to right: Uncle Ishmael, Itt's uncle; Cousin Isabelle and Cousin Indigo, Ishmael's grandchildren; Cousin Ian and his wife Cousin Irene, who is Ishmael's daughter; Aunt Irma, Uncle Ishmael's wife; and two other of Ian and Irene's children, Ilbert and Imogen. Also with Auntie Irma's dog, Impy!

A little something I've been working on with @the-sims-of-frogton, I have finally learned something about converting meshes.

Check out her blog with Cousin Itt and What. I'm working on the rest of the family meshes and maybe making a showerproof skintone.

[bluerex64remake]

No. 4 Impy

Full Name:

Impy 'Michael' Wawoski

Age:

10

Sex:

Male

Pronouns:

He/Him

Sexuality:

Bisexual

Nationality:

Mexican African (mother is Afro and Father is Mexican)

Language:

Spanish,Zulu and English

Species:

Imp

Skin:

Green (If human he will be black)

Status:

Alive

Relative:

Geo (father)

Ember (mother)

Impborg (twin brother)

Hio (twin uncle)

Hoen (cousin)

Lelya (little sister)

Friends:

Woss

Garp

Croak

Aqua

Flame

Blood

Camera/Digital

Enemy:

Demonic Impy/Satanic Impy

Nightmare

Love Interests:

Wave (girlfriend)

Dark Matter Impy (boyfriend)

Plot:

Impy is a full of himself boy who's originally from Mexico he is narcissistic sometimes he's offensive.Love both Wave and DMI because they support him when there's adventures.Impy has a twin who not seen a lot looks like him but he has a blue shirt and gray horns (the only part of the body that has robot parts). He like shawarma like Msizi.He can fly and breath fire.

[atc74]

Soul to Souls - Eight

Warnings: Sam is back (eeeek) and a bit of a dick, angst, another vision, impied smut, hold on, it’s gonna get a little bumpy...

Summary: Since she was four years old, Annaleigh has seen the same boy in her dreams. For twenty-five years, she grows to love the boy that has now turned into a man. Dean Winchester just lost the only family he has ever known. The guilt drives him to work harder than ever before. He works to forget the pain, until he meets Annaleigh and she turns his world upside down. What she learns changes both of their lives forever, but what will he do when he discovers the truth? Will he accept it or run back to the only life he has ever known?

Pairing: Dean x  OC Annaleigh

Word Count: 2432

Beta’d by: @amanda-teaches​​​, @katehuntington​​, thank you both for being my guides! Dividers and new cover art by the amazingly talented @talesmaniac89​​​.

A/N: This was my very first series I ever wrote four years ago in September 2016 and I am so happy and proud to bring this back home.

Soul to Souls Master List

Annaleigh had seen Sam in her visions many times throughout her life and she recognized the man in front of them. After what happened in the Stull Cemetery outside of Lawrence, she knew she would never get the chance to meet him. He was her soulmate’s brother. She had grieved for the loss of a man she would never know. Any children Dean and Anna may be blessed with would never know their Uncle Sam outside of a photograph. Now, seeing him on Bobby’s porch, she started to doubt the visions, maybe even God Himself. 

Dean immediately tensed up, and his arm tightening around her waist. They stood there for what felt like forever, neither breathing or moving. Annaleigh slowly rubbed smoothing circles on his back, and Dean started to relax a little as he stared at his brother. Anna knew a thousand questions had to be running through his mind right now, because they sure as hell were running through hers.

Sam descended the stairs and joined them on the walkway. Dean stared at his brother before starting and stopping a couple of times. “How are you h-? What the h-? When did y-? How?” was finally all Dean really asked his brother. He dropped the bag and gripped his brother in a hug. 

“I don’t know. We have been trying to figure that out since I got back,” Sam responded, hugging Dean just as hard. 

The brothers parted, and Sam turned, looking Annaleigh up and down. “So, you must be Annaleigh. Bobby has told me about you and filled me in what has been going on since I became Lucifer’s bitch. I am happy for you and my brother.” He smiled at her, but it lacked something; something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. 

She nodded, took a step forward and extended her hand, but Sam rushed her instead, wrapping her so tightly in his arms, she found it hard to breathe. He finally let her go, and she stumbled a little, Dean reaching out to grab her arm to steady her.

Anna looked up when she heard the screen door slam. There stood Bobby, quietly assessing the scene before him. Dean let go of her hand and bounded up the stairs. He reached for Bobby and the old, grumpy hunter smiled and threw his arms around her soulmate. “Damn good to see ya, boy.”

Bobby then set his gaze upon her as she stood there on the walk with Sam. “Well, come here, Honey. Let me get a good look atchya. See if this boy’s been treatin’ ya right.” Annaleigh ran up the stairs and embraced Bobby with all her might. 

“God, I missed you. And, yeah, Bobby. He treats me right.” She looked over at Dean, a blush rising up her cheeks. Anna grabbed his hand as they headed in the house, Sam trailing behind them.

It was so good to see Dean smiling as they sat down to dinner, swapping stories and sharing memories over beer and whiskey. Even though what he and Annaleigh had together was wonderful, he still wore that weight-of-the-world look on his face when he thought she wasn’t looking. He carried the guilt of those he couldn’t save and until now, that had included his Sam. Witnessing their reunion, with Bobby, it felt like all the pieces of the puzzle were finally coming together. It felt right.

Anna excused herself to get the boys more beer. Dean reached for her hand, their fingertips grazing as she continued to the kitchen. A small smile tugged at her lips as she looked back at him. She turned her head forward again and ran smack into Sam’s huge frame.

“Oh my God, Sam! I am so sorry. I didn’t even see you there!” she gasped, before she walked around him, reaching for the handle.  

Sam turned, his gaze on her. She could feel it, like it was boring a hole in the back of her skull, making her uncomfortable. “So, Annaleigh, Bobby tells me you are a prophet of the Lord. How’s that working out for you?” Bitterness seeping through his words, his frame blocking her path back to the den, to Dean. 

“Sam,” Anna began as she turned around and handed him another bottle of beer after retrieving it from the fridge. “I have had visions of Dean, sometimes of you too, almost my entire life. This is not new for me. I am sorry if it makes you uneasy. It was hard for Dean to accept at first, too. Sometimes, I think it still is, a little.”

“So, I am trapped in the cage with the Devil himself, being beaten and tortured, and my brother was banging a hot redhead the whole time,” Sam said and laughed, the sound like acid on her skin.

“Now, hold on just a minute, Sam. That is not how things went down, and you’d know it if you listened to Bobby at all. You have to understand that Dean kept hunting after you went under. For months, he ran himself ragged. When he was not looking for ways to get you back, he hunted, and he hunted.” Anna felt herself getting angrier the more they talked; this is not the Sam she remembered from her visions or from her conversations with Dean. This was a Sam she hardly recognized, even if she had never met him before.

“And, he just happened upon a case in your home town, huh? How convenient.” The sarcasm felt like hatred as the words spilled out of his mouth.

“Yes, there was a case. I called Bobby, Bobby sent Dean. Do you have a problem with me, Sam?” she asked defensively, straightening up to her full height, not that five feet and a fraction of an inch was intimidating for someone of Sam’s height. 

Sam laughed again, this time it was different. “I am sorry, Annaleigh. I most definitely do not have a problem with you. You are beautiful, and feisty, and clearly good for my brother. He seems happy for the first time in a very long time. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong vibe. I am still working off some effects from Hell, I guess.” He embraced her again, this time, it was softer, more brotherly.

“Hey! Hands off my girl, bitch!” Neither one of them had heard Dean enter the kitchen.

“Just getting to know her, jerk,” Sam retorted.

Dean reached for her hand, pulling her towards him. She broke away from Sam, melting into Dean’s chest, and inhaled deeply, seeking the comfort she knew she would find there. Leather, a hint of gunpowder and something spicy she still couldn’t decipher. But, it was all Dean, and now it was hers. She sighed contentedly against him as he rubbed one hand up and down her back, kissing the back of the hand he had yet to let go of.

“Hey, Red, you okay? You seem tired,” Dean asked, pulling back a little to look at her.

Anna looked up into his impossibly green eyes and shook her head, curls tumbling everywhere. “Yeah, I am tired. It must be the drive. I am going to head up to bed.” She pushed up on her tiptoes, licking at his plump bottom lip. He eagerly took the hint, bending at the knees, and kissed her slowly, tenderly, before straightening up. 

“I’ll be up a little later,” Dean called after her as she climbed the stairs, she blew him a kiss, then bid Bobby and Sam a good night.

After getting ready for the night, Anna sat on the edge of the bed, thinking about what Sam had said to her. From everything she knew of Sam from Dean and Bobby, and even from her own visions, she knew something was off. Maybe this feeling accounts for the restlessness she was feeling during the drive. She hadn’t been able to put her finger on it, but something had felt off, the closer they got to their destination. 

Suddenly, she found herself on the floor, shaking, her head between her knees trying to control her breathing and the searing pain in her head. Anna started seeing flashes of another vision: Dean and her, Sam, too. It looked like they were in a hospital. Somewhere in the chaos of the vision, she heard a baby cry. 

The door burst open and Dean rushed into the room, followed quickly by Sam and Bobby, weapons drawn. Anna lifted her head weakly and attempted to cover herself in the skimpy pajamas she had chosen to wear to bed, as the three of them stared at her.

“Talk to me, Red! Honey, are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt?” The questions came tumbling out of Dean’s mouth as he ran towards her, dropping to his knees as he slid to a stop right in front of her. With one arm around her waist and the other behind her knees, he lifted her off the floor, returning her to the bed gently, as if he were afraid she would break.  

“Thank you,” Anna managed to get out as she tried to cover herself with a blanket. “I’m okay, really. I just got a little dizzy and must have fallen. I guess I don’t hold my liquor as well as you boys.” She tried to hide the lie with laughter, hoping none of them would notice.

Dean sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped an arm around her protectively. He looked toward Sam and Bobby, giving a subtle nod, and they took the hint, closing the door behind them. 

“Annaleigh, tell me the truth. You only had one beer with dinner. What’s going on with you?” he asked, his jade eyes full of worry.

“Look at you, all worried about me,” she tried to joke with him.

Dean held her at arm's length. “Honey, I’m serious. What the hell happened?!” He wasn’t buying her story; it was a long shot that he would.

Anna took a deep breath, tucking a few loose curls behind her ear before she continued. “Honestly, Babe. I don’t know what happened. I was sitting here on the edge of the bed, and before I knew it, I was on the floor. My head started pounding, I was shaking, and I couldn’t control my breathing. I don’t know what caused it.” Another lie. Why am I lying to the man I have been in love with for most of my life? she thought to herself.

“I was so worried when I heard the noise. I ran up here as fast as I could. I was scared something happened to you.” He pulled her back into his arms and like magic, she instantly felt better. Her breathing had returned to normal, and the pounding in her head had receded to a dull ache.

Anna looked up at Dean. “Let’s just go to bed. I’ll be right as rain in the morning.” He nodded in agreement and released his hold on her, getting up from the bed to remove his clothes.

She turned on her side as she watched Dean strip down to his boxers. Even after all this time of seeing him, he still took her breath away, making her heart skip a beat. His legs, bowed perfectly, made her weak in the knees. Pressing her thighs together for a little relief, she continued watching him undress, her thoughts getting filthier the longer she looked. The soft hair that she couldn’t stop running her hands through...the pink and plump lips she couldn’t taste enough, as if her own life depended on kissing him...the sage colored eyes that look right into her soul....she couldn’t get enough of him. The fine lines of muscle were covered with a multitude of scars and miles of golden, freckled skin she wanted to trace with her tongue every minute of the day. 

That must be where the term “drop dead gorgeous” comes from; her heart stopped and she couldn’t breathe for a moment every time she saw him. Oh girl, you got it bad alright, she thought. She smiled and shook her head, trying to clear her mind.

Dean climbed into bed and wrapped his arms tightly around her, pulling the covers up. He pressed his lips to hers so gently, it felt like feathers. Annaleigh let herself melt into him, Dean swallowing the sigh that escaped her lips. He brought his hand up to cup her face as the other wandered down to bring her leg up around his waist.

“You are so beautiful. I can’t get enough of you, ever. I will never get enough of this mouth, or those stunning blue eyes of yours. I forever want to feel your body next to mine. I want to run my fingers through your wild red hair every moment of every day,” Dean whispered against her skin as his mouth continued its exploration of her body, leaving a blazing trail in its wake. 

