#University of Northampton degree

[lustspren]

family ties ft Chaewon.

length: 10.3k words✦

Male reader, Male Character (starring Luke Newton cause idk) X Chaewon (playing Anna).

genres: incest (GoT (not it’s not sister-brother) and HOTD (no it’s not uncle-nephew) fans this one is for you), double blowjob, threesome, hard sex, carry fuck, double penetration, spitroast, facefuck, anal, british chaewon btw. ✧ 

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Going to the Egerton family gatherings wasn't exactly one of your favorite things in the world; you preferred to stay away from them, that way you avoided uncomfortable questions or sharp hints towards yourself, something you were used to in a family whose lineage was always focused on only one lifestyle. Kind of a black sheep was what you were, but you were never treated differently, luckily.

Still, it was exhausting having to feel different all the time. Out of place. You loved your family, and they loved you, but you just felt like you didn't fit in. That was why of five meetings you were invited to, you went to two at most.

But this time the situation warranted your presence, and you couldn't be so rude as to reject the invitation. It was a party for your cousin, who recently graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in medicine, enough merit for a big celebration. You just had to go. Not only because it was the morally right thing to do, but because her brother, also your cousin, had been trying to convince you all week.

So there you were, alone in your room while you finished getting ready to go out. You expected that they would force you to dress formally for the occasion, as was always the case when a big celebration was held at your cousins' house, but this time they gave you complete freedom—within certain limits, of course. Your cousin's insistence, perhaps, but you were grateful.

The start of the party was at 8 pm, and it was already 6:40. You lived in Northampton, a city about an hour west of Cambridge, if you wanted to arrive on time, you had to hurry up and leave at that precise moment. And so you did it. After making sure you were as presentable and handsome as possible, you grabbed your phone, your wallet, and your car keys to finally head to your destination.

That damn mansion never ceased to amaze you, even after having visited it countless times throughout your life. It consisted of two floors, with a subtle and perfect mix between modern and Victorian architecture, especially in the windows, which abounded in every corner, and the pair of chimneys that protruded from the mansard roofs.

You parked your car outside, in front of the short black fence that separated the sidewalk from the big lovely garden that preceded the house. Parked near you were a few cars that you recognized immediately, some from your uncles and great-uncles, and others from distant relatives who always attended these types of gatherings. There was only one that you didn't recognize, but you assumed it was some friend of your cousin, so you didn't give it any more importance.

When you got off you looked towards the right side of the house, towards the patio where the barbecues were always held and where the guests used to gather. Apparently you had arrived just in time, because you could see some of your other cousins ​​barely greeting your uncles—the owners of the house—and their sons. So you rushed to join. 

You walked down the long polished granite path that led to the main entrance of the house, only to then step onto the lawn and cross the garden. When you arrived at the patio, the first to notice your presence was your cousin, Jaime. As handsome and smiling as always.

"Ayeeeee! You made it!" he said with a wide smile, arms open as he walked down the steps of the small deck that led into the house. "I knew you'd come!"

Before you could say anything, Jaime caught you in a tight hug, almost causing you to drop the bottle of wine you had brought for the occasion. You laughed, and reciprocated his hug with a smile.

"It's not like I have a choice, right?" you joked, patting him on the back a couple of times. "It's great to see you, darling."

After hugging Jaime you now focused your gaze on Elena, his sister, and the reason why you had come from so far away. She greeted you with the same enthusiasm as Jaime, with a warm hug and words of relief for your presence. Then you went to the dining table area, where you also greeted your aunt and uncle, Jaime and Elena's parents.

For the next five minutes you stood there, greeting all your relatives and the guests who kept arriving. Everything was going normally, until out of the corner of your eye you noticed how inside, in the living room, a girl you had not seen before appeared. You turned around with your forehead wrinkled, confused. What your eyes saw was such a surprise that you stopped paying attention to Elena as she spoke.

"Huh? Is she… here?" you asked, ignoring what they told you.

Inside the house, on one side of the dining room table, was Anna Kim. A distant cousin that you could easily haven’t seen for four or five years since she was studying in Korea. You were never close to her; you only met at specific family gatherings since her father, apart from not being a direct member of the family, was an extremely busy man who did not last long at the meetings before having to leave with his daughter. Father, who, by the way, you had not seen anywhere when you arrived. Was that car hers then?

"Oh, Anna?" Jaime asked, following your gaze. Now you both watched her while she adjusted her earrings and choker. "Yeah, she arrived yesterday. She must have fallen asleep, I think."

You definitely remembered a few interactions with her, but damn, you didn't remember her being so… stupidly beautiful. She wore her long brown hair up in a high lace bun, with a few strands purposefully messy to complement her pretty bangs. Perhaps she was a little overdressed for the occasion, wearing a heart-shaped white top whose strips of sparkling sequins reflected the overhead lights and made her look like some kind of gem, and a short, slightly pompous black skirt that showed off a pair of long and sexy legs.

She looked graceful like the most beautiful and elegant of swans. It was obvious that she had turned out just like her mother, a woman from the Egerton family, and not like her father, a vulgar Korean man who lacked any kind of class. You couldn't stop looking at her for fear that she was some kind of angelic apparition that would disappear when you took your eyes off her. But you were forced to do so when she turned around and started to walk outside, straight towards you.

"Shit, keep it cool," you told Jaime, and tapped him in the stomach with the back of your hand to make him turn around.

You both turned around with your hands held behind your backs, pretending to watch the meeting. Anna stood right behind you, and in a polite gesture she cleared her throat to make her presence known.

"Good evening, gentlemen," she said from behind you. "You are doing an excellent job being the bastions of beauty in the family. Behind me and Elena, of course."

The first thing you noticed was that her accent was completely different from yours. The Egertons had a mainly Cockney accent. But Anna's accent sounded like that of a duchess; a beautiful, elegant, crystalline posh accent that, combined with that sweet voice, was like music to your ears.

Jaime turned around, and consequently so did you. From that distance, somehow she only managed to dazzle you even more with the unmatched beauty of her. She looked both of you in the eyes, hands clasped at the level of her belly.

"Well, you certainly make it difficult for us," Jaime said, with a smile. "You look stunning, I must say."

Anna smiled and nodded her head in thanks.

"Thank you, darling," she then looked at you. "Wow, I haven't seen you in a while, right?"

"Indeed," you nodded with a smirk. "Not since you left... four years ago?"

"Five," she corrected you. "But it felt like forever," she subtly spread her arms out to the sides. "Reunion hug?"

"I could never refuse."

Unlike your previous hugs with Jaime and Elena, Anna's hug was more reserved and careful, but still warm enough to feel the affection in it. She had her arms wrapped around your lower back, while yours went behind her shoulders. You weren't surprised to smell the expensive perfume she was wearing. Miss Dior, surely.

"You better hurry up and greet the guests," Jaime said. "You and Elena are the only girls in the family, you must look radiant."

Anna finally pulled away from you and stood on tiptoe to place an affectionate kiss on your forehead, followed by a rub with her thumb there. She then looked at Jaime.

"Looking radiant is the best thing I do, dear," she winked at him, and walked past the two of you to go down the steps to where all the guests were. "Wait for me and we can go inside for some drinks, will you?"

"Mother will have you constantly on the go," Jaime said with a chuckle. "Good luck with her," he motioned with his chin for her to leave.

"Bloody hell," you said, watching her greet your uncles and her friends. "What did they feed that girl?"

Jaime laughed and patted you on the back.

"I have no idea mate," he admitted. "But she is certainly a beacon in the night."

"You've been with her since yesterday," you turned to look at him. "Is she still as disastrous as she was as a child?"

Jaime remained silent, lowered his gaze and tried to hide a smile that made your suspicions skyrocket. You knew your cousin well; it was just the way he acted when he had done some mischief.

"You could say that, yeah," he said, and then he turned to look at you. "But she is a lovely girl, and an excellent fashion advisor by the way."

You narrowed your eyes and held his gaze.

"Sure," you said. "She advised you personally, I suppose."

Jaime laughed and returned to his classic position, with his hands behind his back.

"Why do you think I'm so good looking today?"

"Because you're an Egerton and because that's the minimum that auntie asks of you?"

"Believe me, mother doesn't care about me today. Elena has the deserved focus," he looked at his sister, who was talking to a boy that you didn't know but that you knew must be her boyfriend. "If it weren't for Anna I would look like a commoner."

"You've never looked like a commoner, Jaime."

Jaime raised an eyebrow, and took a few seconds of silence to look at you.

"Do you suspect me in any way, little cousin?" he asked, and narrowed his eyes.

"I have strong reasons for doing so," you nodded. "But I wouldn't dare make an accusation."

Jaime held your gaze for another few seconds, and in the end you both smiled. He then gave you a couple of pats on the cheek.

"Always so clever, aren't you?" he said. "There's a reason you're a private detective. When are you moving to London? I don't think there are so many opportunities in Northampton."

"Why? Don't you like having someone around who can know immediately when you're up to something?"

"That's exactly why, yeah. Elena is enough of a pain in the ass."

You both laughed, but he prolonged his laughter longer than you, so you took advantage of the moment to stare at both him and Anna, who was still with your uncles. Something had happened between the two of them, you were sure of that, but you were going to force yourself to not care. You'll be back home later, and Anna would probably leave back to Korea tomorrow. It wasn't relevant.

You and Jaime stayed there talking for a few minutes. It was a normal conversation, like the ones you always used to have. Even your uncle, Jaime's father, joined you at one point to talk about the last Arsenal game. But the debate about football lasted until Anna was finally able to get rid of your aunt and went with you.

"Finally free from your captivity?" you joked, as she stood next to you.

Anna sighed.

"Apparently so," she said. "Shall we go inside? My throat is already asking for something cold after so many presentations."

"Are you planning to miss your cousin's celebration by going inside to drink?" your uncle asked. "We have wine out here!"

Anna gave a small smile and squeezed your uncle's forearm affectionately.

"Take it easy, old bean," she said. "I have a lot to talk to my cousins ​​about! I promise it won't be much."

"Your aunt won't be happy if she doesn't see you here," your uncle replied, and then looked at you and Jaime. "Same with you two."

"Why does she want us here all the time?" Jaime asked. "She has Elena and her boyfriend right there, and I'm sure her friends are about to arrive."

"Yes, she has enough to worry about," you came to Jaime's aid.

Your uncle let out a tired breath and shook his head to look at Anna.

"I have my trust in you, young lady," he told her, with a finger raised between the two of them. "If you're not here for the cake you'll be in serious trouble."

"Uncle, you know I would never miss cake," Anna replied. "You have my word."

"Alright, off you go," your uncle said, and he put his hands behind his back before returning to the gathering of people.

Anna stepped forward to take the space your uncle had left, and she gestured into the house with her chin.

"May I?" she said.

"Go ahead, miss," you said, and both you and Jaime stepped aside for her to pass.

Anna passed through the entrance that was right behind you, the one that led directly into the kitchen. You followed her.

"What does your father keep here to drink?" she asked, as she walked around the island and stood in front of the enormous wooden wall, filled with tall, rectangular panels behind which the pantry was stored. "I don't want wine today."

You rested your arms crossed on the island counter, on one side of the stools. Jaime on the other hand also circled the island and stood on Anna's side. He then pulled one of the panels towards him, to reveal a shelf filled with bottles of all kinds.

