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veeples-archive · 3 years

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Happy first day of Pride in Wayhaven for the @wayhavensummer event! This is for Day 1: first pride.

Accompanying fic and a link below!

fic: first pride

pairing: nat sewell/f!detective (charlie rosewall)

rating: g

words: 2.1k

warnings: discussions of internalized homophobia, closeted queerness

***

Everything aches.

From the irritation on Charlie’s skin heralding the oncoming sunburn to the sharp soreness in her feet from standing and walking around for several hours, the weight of the day feels as though it’s settling deep in her bones. Wayhaven Pride’s opening celebration began today and, at Farah’s excited insistence, Charlie attended for the first time.

[read on ao3]

Behind her, she hears Nat’s light laugh while Charlie busies herself with fiddling around for her keys in her purse.

“Everything came together nicely today,” Nat comments. “All of the attendees looked very impressed with the festivities.”

Despite her exhaustion, hearing that makes Charlie’s chest swell with pride. In previous years Charlie limited her participation to assist Tina and the other volunteers to string up rainbow streamers and hand out fliers and take the shift that meant directing traffic and blocking off the main street. None of the logistical work Charlie favored outside of filing necessary paperwork.

This year, though, Mayor Friedman approached her to ask her assistance in planning for the event. Something about making better use of her now that she was Detective; likely to give him more leisure time with his beloved nine holes in the country club. Most of what he assigned to her was still menial — contacting vendors and keeping track of supplies, organizing the volunteers, following up with sponsors — but still knowing and seeing the fruits of her labor being appreciated in person made it feel all the more worth the additional work.

“Yes, everyone did look happy today, didn’t they? Everything looked exactly as was planned with very few hitches in the events. I’m glad I attended this year.” Charlie smiles to herself as her fingers finally wrap around her key ring.

“I’m not sure if Farah would have allowed you to sit this one out.”

Charlie laughs. “Probably not.”

She pushes the door open and both she and Nat step inside into the cooler air of the flat, Charlie sending her shoes clattering towards some odd corner of the living room (she doesn’t miss Nat’s exasperated grimace) and Nat tucking away her boots neatly on the shoe rack at the entrance.

While they unload their bags overflowing with novelty goods and tiny flags and loose buttons and stickers in companionable quiet Charlie feels some of the tiredness slip away and finds herself watching Nat run her fingers through her dark brown hair absentmindedly. Glitter falls, sparkling as it floats down onto the carpet. There’s only a faded smudge of pink, purple, and blue stripes of face paint on Nat’s cheeks that Charlie can clearly make out.

“Hey,” Charlie murmurs and brushes the back of her fingers along Nat’s jaw to make Nat look to her. “Today was the first time I’ve ever been to a pride. Did I tell you that before?”

Nat’s hands pause from unwrapping a handmade planter Charlie purchased from a local artist at the event. “I do believe you mentioned that you’d never attended Wayhaven’s Pride celebration before, yes.”

“That is true. It wasn’t until a few years ago that Wayhaven even had a Pride celebration of their own to begin with. Most people in the area would travel to the big city instead if they wanted to participate — it’s bigger there, obviously, longer too with more events. Sometimes they hire performers or musicians to play there.” Charlie turns back to look at her own spread of goods. Shiny rainbow colored buttons declaring love and buttons with the pink and orange lesbian flag. A sticker of a rainbow grumpy cat that Farah must have snuck in her bag while she wasn’t looking.

“But you didn’t.”

It’s not an accusation or even a question. Merely a statement, albeit a curious one that indicates Nat wants her to continue this train of thought. Sharing personal details of their lives still comes slowly, but steadily. Not for any distrust or distance that lingers between them; if anything, it’s only some lingering after effects of Charlie’s reclusive nature and more so that things unfold between them as they naturally stumble into relevant topics and memories.

Makes sense enough that they can unpack her old feelings about pride while they actually unpack.

“No. I didn’t.” Charlie gathers the buttons in a neat little pile and aimlessly spreads them out again. “There’s a few reasons I never went to one before. Namely that…” She draws in a measured breath to ease her nerves. “I didn’t know I was gay until I was 28, Nat.”

Nat doesn’t prompt her further, letting Charlie sort through her thoughts on how exactly she wants to approach this topic. Her mind feels like a mess of feelings and half formed explanations. None of it fits exactly right together, all jagged, mismatched edges, ideas and memories that lead to nowhere.