She honestly could never have enough of this, of him, and what he could do to her body, her mind, her heart, her soul. The heights he could push her to, each time only to raise her up higher than last. 

With her head on his chest, contentedly tracing patterns on his arm with one finger, she felt his breathing even out as he drifted to sleep. “I love you, Dean,” she whispered, praying and hoping he did not hear her. Annaleigh had twenty plus years of her life to get to know him and fall in love with him. She didn’t want to rush anything and scare him off. She had seen moments of their future, so she knew he would love her some day, but she also knew it might take him a little longer to get there than it took her.

They hadn’t really talked about “the future” or what life holds for them. With a hunter as your significant other, you learned to live in the moment and take each day as it rose. She knew what she had seen was not set in stone and any hunt could be his last, and not because he decided to hang it up. She knew that someday he might not come home to her. She prayed that whatever information God was feeding her through these visions was legitimate. Annaleigh could no longer imagine a life without him. She knew he had always dreamed of a family, and her hope was that one day, she could give that to him.

Did you like it? The nicest thing you can do for a writer is reblog their work and tell them, and others, how much you like it!

Soul to Souls tags: @emoryhemsworth​ @flamencodiva​ @iwantthedean​ @jensengirl83​ @deanwanddamons​ @smol-and-grumpy​ @kbl1313​ @waywardbeanie​​ @whatareyousearchingfordean​​ @princessmisery666​​ @spnbaby-67​​ @shy-violet-soul​​ @lastcallatrockysbar​​ @winchesterxfamilybusiness​​ @fangirlxwritesx67​​ @squirrelnotsam​ 

[renee-writer]

Outlander Shapeshifters Chapter 33 Homecoming

“This is Lallybroch. Your domicile.” Jamie tells the wide eyes lad. He had shifted back, with Jamie’s help, as they got close to home.

 

“Tellement gros!”

 

“Ouí, it is.” Jamie says with a chuckle.

 

“Welcome home, our son.” Claire adds. The front door opens and their family spills out.

 

“Oh, he is adorable!” his mam says.

 

“Quite the sturdy little lad.” Adds his da.

 

Fergus holds tight to Claire as all these people come up to him. Jenny and Ian, as well as Murtagh, join them. “It is alright, mom chéri. They are your famille.”

 

“Famille?” He looks out at them.

 

“Ouí, your grands-parents, ta range et ton oncle, and your Parrain.” Murtagh, who knows some French, lifts his brushy eyebrows at this. “if he will honor us so?”

 

“Aye, I will.” He replies through the lump in his throat.

 

“Family, this is Fergus Claudel Fraser.”

 

“Beivenue á la maison, Fergus.” Brian states.

 

“Je vous remercie.”

 

He is lead into the house where he looks around in wonder.  Jamie and Claire had found out that he never had a real home in all his ten years. Born to a prostitute, with his papa known only to God, as he had told them, she had died when he was an infant. The other ladies had taken care of him until he first shifted. Thinking him a demon, they had threw him out on the streets where Jarrod had found him.

 

“He must have a Scottish ancestor, to be a Shapeshifter, probably the absent father.” Jamie is telling his family. Claire is upstairs, tucking him in. The journey had been exhausting.

 

“Aye. Poor lamb. Well he is home now.” His mam says.

 

“Aye, he is.”

 

The next week finds him adjusting to a real family. They work on table manners, his English, and controlling his shifting.

 

“It is a defensive weapon.” His new papa is saying.

 

“De-fence.” He looks to the fence they are standing by and then to Jamie.

 

*La défense.”

 

“Ah, ouí. Not impie?”

 

“No not impie. You are no démon. This gift is from God. To protect you and those you love.

 

“Like maman.”  He adores Claire. She is the sun and moon to him.

 

“Aye like your mommy. You mustn’t think of it as something bad. But, this is important, you must only use it at the proper time.”

 

“Ouí papa.”

 

 the French

So big

My darling

Family

Grandparents

Aunt and uncle

Godfather

Welcome home

Thank you

Defense

Unholy demon

Daddy

Mommy

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[multiverseforger]

A weekly fantasy adventure, Little Nemo in Slumberland featured the young Nemo ("No one" in Latin) who dreamed himself into wondrous predicaments[3] from which he awoke in bed in the last panel.[4] The first episode[a] begins with a command from King Morpheus of Slumberland to a minion to collect Nemo.[5] Nemo was to be the playmate of Slumberland's Princess, but it took months of adventures before Nemo finally arrived; a green, cigar-chewing clown named Flip was determined to disturb Nemo's sleep with a top hat emblazoned with the words "Wake Up."[3] Nemo and Flip eventually become companions, and are joined by an African Imp whom Flip finds in the Candy Islands. The group travels far and wide, from shanty towns to Mars, to Jack Frost's palace, to the bizarre architecture and distorted funhouse-mirror illusions of Befuddle Hall.[6]



Flip, Nemo and Impie breaking the fourth wall by breaking apart the panel's outlines and eating the letters of the title.

The strip shows McCay's understanding of dream psychology, particularly of dream fears—falling, drowning, impalement. This dream world has its own moral code, perhaps difficult to understand.[7] Breaking it has terrible consequences, as when Nemo ignores instructions not to touch Queen Crystalette, who inhabits a cave of glass. Overcome with his infatuation, he causes her and her followers to shatter, and awakens with "the groans of the dying guardsmen still ringing in his ears".[b][8]



Nemo and the Little Imp explore the city as giants

September 9, 1907

Although the strip began October 15, 1905 with Morpheus, ruler of Slumberland, making his first attempt to bring Little Nemo to his realm, Nemo did not get into Slumberland until March 4, 1906 and, due to Flip's interfering, did not get to see the Princess until July 8. His dream quest is always interrupted by either him falling out of bed, or his parents forcibly waking him up.

On July 12, 1908, McCay made a major change of direction: Flip visits Nemo and tells him that he has had his uncle destroy Slumberland. (Slumberland had been dissolved before, into day, but this time it appeared to be permanent.) After this, Nemo's dreams take place in his home town, though Flip—and a curious-looking boy named the Professor—accompany him. These adventures range from the down-to-earth to Rarebit-fiend type fantasy; one very commonplace dream had the Professor pelting people with snowballs. The famous "walking bed" story was in this period. Slumberland continued to make sporadic appearances until it returned for good on December 26, 1909.

Story-arcs included Befuddle Hall, a voyage to Mars (with a well-realized Martian civilization), and a trip around the world (including a tour of New York City)

[officialleehadan]

Blackbird

This is one of my New Subscriber stories! For Sarah, who requested Hope Punk with Luka. This one is a little farther ahead, in HGE - Rise Above!

+++

“We’re getting a distress beacon.”

Ella looked up to see one of Luka’s bodyguards, she thought it was Right, in the doorway to the communal room. She was flipping through one of Luka’s books while he carefully took apart one of the kitchen conoles. It had been acting up recently and, never one to leave something broken, he was fixing it.

“Did we transmit it forward with my code?” Luka asked from under the console, only the bottom half of him visible as he rewired the processors. “Mother and LaShan shouted at me the last time I answered a distress beacon.”

“That’s because it was a pirate trap, and we would have gotten blown up or captured if you didn’t fly like the devil,” Right said pointedly, and winced. “I think they’ll make an exception. It’s the Blackbird.”

In a flash, Luka was out from under the console and running for the cockpit.

“Why didn’t you lead with that?” he snarled, angrier than Ella had ever seen him as he threw himself into the pilot’s chair. She scrambled to join him and flipped on the comm before he could reach for it himself. He spared her the slightest nod of thanks. “All hands, we’re making a Jump. Dammit Right, you know who’s on that ship!”

“I turned us around and kicked on the engines before I told you,” Right said, apparently unphazed by his boss’s anger. “And sent a reply on your code. It was urgeant, but not seconds-to-live urgeant. Breathe and get us there.”

Luka glared, but his hands relaxed on the controls when he saw that they were already at max speed without Jumping. It was just as well that it was Right who brought it to his attention. The towering bodyguard seemed to think of Luka more as a bratty younger brother than an employer.

Before Ella could ask who they were flying to save, the ship bucked smoothly, and the stars warped around them.

Jump tech was expensive. A combination of magic and science that slipped through one of the great loopholes in space travel.

It wasn’t possible to go faster than light, but it was possible to bend space around them the slightest bit, until they shot forward. A short Jump took minutes, and could take a ship from one solar system to another with relative ease.

A long jump, from one galaxy to another, took days, and took so much power than only the huge intergalactic cruisers could make the jump safely without the risk of running out of juice halfway there.

Of course, no that the Empire and the Alliance were working together, they were building a higway of sorts. A string of bases connecting their galaxy to their next nearest neighbor. Soon, anyone with a half-decent ship and a working Jump Drive would be able to visit the Alliance and explore the newest frontier.

But they weren’t making a long Jump today. When Ella glanced down at the coordinates of the beacon, she was relieved to see that the distressed ship was only one good Jump away.

And the Roja had top-of-the-line engines, as maintained by an overinvested technopath.

Space cracked around them, and Ella closed her eyes against the momentary nausea that always accompanied a jump-landing. No one was immune. Even Luka pressed his lips together and pushed through it. Electricity crackled along his hands, and the Roja rumbled

“What?” she asked and stared at the ship readouts. Whole blocks of the ships, engines, wings, and all, were shifting about, smooth on precision-rails. “How?”

“The Roja is fully modular,” Luka said tightly, and pointed to a set of controls. “I designed it to be whatever I need it to be. Hit that switch, and that switch.”

Ella did, and the readout changed again.

The Roja was one of the finest ships in the Black, but Ella thought they were a modified racing ship. Maybe even a hotrodded transport.

“How-“ she whispered as cannons folded out of the hull, and a pair of missile tubes slipped out along their wings. A mine deployer glided open off the back of their cargo hold, and a definitely-illegal communication jammer began broadcasting on all frequencies. “None of this is even sort-of legal!”

“We’re a Continental-class Destroyer. Imperial authorization and all,” Right said from behind her. Ella always wondered at the strange little alcoves behind the cockpit, but as Left joined his twin, back-to-back at newly revealed consoles, she understood.

Gunner stations. The Roja wasn’t just a transport. It was a weapon, small enough to go anywhere, to any base, but with the kind of firepower only the biggest and most powerful Destroyers carried.

The scene that met their eyes when they cut a path closer, weapons armed and ready, was all too common in the farthest reaches of the Empire. Pirates had cornered a mid-size runner ship, usually either smugglers or cargo transport, and were in the process of boarding.

Luka didn’t waste time.

“This is Luka Gol, aboard the Roja,” he said into an open broadcast. “Disengage and leave or we will open fire.”

Ella honestly didn’t expect it to work, but two of the three ships immediately threw up a white-flag signal and pulled back.

The third, locked into the Blackbird’s airlock, was hampered by their own ship. Even Luka couldn’t disengage from an airlock quickly without risking both ships in the process.

“Are they going to pull back?” Ella wondered as their guns trained on that third ship, enough firepower to level a good-sized starbase on a ship with barely eleven crewmembers. She didn’t particularly care if they fired on the pirates. Her parents where killed by raiders just like these ones. “What do we do if they don’t? We can’t fire on them while they’re attached. It could vent the Blackbird.”

“I’ll kill their ship,” Luka said darkly, and flicked his fingers. A new weapon armed. “That’s an electromagical charge bomb. “Pirate freighter Jenny, you have two Galactic minutes to evacuate your personel from the Blackbird and leave or I will personally blow your ship apart.”

“We’re on our way, Red Baron.” The crackly reply sounded scared. Ella was glad, and now she understood why exactly Luka could stand down three ships with his name alone. The Red Baron. She didn’t know he was the Red Baron. Hell, she didn’t know the Red Baron was real. “Two Galactic minutes. Understood.”

“Good,” Luka muttered darkly, and stared through the viewscreen until the ship pulled away and vanished in a blink of space. “Left, you tagged their ships?”

“Of course,” Left said cheerfully form his console. “The Portugal will meet them as soon as they land.”

“Make sure they’re charged with the crime they actually committed.”

“Yes Sir, Impie Sir.”

“I can hear what you really mean when you call me ‘Sir’.”