"The old man doesn't even drink often," he said, picking up a bottle of Hennessy Cognac. "He collects all these things because he no longer knows what to do with so much money."

Anna scanned all the possible options carefully, her pretty face illuminated by the shelf lights. She finally grabbed a bottle of Macallan M Whiskey. You immediately looked over your shoulder to make sure your uncle wasn't watching.

"A bold choice, if I may say so," you said with a giggle, and turned again to look at her. "That thing costs like seven thousand pounds, and uncle loves whiskey."

"If he loved it so much he wouldn't have it here collecting dust, don't you think?" she asked, one eyebrow raised. She then walked over to the island and placed the bottle on the counter.

"The poor man is 76 years old, and mother makes sure that he drinks only on special occasions," Jaime said as he opened another panel, which corresponded to the refrigerator. "Do you want something for the whiskey?"

"Hmmm, I don't know..." she said, and looked at you. "What would you choose?"

"I'd choose not to drink Cedric Egerton’s whiskey, of course," you shrugged. "But, some ginger ale would be wonderful with that particular one."

You looked at Jaime, who looked at you with a smile and snapped his fingers to point at you.

"That's why you're my favorite cousin," he said, took out three bottles of ginger ale and then closed the refrigerator.

You laughed and shook your head.

"I don't think that's too difficult," you said, as Jaime grabbed ice from a freezer next to the refrigerator.

"It is," Jaime stated, and then poured ice into three small glass glasses. "We Egertons are a big family," he looked at Anna with a sly smile. "We even have a member studying in Korea."

Jaime began to fill the glasses with the drink. He poured three fingers of whiskey, and filled the rest with ginger ale.

Anna let out a giggle, classy and contained.

"That just makes it funny," she said, as she took the glass Jaime had extended to her. You did the same. "A woman from the Egerton family marrying a Korean man? Your grandfather must have been twisting in his own grave."

You and Jaime shared a loud laugh. Then you took a sip of the drink. Anna imitated you.

"I don't think your mother was one of those who cared about family opinion," Jaime said, leaning on one elbow on the opposite corner of the counter where you were. "She saw her man, tied him up and here you are. A beautiful full-fledged Egerton woman."

Anna's smile faded away.

"It's a shame my father wants me to make my life there and not here," she said, stirring the ice in her glass as she stared into space. "I'll be forced to be Anna Kim for the rest of my days. Not Anna Egerton."

"But you can change that, right?" you asked. "I mean, legally."

"Yes, I could," she looked at you with a tired expression. "But then my father would murder me."

"Do you owe that man anything?" Jaime butted in.

Anna looked at Jaime and raised an eyebrow.

"He has given me everything since my mother died," she said. "Is that a bit for you?"

"Of course not," he quickly said. "But I'm just saying that you have more of a future as an Egerton than a Kim."

"And do you think I need a last name to show my worth?"

You noticed a subtle tonal change in Anna's voice. Nothing too remarkable, but she did sound more severe. Jaime was entering swampy terrain, and as always you had to go and get his feet out of the mud.

"What Jaime means is that here in England you could have double the contacts and support from your family," you said. "No one doubts how successful you can be on your own."

Jaime nodded, and Anna relaxed her posture. Then took another sip of her drink.

"I don't know," she said, and lowered the glass to look at Jaime. "There would have to be a good reason to stay... and so far I don't have one."

She and Jaime stared at each other for a few seconds in complete silence. You wrinkled your brow, looking at each of them. In short, something was happening there.

"But anyway," she continued, finally blinking with both eyebrows raised. "Why don't we go take a seat? We're here for everyone to see."

Just to your left was a large open living room, with a big sofa where you would be more than comfortable. But Jaime took you two to another place not so exposed to the eyes of everyone else: to the living room that was right behind the dining table, separated from it by a wall that in its first half had a small bonfire and in the other a counter with a dishwasher and a bucket full of ice.

Anna crossed the small space and sat on the sofa in front of the window. You and Jaime each sat on the individual sofas on your side. Now you two were separated from her by the short glass table right in the middle, which had a bowl full of fresh grapes. Anna leaned forward to pick one and put it in her mouth.

"Mmmm..." she frowned as she chewed. "These grapes are magnificent. In Korea they taste like cardboard."

Between you and Jaime there was a small pedestal-table that reached your waist. You put your glass on top, but Jaime put it on the edge of the glass table.

"They're from father's vineyard in Florence," Jaime said, also picking one up. "You should go see it someday. Beautiful lands."

"And are you going to take me there?" Anna asked.

"As long as it's your wish," Jaime smiled, picked up his glass and looked at you. "We could even bring our little cousin."

Anna's gaze also fell on you. You shrugged your shoulders, and looked away towards the bowl of grapes to grab a couple. You kept them in your palm.

"Well, I could use a visit to Tuscany. I haven't been there since my uncle forced me to go with him and Jaime to learn about a business that I don't care about," you said, then you put a grape in your mouth and accompanied it with a little of your whiskey.

Your worry blossomed again. Now they were making plans and including you in them. Maybe you would end up caring about whatever was going on there, but if your job had taught you anything, it was to be empirical and rational. You would judge later.

Anna smiled at your response, and then looked at Jaime.

"You see?" she asked. "That's a reason to stay. But not enough."

"Is Korea that bad?" you asked, before Jaime could open his stupid mouth and say something out of place. "I'd love to hear about that. I wasn't as fortunate as Jaime was to enjoy your presence since yesterday."

From the corner of your eye you noticed how Jaime changed his position on the couch, and how he looked down, once again, to drink from his whiskey. A more than clear indication to revive your suspicions. Poor fool. If he were accused of something serious, he wouldn't last five minutes in an interrogation.

Anna's smile, on the other hand, lost some of its shine. But it could simply be because of your question and not because of the real reason for your words. You noticed her less breakable than Jaime, but still, her eyes when she saw him gave her away. Funny as well as worrying.

"It's... different," she said. "Studying there feels like hell where you are constantly elbowing each other with your mates. Nobody is... civilized. There is no unity."

She raised a finger to signal that she hadn't finished and took her glass from her to take a sip. This time she kept it in her hand instead of leaving it on the small table.

"People think they own your life..." she continued. "They think they can mold you to be what they want you to be. There is no such thing as your own path; everyone else puts it there for you."

Anna looked up to see a pair of faces filled with deep dismay. She then laughed and gave a low giggle.

"My apologies, I didn't want to go too deep down the rabbit hole," she said. "It's bad, yes. Modern in many ways, but archaic in everything else. Disgusting sexists, above all."

"I read that women don't want to have children with Korean men," you mentioned. "Big protests and all."

Anna shrugged.

"I don't blame them, no one would want to have children with those prats," she said, and she gave Jaime a quick glance before looking at her glass. "Besides... they're terrible in bed."

You two laughed. Jaime more than you. He wanted to hide something else, surely. Maybe it was something as stupid as him having found it more fun than you. But his eyes were the door to the soul. You knew how to read them better than anyone.

"Small cocks I assume," you said with a mischievous smile, and then drank from your glass with your gaze fixed on Anna.

"Embarrassingly small," she clarified. "On top of that, they don't care about a woman's pleasure."

"A big difference with the Europeans, it should be noted," Jaime intervened. "Don't you think that's a good reason to stay here?"

You frowned and turned to look at Jaime. That was out of line.

Anna looked at Jaime and gave a mocking laugh.

"Not while I've proven it myself, Jaime," she replied, and she picked up another grape to eat.

You'd already had enough of those two, and you were ready to get to the bottom of it by asking the question you didn't want to ask yet.

"Guys," they turned to look at you. "May I know what's going on between you two?"

Jaime and Anna looked at each other. Their faces showed that they were not prepared for that question. But they also looked embarrassed as they realized that perhaps they had given you just enough reasons to ask that question.

"I don't know what you mean, little cousin," Jaime responded with a nervous chuckle. "Wouldn't it be extraordinary to have our lovely cousin around?"

"Indeed," you nodded, stirred the ice in your glass and took a sip. The whiskey was already less than half full. "It's just that your irrepressible enthusiasm catches my attention, cousin. There's nothing to worry about... right?"

You and Jaime maintained eye contact. You didn't blink, seeking to force him to confess voluntarily. But that would never happen with Anna in that room.

"Noah?!" A new voice was heard inside the house. Elena. Looking for you. "Noah, where the hell are you?"

Elena's voice was heard closer and closer, until she found you. Jaime, Anna and you turned to see her. She seemed elated, excited.

"Here you are!" She said, and stood behind you to take your shoulders. "There's a friend of mine I want you to meet, come on!"

You looked up at Elena and then gave a helpful look to Jaime. He absolved himself of responsibility by shrugging his shoulders and waving you away. Convenient for him, to say the least.

"Is it very urgent, darling?" you asked Elena.

"It is!" she responded. "Otherwise I wouldn't be here! Come on, get up!"

Damn, what a damn bad time. You had no choice but to grab your glass and stand up with a sigh. You looked at Anna and Jaime. Cheeky bastards, they were saved for now.

"Sorry to leave you, folks," you said. "My presence is extremely in demand lately."

You looked at Anna and winked. She blew you a kiss with her hand in response. Then you stared at Jaime, not saying a single word as you left with Elena outside.

The person Elena wanted you to meet turned out to be a girl. You combined very well with her; she was very pretty, but also quite shy. That didn't mean anything bad for you, on the contrary it made you more interested in her. Within half an hour you had already exchanged numbers, and within an hour you were sure that you would see her again after that day.

The rest of Elena's friends also generally turned out to be a group of good lads. Some more chaotic than others, of course, but overall you were relieved to know that your cousin had a healthy and pleasant inner circle.

At that moment you were still talking to them, while drinking wine like everyone else, when your aunt approached you and put your hand on her shoulder.

"Oi, dear," she said, and you turned to look at her. "Have you seen Jaime and Anna? It's almost time to cut the cake and I don't see that pair anywhere!"

Fuck, Jaime and Anna. You had forgotten about them completely.

"Uh… no," you looked towards the house. "Not for like an hour."

Your aunt let out a tired breath and shook her head.

"Please go get them darling," she asked, squeezing your hand. "There can be no delays!"

"It will be done immediately, aunt," you nodded. "Just don't despair and keep your husband quiet."

"Go, then," she said, and let go of your hand.

You turned to Elena's group of friends.

"I'll be right back lads," you said, and looked at Elena. "Blame your irresponsible fool of a brother."

After saying goodbye you turned around, and with a sigh you walked straight towards the house.

As expected they were nowhere to be found on the ground floor. But, in the living room where the three of you were, there were still the glasses from which they were drinking. With just a little inspection you could tell that they must have left a short time ago, as the ice inside the glasses was barely melting, the sofas still had slight dents in the seats, and most importantly, you could still perceive Anna's unmistakable perfume in the air.

They had to still be right there inside the house, so you hurried up to the second floor. 

As soon as you went up the stairs you had a good range of possibilities to investigate, since it was a level almost as big as the first. Fortunately for you, just to your right was the first and most notable objective.

Jaime's room.

The silence in the house, especially there on the second floor, was absolute. A needle could be heard dropping onto the wooden floor. You weren't going to risk being overheard, so you walked as carefully and slowly as you could to the door of the room. It took about five steps to be in front.