A scream, or a cry, might be more apt to sum it all together.

“Let me backtrack. I’d always approached life as a series of expectations and tasks laid out for me to complete. Stay focused in school, bringing home a shiny A-star on my homework and tests, line up possible universities with excellent programs I could attend. Call it a map, or a checklist, whatever — I felt that if I could mark off each tally and each check box, that would be it, I would be happy. That was life.” Charlie stops in the middle of her prattling to clear her throat noisily. Nat steps away from her for a moment and returns with a glass of water that Charlie gratefully accepts and takes a tiny sip of. “Part of that was assuming that at some point a man would fit in between securing my career and purchasing a home.”

Charlie laughs. It sounds painfully strained to her ears and she can see in her periphery Nat’s sympathetic smile. Her fingers run along the cool glass in slow, vertical strokes while she thinks.

“I’d never given myself any other option. I’d never considered that perhaps the reason why I kept delaying going on dates and finding a boyfriend wasn’t because I wanted to focus on my studies or focus on the part time jobs I would pick up — I just assumed that once all else was cleared from my life’s itinerary a respectable man would be there and it would be time to settle.”

She takes a larger gulp of water to dispel the growing lump in her throat. “That’s how I always thought about it too. Settling. Not something to look forward to, not something to dream about: settling. Setting my expectations both high and low: high enough that I wouldn’t accept any man off the street, he’d have to be good looking, he’d have to be successful in his career, he’d have to be a good conversationalist and reasonably funny. Low enough that even if I couldn’t really envision happiness, I could envision security and that could be enough.”

What is left of the quickly fading sunlight casts long, burned umber stripes across the floor from the slight opening in the half closed blinds. The shadows surrounding the light seem deeper, darker, more intense. They’re not scary or uninviting: they feel safe, they feel secure, like if she speaks her secrets to them that they will be kept once the light chases them away and she can clear her mind of the swirling emotions racing to come out of her mouth.

“So I never spent any time thinking about the gay community or questioning myself when I had the best opportunity to do that in the big city. I never really made those connections, I never got involved, and by the time I even knew I wasn’t a bitchy, uptight straight woman, that I was a bitch, uptight lesbian, I was back here.”

The next gulp of water Charlie takes drains the glass of the rest of the water. She slams the glass back down onto the table too hard, not enough to crack it, but hard enough that the sound rings sharply in her ears to make them both wince.

“No career outlooks.”

Charlie braces her hands on the table, spread out wide to make up for the tremble of her knees.

“No friends.”

At some point during her rambling her hands had curled into tight, white knuckled fists, her short fingernails biting sharply into the soft skin of her palm. Before she clench them further and draw blood, Charlie watches Nat’s hand drift over to hers, carefully stroking the back of her tensed hands, her long fingers roaming over her knuckles and squeezing around Charlie’s smaller hand firmly.

Slowly, Charlie forces her hands to relax. Still her voice wobbles as the words pass her lips.

“No community.”

The words taste bitter on her tongue. Acrid and putrid, like an acid that could eat holes into her tongue and in her throat. Saying it all out loud, presenting to Nat one of the shameful and uncertain and confusing times of her life, it feels… Charlie runs her tongue along her front teether and swears she can taste the bite of copper there. Something in her throbs hot and desperate; maybe it’s like a wound bound too tight in bandages, needing to be aired out to let it heal.

“Wayhaven is so small,” Charlie whispers, voice slightly ragged. “I could count on my two hands how many gay people there are here before Verda moved to town. There was Tina. Bobby. A few teenagers that ran the local Gay Straight Alliance. The elderly lesbian couple on the outskirts of town, they sell peaches in the summer — just a handful of people.”

The breath she’d been holding comes out in broken pieces. Then, she repeats herself. “Wayhaven is so, so fucking small, Nat.”

And that’s the totality of it. Less than ten whole people in Wayhaven who knew they were gay, half of them either too old or too young. “Without a Pride here, with just a couple of faded pamphlets to educate parents on having gay children, there wasn’t anywhere I could go to feel welcome or learn more outside of listening to Tina’s endless whirlwind romances. So the idea of going to the big city pride with a bunch of people I didn’t know and a sexuality I had only just acquainted myself with…” Charlie huffs out a dry, rattling laugh. “I just didn’t know how to be gay, Nat. I didn’t know how I belonged to a community I didn’t know. So I did what I have always done: I worked, and I worked, and I worked to fill my time.”