“Yes Sir.”

Pirates gone, and apparently being apprehended by a destroyer of all things, Luka eased them into the Blackbird’s space and connected their airlocks. As soon as they were locked, he took off at a run again, this time for the just-opening doors.

He didn’t make it. As the door opened, a young woman threw herself through the door. Luka barely had time to catch her before she hit the ground, and pulled her into a crushing hug.

“You have really good timing,” Ella heard her sai into his shirt as he murmured reassuraces into her ear and rocked her gently. Her accent was as pure Core as his, and she was shaken, but not weeping.“I thought you were heading to the Arctic?”

“Something came up,” Luka told her and pulled back to check her for injuries. “Are you hurt? If someone touched you, I’ll give them to Uncle Vlad with a happy heart.”

“I’m alright. My captain has panic rooms built into our escape pods. We locked ourselves in as soon as we got the capture-alert,” she assured him, and straightened her back proudly. Any jealousy Ella might have felt at the sight of her maybe-boyfriend holding another woman vanished the instant she got a good look at the woman in question. “The crew will be coming out soon. I got your reply-code and knew you were on your way.”

“Couldn’t let my favorite little sister get captured by pirates,” Luka said, confirming Ella’s half-formed suspicions, and kissed his sister’s head. “The Portugal will be collecting them shortly.”

“I’m your only sister,” she replied cheekily, and offered a hand to Ella. “Hello. I’m Maggie Gol.”

“Ella Rawlet,” Ella shook her hand. Maggie looked about seventeen, for all that her Core Pride made her seem older. “Your brother took apart our stove, but I think I can scrape up some tea for you. Sounds like you’ve had a hell of a day.”

“Pirates, forged documents, and Red Barons, Oh My,” Maggie said with a smile, and looped her arm through Ella’s, her other hand still firmly wrapped around her brother’s. Behind her, Left and Right were leading Luka’s other security onto the Blackbird. “I could definitely use a cup of tea.”

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HGE - Rise Above

Elizabetta Ralet saw something she shouldn’t, and met someone who might be able to fix her problems, if he doesn’t get them both killed first.

Hands on the Wheel

Dirt and Glitter (Subscriber only!)

Blackbird

In the Late Hours

Night District (Free on Patreon!)

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More Stories!

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Support me on Patreon

[magoobaddee]

J Warra Warra pg5

In 1990, my grandmother took my baby brother and I to visit my uncle in Nelspruit, Gauteng. We drove there and on the early, misty, Easter morning we were meant to leave we discovered the car, missing. I had not locked the passenger side. As a result of this, my uncle drove us to Germiston station, where we awaited a train bound for Bloemfontein. I was given a Beginners Book in first aid in and was happily colouring-in and questioning my gran on the best treatment for electrocution, when we felt the ground start to shake.

Struggle songs and their accompanying melodies and bass Zulu voices like only Zulu men can, filled the air. "Aye-yoh! aye-yoh aye-yoh...". Violent, loud crashing of impis against assegais brought me to my feet and I stood, transfixed. My grandmother immediately tried to hide my brother and I under the bench. I don't remember climbing under it. I only remember the flashes of the Zulus in full regalia, half-naked, sweat glistening in the sun, wondering if this was some kind of a vision or a movie, it was so surreal, energetic and eerie. That must be one of my fondest memories: this whole tribe of ragingly passionate, angry, protesting Zulus, who have always had the reputation of a nation of warriors, who don't meet with an enemy and loose.

We were whites. In 1990 - a time when Africa's patience with the white government, for Madiba's release had worn thin. Bombings, assassinations and mass protests were reaching the pinnacle of it's potential. A maximum measurement of the chaos protesters could initiate, their unwanted involvement and the insistence upon cooperation by de Klerk and the NP, that was non-negotiable, was the State of This Nation.

This parade of Zulu protesters was a clear sign of the times. Some glimpsed in as they ran past, looking like a strictly regimented military battalion. I remember that. Hitler's army's discipline was shoddy in comparison. Their steps hit the ground, collectively, at exactly the same time. Sometimes, I wonder if it wasn't a glimpse, into the past. It was so very much an authentic and Ancient and antiquity-era vision and precisely how I would imagine Shaka and his soldiers to have looked. I can't say "...looked ". EXPERIENCED, rather because I experienced the thunderous shaking of the ground. I could almost smell the sweet, thick scent of men, mixed with soft leather and beadwork jewellery that adorned these princes of another realm. Their animal hair bracelets, tied under or above each joint, counted their ranks upwards and on. With these beautiful but stern faces, they rushed past in a blurred torrent of equally set arms of a machination, that struck fear into the hearts of men, who do not know themselves.

I could have sworn one or two; or maybe 10 at the rate they were moving past at; for just a moment turned right to look me straight in the eyes and then straightened, only for the next to notice me and look and turn away.

That started my eternal heartache and it's antidote: my sick, fun, masochistic love affair with protest, rebelling, freedom fighting and finding myself, running along, amongst those ranks, in full regalia...

I have seen them once, since, at Maskani in Woodstock, Cape Town about 6 years ago, turning a corner, running towards me and then disappearing in a whirlwind of dust, sound, comraderie and heat, reflecting off the ground. They say I'm mad. I don't give a fuck. I know what I saw.

[bluerex64remake]

No.3 Garp

Full Name:

Garp Mayday The Third

Age:

10

Sex:

Non-binary

Sexuality:

Demiboy and Non-binary

Pronouns:

He/Him and They/Them

Species:

Borpian (a jelly like alien)

Nationality:

Astro (Home Planet)

Skin Color:

Blue (if human he will be white)

Language:

English

Status:

Alive

Love Interest:

Woss Lay Lou

Alias:

Alien Boy (Camera)

Blue

Relatives:

Markley (little brother)

Plamsa (baby sister)

Unnamed mother

Nathan (father)

Mathan (uncle)

Garp Mayday The First (grandfather)

Sino (royal advisor,butler,babysitter,teacher)

Friends:

Impy

Flar

Camera/Digital

Croak

Blood

Dark Matter Impy

Enemy:

None

Personality:

Smart,friendly, voice of reason,scared

Plot:

Garp Mayday the Third is a alien prince of Astro a planet that is hidden somewhere in Jupiter.They seen mostly with Woss because they are boyfriend and girlfriend.He is trustworthy and fixes stuff.Has electric powers, stretching body and bioluminescent.His species is a humble monarchy cares for other people's lives before his because he is protective.

[dailyfantastic]

FF #300:

Uncle: Why doesn’t he just always do this?

@traincat: Can I confess that the Mad Thinker matters so little to me that I forgot he was in this issue entirely?

Uncle: Most bad Fantastic 4 villains are so bad that I wind up loving them (Paste-Pot Pete, Impy, Makhizmo, etc). Thinker is not one of them.

[ebenvt]

Introduction to Bacon & the Art of Living

The quest to understand how great bacon is made takes me around the world and through epic adventures. I tell the story by changing the setting from the 2000s to the late 1800s when much of the technology behind bacon curing was unraveled. I weave into the mix beautiful stories of Cape Town and use mostly my family as the other characters besides me and Oscar and Uncle Jeppe from Denmark, a good friend and someone to whom I owe much gratitude! A man who knows bacon! Most other characters have a real basis in history and I describe actual events and personal experiences set in a different historical context.

The cast I use to mould the story into is letters I wrote home during my travels.

Eskort Ltd.

October 1960

Over the years I have written letters to my kids telling them what I learn and about my experiences. They followed my quest to produce the best bacon on earth through these monthly communications. When I returned home I found that they kept every letter. When they were here last December, the gave me the draft of a book where they are including every letter. They even contacted Dawie and Oscar who both sent them my mails. They asked me to write the introduction to every county and the “Union Letters” as they called the letters I sent them from Cape Town.

I asked them if I can add three accounts of companies who achieved perfection in the large-scale production of bacon. This is the first of the three good examples of people who achieved what I sought. I think that for a time at Woody’s we achieved the same and when Duncan and Koos took over, things took a dip, but they are recovering beautifully. What makes this an insanely exciting story is the fact that Wynand Nel, the legendary production manager of Eskort is a good friend!

These stories begin much in the same way. A very close tie with England.  A young nation that is trying to find its place in the global village; visionary farmers and politicians and one man who made all the difference!

Background

In the Natal Midlands, on the banks of the Boesmans river lays the largest bacon plant in South Africa, that of Eskort Ltd..  A few months ago I visited Wynand at the factory.  I was 30 minutes early and instead of reporting to reception, I decided to drive a few hundred meters further and up the hill, right next to the bacon plant to Fort Dunford.  The Fort is situated exactly 500m apart with the bacon plant nestled between the Boesmans River and the Fort.

It was built by Dunford in response to the Langalibalele Rebellion in 1873. The location of the old military site at Bushmans River drift, overlooked by Fort Dunford is where the Voortrekker leader Gert Maritz originally set up camp along the river.

The curator, Siphamandla, saw me driving up.  I was the only visitor and he came running up to give me a proper welcome.  I told him I will be at Eskort but when we are done, I’m coming back to see the Fort.

While waiting in reception at Eskort, I took a photo of a stone that was laid by J. W. Moor in 1918.  He was the first chairman of “The First Farmers Co-Operative Bacon Factory Erected in South Africa”, the Eskort factory.  I was intrigued!

I saw Wynand, visited the Fort briefly and was on my way back to Johannesburg. As soon as I got home I started digging through piles of information on the subject of Eskort and an amazing story emerged.  All the information was firing through my mind as connections started to form between the new facts I learned and old history. When I finally fell asleep, I kept waking with every new connection made.  Bits of information jolted me from deep sleep to a light slumber.  Here is what I discovered.

Introduction

The origins of the Eskort Bacon factory is tied up with the story of the development of the Natal Midlands in the mid-1800s to the early part of the 1900s.  It is embedded in the broader context of the existence of a very strong English culture in Natal. The Natal colony was created on 4 May 1843 after the British government annexed the short-lived Boer Republic of Natalia.  A unique English culture continued.  This bacon factory became one of the cornerstones of the creation of a meat industry in South Africa and contributed materially to the establishment of a meat curing culture in the country.  The historical importance is seen in the fact that the South African roots of large scale industrial meat curing are English and not German.

The broader international context of its establishment in a cooperative can be traced back to Peter Bojsen who created the first cooperative abattoir and bacon curing plant in the world in Horsens, the Horsens Andelssvineslagteri, in 1882 in Denmark. By 1911 the first such cooperative factories were built in England, namely the St. Edmunds Bacon Factory, modeled in turn after the factory at Horsens.  The 1918 development in Estcourt, Natal would, no doubt, have been a continuation of the model.

In terms of curing technology, the bacon plant produced its bacon in the most sophisticated way available at the time, using the same techniques employed by the Harris Bacon operation of Calne in Wiltshire.   Following WW1, its curing techniques progressed from the Wiltshire process of the Harris operation (and through Harris, to Horsens where the technique was developed) to the direct addition of sodium nitrite to curing brines through the work of the legendary Griffiths Laboratories.

The great benefit of the dominant English culture of the Natal Midlands was in the fact that they had access to the Harris operation in Calne and the St. Edmunds Bacon Factory more so than the fact that the English population of the Midlands could have provided a possible market for their bacon. The population in Natal at the time and even in South Africa remained relatively small and the goal of creating such a sophisticated operation was to export.

In terms of access to local markets, I have little doubt that they relied heavily on the Imperial Cold Storage and Supply Company Ltd. of Sir David de Villiers Graaff (1859 – 1931) who was a contemporary of JW Moor (1859 – 1933). They were born a mere 6 months apart with David in March 1859 and John (JW Moor) in September of the same year.

One can say that David with his Imperial Cold Storage and Supply Company in Cape Town was a follower of Phillip Armour in Chicago with the establishment of refrigerated rail transport and cold storage warehouses throughout Southern Africa (just as Phil Armour did in the US). David probably met Phil in Chicago in the mid-1880s and possibly again in the early 1890s, who, in all likelihood, showed him his impressive packing plant and gave him the idea of refrigerating railway carts. John (JW) Moor, on the other hand, was in technical detail and broad philosophy, a follower of the Dane, Peter Bojsen in his creation of the first farmer’s coop for slaughtering and production of bacon and its marketing in England and the English operations of C & T Harris with their Wiltshire bacon curing techniques.