You were going to knock on the door, but that would announce your presence, so you just pressed your ear against the cold varnished wood of the door.

Inside you heard moans. Male moans. And sounds of...

Without thinking twice you opened the door. Inside you found something that you expected, but that you still weren't ready to see.

In front of the lower edge of the bed were those two. Jaime was standing, and Anna was kneeling right in front of him. With his cock in her mouth.

As soon as they noticed your presence Jaime turned around to cover himself and Anna jumped to her feet.

"May I know what the fuck you guys are doing?!" you screeched, frowning. "Have you gone crazy or what?!"

"Noah!" Jaime exclaimed, already turning towards you once he put his cock back in his pants. "We can explain it..."

You walked into the room and slammed the door behind you.

"Oh yes, I'm just excited to hear the reason why you had your cock in your damn cousin's mouth!"

"It was my idea!" Anna intervened, putting herself between you and Jaime. "I'm sorry! We were really horny and... and..."

"Bloody fucking hell," you let out a snort, and put your hands over your face for a moment before looking at Jaime. "It's your sister's damn graduation celebration, mate, wasn't there another time?"

Anna stepped forward and placed a hand on your chest. She was now very close to you, and she was looking into your eyes.

"Again, it was my idea, Noah," she said, her voice lower and more reassuring. "Don't be so hard on Jaime."

"Anna, this is wrong," you said, matching her tone of voice. "I don't even have to explain why."

She was silent for a few seconds, and then looked down to scribble on your chest with her index finger.

"Is it really that bad?" she finally asked, and brought the scribbles up to your neck. You frowned. "I mean... we're not even close cousins, I've seen you guys like four times in my life."

"What the hell are you talking about? You share blood!" you said, somehow not being able to step back and walk away, even though you knew it was all wrong.

A giggle escaped her, and she looked back into your eyes with a raised eyebrow.

"Looks like you forgot that too, darling," she said, her voice now husky and sultry. "You've been staring at me all night..."

You immediately looked away. Your heart began to beat harder. Your clenched fists are a sign of how embarrassed you were for not being able to hide it even for a moment.

"Ah, you thought I wouldn't notice?" Anna asked. "You're terrible at dissembling. Unusual for a detective if you ask me."

"I... I think I should go," you said.

You took a step back to turn around, but Anna grabbed your hand and pulled you back to her. This time she pressed herself against you.

"Already?" she asked, with a tone of false surprise. "But you haven't even heard my proposal!"

Having her tight body pressed against yours short-circuited all your systems. You just wanted to run away, escape from that damn temptation that took hold of you with every second you spent near her in such an intimate environment.

"What fucking proposal, Anna," you said, reluctantly, avoiding putting your hands on her no matter how easy it was. "Jaime, can you put an end to this damn madness, please?"

But Jaime was not even remotely interested in doing so. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning on his hands while he watched Anna's progress with interest. Damn idiot. Every day you were more sure that your aunt drank too much damn brandy during her pregnancy.

"Oi oi, don't be so grumpy, darling," Anna said, with a couple of pats on your chest. "Listen to me well..." she stood on tiptoe and got dangerously close to your lips, but in the end she reached your ear. "You can just forget that I'm your distant cousin and let me suck your cock... or walk out that door and miss the opportunity for the rest of your life."

That had to be a damn joke. The hidden camera must be somewhere, you were sure. How the hell did you end up in a situation like this? If you had told your self from five hours ago he would probably have told you that the joint you had smoked had been way too big and thick.

However, if you were honest with yourself, you were crazy about that damn woman. But that was your heart—and kinda your cock—clouding your thoughts. Your brain, on the other hand, was screaming at you and pulling you by the ears to convince you that it was a bad idea, that it was very wrong. You had to agree with him on that, obviously.

But fuck it, you only live once.

You sighed, and turned around to walk towards the exit. Anna may have thought you would leave, but what you did was lock the door.

"Only if the little pillock is okay with it," you said, turning around, and pointed your chin at Jaime.

He frowned and pointed at himself.

"Yes, you," you nodded. "Give your bloody opinion before I regret it."

"You ask as if you don't know the answer."

You looked at Anna, and rubbed the side of her face with the back of your hand.

"You've got the green light, darling," you said, and lowered the back of your hand to her shoulder, and then gently down her arm. "Make it worth it."

She gave you a sly smile and with a gentle movement she put her hand on your bulge, squeezing it and massaging it a few times while biting her lower lip. At first you felt something strange, perhaps the still lingering knowledge that it was very wrong. But it was quickly overshadowed by your lust.

"Everything I do is worth it," she said, and then she kissed you without even hesitation.

Even after feeling her lips against yours, you couldn't help but put some opposition to your desires to touch her. But as Anna deepened the kiss and continued massaging your cock, your moral ties gradually went to hell. You ended up wrapping your arms around her tight body and clinging to her small waist.

After a few brief seconds Anna separated from your lips, and with her hands on your chest she subtly fell to her knees. Jaime stood next to you, and Anna adjusted herself so she was between the two of you. She then brought a hand to each hard bulge to squeeze them.

"Don't even think about looking me in the eyes, Jaime Egerton," you said, just watching as Anna unbuttoned both of your pants and lowered the zippers. "I want to completely forget that you are in this room."

"Bold of you to think that I want to see your dumb face while I have sex, little cousin," Jaime responded, as Anna now pulled down your pants and boxers, your cocks now free and right in front of her face.

You were about to retort to Jaime, until Anna took you inside her small, pretty, warm mouth. Then your words were replaced by a small moan. You closed your eyes for a moment, to enjoy how she sucked those first centimeters; when you opened them you found her gaze fixed on you, while she reached the middle of your shaft with sensual pumps.

Seconds later she did the same with Jaime. It seemed strange and perhaps uncomfortable to see your cousin's cock so close, especially under those circumstances, but all your attention was drawn by Anna, who despite being in the middle of such a lewd and carnal act, still maintained that elegant air that was natural to her, with slow, graceful and deep movements.

Anna pulled Jaime out of her mouth and moved towards you. She grabbed you by the base and pressed your cock against your abdomen to kiss and lick the entire backside.

"Mmm, it seems that good size comes from genetics," she said with a small moan, and put one of your balls in her mouth to suck on it while she slowly masturbated you, just like she did to Jaime with the other hand. "I wonder how good you would feel deep inside my pussy."

With that she returned you into her mouth, and continued with those deep, sensual pumps until she was halfway down your shaft. She increased the speed, but despite this she kept it to a clean blowjob, devoid of messiness. That didn't mean it didn't feel good, but on the contrary, your fists were clenched as well as your jaw, a clear sign that you were going crazy.

A few glorious minutes passed as she alternated between each cock, sucking each one with dedication and with moans that became increasingly needier, both from her and from the two of you. Then you, already crazy to see more of her, reached behind her back and, finding the zipper of her top, you pulled it down and took it off her. A pair of small, round, firm tits were left free; you took your hand to one of them, and Jaime took the other. You both then kneaded each breast and played with her nipples.

Anna's response was to moan into your cock and then take it out for a moment, to also take Jaime's cock and take both of them into her mouth at the same time, in an act of oral flexibility that left you pleasantly surprised. She used her tongue to lick both shafts, while she pumped her head a little faster. Seconds later she pulled you both out of her mouth, and then she gave you both slow deepthroats separately.

"Fuck, enough," she said, pulling you out of her mouth as she masturbated you. "I need one of you two inside of me, immediately."

Anna stood up, but just when you were going to put your hands on her to finish undressing her, three knocks in a row were heard on the door.

Your soul left your body, and your heart stopped beating for a second.

"Jaime?" your aunt's voice from the other side. You three were paralyzed with fright, with horrified expressions. "Dear, are you there?"

You and Jaime exchanged glances. You could only gesture for him to respond quickly.

"Y-yes mother!" he responded. "I'm here with Noah looking for apartments in London, but we don't know where Anna is."

"Well then go out and look for her!" she exclaimed. "It's time to cut the cake! Hurry up!"

You waited a few long, tense seconds to make sure your aunt had already come down. Only after making sure she wasn’t up there, you started dressing quickly.

"Don't think you'll get rid of me," Anna said, walking toward the door once she was dressed. "We'll continue later. And you'll fuck me so hard I'll have to stay another day because of the pain."

She didn't even let you respond; she blew you both a kiss, opened the door and left. You and Jaime stayed silent for a few seconds.

"Noah..."

You raised your arm and finger to signal him to shut up.

"I don't care and I don't want to know, Jaime, now let's go."

"Yes," he nodded with a sigh, and the two of you left the room shortly after.

The rest of the celebration continued as normal. No one suspected anything about the three of you, and it's not like you left too many clues; even though you felt the tension, you made sure not to give any signs that might raise suspicion. What was true was that you were dying to fuck that damn woman, and this time you didn't bother hiding your eyes, so she knew it very well, and she let you know it with the little mischievous smiles that she gave you from time to time.

Your initial plan wasn’t to stay the night that day, so at the end of the party you had to put on a little theater to achieve your goal.

"Oi, auntie," you said, approaching her. "My car broke down, and I'm afraid I won't be able to fix it until next morning, I was wondering if I could stay tonight."

There was really no need to use that lie; you could just stay and that's it. But you wanted to use what little modesty you had left to have a decent excuse.

"Of course you can, darling!" she told you, patting both of your arms. "You know very well that you are always welcome with us. But you will have to stay with Jaime; Anna is using the guest room."

"Oh there’s no problem, thanks aunt! I'll go upstairs."

You turned around and walked towards the house.

"Just don't make a fuss, you cheeky monkeys!" she said behind your back, and you walked inside with a chuckle.

You went directly to Jaime's room, where he was lying on his bed, looking at his phone with one leg resting on the floor and the other up on the mattress.

"Know?" you said, closing the door behind you. "You're a big lad already, why the hell do you still live here?"

"Because I don't have a wife, because I work with father and because mother won't leave me until I get married," he answered without taking his eyes off the screen.

"Makes sense," you nodded, and walked towards his closet. "Where do you keep the inflatable mattress? I'm sure you had one."

Jaime didn't respond, and when you turned your head to look at him he was pointing under his desk, where the mattress was folded.

"Ah, how thoughtful of you."

"I don't think you'll need it tonight, anyway," he replied, as you picked up the mattress and carried it to the side of the bed.

Sure, Anna. You almost forgot.

"Is she...?" You nodded towards the wall to your left—behind it was the guest room—, as you unfolded the mattress and grabbed the air pump from inside.

"Yes, but we can't go right now. Everyone is still awake."

"I thought Elena was going with her friends tonight."

"And she will, but father must be giving them some boring lecture about life."

You sighed, and grabbed the air pump to connect the nozzle to the mattress and start inflating it.

"We'll wait, then."

Unfortunately that was what you had to do for the next three hours. You two avoided talking about the subject, not wanting to make the atmosphere uncomfortable with moralistic and ethical debates at this point; you would have time for that later, when that damn madness you were about to commit happened.

It was 2 in the morning when you were sure that everyone in the house was already asleep and that Elena had already left. You and Jaime left the room, finding yourself face to face with the now dark second floor. It wasn't necessary to turn on any lights, and you didn't want to do it either to avoid attracting attention. The guest room was right next door, so you only had to walk along the wall until you reached the door. You were the one in charge of opening it, and as soon as you entered, your eyes almost popped out of their sockets at what you saw to your left.

Anna was lying on her back in the center of the bed, one leg over the other while she looked at her phone. She was completely naked, and with her brown hair now down. The only thing she still had on was the diamond choker. But everything else was visible: her long toned legs—with a sexy mole on one of her thighs—, her flat, toned tummy—another mole there, above her navel—, and the pair of pretty tits that you had already groped a few hours ago.

She looked at you and giggled mischievously at your stunned faces as you walked inside and closed the door behind you. She then left her phone on the nightstand and turned to lie face down, to also show you a wonderful small but round, firm and beautifully shaped ass.

"I thought you'd never come, gentlemen," she said, shuffling her feet back and forth. "I was starting to get cold."

"It's time to warm up a little, then," Jaime said, taking off his shirt. You imitated him.

You both stood at the edge of the bed, and Anna knelt up to get closer to the two of you. She went straight towards you to crash her lips against yours, and then the groping on both sides started right away. Her hands each went to your cock and Jaime's, squeezing and massaging each bulge above your pajama pants. In response, one hand of yours went to her ass, to grab that firm, perfect piece of meat, and the other went between her legs, to finger her perfectly shaved and smooth little pussy. Jaime also made his part, with kisses on her long neck and his hands on her waist and her tits.

"You brought condoms, right?" She asked against your lips, and then she pulled both cocks out of your pants, while you rubbed her clit and her folds. "I'm not going to fuck without protection."

You took your wallet out of your pocket and threw it on the bed next to her.

"We don't want an Egerton Egerton in the family, don't worry," you said with a giggle.

She laughed too, and she pulled both of your pants and boxers down to the end of your thighs to free your cocks. You took your hands off her so you could undress quickly, and when you were all completely naked, you continued touching her everywhere.

Anna was now kissing Jaime while she stroked both cocks. You were now able to concentrate entirely on kissing every part of her that you had not had the joy of kissing before, from her neck, her shoulders and finally her tits; you brought one to your mouth to suck and lick while you shoved two fingers inside her tight and already wet pussy. She moaned against Jaime's lips, and to get another moan out of her, you brought your free hand between her buttocks to also rub her butthole with your finger.

You fingered her for a few long seconds, taking the full length of your fingers in and out of her with gradually faster pumps. You also stuck a saliva-soaked finger into her butthole, which to your surprise presented almost no opposition as you pumped it.

She moaned again and again, her tight body writhing slightly with pleasure at the three fingers pumping into two of her holes. But after a few seconds she separated from Jaime's lips with a squeal and put her hand on your wrist.

"Oh, for heaven's fucking sake," she complained. "I need a cock inside me, right now."

"I'll do the honors," you said immediately, before Jaime beat you to it, and you pulled your fingers out of her pussy and out of her ass.

Anna moved away from the two of you and moved towards the center of the bed, settling on her hands and knees with a perfect curvature of her back, making her small, round ass look like the eighth wonder of the world. You climbed onto the bed and positioned yourself behind her, while Jaime did so in front of her.

The first thing any other man desperate for cum would do is put on the condom and dive right in, but that perfect wet pussy was too stupidly tempting, so before you gave her what she demanded, you leaned down and you planted your mouth directly on her slit.

"Oh fuck!" she moaned, tensing with her fingers gripping the sheet. "I thought I told you that..."

The next thing you heard was a choking sound and small gags. Jaime had put his cock in her mouth to shut her up, and from what you could hear, Anna had gladly accepted it, since now only sucking sounds combined with cute moans could be heard.

You then concentrated entirely on eating that deliciously soft pussy, with both hands on her buttocks, squeezing firmly as you kissed and licked between her folds. Anna was absolutely loving it; she pushed her ass against your face, smothering you between her buttocks. In response you moved your tongue up to her butthole, causing even more squirms from her, and just to spice it up a little, you gave her a little spank.

After a few seconds of licking, kissing and feasting on both her pussy and her ass, you finally knelt up and grabbed your wallet to open it, take out a condom, open it and quickly put it on. Then, with your cock ready, you placed a hand on her left buttock and rubbed yourself between her folds a few times before slowly entering her.

Anna let out a high-pitched squeal against Jaime's cock, who had her hair in a ponytail as he began pumping his hips and fucking her mouth faster and faster. You soon joined in the effort, placing both hands on her buttocks before beginning to fuck her pussy.

"Holy shit," you gasped, watching your cock slide in and out of her pussy, which had the hell of a grip. "So fucking tight."

After a few seconds, both you and Jaime put burning coal in your engines and made a sudden gear change. Now you were both fucking her from both sides in a frenzy of thrusting and moaning. On one hand you could hear the gagging sounds thanks to Jaime's cock constantly hitting her throat, and on the other the sound of your pelvis in non-stop collisions against her ass.

A little over a minute passed before Anna latched onto Jaime's thighs and exploded in an intense wave of spasms and screams that made her pull his cock out of her mouth. She was moaning a little too loudly, so Jaime grabbed her hair and shoved two fingers into her mouth until her orgasm dissipated.

"My turn," Jaime said, and you knew he was talking to you.

You reluctantly pulled out from inside Anna's pussy, and swapped places with Jaime. But first he grabbed her by her waist and made her lie on her back. She spread her legs wide for him, and made eye contact with you.

"Are you having fun, handsome?" she asked in a husky, sultry tone of voice, her chin stained with saliva. Jaime, meanwhile, put on a condom.

"I'm the one who should ask you that question," you replied, and put your cock on top of her face to rub it from side to side. "You seem to be in paradise."

"Looks like you're not the only one who's horrible at dissembling, then," she said with a giggle, and in one of those she grabbed your cock to suck on it with the condom still on.

Seconds later Jaime took his cock inside her, and Anna moaned around your cock. He grabbed her thighs and pressed them back, while you put your left hand on her neck, and your right on one of her tits, before you started pumping your hips up and down and fuck her mouth.

Anna became a mess of moans and writhing when Jaime began to fuck her hard, and all that feedback was enjoyed by your cock, which received constant vibrations inside her warm mouth. That made you moan with pleasure, the fingers of your left hand tightly clinging to her neck and your right hand now on her attractive midriff.

Jaime on the other hand was stronger and stronger. Now he had brought Anna's legs together and placed her ankles over his right shoulder. He hugged her thighs, and between gasps he hammered her pussy as fast as he could.

You were also going at full speed, your cock entering and leaving her mouth at a pace that could perfectly be harmful to her, but she seemed to love how your cock reached her throat and bulged it, because she even used her tongue on the back of your shaft, and spit all the accumulated saliva upwards to make it a sloppy mess.

That was feeling way too good, and your orgasm was right around the corner, so you waited a few seconds before pulling out of her mouth, taking off the condom, and fucking her mouth again until you exploded inside her throat.

The timing was perfect, because just as you shot your huge, hot load into her mouth, Jaime made her reach a second orgasm in which she couldn't even moan, only wriggle like a rag doll and tense her muscles, choking on your cock and your cum.

Apparently she was squeezing like hell, because Jaime also came a few seconds later, fucking her through her orgasm. He then, a moment later, pulled his cock out of her and removed the cum-filled condom to throw it on the floor. You also left her mouth.

"Oh god… god!" she moaned after taking a deep breath. "Please don't stop, take my ass!"

"You're lucky I have a condom left, darling," you told her, caressing the side of her face with the back of your hand.

"Me too," Jaime mentioned, still panting. "Have you ever had two cocks inside you at the same time?"

"I haven't had the pleasure, dear," she replied, looking at him. "But I would love for you two to please me."

Jaime grabbed his pants and took out one last condom, which he put on in a matter of seconds. Then he went and lay down next to her.

"Come and ride me then, princess," he said. "Noah, you take her from behind. I know you love that view."

"I told you not to fucking talk to me, Jaime," you reiterated with a sigh, reaching into your wallet to pull out another condom.

Anna mounted Jaime after putting extra effort on her legs, which were already shaking. She adjusted her thighs on either side of his waist, while you put on the condom and positioned yourself over Jaime's legs and directly behind her.

"Don't you need lube for these things?" you asked, and spit between her buttocks to spread the saliva on the outside and inside of her butthole.

"Saliva will do it," she said, lifting her hips so that Jaime held his cock straight and she could impale herself on it. "Mmmgh!" she moaned, again with a cock deep in her pussy, then she looked at you over her shoulder. "You just fucking do it, I love doing it raw."

You laughed and pressed the tip of your cock against her butthole, while Jaime pumped his hips up and down in and out of her pussy.

"You'd think Anna Egerton was an elegant and refined damsel even in bed," you said, pressing forward to take your first few inches into her ass.

Anna threw her neck back and let out a painstakingly suppressed scream, followed by a grunt of pleasure, nails digging into Jaime's chest as you slowly sank to the bottom of her butthole and he fucked her patiently, knowing that you hadn't started yet.

A few seconds later, when you were completely inside her and you gave her a few pumps to get her used to it, the real debauchery began, dirty and disastrous.

You and Jaime fucked her mercilessly, hard and fast, him destroying her pussy and you destroying her ass. Jaime had one of her tits in her mouth, and both of his arms wrapped around her torso to hold her tightly. You, for your part, had her long, beautiful, shiny brown hair in a messy ponytail, with your free hand placed on one of her buttocks.

After a few long seconds you didn't even care about regulating her moans, no matter how loud they were, you were so absorbed in pleasure that the possible consequences of making too much of a fuss and being discovered did not cross your mind. In a way you could be somewhat calm, since that room was quite far from the master bedroom, but still, you were playing with fire.

But you knew perfectly well that you were playing with fire, and you were loving getting burned with it. Anna's body was a damn delight, a complete confection baked by fucking Aphrodite herself. It was simply hot in every possible part, but without a doubt your favorite part was that beautiful ass, which at that moment you were jiggling with every thrust.

"Mmmgh fuck fuck fuck yes!" she moaned, her neck going back from the force of your pull. "Hard, fast! Destroy me like a fucking filthy whore!"

That was certainly not the expected behavior of a refined damsel with duchess wood. Funny, to say the least.

You gave her another spank, and then another harder one on the same buttock. She loved that, as she screamed in pleasure and looked at you with lust-filled eyes every time your hand hit her skin. You soon brought her to a third orgasm, but that didn't stop you.

"Come here," you ordered, and you climbed out of her ass to go and stand on the side of the bed.

They both looked at you and were ready to get up, but Jaime had to carry Anna out of bed, because her legs were so shaky that it would be impossible for her to stand up.

Jaime released her in front of you, and you wrapped your arms around her body to pick her up and hold her by her thighs. She immediately rested her back on Jaime's chest, so her weight didn't fall solely on you. Her arms went behind, holding on to Jaime's head with her eyes on you, while you entered her pussy and Jaime entered her ass.

A new segment of using Anna as a cute, submissive sex doll began, only this time you had the privilege of looking straight into her eyes while you fucked her tight ass at full gear.

Her legs just wouldn't stop shaking, and she wouldn't stop writhing between desperate moans, tears in her eyes. She let her head fall back onto Jaime's shoulder, allowing herself to be manipulated by you like a rag doll while she pulled him on his hair. Then she brought a hand to her mouth, and squeezed her eyes shut as a fourth orgasm hit her.