The location of the plant in Estcourt is in all likelihood closely linked to the existence of Fort Dunford and the close association with the military of the Moor family as is evident not only through the heritage of their grandfather but through their close involvement in the schooling system and the introduction of cadet training.  The possible involvement of the Anglo Boer war hero, Louis Botha is fascinating.

The context of its creation is, more than anything, to be understood by two realities.  One was the first World War.  The second, the Moor family of Estcourt with a wider lens than a focus on JW Moor.  To understand the Moor family, we must understand their heritage and how they came to South Africa.

Immigrating to South Africa

Immigration back then was done as it is today, through entrepreneurs who made money by facilitating movement to the new world and who sell their products through colourful displays and exciting tales of success and a new life.  Between 1849 and 1852, almost 5000 immigrants arrived in Natal through the various schemes.   One such an agent was Joseph Byrne who chartered 20 ships to ferry passengers to Natal between 1849 to 1851.  One of the 20 ships was the Minerva which set sail on 26 April 1850 with 287 passengers from London.  A festive atmosphere must have prevailed on the voyage to Natal and the promise of a new life.  (Dhupelia, 1980)

On 4 July 1850, they arrived in Durban and the Minerva was wrecked on a reef below the Bluff.  All occupants and cargo ended up overboard.  Two of the passengers aboard were Sarah Annabella Ralfe who was traveling with her family and Frederick William Moor.  (Dhupelia, 1980)

Romance and Settlement

F.W. Moor lifted the young Sarah Annabella Ralfe from the waters and carried her to the safety of the shore.  It is not known if they were romantically involved before this event but romance bloomed afterward and the couple was married in June 1852.  (Dhupelia, 1980) They settled in the Byrne valley which Byrne cleverly included in the total package he was selling back in England.

The Moors and the Ralfes were interested in sheep farming and the wet conditions at Byrne, close to Richmond were not favourable. In 1869 F.W. Moor moved to a farm Brakfontein, on the Bushman’s River at Frere close to Estcourt.  Here the conditions were more suitable.  “The farm was some five miles (8 km) south-west, of Estcourt and he obtained it from the Wheeler family in settlement of a debt.  This farm has some historical interest.  It was the site of the Battle of Vecht Laager in 1838 when Zulu impi of Dingaan clashed with the Voortrekkers who had settled there. It was on this farm that F.R. Moor and his wife settled on their return to Natal, his father having moved to Pietermaritzburg.  Moor and his wife stayed for some years in a house built by the Wheelers until he built a larger house which he called Greystone. It was on this property that Moor’s seven children were born and it was here that he carried out his adventurous farming activities.” (Morrell, 1996)

Sara and FW, in turn, had 5 children.  Two of these were F. R. Moor, born on 12 May 1853 in Pietermaritzburg and J. W. Moor born in September 1859 in Estcourt.

Strong Military Traditions

The Moor family had strong military connections going back to the father of F.W. Moor (FR and JW’s grandfather).  FW was the youngest son of Colonel John Moor.  Col Moor was an officer in the Bombay Artillery in the service of the British East India company.  FW was born in Surat in 1830 and returned to England on the death of his father. “He and his mother settled first in Jersey and later in Hampstead while he trained to be a surveyor and, not entirely satisfied with his position in England, he decided to emigrate to Natal.” (Dhupelia, 1980)  His mother followed him to Natal and passed away in 1878 on the farm of FW, Brakfontein, aged 85.  (The Freeman’s Journal, Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; 18 Oct 1878)

The military connection of the Moor family is highlighted when one considers that when FR Moor was in high school, he and other students considered it desirable that the school should have a cadet corps. FR attended the Hermannsburg School situated approximately 15 miles (24 km] from Greytown and founded in the early 1850s by the Hanoverian Mission Society.

Moor, as a senior student at the school, was deputed to write to the Colonial Secretary seeking permission for the school to initiate the movement. Permission was granted and in 1869 a cadet corps of 40 students, between the ages of 14 and 18 years, was formed with a teacher, Louis Schmidt, as the captain and 16 years old F. R. Moor and John Muirhead as the first lieutenants.

Moor thus played a role in the establishment of the cadet movement and in giving Hermannsburg School the distinction and honour of being the first school not only in Natal but in the British Empire to have a cadet corps. Though the Hermannsburg cadet corps lasted only until 1878 its example was followed by Hilton College and Maritzburg High School in 1872.  Yet another pupil of this first boarding school in Natal who was to make a name for himself in politics and was to be later closely associated with Moor was Louis Botha.”  (Dhupelia, 1980)

Initial Capital

The Moor family became one of the large landowners in the Natal Midlands.  Some of these families brought wealth from England and some, as was the case with the Moor family, made their money in other ways. The two most likely ways to make a fortune in those days were in Kimberley on the diamond fields or riding transport between Durban and Johannesburg.

After school, in 1872, the young FR Moor went to Kimberly to make his fortune.  JW was still in school when FR left for the diggings where he remained for 7 years.  The 19-year-old Moor made his first public speech on behalf of the diggers while in Kimberley “standing on a heap of rubble”.  “Later he was twice elected to the Kimberley Mining Board which consisted of nine elected members representing the claim holders for the purpose of ensuring the smooth and effective running of the mines and diggings. This experience probably gave him confidence as well as experience in public affairs.”  (Dhupelia, 1980)  He later served as Minister of Native Affairs between 1893–1897 and 1899–1903.  He became the last Prime Minister of the Colony of Natal between 1906 and 1910.

“While FR Moor was in Kimberley he met Cecil John Rhodes, another strong personality with outstanding qualities of leadership. There is some indication that the two men were closely associated during these years for the Moor and Rhodes brothers belonged to an elite group of 12 diggers who were teasingly named “the 12 apostles” and who associated with each other because of their common interests. Moor’s daughter, Shirley Moor, claims that her father would not have associated with Rhodes for he disliked him and in the 1890’s he abhorred Rhodes’ role in the Jameson Raid and held him responsible to a certain extent for the Anglo-Boer war of 1899.”  (Dhupelia, 1980)

“After Moor got married, he felt that there was no security in remaining in the fields. He consequently sold his claims to his brother George, and returned to Natal in 1879 to take up farming has been very successful financially at the diamond fields.”  (Dhupelia, 1980)

Dhupelia states that FR was “later joined (in Kimberley) by two of his three brothers.”  As far as I have it, he had only two brothers with his siblings being George Charles Moor (whom we know took his diggings operation over); Annie May Chadwick; John William Moor and Kathleen Helen Sarah Druwitt. (geni.com)  If both brothers joined him, this would mean that JW also spent time on the diggings.  (This needs to be corroborated.)  It would explain why JW shared in the wealth that his brother obtained in Kimberley.

Success in Farming

FR’s success in farming-related to JW, the main focus of our investigation, in that they conducted many of their farming activities as joint ventures.  This is why I suspect that JW joined FR for a time on the diggings.  Morrell (1996) states that “Moor displayed a considerable initiative and a pioneering spirit in his farming activities, making a name for himself as had his father who was one of the first in the colony to introduce imported Merinos from the valuable Rambouillet stock in France.  Estcourt was one of the four villages in Weenen County and most farmers kept cattle, sheep, and horses. By 1894 Moor, in partnership with his brother J.W. Moor, was engaged in farming ventures over an area of 20 000 acres [8097,17 ha]. Their stock consisted of 6000 to 7000 sheep and they were among the largest breeders of goats in Natal possessing 1200 goats. Moor, in fact, acquired the first Angora goats in Natal where the interest in the mohair industry was considerable in the 19th century. In addition to the sheep and goats, Moor engaged in ostrich farming, for he believed there was a good market for the sale of ostrich feathers. He also kept horses and cattle and imported Pekin ducks.”  (Morrell, 1996)

The British Market in Crisis

Walworth reported that by 1913 in the UK, “imported bacon had largely secured the market.”  This was according to him one of the reasons for a rapid decline in the pig population with a  17% reduction in numbers from 1912 to 1913.  (Walworth, 1940)  Conditions in 1917 and 1918 were desperate in the UK with meat supply falling by as much as 30%.  Stock availability, increased prices, and war rationing all played a role.  Canada responded to the shortage of pork in 1917 and their export of bacon and ham increased from 24 000 tonnes to 88 000 tonnes in 1917.   Corn was in short supply during the war, but it was in reaction to meat shortages that rationing was finally introduced in the UK in 1918. (Perren)  The 1918 situation related to bacon in England was reported on by The Guardian (London, Greater London, England), 6 July 1918.  The meat situation was generally better than it has been in a while.  In the article, they report that Bacon is being imported into the country in large quantities and that the import “will be maintained at the same rate throughout the year.”  It is interesting that the article also reports that “the intention is to build up a big reserve Bacon in cold storage for later use.”  (The Guardian, 1918, p6)  The entire article oozes with planning and deliberateness happening in the background.

It is clear that the two countries well-positioned to respond were Canada and South Africa.  New Zealand was focussing on exporting frozen meat, as was Australia.  Walworth leaves the South African response to bacon shortages out (except one comment that South Africa was one of the countries that eventually responded) but it is clear from the Estcourt case that the response was there.

The immediate context of the establishment of the bacon company is the war but in the early 1900s, the pork industry in the UK was in a bad state in terms of industrializing the process of bacon production.  Producers were unable to compete in price or quality with imports.  The reasons are interesting.  Much of the curing in the UK was done by small curing operations or farmers who used dry curing.  A large variety of pig breeds made it difficult.  Small volumes or a large variety of bigs vs a large variety of a standard pig – the latter suits an industrial process.  Fat was highly prized in many of the curing techniques, as it is to this day, but for lard to be cured takes a year.  Again, it does not fit the industrial model.  The main reason for high-fat content in bacon was due to imports from America who generally produced a much fatter pig on account of its diet. (Perren)

Market trends moved away from fat bacon and a leaner pig was required which the UK farmers were unable to deliver in the volumes required.  The consumers also called for a milder bacon cure that we achieved with the tank curing method.  The predominant way that bacon was cured in the UK was still the dry curing which resulted in heavily salted meat.

In April 1938, at the second reading of the Bacon Industry Bill before the British Parliament, the minister of Agriculture Mr. W. S. Morrison summarised the conditions in the bacon market in the UK pre-1933 as follows.  “As far as the curers (in the UK) are concerned, lacking the proper pig as they did, and a regular supply, they could not achieve the efficiency in large-scale production and the economies which were within the power of their foreign competitors. Nor could they achieve adaptation to the changed taste of the public, and the change in taste was, indeed, largely the result of the foreign importation.”  The change of taste he was talking about was a movement away from fatty bacon to lean bacon and a milder cure (less salty).  The solution in terms of the fatty bacon was to breed less fatty pigs but the UK market failed to deliver such pigs.  My suspicion is that this was not due to a technical inability or ignorance of the British farmers, but due to the deeply entrenched nature of the specialized, small scale dry-curing operations.  Having gotten to know butchers from the UK, now in their 70’s, who stem from such traditions, I understand that they hold their trade in such high esteem that they would rather amputate a limb than compromise the dry curing traditions they were schooled in.

The fact is that for whatever reason, the UK pork and bacon market pre-1933, was fragmented and Morrison stated that “the factories in this country worked to a little more than half of their capacity with consequent high costs. The cheaper and quicker process of curing bacon (i.e. tank curing) made little headway and the whole industry was in a very weak position to stand competition even of a normal character.”

In response to the enormous size of the UK bacon market and the inability of local curers to convert to tank curing, foreign curers moved aggressively to fill the void.  This aversion of the British to convert from dry curing to tank curing did not disappear after the war and would continue to be the basis of bacon exports into the UK following 1918 when the war ended.  Mr. Morrison continued that “what was in store for the industry was not competition of a normal character. In the years 1929 to 1932, there ensued a scramble for this bacon market.”  “In 1932 the importation rose to 12,000,000 cwts. or more than twice as much as it had been in the five-year period preceding the War.”

The British market started to respond after major government programs to change the bacon production landscape in the UK and tank curing was adopted to a large extent. Even though I have little doubt that the potential to export to England was a major driving factor in the creation of the company, as it was in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Canada, and the USA, a further mention must be made of the very robust local bacon market.  An interesting comment is made in an article published in The Gazette (Montreal, Canada) 24 January 1916.  In an article entitled “Trade for Canada in South Africa” the comment is made about bacon that “good business can be worked up in Canadian bacon brands if attention is paid to the packaging.”  The first interesting point to take from this comment is that the demand for bacon in South Africa by 1916 was sizable and, secondly, that the standard of packaging was very high, pointing to high technical competency.

Agricultural Operations and the Establishment of a Bacon Cooperative

Back in Natal, farmers saw the benefit of various forms of cooperation precisely due to their small numbers and the fact that cooperation gave them access to larger markets and more stable prices.  The children growing up in the Natal Midlands were encouraged after completing their schooling, to join one of the many farmers’ associations (FA).  “The “reason for being” of these agricultural societies was to hold stock sales. As Nottingham Road’s James King (founder member of the LRDAS in 1884) said. “The worst drawback was the lack of markets”.  (Morrell, 1996). It was this exact issue that JW addressed with his bacon cooperative.

“Their function was thus primarily marketing and their fortunes were generally judged by the success or failure of sales. The sale of stock differs markedly from that of maize (the product which sparked the cooperative movement in the Transvaal). In Natal. the market was very localised with local butchers and auctioneers generally dealing with farmers in their area.”  (Morrell, 1996)

“A variety of factors increased the importance of cattle sales particularly in the late and early twentieth century. Catastrophic cattle diseases, particularly Rinderpest (1897-1898) and East Coast Fever (1907-1910) reduced herds dramatically making it all the more important for farmers to realise the best prices available for surviving stock. The number of cattle in Natal was reduced from 280 000 in 1896 to 150000 in 1898. This amounted to a loss of £863 700 to farmers.”  (Morrell, 1996)

“It was only in the area of stock sales (sheep, cattle and to a lesser extent, horses) that cooperative marketing operated.  Foreign imports began to undercut local products, particularly once the railway system was developed. In 1905, on behalf of the Ixopo Farmer Association, Magistrate F E Foxon objected to the government allowing imported grain.” (Morrell, 1996)

In other domains (such as dairy and ham products), cooperative companies were formed. These were joint stock companies, generally headed by prominent and prosperous local farmers (JW Moor and George Richards of Estcourt, for example), who raised capital from farmer shareholders. The members of the Board were generally the major shareholders. Farmers who joined were then obliged to supply the factory/dairy with produce, in return for which they got a guaranteed price and, If available, a dividend.”  (Morrell, 1996)  This was the basis of the operation of the Farmers’ Cooperative Bacon Factory.

“The small size of the local market put pressure on farmers to export. The capacity of Natal’s manufacturing industries was minuscule. It began to expand around 1910 yet by 1914 there were no more than 500 enterprises in the whole colony.” “So it happened that many prominent farmers were also directors of agricultural processing factories.” (Morrell, 1996)

Generally, it seems that as FR’s political involvement increased, his attention to farming decreased and he relied increasingly more on JW to take care of their farming interests.   JW himself was politically active, but never to the extent of FR.  JW Moor became MP for Escort while he was director of Natal Creamery Limited and Farmers’ Cooperative Bacon Factory.”

It is interesting that, as was the case around the world, pork farming followed milk production.  This was what spawned the enormous pork industry in Denmark and to a large extent, sustains the South African pork farming industry to this day.

“It was Joseph Baynes, a Byrne settler and dairy industry pioneer who established a milk processing plant in Estcourt under the name of the Natal Creamery Ltd. where JW was a director.   “This factory was located adjacent to the railway station. Baynes died in 1925 and in 1927 the factory, which by this time was owned by South African Condensed Milk Ltd. was bought by Nestlés. Today the factory produces Coffee, MILO and NESQUIK.” (Revolvy)

In 1917 a group of farmers, including JW Moor, met in Estcourt to discuss the establishment of a cooperative bacon factory.  The Farmer’s Co-operative Bacon Factory Limited was founded in August 1917 and the building of the factory started. When the plant opened its doors, it was done on 6 June 1918 by the Prime Minister General Louis Botha.  We can not overstate the massive symbolic nature of the leader of a country in the midst of war opening a food production facility.

The products were marketed under the name Eskort. It takes about a year to get a factory up and running and it was no different in the plant in Natal.  When they were ready to supply the UK, the war was over but not the shortages.  In 1919 the factory started exports to the United Kingdom.  The honour went to the SS Saxon who carried the first bacon from the Estcourt plant exported to the United Kingdom, in June 1919.  The products were well received.

A fire in 1925 caused significant damage to the factory.  Production was relocated to Nel’s Rust Dairy Limited in Braamfontein, Johannesburg while renovations were being done at the plant. Despite this, the company still won the top three prizes at the 1926 London Dairy Show. (openafrica.org)

They were ready with streamlined efficiency when the second World War broke out and supplied over one million tins of sausages to the Allied forces all over the world and over 12 tonnes of bacon weekly to convoys calling at Durban harbour.  (Revolvy) “Early in 1948 plans for a second factory in Heidelberg, Gauteng, were drawn up and the factory commenced production in September 1954.” (openafrica.org)  In “1967 the Eskort brand was the largest processed meat brand in South Africa. In 1998 the company was converted from a cooperative to a limited liability company.”  (Revolvy)

An interesting side note must be made here. This is the story of my travels to Denmark and the UK to learn how to make the best bacon on earth. The purpose of the venture was to export the bacon and supply the Imperial Cold Storage and Supply Company. The similarity of what we did to prepare for our own bacon production in Woodys and how the bacon plant in Estcourt came about is striking. To raise capital for the venture we relied on investors and I rode transport between Johannesburg and Cape Town. Without any knowledge of JW Moor, by simply looking at the Southern African context of the late 1800s and early 1900s, their course of action was logical.  (2)

Technological Context

The technical aspects behind the curing technology employed at the new plant are of particular interest.  The establishment of the operation in 1918 placed it right in the transition time when science was unlocking the mechanisms behind curing and an understanding developed (beginning in 1891) that it was not saltpeter (nitrate) that cured meat, but nitrite.

The second technical fact of interest was the form of cooperation that was chosen to house the bacon plant.  From Denmark to England farmers saw the benefit of the cooperative model to solve the problem of “access to markets” and this was no different in South Africa.

Tank Curing or using Sodium Nitrite

In terms of curing brines, the scientific understanding that it was not saltpeter (nitrate) curing the meat, but somehow, nitrite was directly involved came to us in the work of Dr. Edward Polenski (1891) who, investigating the nutritional value of cured meat, found nitrite in the curing brine and meat he used for his nutritional trails, a few days after it was cured with saltpeter (nitrate) only.  He correctly speculated that this was due to bacterial reduction of nitrate to nitrite.  ( Saltpeter:  A Concise History and the Discovery of Dr. Ed Polenske).

What Polenski suspected was confirmed by the work of two prominent German scientists.  Karl Bernhard Lehmann (1858 – 1940) was a German hygienist and bacteriologist born in Zurich.  In an experiment, he boiled fresh meat with nitrite and a little bit of acid.  A red colour resulted, similar to the red of cured meat.  He repeated the experiment with nitrates and no such reddening occurred, thus establishing the link between nitrite and the formation of a stable red meat colour in meat.  (Fathers of Meat Curing)

In the same year, another German hygienists, one of Lehmann’s assistants at the Institute of Hygiene in Würzburg,  Karl Kißkalt (1875 – 1962), confirmed Lehmann’s observations and showed that the same red colour resulted if the meat was left in saltpeter (potassium nitrate) for several days before it was cooked.  (Fathers of Meat Curing)

This laid the foundation of the realisation that it was nitrite responsible for curing of meat and not saltpeter (nitrate). It was up to the prolific British scientist, Haldane (1901) to show that nitrite is further reduced to nitric oxide (NO) in the presence of muscle myoglobin and forms iron-nitrosyl-myoglobin. It is nitrosylated myoglobin that gives cured meat, including bacon and hot dogs, their distinctive red colour and protects the meat from oxidation and spoiling. (Fathers of Meat Curing)

Identifying nitrite as the better (and faster) curing agent was one thing.  How to get to nitrite and use it in meat curing was completely a different matter.  Two opposing views developed around the globe.  On the one hand, the Irish or Danish method favoured “seeding” new brine with old brine that already contained nitrites and thus cured the meat much faster. (For a detailed treatment of this matter, see The Naming of Prague Salt)  The Irish and the Danes took an existing concept at that time of the power of used brine and instead of a highly technical method of injecting the meat and curing it inside a vacuum chamber, a simple system using tanks or baths to hold the bacon and regularly turning it was developed which became known as tank curing.

The concept of seeding the brine did not develop from science around nitrite, but preservation technology that was a hot topic in Ireland’s scientific community at the beginning and middle of the 1800s.  Denmark imported tank curing or mild curing technology in 1880 from Ireland where William Oake invented it sometime shortly before 1837. Oake, a chemist by profession developed the system which allowed for the industrialisation of the bacon production system.  (Tank Curing was invented in Ireland)

A major revolution took place in Denmark in 1887/ 1888 when their sale of live pigs to Germany and England was halted due to the outbreak of swine flu in Denmark.  The Danes set out to accomplish one of the miracle turnarounds of history by converting their pork industry from the export of live animals to the production of bacon (there was no such restriction on the sale of bacon).  This turnaround took place in 1887 and 1888.  They used the cooperative model that worked so well for them in their abattoirs namely the cooperative.

They were amazingly successful.  In 1887 the Danish bacon industry accounted for 230 000 live pigs and in 1895, converted from bacon production, 1 250 000 pigs.

One would expect that the Irish system of curing was imported to Denmark then.  This is however incorrect.  The first cooperative bacon curing company was started in Denmark in 1887.  Seven years earlier, in 1880, the Danes visited Waterford and “taking advantage of a strike among the pork butchers of that city, used the opportunity to bring those experts to their own country to teach and give practical and technical lessons in the curing of bacon, and from that date begins the commencement of the downfall of the Irish bacon industry. . . ” (Tank Curing was invented in Ireland)

This is astounding.  It means that they had the technology and when the impetus was there, they converted their economy.  It also means that Ireland not only exported the mild cure or tank curing technology to Denmark but also to Australia, probably through Irish immigrants during the 1850s and 1860s gold rush, between 20 and 30 years before it came to Denmark.  Many of these immigrants came from Limerick in Ireland where William Oake had a very successful bacon curing business.   Many came from Waterford.  A report from Australia sites one company that used the same brine for 16 years by 1897/ 1898 which takes tank curing in Australia too well before 1880 which correlates with the theory that immigrants brought the technology to Australia in the 1850s or 1860s.

Tank curing or mild curing was invented without the full understanding of nitrogen cycle and denitrifying and nitrifying bacteria and the chemistry of nitrite and nitric oxide. Brine consisting of nitrate, salt and sugar were injected into the meat with a single needle attached to a hand pump (stitch pumping).  Stitch pumping was either developed by Prof. Morgan, whom we looked at earlier or was a progression from his arterial injection method. (Bacon Curing – a historical review and Tank Curing Came from Ireland)

The meat was then placed in a mother brine mix consisting of old, used brine and new brine.  The old brine contained the nitrate which was reduced through bacterial action into nitrite.  It was the nitrite that was responsible for the quick curing of the meat.