Anna instinctively bit the side of her hand, muffling loud screams and moans against it. She did it perhaps too hard, because when she let go of her hand, she left all of her teeth marked in an intense red on her own skin, one of the marks even letting out a droplet of blood.

She then simply collapsed and became heavier, so that you and Jaime had to double your efforts to hold her up in the air. She was still conscious, as her eyes were open and she was biting her lip, but she wasn't blinking, and she wasn't moving either, she was just so overwhelmed with pleasure that her brain didn't react.

Fortunately for her you didn't take long to give the last few thrusts to her pussy before you exploded, in what had been one of the most electrifying and mindblowing orgasms you had ever experienced. Jaime followed closely behind you, also cumming between slow pumps in and out of her.

You filled Anna's tits with kisses and hickeys, while Jaime kissed her neck and the side of her face, treating her like the princess she was. After a few seconds you both came out of her, while her body was still shaking as if she were being given mini electric shocks.

"Maybe..." she said in a small voice. "Maybe I will end up staying here in the UK."

Then, only then, you looked Jaime in the eyes. Curiously you met his worried gaze, a reflection of your own. You didn't say anything, but you knew that that damn woman would have a noose around your neck for a long time.

You were screwed.

---------------------------------

As always. Thanks for reading! MASTERLIST HERE!

[luciferlaughs]

Bryan Kohberger - What We Know So Far

In the early morning hours of November 13th, 2022, the bodies of four college students were found stabbed to death in their off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho. The students were identified 21-year-old Madison Mogen, 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves, 20-year-old Xana Kernodle, and 20-year-old Ethan Chapin, who were all studying at the University of Idaho. 

Forensic evidence and surveillance footage linked 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger to the quadruple homicide, a criminal justice PhD student at the University of Washington, leaving many to wonder what Bryan’s connection was--if any--to the victims. 

As it’s so early on in the investigation, not much is known about Bryan’s life before his arrest on December 30th. He grew up in eastern Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountain. He grew up with his father, who was a maintenance worker, his mother, who worked in the school system, and two older sisters. 

Former high school friends of Bryan say he was bullied for being overweight. In his senior year of high school, he lost 100 lbs. But with his physical transformation also came an attitude switch. He became more physically aggressive and arrogant toward others. Not long after, he developed a heroin addiction, which made him more secluded and self-destructive. 

Years later, Bryan tried to sober up and get his life back on track.He worked security for the Pleasant Valley School District and was attending Pennsylvania's Northampton Community College, where he received his associate’s degree in 2018 before completing his undergrad at DeSales University in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 2020. He graduated with a master of arts in criminal justice in June 2022 where he studied under forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland who interviewed the BTK serial killer and wrote a book on him.

During his master studies, Bryan made the following post on Reddit:

Hello, my name is Bryan and I am inviting you to participate in a research project that seeks to understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime.

In particular, this study seeks to understand the story behind your most recent criminal offense, with an emphasis on your thoughts and feelings throughout your experience.

After completing his master’s, he enrolled as a PhD student in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University in August, where he also worked as a teaching assistant. But it wasn’t long before Bryan ran into some trouble. Several times, meetings were arranged with faculty members to discuss Bryan’s misogynistic attitude in the way he interacted with women and graded their papers versus their male peers. Furthermore, Bryan reportedly had gotten into many altercations with one of his professors. Days before his arrest, Bryan was eventually fired as a TA for his behaviour. 

[valkyries-things]

GRACE COOLIDGE // FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES

“She was the wife of the 30th president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge. She was the first lady of the United States from 1923 to 1929 and the second lady of the United States from 1921 to 1923. She graduated from the University of Vermont in 1902 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in teaching and joined the Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech in Northampton, Massachusetts, to teach deaf children to communicate by lip reading, rather than by signing.”

[valleyledger]

NCC Partners with Thomas Jefferson University to Provide Tuition Breaks for Undergrad, Graduate, and Doctoral Programs

Community College Educational Alliance Program includes current NCC employees and graduates BETHLEHEM, PA – Northampton Community College (NCC) has partnered with Thomas Jefferson University to provide the NCC community with reduced tuition for a wide range of degree and certificate programs. The agreement covers tuition discounts for NCC staff, faculty, graduates, and active members of the Board…

[xtruss]

Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu, The First Lady of Physics

Photo Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu at a Gathering at Columbia University in 1958.

Chien-Shiung Wu is a Pioneer and Pivotal Figure in the History of Physics. An immigrant to the United States from China, she did important work for the Manhattan Project and in experimental physics. Her crucial contribution to particle physics was, however, ignored by the Nobel Prize committee when it awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Chien-Shiung was born on May 31, 1912 and raised in a small fishing town just north of Shanghai, China. She had two brothers and was the middle child. Although relatively uncommon for girls to attend school, Chien-Shiung went to Mingde Women’s Vocational Continuing School. It was founded by her father, who believed that girls should receive an education.

In 1934, Chien-Shiung graduated at the top of her class with a degree in physics from the National Central University in Nanking, China (now known as Nanjing University). After graduation, she worked in a physics lab in China. Her mentor, Dr. Jing-Wei Gu, another woman working in the field of physics, encouraged Chien-Shiung to continue her education in the United States.

With financial support from her uncle, Chien-Shiung took a ship to San Francisco. She was likely processed for immigration to the United States at the Angel Island Immigration Station located in San Francisco Bay.[1] She enrolled at the University of California Berkeley in 1936.[2] Her academic advisor was Ernest Lawrence. In 1939, while Chien-Shiung was still his student, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for inventing the cyclotron particle accelerator. In 1940, Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu graduated with her PhD in physics.

In 1942, she married Luke Chia-Liu Yuan, who she had met during her studies at Berkeley. Neither of their families were able to attend the wedding because of World War II fighting in the Pacific. They moved to the east coast where Dr. Wu taught physics at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts and at Princeton University in New Jersey.[3] She was the first woman hired as faculty in the Physics Department at Princeton. Shortly afterwards, in 1944, Dr. Wu took a job at Columbia University in New York City, and joined the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project researchers were working towards the creation of the atomic bomb. Chein-Shiung’s research included improving Geiger counters for the detection of radiation and the enrichment of uranium in large quantities.

Once communications with China were restored after World War II, Wu received a letter from her family. She was making plans to visit them when the Chinese Civil War started, and her travel was put on hold. Later, her father told her not to return to Communist China. She was not able to return to China until 1973. By then, her parents had died and their tombs destroyed. Both her uncle and brother were also gone, killed in the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Luke and Chien-Shiung had a son in 1947. Following in his parents’ footsteps, he also became a nuclear scientist. In 1954, Chien-Shiung became a US Citizen.

After World War II, Dr. Wu continued on at Columbia University, becoming a full professor in 1958 and the Michael I. Pupin Professor of Physics in 1973. In 1975, her pay as a professor was raised to be equal to that of her male colleagues. Among her important contributions to physics was the first confirmation of Enrico Fermi’s 1933 theory of beta decay (how radioactive atoms become more stable and less radioactive). She also played a crucial role in an important advancement in atomic science. In 1956, physicists Tsung-Dao Lee (at Columbia University) and Chen Ning Yang (Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton) asked Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu to create an experiment. The purpose was to test their theory that the conservation of parity did not apply during beta decay. The conservation of parity is the scientific principle that identical nuclear particles act alike. Dr. Wu agreed to design the experiment. She carried it out at laboratories at the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology) in Washington, DC.[4]

To test the theory, she put cobalt-60 (a radioactive variety of cobalt) into a strong electromagnetic field at temperatures near absolute zero. The cold helped eliminate the effect of temperature on the atoms. If the conservation of parity held true, particles expelled by the cobalt-60 as it decayed from radioactive to stable should fly off in all directions. What she observed was that more particles flew off in one direction (the direction opposite to the spin of the nucleus). Therefore, conservation of parity did not happen during beta decay. The experiment, known as the Wu Experiment, is named for her. Yet, in 1957, Lee and Yang were awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics for their work. Like the contributions of many women in science at the time, Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu’s work was not acknowledged. In 1964, at a symposium at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she asked her audience “whether the tiny atoms and nuclei, or the mathematical symbols, or the DNA molecules have any preference for either masculine or feminine treatment.”

Chien-Shiung Wu continued to be a leader in the field of physics, and her work even crossed over to biology and medicine. Some of her research included looking at the molecular changes in red blood cells that cause sickle-cell disease. Although denied recognition with the Nobel Prize, Dr. Wu received many honors during her career. These include being only the seventh woman elected to the National Academy of Sciences (1958); the Comstock Prize in Physics given by the National Academy of Sciences; the first woman to be president of the American Physical Society (1975); the first person to receive the Wolf Prize in Physics (1978); and the first honorary doctorate awarded by Princeton University to a woman. In 1990, she had an asteroid named after her (2752 Wu Chien-Shiung).

Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu retired from Columbia in 1981 and died of a stroke in New York City on February 16, 1997. Her ashes were buried in the courtyard of the Mingde School in China that she had attended as a girl.

Notes:

[1] Angel Island was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 14, 1971 and designated a National Landmark Historic District on December 9, 1997.

[2] Sather Tower, also known as The Campanile, is a highly visible and noted feature of the University of California Berkeley campus. Built in 1914, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 25, 1982.

[3] Much of Princeton University’s campus is part of the Princeton Historic District. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 27, 1975.

[4] None of the buildings from the National Bureau of Standards campus formerly located in Washington, DC survive. The agency is now known as the National Institute for Science and Technology.

Chien-Shiung Wu (31 May 1912 – 16 February 1997)! Chinese-American Particle Physicist Who Was Denied A Nobel Prize

— By Richard Webb

At its heart, physics is the study of symmetries. In the 1950s Chien-Shiung Wu made a fundamental discovery about how under certain circumstances a fundamental symmetry of the particle world, known as parity symmetry, could be broken – but she never got full recognition for the achievement.

Symmetry is important because by observing how, under certain circumstances, processes always work in the same way – and the circumstances under which they work differently – we can begin to draw up precise mathematical laws about how the world works. Parity symmetry says that particle processes – collisions, decays – should happen in the same way if all the positions and orientations of the particles involved are flipped in the mirror.

By the mid-20th century, the field of particle physics was booming with the construction of new particle accelerators, and there were various hints that parity symmetry might not always hold. In 1956, theorists Tsung-Dao Lee and Yang Chen-Ning showed that it was valid for interactions involving electromagnetism and the strong nuclear force. But they found no evidence for it holding in interactions involving the weak nuclear force, the one responsible for processes including radioactive beta decay. They also drew a rough design of an experiment for testing the idea of “parity symmetry breaking” out in the laboratory.

Enter Chien-Shiung Wu. Born in China in 1912, she moved to the US to do a PhD in 1936. She never saw her parents again: the intervention of the second world war and the accession of the communists to power in China meant Wu didn’t return to her birth country until 1973, and then only as tourist.

“Parity Violation Was Subsequently Confirmed By Many Experiments, Led To Lee And Yang Sharing The 1957 Nobel Prize For Physics – While Wu Got Nothing. It Seems She Was The Victim Of A Sexism Very Prevalent In Physics Then And Probably Even Now.”

Throwing herself into her work the University of California, Berkeley, home of a pioneering particle accelerator, she became an authority on beta decay, and worked on the wartime Manhattan project to build the first nuclear bomb.

In 1956, Wu designed and built an experiment at the US National Bureau of Standards in Maryland to test Lee and Yang’s idea. It involved cooling atoms of beta-radioactive cobalt-60 atoms to cryogenic temperatures in a constant magnetic field to ensure they were all lined up the same way. If these cobalt atoms then emitted beta particles asymmetrically in space, that was a cast-iron indication that parity conservation was indeed violated.

And so it proved to be. This fundamental discovery about the way the world works has huge ramifications – not least, it could provide a hint for how a breaking symmetry caused the universe to be filled with matter in the first place. Parity violation was subsequently confirmed by many experiments, led to Lee and Yang sharing the 1957 Nobel prize for physics – while Wu got nothing.

It seems she was the victim of a sexism very prevalent in physics then and probably even now. Wu went on to do much more seminal work, based at Colombia University in New York. She became an outspoken critic both of gender discrimination in science and the repressive policies of the Chinese government. She died in New York City in 1997 at the age of 84.

Significance: Physicist

Place of Birth: Near Shanghai, China

Date of Birth: May 31, 1912

Place of Death: New York City

Date of Death: February 16, 1997

Place of Burial: Near Shanghai, China

Cemetery Name: Ashes Buried in the Courtyard of the Mingde School

[mailboxesetcuk]

Building on success

Paul Lai is one of MBE UK & Ireland’s longest-serving franchise partners. He started his career in distribution, managing warehouses and inventory, and had been running a sub-Post Office and office supplies business before he opened his Letchworth centre in September 1999.

Paul, who has a master’s degree in distribution and graduated as an industrial engineer, explains that he had been developing a plan of something very similar to the MBE business model, which is why he was initially attracted to the franchise opportunity. Then, as now, the mix of print and copy, mailbox rental, shipping and courier services provided a broad appeal for businesses and consumers alike. “That’s why I decided that instead of doing it on my own, I would go with MBE,” says Paul.

He enjoyed the challenge of running his Letchworth store. “Back then, my intention was never to open other stores. I just wanted to make sure I stayed connected with how the business was run.” Talking about the changes he has seen since 1999, Paul says. “It has changed over time, of course. But when I first started, MBE was going down the route of automation. Now, of course, automation is coming back, so in some ways it feels as though we have gone full circle.

“In economic terms, I think things are similar now to the way they were in the late 90s. But one of the challenges we face today is that there are a lot of copycats in the marketplace.” Key differentiators for MBE are its 140+ high-street centres offering the biggest choice of leading carriers, together with specialist services such as the design of both digital and physical marketing resources, plus its white-glove Auction Logistics offering for buyers and sellers of fine art, antiques and collectables.

Spotting an opportunity

Paul’s knowledge and expertise as a franchise partner led to his becoming an area developer for MBE’s northern home counties group of stores.

“I support all new franchise partners during the period leading up to the opening of their stores and give them ongoing support. We do get a lot of interest, and it’s a case of ensuring applicants understand what’s involved, the work they need to put in, and how they can build their business into something that will bring them the income they’re looking for.

“There are a lot of opportunities right now, as some of the longer-established franchise partners are coming up to retirement.” As an entrepreneur, Paul keeps his eye on the property market, which is how he spotted that a shop in Northampton was coming up for sale. “It was in the right location at a reasonable price, so I grabbed it,” he explains.

“The location means it has a lot of potential to become a high-performing store. The community in Northampton is very loyal to local businesses and they do prefer to buy locally if possible. People there are very friendly and they value the businesses that are prepared to build lasting relationships with them. Gold Street, where the new store is located, used to be the high street in Northampton. It’s still a great location with lots of thriving stores, which means it has plenty of footfall. With a university about three miles down the road and lots of local businesses, this location has plenty of potential.”

Paul’s advice to new MBE franchise partners looking to create a successful centre is that strong relationships are key success. “Build relationships not only with your customers, but across the whole business,” he says.

“Whether you are looking to open a new centre or acquire an existing one, the energy you put into sales prospecting, coupled with support from your area developer and MBE head office teams, will help your business grow more quickly.

“Tap into all the seminars and training that are offered by the head office team and make the most of all their marketing activity. And finally, remember to watch your cashflow. That’s vital.”

MBE Northampton opens on 9th October. To find out more about the store, including the full address, telephone number and opening times, click here.

[saramiah]

Presentation Skills

We had a presentation presentation. We were tasked on researching a good public speaker as a group. We were given Andi Puddicombe.

Andi Puddicombe is a British meditation teacher, author, and co-founder of the meditation app Headspace. He was born in Bristol, England, in 1972.

Puddicombe started his career as a meditation teacher after he spent ten years as a Buddhist monk in Nepal, India and Burma. He then returned to the UK and completed a degree in Circus Arts before co-founding Headspace in 2010 with Rich Pierson, an advertising executive.

Headspace is a meditation app that provides guided meditation sessions to help people improve their mental health and well-being. The app has been very successful, with over 70 million users in more than 190 countries.

Puddicombe has also written several books on mindfulness and meditation, including "The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness" and "The Headspace Guide to a Mindful Pregnancy." He has been featured in numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, The Guardian, and Time magazine.

Puddicombe's work has been influential in popularising meditation and mindfulness in the West, and he has been recognized for his contributions to the field. In 2014, he was awarded a "disruptive innovation" award by the Harvard Business Review, and in 2018, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Northampton.

Andi Puddicombe is known for his engaging and accessible presenting skills, which he has used to share his knowledge and expertise on mindfulness and meditation with a wide audience. He has a warm and approachable style, and his presentations are often infused with humor and personal anecdotes.

In addition to his work on the Headspace app and his books on mindfulness, Puddicombe has given numerous talks and presentations on meditation and mental health. He has spoken at events such as TEDGlobal and the Wisdom 2.0 Conference, and has appeared on TV shows such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Today Show.

Puddicombe's presenting skills are characterized by his ability to break down complex ideas into simple and relatable terms, and to connect with audiences on a personal level. He is skilled at using storytelling and visual aids to convey his message, and is able to adapt his style to different audiences and contexts.

Overall, Puddicombe's presenting skills have played an important role in helping to make meditation and mindfulness more accessible to people around the world.

These are some aspects of Andi Puddicombe's presenting skills that make him stand out as a good public speaker:

Clarity: Puddicombe is very clear in his communication, which helps to make his presentations easy to understand. He uses simple language and avoids jargon, which makes his ideas accessible to a wide range of people.

Authenticity: Puddicombe comes across as authentic and genuine in his presentations. He shares personal anecdotes and speaks from his own experience, which helps to establish a connection with the audience.

Engagement: Puddicombe is skilled at engaging his audience and keeping their attention throughout his presentations. He uses humor and storytelling to make his talks interesting and relatable, and he often incorporates visual aids to illustrate his points.

Adaptability: Puddicombe is able to adapt his presentation style to different audiences and contexts. Whether he is speaking to a group of corporate executives or a group of schoolchildren, he is able to tailor his message to meet their specific needs and interests.

Authority: Puddicombe is an expert in his field, and his presentations reflect his deep knowledge and understanding of meditation and mindfulness. He is able to convey complex ideas in a way that is accessible and easy to understand, which helps to establish his authority and credibility.

Overall, Puddicombe's presenting skills are characterised by his clarity, authenticity, engagement, adaptability and authority. These skills have helped to make him a highly effective and influential speaker in the field of mindfulness and meditation.

[educationpanache]

Is it possible to study in the UK without IELTS?

When it comes to studying in the UK, many students worry if they can do so without IELTS. Many UK universities require the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). It is a standardized test that assesses your abilities to speak, read, and write in English. This exam has four sections: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

If you want to go to the UK without doing an IELTS, you just need to visit the best UK Study Visa Consultants in Jalandhar. Panache Immigration and Education Consultants are the better to choose than the other visa consultants in Jalandhar.

Suppose you are an international student going to study in the United Kingdom. In such case, you may have observed that IELTS (International English Language Testing System), a language proficiency exam, is required by various colleges. Most universities in the United Kingdom allow students without an IELTS score. Several universities accept alternate assessments, such as PTE Academic and Cambridge English:

Proficiency Test 

These tests assess a person's capacity to converse and write in English. A student's communication skills are necessary.

It is not difficult to study in the United Kingdom without IELTS. With higher grades, it may be accepted as proof of English skills by some schools and universities. Many colleges also hold online interviews to assess candidates' English proficiency.

You may also take a TOEFL, PTE Academic, or Duolingo English proficiency exam. On their websites, universities frequently mention the accepted tests. However, before enrolling in a course, you should check the eligibility conditions for the course you are applying for the reason.

Universities that Accept Students without IELTS

Moreover, several renowned UK colleges do not require IELTS. Some Universities of Greenwich, Northampton, and Central Lancashire, for example, offer several programs that do not need IELTS.

Additionally, most of the prestigious universities such as the University of Bristol will accept a foreign English language certification. Students with no IELTS score can be accepted to these universities.

They will, therefore, be required to show documentation from the institution proving their eligibility. London Southbank University is another university that allows candidates without an IELTS test. This college offers a wide range of academic Programmes in several subjects.

It has deep roots in the rich culture of England. They provide courses at every level, including postgraduate and doctoral degrees.

Interview

Whatever course you take, you will need to prove your command of the English language. Most UK institutions demand an English language score to get admitted. Although some universities will accept an English language certificate from a country that does not need IELTS, you will still be required to pass an online interview.

Applicants who do well in the interview may be admitted without taking the IELTS. During the interview, the student's verbal and listening skills will be evaluated. Those who pass the interview will be given an acceptance letter. Several colleges do not recognize IELTS results and instead require students to take a pre-sessional English course. Furthermore, you can get a post-study work visa for the United Kingdom without taking IELTS.

Academic Achievements

You must present documentation of your academic achievements when applying to a UK institution. Most institutions will look at your grade of 10th and 12th results.

Some will also look at your high school grades. Some will also demand proof that you are applied for an English-medium school. Many UK colleges and universities may accept candidates with an X or XII English grade point average of 70% or above.

You may also be allowed if you hold a Certificate of MOI (Minimum Offer of Institution). A high school diploma is also acceptable proof of English competence. Exemptions are most commonly granted to applicants who have been admitted to a CBSE or ICSE board.

Pre-Sessional Course

If you want to study at a college or university in the UK, you can apply for a pre-sessional course. Those who have not taken the exam might benefit from pre-sessional training to demonstrate their language skills. 

This course assists international students in adjusting to a new educational system. The course will take many weeks. Pre-sessional English courses are required by several universities, including the University of Essex.

Pre-sessional English classes are offered at various UK institutions and are an excellent method to improve your English language skills. These Programmes are also perfect for acquainting the academic skills required to thrive in college. Pre-sessional courses are available for four to ten weeks. These classes are a great way to improve your English and prepare for the demands of the UK school system.

Conclusion

Whether you take an IELTS exam or not, you must select a university that accepts you and that you have all of the relevant documentation ready before you arrive.

Panache Immigration and Education Consultants are the best UK Study Visa Consultants in Jalandhar and will help you through every stage of the process. Our experienced team is always ready to guide you with the right advice and counseling. 