Denmark was, as it is to this day, one of the largest exporters of pork and bacon to England. The wholesale involvement of the Danes in the English market made it inevitable that a bacon curer from Denmark must have found his way to Calne and I am the one who told John Harris about the new Danish system and implemented it at their Calne operation.   (Bacon Curing – a historical review)

A major advantage of this method is the speed with which curing is done compared with the dry salt process previously practiced.  Wet tank-curing is more suited for the industrialisation of bacon curing with the added cost advantage of re-using some of the brine.  It allows for the use of even less salt compared to older curing methods. (Bacon Curing – a historical review)

Corroborating evidence for the 1880 date of the Danish adoption of the Irish method comes to us from newspaper reports about the only independent farmer-owned Pig Factory in Britain of that time, the St. Edmunds Bacon Factory Ltd. in Elmswell. The factory was set up in 1911. According to an article from the East Anglia Life, April 1964, they learned and practiced what at first was known as the Danish method of curing bacon and later became known as tank-curing or Wiltshire cure. (Bacon Curing – a historical review)

A person was sent from the UK to Denmark in 1910 to learn the new Danish Method.  (elmswell-history.org.uk) The Danish method involved the Danish cooperative method of pork production founded by Peter Bojsen on 14 July 1887 in Horsens.   (Horsensleksikon.dk.  Horsens Andelssvineslagteri)

The East Anglia Life report from April 1964, talked about a “new Danish” method. The “new” aspect in 1910 and 1911 was undoubtedly the tank curing method. Another account from England puts the Danish system of tank curing early in the 1900s. C. & T. Harris from Wiltshire, UK, switched from dry curing to the Danish method during this time. In a private communication between myself and the curator of the Calne Heritage Centre, Susan Boddington, about John Bromham who started working in the Harris factory in 1920 and became assistant to the chief engineer, she writes: “John Bromham wrote his account around 1986, but as he started in the factory in 1920 his memory went back to a time not long after Harris had switched over to this wet cure.” So, early in the 1900s, probably between 1887 and 1888, the Danes acquired and practiced tank-curing which was brought to England around 1911. (Bacon Curing – a historical review)

The power of “old brine” was known from early after wet curing and needle injection of brine into meat was invented around the 1850s by Morgan and others.  Before the bacterial mechanism behind the reduction was understood, butchers must have noted that the meat juices coming out of the meat during dry curing had special “curing power”.  It was, however, the Irish who took this practical knowledge, undoubtedly combined it with the scientific knowledge of the time and created the commercial process of tank-curing which later became known as Wiltshire cure when the Harris operations became the gold standard in bacon curing.  Their first factory was located in the English town of Calne, in Wiltshire from where the method came to be known as Wiltshire cure.  Its direct ancestor was however Danish and they, in turn, capitalised on an Irish invention.    (Bacon Curing – a historical review)

It is of huge interest that the Eskort brand of bacon,  to this day, bears the brand name of Wiltshire cure.  Wiltshire is an English county where Calne is located which housed the Harris factory.  (C & T Harris and their Wiltshire bacon cure – the blending of a legend)  There is no doubt in my mind that the same curing was practiced in Estcourt in 1918, as was done in the Harris factories in Calne and that this is the historical basis for the continued reference on the Eskort bacon packages as Wiltshire Cure.

At a time before the direct addition of nitrite to curing brines, the only two ways to cure bacon was either dry curing or tank curing. Dry curing requires about 21 days as against 9 days for tank curing.   The Bacon Marketing Scheme officially established tank curing in the UK.  (Walworth, 1940)

It would not have been possible for the plant to use sodium nitrite in its brine in 1918. Where the Danes and the English favoured tank curing, the Germans and the Americans liked the concept of adding nitrite directly to the curing brines. This was however frowned upon due to the toxicity of sodium nitrite.  In America, the matter was battled out politically, scientifically and in the courts.   It became the standard ingredient in bacon cures only after WW1. The Germans used it during the war due to a lack of access to saltpeter (nitrate) which was reserved for the war effort and the need to produce bacon faster to supply to the front.  The American packing houses in Chicago toyed with its use due to the speed of curing that it accomplishes.

The timeline, however, precludes its use in the Bacon factory in Estcourt in 1918.  In fact, Ladislav Nachtmulner, the creator of the first legal commercial curing brine containing sodium nitrite, only invented his Prague Salt, in 1915.  Prague Salt first appeared in 1925 in the USA as sodium nitrite became available through the Chicago based  Griffith Laboratories in a curing mix for the meat industry. (The Naming of Prague Salt)

In Oct 1925 in a carefully choreographed display by Griffith, the American Bureau of Animal Industries legalised the use of sodium nitrite as a curing agent for meat.  In December of the same year (1925) the Institute of American Meat Packers, created by the large packing plants in Chicago, published the document. The use of sodium Nitrite in Curing Meats.  (The Naming of Prague Salt)

A key player suddenly emerges onto the scene in the Griffith Laboratories, based in Chicago and very closely associated with the powerful meatpacking industry.  In that same year (1925) Hall was appointed as chief chemist by the Griffith Laboratories and Griffith started to import a mechanically mixed salt from Germany consisting of sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite and sodium chloride, which they called “Prague Salt.”  (The Naming of Prague Salt)

Probably the biggest of the powerful meat packers was the company created by Phil Armour who gave David de Villiers Graaff the idea of refrigerated rail transport for meat.  More than any other company at that time, Armour’s reach was global.  It was said that Phil had an eye on developments in every part of the globe.  (The Saint Paul Daily Globe, 10 May 1896, p2) He passed away in 1901 (The Weekly Gazette, 9 Jan 1901), but the business empire and network that he created must have endured long enough to have been aware of developments in Prague in the 1910s and early ’20s. (The Naming of Prague Salt)

Drawing of David de Villiers-Graaff in his mayoral robes. The drawing appeared in a newspaper in Chicago on 11 April 1892 when he was interviewed at the World Exposition. He traveled to Chicago the first time in the mid-1880s when he probably met Armour.

There is, therefore, no reasonable way that the bacon factory in Estcourt could have used sodium nitrite directly in 1918.  If  Armour’s relationship was with JW Moor, this could have been a possibility since I suspect that Armour was experimenting with the direct addition of nitrite to curing brines as early as 1905, but his relationship, if any, would have been with David de Villiers Graaff who was a meat trader at heart and did not have any direct interest in a large bacon curing company until ICS acquired Enterprise and Renown, long after the time of David de Villiers Graaff (the 1st). Besides this, where would they have found cheap nitrite salts in South Africa in 1918? This takes the 1918 establishment of the company back to the technology used by the Harris family in Calne which was mother brine tank curing, the classic Wiltshire curing method which was later exactly defined in UK law.

At the demise of the Harris operation, many of the staff were taken up into the current structures of Direct Table which is, according to my knowledge, one of the only remaining companies in the world who still use the traditional Wiltshire tank curing method for some of its bacons.  It undoubtedly is the largest to do so.  In the Eskort branding of its bacon, the reference to Wiltshire cure it is a beautiful reference back to the origins of the company which pre-dates the direct addition of sodium nitrite.

The Griffith Laboratories became the universal prophet of the direct addition of nitrite to curing brines.  They appointed an agent in South Africa in Crown Mills.  Crown Mills became Crown National and Prague Powder is still being sold by them to this day.  It could very well have been Crown Mills who converted Eskort from traditional tank curing to the direct addition of sodium nitrite through Prague Powder.

It must be mentioned that the butchery trade was well established in South Africa long before the cooperative bacon factory was established in Estcourt.  Bacon curing was one of the first responsibilities of the VOC when Van Riebeek set the refreshment station up in 1652.  Swiss, Dutch, German and later, English butchers were scattered across South Africa.  The largest and most successful of these companies in Cape Town was Combrink and Co., owned by Jakobus Combrink and later taken over by Dawid de Villiers Graaff who changed the name to the Imperial Cold Storage and Supply Company.  I suspect that most of these operations used dry curing which was not suitable for mass production.

Peter Bojsen and cooperative Bacon Production

The second technical aspect is the form of cooperation that was established and a few words must be said about Peter Bojsen for those who are not familiar with him.  Cooperative bacon production was the buzz word in the early 1900s, but where did this originate?

It started in Denmark.  The Danes were renowned dairy farmers and producers of the finest butter (Daily Telegraph, 2 February 1901: 6)  They found the separated milk from the butter-making process to be excellent food for pigs.  The Danish farmers developed an immense pork industry around it.  (Daily Telegraph, 2 February 1901: 6)  The bacon industry was created in response to a ban from England on importing live Danish pigs to the island.   The Danish farmers responded by organising themselves into cooperatives who build bacon factories that supplied bacon to the English market.  (Daily Telegraph, 2 February 1901: 6)  This established bacon curing as a major industry in Denmark.

“On 14 July 1887, 500 farmers from the Horsens region joined forces to form Denmark’s first co-operative meat company. The first general meeting was held, land was purchased, building work commenced and the equipment installed.”  (Danishcrown.com)  “On 22 December 1887, the first co-operative abattoir in the world, Horsens Andelssvineslagteri (Horsen’s Share Abattoir), stood ready to receive the first pigs for slaughter.” (Danishcrown.com)  The first cooperative bacon curing company was also established in 1887.  (Tank Curing came from Ireland)

The dynamic Peter Bojsen (1838-1922) took center stage in the creation of the abattoir in Horsens.  He served as its first chairman. He created the first shared ownership slaughtering house.  In years to follow, this revolutionary concept of ownership by the farmers on a shared basis became a trend in Denmark.  Before the creation of the abattoir, he was the chairman of the Horsens Agriculture Association and had to deal with inadequate transport and slaughtering facilities around the market where the farmers sold their meat at.  (Horsensleksikon.dk.  Horsens Andelssvineslagteri)  Peter was a visionary and a creative economist.  The genius of this man transformed a society.

In 1911, the St. Edmunds cooperative bacon factory was opened in England in Elmswell, with Danish help.  It is clear that the concept of the Horsens plant crossed the English channel.  It is plausible that its creation reached the ears of a group of farmers in a very “British” part of the empire, in Estcourt, Natal not just with the Wiltshire Tank curing of the Harris operation, but the cooperative movement in bacon production from St. Edmunds in 1911.

Early Success for Eskort

An article appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales), 2 June 1919, p7 entitled “On Land, Livestock in South Africa – Further Competition for Australia.”  The article reports on pork production that “pig breeding has been taken up systematically and while in the year before the war imports of bacon and hams were valued at GBP368,112, last year they were reduced to GBP31,590, and there is good reason to think that soon these articles will be exported.”  One may think that the reduction in import is due to the war and that in general South African producers were stepping up to the plate to fill the void, but the trend of the article is that something is happening “systematically” and there is a trend that projects that soon the GBP368,112 import figure will completely be supplied by South African producers and that surplus bacon will be exported.

The farmers cooperative were founded in 1917 in Estcourt.  Moor laid the cornerstone in January 1918, the report in the Sydney Morning Herald appeared in June 1919, the same month when the first exports of Eskort bacon to the UK took place.  Export may have taken place before the local market was completely saturated.  Regardless of the actual circumstances, the export of bacon to the UK was not just a major achievement and competing nations took notice.  I also suspect that Eskort managed to supply a sizable portion of the 1913 import figure of GBP368,112 in 1918 and that the article may elude to exactly this.

Pulling the Military Connections Together

The location of the Estcourt plant is of interest virtually right next to Fort Dunford, between the fort and the Bushmans river.  My suspicion is that the land belonged to the army and that Moor, either JW or with the help of FR, secured rights to purchase it.  This could have been done only by a family who had very cozy relationships with the military and had friends in high places in the persons of Louis Botha and FR Moor himself.

Fort Dunford is indicated with the red marker. Take note of the position of the Boesmans River, the Eskort plant, the Fort and the Hospital.

Just look at the defenses of the Fort.  There were three defenses.  The first would have been the Bushmans river.  Secondly, there was a moat around the fort, 2 meters deep and 4 meters wide.  Then, one part of the staircase could be pulled up in case two of the defenses were bridged.  It is clear from the map that even the hospital was strategically located to be within the general protection of the Fort and the Boesmans River bend.

There is a second interesting contribution that the military post could have made to the establishment of the bacon plant. It is known that men from Elmswell and Wiltshire were drafted into service in South Africa. Could it have been that some of these men actually worked at the cooperative bacon plant in Elmswell? These records can quite easily be checked and will be worth the effort.

Strong circumstantial evidence, however, points to more than just a coincidental relationship between the location of the plant and the military establishment.  Probably more important than the affinity of Moor family for the military was the fact that FR Moor was the political leader of the Natal colony until the Union of South Africa was created in 1910 and the fact that the old school friend of FR, General Louis Botha was in 1918, the Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa.   Whichever way you look at it, it is hard not to recognise the close proximity of the Eskort plant to the military installations.  What could be the uniting thought that pulls all these facts together? (Of course, in part, predicated on the fact that the factory is in the original location)

Looking at the state of the British Empire and wartime circumstances in the UK, I believe offers the answer.  The military context goes much deeper than schoolboy comradery, family nostalgia or friends in high places. 1918 was the beginning of the last year of the Great War.  On the one hand, it is hard for us to imagine the unified approach that the Empire had towards the war and every citizen in every Empire country.  The empathy and support that the war elicited in South Africa generally, but especially in Natal, so closely linked with the UK in spit and culture was enormous.  One source reports that in Estcourt school staff subscribed a portion of their salary monthly to the Governor-General’s Fund in support of the war. (Thompson, 2011)  It is outside the scope of this article to delve deeper into the unprecedented effort that was being expended by the South African population and the people in Natal in particular in support of the troops but reading the accounts of what was being done in Natal is quite emotional.

On the other hand, directly responding to wartime shortages in the UK was an international effort.  Bacon, in those days, was not just a luxury.  It was staple food. The production of bacon was a matter of national importance debated in parliament. It was a key food source sustaining the British navy. Many people only had bacon as food every day. They would boil the bacon before eating it. The parents who had to work the next day had the actual meat and the kids only had the water. Eduard Smith made the remark in his landmark work, Foods (1873), that in this way both the parents and the children went to bed “with a measure of satisfaction.” Bacon had strategic importance to the military and in the first world war, spoke to the general food situation in war-ravaged England.

The fact that the bacon company was established in Estcourt in 1917 shows clearly that South Africa was ready to step in to prop up meat and bacon supply in particular to the UK.  Was there direct involvement from the South Africa leader, General Louis Botha who possibly passed on a request from London to all Empire states to assist in the supply of meat and bacon in particular?  It is a matter of conjecture, but a tantalising possibility.  These are speculations that can be corroborated by looking at the correspondence of Botha.  FR Moor himself had direct communication with London and Botha may have simply opened the factory in support of the idea.  FR’s letters along with that of JW have to be scrutinised for leads.  The one reason that makes me suspects that there may have been a direct request from Botha or some early support for the venture is the location of the factory, right next to the Fort.  In my mind, it swings the possibility for direct involvement from Botha from possible to probable.  (Facts from correspondence should solve the matter)

Supplying the British market may have been done to build up South Africa, just as much as it was done in support of the Empire.  I suspect that the former may even be more of a driving force than the latter.  On 13 June 1917, an article appeared in the Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, North Dakota), reporting from London that “Developments on an enormous scale are expected in South Africa after the war and plans in this connection are being made as regards the export of food.  It is confidently predicted that so far as meat is concerned the Union will be in a position to compete very soon with any other part of the world and in order to assist the expansion of the industry all the steamship lines propose, it is understood, to increase their refrigerated space very considerably and to place more vessels in service.”  This report came out in the year when the Cooperative bacon Company in Estcourt was formed.  It oozes with deliberateness and purposefulness from the highest authorities.

One person who was clearly involved in the “deliberateness and purposefulness” becomes clear from a pamphlet that was published in that same year.  In a document dated 12 Jan 1917 about the South African meat export trade, compiled by A. R. T. Woods to Sir Owen Phillips, chairman of the Union Castle Line who by this time was carrying meat from South America to Europe in their Nelson Line of Steamers, the following interesting quite is given by Gen. Louis Botha.  The background is the delivery of what is described in the document as “by universal consent,. . .  probably the best specimen of South African meat (beef) yet placed upon the London market” delivered by the R. M. S. “Walmer Castle” to the Smithfield market in London and inspected by a group from South Africa featured below in 1914.  (I will give much to know the names of the men below.  Will there be the name of one JW Moor?)

The party traveled to London by invitation from The Hon. W. P. Schreiner, High Commissioner of South Africa and Mr. Ciappini (the Trades Commissioner).  The South African meat was deemed comparable to frozen meat produced in any part of the world.  The letter was a motivation that the South African meat trade was mature enough to be taken seriously and some helpful advice was given based on experience in South America.

He quotes Gen. Louis Botha who advised farmers that “so far as mealies are concerned the export should not develop, but that the mealies should be used to feed stock in this country, and that the export should be in the form of stock fed in South Africa on South African Mealies.” There is, therefore, good evidence of Genl. Louis Botha involving himself in the details of the establishment of the meat trade from South Africa and, I believe that it is in part this general encouragement that JW Moor followed in creating the Cooperative Bacon Curing Company in 1917.

I located this pamphlet among documents in the Western Cape Archive of J. W. Moor and his farmers Cooperative where they apply for permission to erect an abattoir and a bacon curing company in East London on the harbour.  It is interesting that one of the recommendations given in the pamphlet is that abattoirs and chilling factories be erected in Ports, “along the quays where the ocean-going refrigerated steamers load” as it was done in Argentina.  The influence of Botha’s encouragement on Moor can be well imagined.

The application for the abattoir was lodged in 1917, the same year when the Farmer’s Co-operative Bacon Factory Limited was founded in August 1917.  It is possible that members of the Natal Farmers Co-operative Meat Industries and the Farmer’s Co-operative Bacon Factory Limited were the same people.  Or that the one owned the other.  Whichever way you look at it, John Moore was a key figure in both and the establishment of a bacon company in East London was directly in line with the proposals set out to boost meat exports.  It is very interesting that both occurred in 1917 and that only the Eskort factory survived.  As someone who established such a venture myself, my initial thoughts were that having a curing company at two such geographically distant sites as East London and Estcourt would have been impossible to manage, especially since both were new ventures.  Further documents show that the factory was built on the proposed site and it is telling that only the Estcourt site survived.

East London’s harbour at the mouth of the Buffalo River. In the absence of facilities ashore, the vessel SV Timaru, fitted with cold chambers, was moored here by the East London Cold Storage Company for an extensive period early in the 20th century.  (From Ice Cold in Africa).  The businesses of David de Villiers Graaff and Moor were intertwined and mutually dependant.

The stone in Estcourt was unveiled by JW Moor on Jan 7, 1918, almost a full year before the Armistice.  The Farmer’s Co-operative Bacon Factory Limited was founded in August 1917, 16 months before the end of the War.  The factory was opened on 6 June 1918 by the Prime Minister General Louis Botha, 6 months before the Great War ended.  This is remarkable.

The shortages in the UK in 1917 and 1918 were dire.  The end of the war was not in sight and calls went out across the Empire to assist.  Meat supply, at this time, diminished with 30% in the UK.  In this context, it is easy to see how military land was either made available or that it would have been strategically prudent to locate such an installation close to a military site, but again, it would have required high-level support (involvement?).

For the South Africans, the call for help would have been close to home.  Delville Woods took place in 1916, a year before the company was created. In the month when it was founded, August 1917, Lieutenant-General Sir Jacob Louis van Deventer had just taken over command of the mostly South African troops involved in the German East African campaign.   His offensive started in July 1917.  The entire East African region remained very active for the duration of the war.

When the fighting was all done almost 19 000 South Africans lost their lives.  The madness of the time can best be described by the opening sentences of Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities.  It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…  Such would have been the experience of the men and women involved in the war while setting up the Farmer’s Co-operative Bacon Factory on the banks of the Boesmans River in Estcourt, Natal. (1)

Finally

The Eskort factory is a historical site where many interesting cross-currents meet.  Its uninterrupted existence from a time before nitrite was directly added to brine makes it unique in the world! Apart from Danish Crown and Tulip, I know of very few other companies.

Besides this, tied up in the story of its creation is a romantic immigrant, a family, defining themselves through diamond digging and making powerful friends; re-investing its fortunes in farming and establishing a food company that exists to this day.  We see the use of tank curing which predates the direct addition of nitrite to curing brines.  The global influence of Griffiths who probably converted Eskort to an operation using the direct application of nitrite to curing brines following WW1.  We see the influence of the Danish Cooperative system, probably through the St. Edmunds Bacon Factory.  Besides any of these, we see hard work, imagination and high character and a particular response to a specific call for help.

What is the purpose of this study? Besides the fascinating context of the Eskort operation, is there anything we can learn from the past?  I offer a few suggestions.

1.  Stay on top of the game. Use the best and latest technology available to stay well ahead in the race.  A 1914 US newspaper article, from the Deming Headlight, called the Danish cooperative bacon factory “the last word as to efficient scientific treatment of the dead porker.”   The article was entitled A Cooperative Bacon factory.  (The Deming Headlight (Deming, New Mexico), Friday 8 May 1914, Page 6.)

2. Use the best corporate structure, appropriate for the time.

3. This point probably dovetails into the previous one – ensure that the business is well funded.

4. Think big! No, think massive! By no account was any of the plans of JW Moor or any of his brothers or their father ever small!

5. The factory was built with a specific market in mind.   “It was built for exports”, even though saying it like this may be too specific. Lets state it this way – “technology was chosen to attract the right clients.” A modern-day example may be investing in a tray ready packaging line for fresh meat for the retail trade or cooked bacon for the catering trade.

6.  Things are not as bad today as they were during the world wars.  If anything, we have more opportunities.  No matter what is happing in our country, this can be our age of wisdom, our epoch of belief, season of light and our spring of hope!

A last comment must be made about the legacy of the bacon plant.  There can be little doubt that it had a large impact on the meat processing landscape in South Africa over the years.  It provides a fertile and productive training center for many men and women to later either set up their own curing operations or work at other plants across the country, thus transferring the skills inherent in the Estcourt plant to the rest of the country.  In this regard, the impact of the visionary work of the Moor family is volcanic.  It is interesting to talk to executives in Eskort and to realise how many people in top positions in curing operations across the county started their careers at the Eskort plant in Estcourt in the Natal Midlands.

These are some of the obvious lessons I take away from the study.  This is insanely exciting!

Aftermath 1:

Back row, left to right: Gen JBM Hertzog, H Burton, FR Moor, Col. G Leuchars, Gen JC Smuts, HC Hull, FS Malan and David de Villiers Graaff. Front: JW Sauer, Gen Botha and A Fischer.

Gen Louis Botha was the man who pushed for the development of the meat industry in SA. Of course, he found a great ally in David de Villiers Graaff who created ICS.  At the end of 1934, the company was in serious financial trouble following the Great Depression.  Anglo-American corporation was the largest investor and as it invested more money in the company, while the company worked ever closer with Tiger Oats which was another Anglo subsidiary.  In March 1982 Barlow bought a large share of Tiger Oats and the controlling share in ICS.  In October 1998 Tiger Brands (Tiger Oats Limited) bought Imperial Cold Storage and it was taken up in the portfolio of this companies brands.

Look at this old photo I found. In 1910 the Union of South Africa was created uniting the Transvaal, Free State, Natal and the Cape.  Botha was asked to become Prime Minister. Here is a photo of his first cabinet. David was a member of this cabinet. He is in the back row on the right.

FR Moor is 3rd from the left, back row, looking to his right.  His younger brother, JW Moor was the chairman of the farmers cooperative that became Eskort. Botha opened the Eskort factory in Estcourt, Natal shortly before he passed away. The complete list of men on the photo and members of the first Union cabinet is: Back row, left to right: Gen JBM Hertzog, H Burton, FR Moor, Col. G Leuchars, Gen JC Smuts, HC Hull, FS Malan and David de Villiers Graaff. Front: JW Sauer, Gen Botha, and A Fischer.

In a way, both Eskort and Enterprise (at least Tiger Brands) were represented. The individual photos are of De Villiers Graaff and Moor.

The history and impact of bacon men and woman, run deep!  What a story!

Aftermath 2:

Arnold Prinsloo, the CEO of Eskort, sent me a  message.  He has a present for me, a book commemorating the first 100 years of Eskort, Ltd..

edf

hdrpl

It was a day when Paul Fickling, my partner in crime at Van Wyngaardt and I decided to follow Christo Niemand’s advice to stand back a bit and think about our strategy with the business.  I was glad that Paul was with me so that I could introduce him to one of the legends in our industry.

What never had was an image of JW Moor.  Arnold showed me his photo.

JW Moor

Finally, I am looking for the legendary first chairman of the First Farmers Cooperative Bacon Factory to be established in SA in the eyes. We spoke about history and the Moor family; the industry at large and then Arnold gave us a bit of information that is invaluable to our quest.  “Build your company on quality!  Nothing less than that will exist for 100 years.”

At home, I could hardly wait to page through the book.  Here I saw so many of my friends.

Wynand Nel

Arnold Prinsloo

Melindi Wyma

Bob Ferguson (I know his son, Alex)

Bob Furgeson

Wynand Nel who worked with me at Stocks Meat Market, Arnold Prinsloo, Melindi Wyma, Bob Ferguson – I know his son, Alex who is heading up Multivac.

This morning Paul was telling me about a small hotel they stayed over in Natal the previous week, Hartford House.  It turns out that the house was owned by JW Moor.  Arnold elucidated us and suggested we get in contact with Mickey Goss, the current owner of the estate for an in-depth discussion of the history of the region and the Moor family.