[llminukmeridean]

Top 20 universities for LLM in the UK

You visit the mall in order to buy a new pair of pants for yourself. You enter the first store you come across and purchase the first pair of pants you see. When you wear the jeans at home, you discover that the fit, style, or colour are completely unflattering.

Now tell me, was it wise to make such a rash apparel purchase? This demonstrates the value of thoroughly considering all possibilities and factors before choosing anything, even something as straightforward and unimportant as what to wear.

What about the significant choices that directly affect your future? For instance, picking the appropriate university to pursue an LLM from can be very complex. However, there is nothing to worry about. We've got you!

To help you with the tedious work of selecting a university, this article presents the best 20 universities for llm in uk.

But hold on, you have to determine where to buy these jeans before deciding what kind of pants you want, right? Which retailer—Zara, H&M, or Forever 21—is it? Similar to this, it's critical to consider why one would ever consider attending a UK university before learning about the top LLM programmes there.

Due to advantages including receiving a specialised degree, gaining real-world experience overseas, expanding your international network, the chance to pursue a career in academia, and studying from a globally renowned university, pursuing an LLM abroad has the potential to advance your career. These factors emphasise how crucial it is to choose where to pursue an LLM.

LLM hopefuls who want to attend some of the oldest and most esteemed colleges in the world frequently travel to the United Kingdom. The UK is home to some of the biggest and most renowned legal firms in the world, like Clifford Chance LPP and DLA Piper, giving law students a huge opportunity to obtain work experience or possibly get hired by these companies. The variety of legal studies provided by these prestigious universities may both thrill and astound you! However, we are here to support you.

Here’s a list of the top universities to pursue llm university in uk:

University Of East London (UEL)

University of Birmingham

Birmingham City University (BCU)

University of West London (UWL) – Thames valley university

Buckingham university

University of Wales College of Cardiff

City university of London

University of Hertfordshire

Council for national Academic awards

University of Bristol

Hull university

University of Durham

Inns of courts school of Law

University of Lancaster

Leeds University

Leicester University

London University

University of Warwick

Oxford University

Cambridge University

University of Liverpool

East Anglia university

Nottingham university

University of Manchester

Bangor University

Kingston University, London

University of Wolver Hampton

School of law, University of Sheffield

University of Kent, Canterbury

Brunei university

University of South Hampton

NorthUmbria University

University of the West Minster

BPP University College, London

University of Central Lancashire

University of Exeter

Anglia Ruskin University

University of Reading

Sussex university

University of Northampton

Aberystwyth University, Wales

University of Bristol

Moorgate and Bloomsbury Centre

University of Glasgow

Newcastle University

Read More-: job opportunities after llm in uk for indian students

[newswireml]

Suspect in deaths of Idaho students arrested in Pennsylvania#Suspect #deaths #Idaho #students #arrested #Pennsylvania

Suspect in deaths of Idaho students arrested in Pennsylvania#Suspect #deaths #Idaho #students #arrested #Pennsylvania

Kohberger graduated from Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania with an associate of arts degree in psychology in 2018, said college spokesperson Mia Rossi-Marino. A Ph.D. student by the same name is listed in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University, which is a short drive across the state line from the University of Idaho. Messages seeking more…

[mubashirnews]

Suspect in deaths of Idaho students arrested in Pennsylvania

Suspect in deaths of Idaho students arrested in Pennsylvania

Kohberger graduated from Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania with an associate of arts degree in psychology in 2018, said college spokesperson Mia Rossi-Marino. A Ph.D. student by the same name is listed in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University, which is a short drive across the state line from the University of Idaho. Messages seeking more…

[sfarticles]

Side trip in Massachusetts unearths a hidden gem — Pioneer Valley

Bridge of Flowers. Spectacular view from and on the bridge...so unique.

Check out my latest column 

https://www.timesherald.com/2022/10/21/side-trip-in-massachusetts-unearths-a-hidden-gem-pioneer-valley/

Separated from each other by the Connecticut River, Northampton and Amherst Massachusetts, and the surrounding area known as the Pioneer Valley, is home to many colleges, including Amherst College, Hampshire College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. It is the latter where I received my graduate degree in Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Administration. Getting ready for my annual visit to my alma mater, I thought, the Pioneer Valley remains somewhat of a hidden gem. The area is the perfect weekend get-away that can be filled with one-of-a kind places to visit and tasty food stops.

My base for the exploration of the area is Hotel UMASS, 1 Campus Center Way, Amherst , https://hotelumass.com/   877-822-2110.  Located in the epicenter of the Campus Center; what an unusual experience it is to stay right on the picturesque campus. It is a teaching hotel, providing an educational opportunity for students in the University’s Hospitality Management Program, while offering a pleasant and welcoming experience for the guests. Enjoy complimentary continental breakfast. Take the elevator to the concourse level and choose from an array of dining options.

Did you know that Amherst, MA is where the prolific poet Emily Dickinson was born and raised? The Emily Dickinson Museum (https://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/280 Main St., Amherst, 413-542-8161) is dedicated to her poetic voice, writing about 1,800 poems. She led a quiet life and her work was not published until after her death in 1886.

Before checking in to the hotel, it has become a tradition to have lunch at Jake’s, http://jakesnorthampton.com , 17 King St., Northampton, 413-584-9613. It seems that the “Coolidge” has become my “regular.” Three eggs scrambled with roasted tomatoes, kale, roasted garlic), and goat cheese is served with home fries and toasted 3-seed sourdough. Be prepared to wait on the weekends, but it is worth it. I am told that Jake’s Burger and the pulled pork sandwich (slow roasted cane vinegar pulled pork (brined in-house), guacamole, jalapeno coleslaw, queso fresco and pico de gallo on a toasted brioche bun are popular. I do miss those perfect biscuits, that are no longer on the menu.

The "Coolidge" at Jake's. Three eggs scrambled with roasted tomatoes, kale, roasted garlic.

Pasta E Basta https://www.pastaebastaofamherst.com/ 26 Main Street, Amherst, (413) 256 – 3550   is the restaurant that’s become my new go-to, replacing Judie’s, a restaurant I patronized for forty years that unfortunately closed. The casual restaurant has three floors, the first being take-out with a few dine-in tables. The upper two floors offer full-service dining. As you enter the second floor you can smell the aroma of a Nonna’s kitchen; that’s because there is an open kitchen where the chefs are cooking. A variety of pastas are cooked to perfection.  Popular, is the create your own pasta dish. First pick your sauce and style of pasta (there are a dozen of each), and then your add-ons (more than two dozen). My choice at my recent visit was Penne Romacampo (sauteed salmon, spinach, artichokes, and roasted peppers in olive oil, garlic and lemon sauce. Vegetarian and gluten free dishes are available. The portions are big, so you will probably take leftovers home… and you do want to save room for dessert. The dessert that I enjoyed was the olive oil lavender cake. I might just ask the chef for that recipe!

The gentle touch of lavender makes it a perfect dessert to have with a cup of cappuccino.

For a quick lunch or dinner, check out Antonio’s Pizza By the Slice, 31 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, 413-253-0808 http://www.antoniospizza.com First you’ll go to the glass window to pick your slices. You might be overwhelmed by the number of traditional and unique choices as you watch the pizza makers do their craft. Although I am usually one to choose the more traditional, when I am exploring the food scene for a column, I become more curious. Because I enjoy quesadillas, I tried a slice of the avocado quesadilla pizza (sliced avocado, pico de Gallo with cilantro, nacho chips, mozzarella and sour cream. Florentine dishes are a favorite, so the pizza version was the other slice (sauteed spinach with mushrooms and onions, chopped tomato, feta cheese, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. This one had a bit too much going on. Next visit I’ll try the Chicken Parmesan pizza (breaded chicken, shaved provolone, dollops of sauce, mozzarella cheese and a Tortellini pesto slice (cheese filled tortellini, mozzarella cheese and pesto sauce. From its humble beginnings in Amherst, they have expanded to a few other cities….is Greater Philadelphia on their radar?

A favorite coffee stop is Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters, with locations in Northampton, 124 King Street and 273 Main St., and Shelburne Falls, 1207 Mohawk Trail. There are a few other locations in Western MA. Once you try their brews, you’ll probably order your beans online.

West End Pub http://www.westendpubinfo.com/, 16 State Street, Shelburne Falls, 413-625-6216, is located by the The Bridge of Flowers www.bridgeofflowersmass.org  You might be lucky enough to sit by the window with views of the bridge, mountains and river.  Being a small and quaint restaurant, you might have to wait a bit, so browse the nearby shops or walk along the Bridge of Flowers. It’s worth the wait.  In the mood for a burger made from local grass-fed beef….  a couple of the choices, Chipotle Cheddar Burger and the Breakfast Burger (6-ounce burger on a grilled roll with lettuce and tomato, topped with bacon, a fried local egg and cheddar cheese.  Chili, soups, salads, and sandwiches as well as vegetarian choices are on the menu. Want something more substantial? Dinners include shrimp and artichoke piccata, fish and chips, local beef meatloaf, and bistro steak. My dessert choice after the basic burger… Affogato (an Italian Sundae with coffee ice cream, hot fudge, Amaretto, espresso and walnuts.

One of the first restaurants I dined at when I moved to New Haven, CT in the early 80’s was Fitzwilly’s. It is long gone from here in the Elm City. While visiting the Pioneer Valley I sometimes pay a visit to Fitzwilly’s, 23 Main Street, Northampton, www.fitzwillys.com just for nostalgia’s sake. This is the original location and has been here since 1974. The restaurant is known for their big burgers as well as interesting twists on classic comfort food like autumn grilled cheese (sharp cheddar, maple roasted butternut squash, tomato, spinach on sourdough or Wicked Alfredo (Andouille, chicken, roasted red peppers, penne pasta, red pepper alfredo sauce).

While in Northampton, stop at Thornes Marketplace, 150 Main Street, www.thornesmarketplace.com The building has been a cornerstone of the downtown for more than a century.  The shops, bookstore, galleries and restaurants are individual in flavor. The energy, sights, and sounds will make you feel as if you are in an old-world marketplace.  For an afternoon treat try Herrell’s Ice Cream http://herrells.com  413-586-9700 (their hot fudge is a MUST), located right at the marketplace.

If you are into perusing used bookstores, Northampton has their share. A short ride away is one of my favorites, Grey Matter Books.  www.greymatterbookstore.com 47 East St., Hadley, 413-387-0160. It is quite expansive, so plan some time to explore.

For those interested in kitchen gadgets, cooking classes and unique food items The Baker’s Pin, 34 Bridge Street, Northampton https://thebakerspin.com/   413-586-7978, is for you.

Gourmet food and beer aficionados need to make a stop at Provisions, 30 Crafts Avenue, Northampton  https://provisionswine.com/ 413-727-3497 413-727-3497. You’ll find everything you need for making a charcuterie board or a gift basket for foodie friends and family. Beer aficionados will appreciate the selection of hundreds of craft beers, including hard-to-find imports.  Wine selections, too, are plentiful (they boast that there are over 1,000 with 400 quality wines under $15) representing the globe.  The shop’s cheese mongers will help you choose from an array of cheeses from around the world, pates and cured meats.

No trip to the area is complete without a stop at Richardson’s Candy Kitchen 500 Greenfield Rd., Deerfield. 800-81SWEET, www.richardsonscandy.com  It is such a special place, that Food Network star Alex Guarnachelli filmed a segment for “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” here.  Dixies, a signature candy at Richardson’s, is caramel, made from scratch and hand- stirred, then funneled onto trays of nuts. During my visit, I got to watch the chocolatiers make nonpareils, which are quite addicting! You will certainly feel like a “kid in a candy store” watching owner Kathie Williams and her staff make your favorites.

Kids, and the kid in you, will adore a visit to Maple Valley’s Scoop at the Silos, https://maplevalleycreamery.com/  102 Mill Valley Rd., Hadley, 413-588-1716. Freshly made ice cream is served right at the farm from a cute little shack in front of the Brown Swiss cows. The farm animals are waiting for you to pet them, too. At the adjacent Mill Valley Market you’ll be able to purchase the freshest milk, fantastic cheeses, pints of ice cream, a plethora of locally made small-batch food items and snacks for the car.

Freshly made ice cream is served right at the farm from a cute little shack in front of the Brown Swiss cows.

On the way to or from this area, rich in history and natural beauty, stop and get to know the Cat in The Hat at The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum https://bit.ly/2Gy04oR or learn about basketball at the Basketball Hall of Fame www.hoophall.com , both located in Springfield.  A visit to the Yankee Candle Village, South Deerfield, www.yankeecandle.com and Kringle Candle Company www.kringlecandle.com , 220 South St. (Rte. 5) Bernardston are a candle lovers paradise.

If you are visiting the area during autumn to enjoy the New England foliage, take the 45-minute drive from Amherst to visit to Patterson Farm, 708 Northfield Rd., Hinsdale, NH (603) 336-6113. Kids will enjoy picking their pumpkin. The tree and house built from more than a dozen varieties of pumpkins are sites to see and photograph. Gourds of every shape and color, Indian corn and fall decorations are also sold.

The house made with varieties of pumpkins and gourds at Patterson Farm.

I hope I have given you some ideas to plan a trip to the Pioneer Valley. I would enjoy hearing about your visit, and the places you discover during your explorations here.

Other Lodging:

Inn on Boltwood. A landmark hotel in Amherst and member of Historic Hotels of America.

Adjacent to Amherst College is the Inn on Boltwood https://www.innonboltwood.com/ 413-256-8200   (formerly The Lord Jeffery Inn) This landmark hotel and member of Historic Hotels of America has been welcoming guests to Western Massachusetts since 1926. 30 Boltwood ,the Inn’s restaurant, serves up traditional New England fare on the patio or cozy yet sophisticated dining room. The beautiful brick-walled fireplace adds to the ambience while dining on casual fare such as the Boltwood Burger (Boyden Farm beef, smoked bacon, truffle aioli, onion, Vermont Cheddar) or a chef curated entree such as Seared Icelandic Cod with spicy Serrano pepper jam, grilled baby bok choy, cilantro and red onion couscous and a comfort side like mac and cheese prepared with Cheddar, Gruyere and buttery crumbs.  The creative craft cocktail menu  includes the “Fennel Fizz,” crafted with Milagro Reposado Tequila, fresh grapefruit, fennel simple syrup, lime and grapefruit bitters, salt and fennel pollen.

Hotel Northampton, 36 King Street, 800-547-3529, built in 1927, is a member of Historic Hotels of America. Located in the heart of the downtown, the preserved architectural beauty, historic richness, and charm of this grand hotel has all the modern amenities you would expect.

For more area information:

Amherst Area Chamber of commerce: www.amherstarea.com 413-253-0700

Visit Hampshire County  https://bit.ly/3CRlck3 (413) 584-1900

Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, www.valleyvisitor.com  800-723-1548

Stephen Fries | Food and culinary travel columnist

Stephen Fries, is a retired professor and coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College, in New Haven, CT. He has been a food and culinary travel columnist for the past 14 years and is co-founder of and host of “Worth Tasting,” a culinary walking tour of downtown New Haven, CT. He is a Board member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. email me at Stephen@stephenfries.com For more, go to stephenfries.com.

[valleyledger]

Via of the Lehigh Valley Welcomes New Board Member

BETHLEHEM, PA – Via of the Lehigh Valley is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has elected a new member, Sedgwick L. Harris, Ed.D. Harris is Vice President of Administrative Affairs at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications from Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Master of Arts degree in Educational Leadership…

[gyrfa-gariadus]

Meet the animals series

Converse with the cows

A cow is a mammal. It is one of the most common domesticated animals in the world. A domesticated animal is an animal that was not born or living in the wild. They are kept on farms or as pets.

We have lots of different cow breeds and a fully dairy working farm.

Cows are intelligent animals with an innate sense of curiosity. They have a full range of personality traits that can include boldness, shyness, sociability, excitability, and more.

Cows have a natural hesitancy and fear of the unknown; and do not like change.

cows harbor complex thoughts and display a multitude of emotions. Moreover, cows possess defining traits such as being domineering, annoying, curious, mischievous, loving, friendly, and adventurous.

There are over 1,000 different breeds of cattle!

One breed of cows we have are the Ayrshire. These cows originates from the area of Scotland it is named after. Weighing an average of 600kg, the cow is typically white with patches of red or brown. An economic dairy cow, the breed is known for its good quality milk and strong stamina.

Ayrshires are now found across most part of the world and their milk is used globally for butter, cheese and milk products(yum). They have a strong character but are quite mild and even-tempered.

Another great cow breed we own is the Hereford breed.this breed was developed in England in the 1700s to fulfill the expanding food market created by the industrial revolution. The original Herefords were bred for a large amount of beef and efficient production, and those characteristics are still important in the breed today. They are known for their longevity, and for being docile, good milkers, and good mothers.

According to new research by scientists at Northampton University, cows have “best friends” and get stressed when separated. But did you know cows also can hold a grudge? They will often stay mad at another cow who they felt were mean to them or treated them badly.

Cow Senses

Cows are able to see color.

Cows can see almost 360-degree panoramic vision

Cows have a keen sense of smell up to 5 miles away

Lifespan

Cows live up to 25 years,some breeds of cows can live longer.you can tell the age of a cow by checking the number of rings on their horns. Cows live on every continent except Antarctica.

Some fun cow anatomy

A cow has 4 stomachs.

No two cows have the same pattern or spots.

All photos of the animals are mine unless stated otherwise :)

[spaceexp]

Universe’s coolest lab creates bizarre quantum matter in space

ISS - Cold Atom Lab (CAL) patch. 12 June 2020 Physicists have made a Bose–Einstein condensate on the International Space Station — allowing them to probe the mysteries of quantum physics in detail. 

Image above: The International Space Station is home to the Cold Atom Lab — one of the coldest places in the known Universe. Image Credit: NASA. For 25 years, physicists have used an exotic state of matter made from ultracold atoms to probe quantum behaviour at the macroscopic scale. Now, they can do it in space. The feat comes from physicists behind NASA’s US$100-million Cold Atom Lab, which began operating on the International Space Station in June 2018. The results are a proof-of-principle showing that the laboratory can successfully exploit the microgravity of space in ways that should allow scientists to create phenomena that would be impossible on Earth. The facility is on track to become the coldest place in the known Universe.

A Recipe for Cooling Atoms to Almost Absolute Zero

“I think it’s just an amazing achievement,” says Courtney Lannert, a theoretical physicist at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. The findings were published1 in Nature on 11 June. Exotic behaviour First created in 1995, Bose–Einstein condensates form when clouds of atoms are chilled to just above absolute zero. At this temperature, the particles’ wave-like quantum nature dominates, and they coalesce into a single macroscopic quantum object, which physicists can use to investigate exotic behaviour. On Earth, gravity limits studies on these clouds because they quickly disperse unless gravity’s effects are counteracted with strong magnetic fields. But in microgravity, the condensates last longer, allowing for more precise studies. And because weak magnetic ‘traps’ for the atoms can be used in space, physicists can chill them to even lower temperatures, in part by harnessing a technique that cools condensates by allowing them to expand. “Most quantum physicists would say cold-atom experiments are cool, but to make them cooler you have to take them to space,” says Kamal Oudrhiri, CAL mission manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Image above: Cold Atom Lab Physics Package. Shown here, the "physics package" inside NASA's Cold Atom Lab, where ultracold clouds of atoms called Bose-Einstein condensates are produced. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. The researchers used CAL’s precise lasers and high vacuum to produce condensates that lived for longer than a second at 200 trillionths of a degree above absolute zero, on par with some of the most successful experiments on Earth. In future experiments, the team plans to go down to a record 20 trillionths of a degree and create condensates that last for 5 seconds, says Oudrhiri. That would make it the coldest place in the known Universe. Dishwasher-sized lab The condensate isn’t the first produced in space. Experiments on rockets that temporarily cross the barrier into space — as well as those using drop towers on Earth — have provided indications of how this phase of matter behaves in microgravity. But CAL is the first lab of its kind to exist in this environment permanently, says Maren Mossman, a physicist at Washington State University in Pullman, and could be just the first of a series of space-based cold-atom labs. Its success was not a given, she says; CAL puts kit that typically fills an entire lab into a space the size of a dishwasher. And these are just the first results to come from the lab. Mossman is part of a team that is using CAL to create Efimov states, groups of particles that bind in threes but not twos and have long fascinated physicists.

What’s So Cool About NASA’s Cold Atom Lab?

Other teams have also started experiments to create phenomena possible only in the ISS environment. Lannert’s team, for example, has begun producing 30-micrometre-wide bubbles of condensate. Under Earth’s gravity, these would collect to form a bowl or pancake shape. The features of bubbles — being thin and edgeless — mean that they should create whirlpools, known as vortices, with novel behaviours, she says. “The shape is not possible unless you remove the force of gravity. So far, it’s looking really good in terms of the trap doing what we expect it to do.” ‘Heart surgery’ in space Already the most complex experiment ever on the ISS, the facility got a mind-bending upgrade in January. Over eight days, NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir installed an atom interferometer, a process Oudrhiri likens to performing heart surgery in space. The interferometer splits a cloud into two quantum states — with each atom effectively existing in two places at once — before reuniting them to produce an interference pattern. This pattern acts as a sensitive gauge of forces around the condensate, which physicists can use to test fundamental laws of nature or to search for dark energy. Tests in May — when the coronavirus lockdown meant that the remotely operated CAL was the United States’ only operational cold-atom lab — show that the atom interferometer is working as planned, says Oudrhiri.

Animation above: This artist's illustration shows six finely tuned lasers being used to slow down atoms inside NASA's Cold Atom Lab, which chills atoms to almost absolute zero. Animation Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. The compact nature of CAL meant that compromises had to be made in its abilities, and it is not ideal for every experiment because it suits the needs of multiple projects, says Lannert. “But the trade-off is more than worth it,” she adds. It also allows physicists without their own extensive labs to perform these experiments. “We’re at a small liberal-arts college, and being able to take data on this machine is just super exciting.” NATURE: doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-01773-z Related links: Bose–Einstein condensates: https://www.nature.com/news/2010/101124/full/news.2010.630.html Cold Atom Lab (CAL): https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/cold-atom-laboratory-cal/ Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html Text, Image, Videos, Animation (mentioned), Credits: NATURE/Elizabeth Gibney/NASA/JPL-Caltech. Greetings, Orbiter.ch Full article