I will definitely send Mickey correspondence and arrange for a visit to his famed estate.  I am thrilled to be part of this incredibly rich history, humbled by the gesture of Arnold and the coincidence of Paul and his family staying at the exact house a week ago, well, that is just strange!!

(c) Eben van Tonder

Further Reading

John William Moor’s Short Biography

The speech was given by Mr. W. S. Morris, the Minister of Agriculture at the second reading of the BACON INDUSTRY BILL before the UP parliament on 11 April 1938 3.40 p.m.

History-of-Estcourt

Tank Curing Came from Ireland

Bacon Curing – a historical review

Walworth, G.. 1940.  Imperial Agriculture, London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd.

The Mother Brine

A Most Remarkable Tale:  The Story of Eskort

(c) eben van tonder

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Note

(1) 1917 and 18 were very interesting years besides for the creation of the bacon plant in Estcourt.  On 8 June, two days after the start of production, the South African financial services group Sanlam was established in Cape Town.  1917/ 1918 was the year when the RAF was founded with another interesting South African connection.  On 17 August 1917, General Jan Smuts released his report recommending that a military air service should be used as “an independent means of war operations” of the British Army and Royal Navy, leading to the creation of the Royal Air Force in 1918. (Hastings, Hastings, 1987)

(2) In reality, I did go to Denmark to learn bacon curing.  The interesting thing is that Tulip is a Danish company, wholly owned by Danish Crown and a direct outflow of the creation of the cooperative curing plant at Horsens.  In the ’70 and ’80, the Danish abattoirs and large processing companies consolidated and formed Danish Crown.  The Danes created Tulip in England to, in a way, set up their own distribution company in England for the vast quantities of bacon they produced in Denmark. Essentially, they created their own client. In later years Tulip became involved in every aspect of the pork industry in England and currently is the largest pork farmer in the UK. Exactly as it was logical for my path to lead to Tulip, so, it was logical for JW’s path to lead to the Harris operations and a cooperative bacon plant.  Given the same set of variables, the best choices are obvious to all, no matter how far in the future you look back at decisions of the past.

References

https://www.danishcrown.com/danish-crown/history/

Dhupelia, U. S..  1980.  Frederick Robert Moor and Native Affairs in the Colony of Natal 1893 to 1903.  Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Durban-Westville.  Supervisor: Dr. J.B. Brain; Date Submitted: December 1980.  Download:  Dhupelia-Uma-1980

Dommisse, E. 2011.  First baronet of De Grendel.  Tafelberg

The Freeman’s Journal, Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; 18 Oct 1878, p1.

The Guardian (London, Greater London, England), 6 July 1918, p6.

Max, Bomber Command: Churchill’s Epic Campaign – The Inside Story of the RAF‘s Valiant Attempt to End the War, New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 1987, ISBN 0-671-68070-6, p. 38.

Morrell, R. G..  1996.  White Farmers, Social Institutions and Settler Masculinity in the Natal Midlands, 1880-1920. A Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Economic History.  University of Natal. Durban, March 1996

http://www.openafrica.org/experiences/route/24-drakensberg-experience-route/participant/925-eskort-limited-factory-shop

Perren, R.  Farmers, and consumers under strain: Allied meat supplies in the First World War. The Agricultural Historical Review.  PDF: Richard Perren

The Saint Paul Daily Globe, 10 May 1896

Thompson, P. S..  2011.  Historia Vol 56 no 1, The Natal home front in the Great War (1914-1918) On-line version ISSN 2309-8392; Print version ISSN 0018-229X. The Historical Association of South Africa c/o Department of Historical and Heritage Studies, University of Pretoria.

Walworth, G..  1940.  Feeding the Nation in Peace and War.  London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd.

The Weekly Gazette, 9 Jan 1901

Wilson, W. 2005. Wilson’s Practical Meat Inspection. 7th edition. Blackwell Publishing.

http://www.elmswell-history.org.uk/arch/firms/baconfactory/article2.html”>

http://www.elmswellhistory.org.uk/arch/firms/baconfactory/baconfactory.html

https://www.revolvy.com/page/Estcourt

Where I referenced previous articles I did, the links are provided in the article and I do not reference these again.

Chapter 12.02: Eskort Ltd. Introduction to Bacon & the Art of Living The quest to understand how great bacon is made takes me around the world and through epic adventures.

[booksincomics]

Panels from the first appearance of The Lepra-Duck from the story "The Battle at Hadrian's Wall", the cover-feature of Walt Disney's Donald Duck #107 (Gold Key, May 1966). The story was written by Vic Lockwood and drawn by Tony Strobl. In the story, Donald is given the Lepra-Duck's wishing stone, previously in the possession of Donald's lucky cousin Gladstone Gander, and, through a series of wishes, first travels to Uncle Scrooge's ancestral homeland of Scotland, and then back in time where he and his nephews meet Emperor Hadrian and some of his own "barbarian" ancestors who they teach to play baseball! The Lepra-Duck is in the tradition of puckish magical interlopers like Superman's Mr. Mxyzptlk, Batman's Bat-Mite, Aquaman's Quisp and Quirk, Impy from The Fantastic Four, and Gazoo from The Flintstones. Like these other characters, he magically appears to vex the main characters and introduce some sorcerous obstacle or faux-helpful spell. The Great Gazoo was introduced a year earlier on tv and is a likely influence on the Lepra-Duck, and ditto Lucky from the Lucky Charms cereal ads (first appearance 1963), although leprechauns are plentiful in fiction and popular culture, as is the idea of a magical token like the Wishing Stone (cf. Monkey's Paw) or the tradition of wishes that act as a form of hubris and backfire to punish greedy or prideful. There are other magical characters in Donald Duck's world (Magicka de Spell) and the concept of luck is central to the characters of both Uncle Scrooge and Gladstone Gander, but we rarely see magic used as a form of time-travel. Rather, the characters in these stories interact with historical places and artifacts in the modern era. As a kid I hated it when Bat-Mite would pop up in the Batman cartoon show. I wanted Batman to be a serious superhero and having this magical elf from another dimension constantly around getting into bumbling slapstick adventures while trying to help his "hero" Batman really put a damper on my suspension of disbelief, to say the very least. I was a little bit more forgiving of The Great Gazoo because the Flintstones was a comedy show and the wonderful droll voice acting of Harvey Korman really put the character over. As an adult, I love all of these magical characters and prefer the older superhero comic books with a sense of humour. I came across this character in a really beat-up copy of Donald Duck comicthat I was actualy about to throw in the garbage and was surprised that a) this seems to be his only appearance and b) there isn't really anything online about him, even on websites run by ultra-nerdy Disney comics fanatics in Europe, like the Inducks wiki. The story he appears in has been reprinted at least once, so thousands of kids and older fans have read it. Obviously, the cliche magical deus ex machina nature of the character has left a sour taste in the mouth of fans who love the mostly well-plotted, logical stories of the Barks Ducks universe. Or maybe it's just not that memorable of a story and the character really only appears in a few panels at the beginning, popping back in for a few more panels at the end to take back his wishing stone.

[luvvaj]

Kwanzaa at Uncle ‘Phonso & GiGi’s home for Kwanzaa Dinner in The ‘Ham with my Nkosanas, Robbin JR & Alphonse💜... Happy Kwanzaa!!! Habari Gani!! NIA! (Purpose!) #Kwanzaa #LivingAndCelebratingKwanzaa #NguzoSaba #Nia #Purpose #Kanara #FirstFruits #FamilyNThangs #Family #Love #Peace #Courage #AmaZulu #Zulu #Ndlovukazi #Nkosana #Impi #Sigidi (at Bellingham, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6ueOi_HqDd/?igshid=risyiyqqzt9t

[dorianfiftyshadesof-gray]

Commentary: Game of Thrones 7x05

-i'm exhausted and should be studying but Thrones is screeching at me so I guess I shall watch it. -Imagine if they have killed off Goldfinger *awkward laugh* -JOE DEMPSIE! HE's IN THE INTRO! OH FUCK MAN! GENDRY IS BACK! -Eastwatch looks pretty fancy -yay sexy uncle isn't dead, just puking -Jaime may be hot, but he really isn't the sharpest sword at the blacksmiths; talking of blacksmiths..when are we gonna see Gendry!? -Bronno: "Listen up cunt, until I get my wife and castle you can't neck yourself" -Jaime considering whether it's better to drown or tell his lover/sister about the dragons -Tyrion disapproves -Ben Dan-y telling the troops that what Cersei has told them about her burning shit isn't true but for the past 15 mins, all she has been doing is making barbeque -Things Daeny needs to shut up about: that goddamn wheel and bending knees -gotta love Dickon, honorable lad -listen to Impy for once Dragon Lady, you dumb-dumb -oh no not Dickon! -This is the first time we have seen people bend the knee for Daeny out of fear, not respect or love. "Daeny becoming the villain" theory ship is sailing -haha Sistershagger tells Brothershagger about Olenna dropping the mic on Joffrey -Please start falling out of love with Cersei, Jaime. Sincerely, everyone -Bastard dude gonna pet a dragon oH MY GOD! -Jon Snow *cough* Targaryen *cough* patting the dragon! This is so epic. -The way to Daeny's heart is through her dragons, not a cave Jonny Snowblower -Daeny: "They're beautiful, aren't they"  Jonno: "Not the word I was thinking of"..  Daeny: U fuckin wot m8!?!? -Rastafarian Targaryen catching on to Daavos's slip up lmao -"Ser Daavos gets carried away" nice save bro -JORAH THE EXPLORER IS BACK! I SMELL A LOVE TRIANLGE BREWING!! -still friendzoned tho -it seems Lord Friendzone is also part of the time-travelling gang of Westeros™ -Daeny going in for the..hug -Fuckin "Bran" warging around -them ice zombies are pretty damn close now man -poor Samwell Gamji in the 'shit'adel -yes Sam! standing up for the Starks -Tyrion and Varys: drinking buddies. now that's a show I would watch -hell yeah Jonny Snow knows of his siblings are home -Lannister reunion wat WHAT! -lol just noticed Jorah in the background -WHERE ARE MY DROGONS doesn't want Knows Nothing to go she likey-likes him -Jonno needs to stop going on these stupid-ass decisions -see all the Sansa-haters, she isn't going to betray Jon -I like seeing them hang-out and bickering -damn Lil'Ninja Chick, you can't solve everything with killing -they're already fucking in King's Landing!? Da shit!? -Tyrion and Jaime!!! O H  M Y  G O D ! ! ! my heart stopped -Jaime's gonna cry, Tyrion's gonna cry, I'm gonna cry -when are we gonna see Gendry?? -I have a feeling it's gonna be soon -GEEEENNNNNNDDDDRRRRYYYYY -we all thought he might still be rowing! -I'm freaking out man!! -He looks so different (still want him and Arya to get together) -Davos is such a sweet lad. Talking about sexy-times crab aphrodisacs -Well, this is inconvenient for Dwarfy to show up -go Gendry you absolute dude!! -you know when Cersei is calm, shit's gonna. go. down. -oH ShIt! SHE PREGGERS!! Another incest baby!! -"Never betray me again" oops -Davos: “Just remember you are called Clovis”  Gendry: “Yep no worries”  Meets Jon Snow  Gendry: “HI IM A BARATHEON BASTARD CAN WE BE BEST FRIENDS???” -They chattin like their dad's. They gonna be bros like their dad's. -I love that Gendy instantly believes everything. -are Jon and Daeny trying to flirt?? emphasis on "trying" -Gilly talks about useless shit... useless shit... JON IS TRUEBORN... useless shit... -Sam lost his 15,782 shits -why does Sam have a hipster messenger bag?? -good one you Sam, you were too good for the 'shit'adel -Arya spying Le Creepy Petey -what did they find!?!? -Arya: professional lock-picker apparently -Pedopete spying on Arya who was spying on Pedopete. Spyception -The One Who Has Dragons™ and The One Who Fucks Her Brother™ -Tormund still lusting over Brienne completes me -lol he's meeting the Hound -this season is just a reunion special -Tormund: *growls* -When the entire crew rolls up in their fur coats -I'm guessing this was mostly a set-up episode because next ep we gonna see some crazy shit which is fair. I personally enjoyed it, w got Gendry back who's an absolute lad and some Davos appreciation plus reunions galore. Until next week ya losers