There are no tears like she may have expected. Her eyes are burning, but it is a dry burn, like the kind she gets when she’s been staring at her computer screen for too many hours without relief. The lump in her throat, that throbbing something in her chest, they both ease, slowly at first, then faster as she realizes Nat’s arms have wrapped around her. Neither of them speak, choosing instead to lean into each other, Charlie’s cheek on Nat’s shoulder, Nat’s nose against her scalp.

By now almost all of the light has faded, leaving only a subtle glow for her to see the details of the goods spread out on the table. The glint of the buttons and shine of the vinyl stickers. The planter, the print of a woman drawn in simple curved black lines still kept in its tight roll with the rubber band, the stack of folded shirts. A small collection of photos from the day, Farah and Nat’s faces smiling back at her, Morgan glaring and Ava markedly looking away with a small, almost dismissible, smile.

The pictures, the proof of what community she has built now, warms her. Not only Unit Bravo who’ve become a facsimile of a family to her, but Tina and Verda and Eric too. Elidor and Tapeesa, some of the other supernaturals she’s met along the way — a budding family, growing and blossoming faster and more vibrant that she’d ever thought she could have.

Now Charlie is smiling too, warm with love, warm with a spark of private joy.

“That’s all changed though. What a difference finally belonging to the community makes,” Nat’s made a line from her scalp to her temple, her lips curved in a smile against her skin. “I’m happy I was able to spend my first pride with you and the others.”

“I am happy to be a part of it,” Nat hums, tugging her closer to her chest. Her lips find purchase on her jaw and near her ear, pulling breathy little giggles from Charlie until she forces herself around in Nat’s arms so she can redirect the placement of the kisses to her mouth.

They kiss, giggles still bubbling between them, light, quick things without intent of going further. Maybe later they will, after they’ve both washed the dirt and the sweat from the day, but for the moment Charlie wants only to savor the taste of Nat on her lips and the smell of her sun warmed in her nose.

#the wayhaven chronicles #wayhavensummer #nat sewell #charlie rosewall #chatalie #veep art #veep writing #internalized homophobia #closeted lesbian #to be safe #i’m sorry i’m impatient

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just-an-aussie-fandom-hermit · 4 years

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The BatFam at Gotham Pride 2020.

(Running under the assumption that they’re not affected by the virus).

- Kate “How Dare You Assume I’m Straight” Kane, rocking up to pride parades as the local lesbian wine aunt, donating generously to youth groups and LGBT+ activist campaigns. Later, checking in as a Batwoman (because no cops at pride, except Jim Gordon because he’s the mvp and Renee Montoya, a lesbian and also The Question). I imagine she waves around a lesbian pride flag or has one attached to her cape.

- All the Robins/Bats either appear directly for a little while (saying hi, de-escalating arguments, helping people make signs and banners) or swinging overhead waving their respective pride flags.

Jason attends as Red Hood (sans the guns, because they’re probably very triggering for plenty of people, and the whole point is to feel safe), with a bi pride flag and a trans pride flag.

Steph also rocks a bi pride flag, popping in as Batgirl as well as Stephanie Brown.

Dick appears as his civilian self and Nightwing, boasting a pansexual flag as a cape.

Tim hangs up a bi pride flag in his room, his office at WE, and attends several festivities as Red Robin (or Drake).

Bruce comes out as bi during a speech beforehand, makes absolutely insane amounts of monetary donations (perks of being a billionaire), signal boosts LGBT activist groups and celebrities. He then attends several events a suit, sipping colourful mocktails while chilling on a float. Being very on-brand and extra.

Cullen is loud and proud, painting tiny gay pride flags onto his cheeks. Harper joins him as both her civilian self and as Bluebird.

Damian posts a selfie of him and his pets, with an ace pride flag in the background. He looks only slightly murderous.

- Various other straight, Gotham-bound vigilantes (or whatever the Outlaws qualify as) attend wearing shirts and/or banners/signs showing their support. (ie. “I’m straight but I don’t hate!” or “I support my LGBT bestie!”)

- Roy tags over a bunch of homophobic slurs/graffiti and paints a bunch of pride flags over them. He’s over there with his gay pride flag as a cape, living his best life.

- Duke and Harper hears about what he’s doing while they’re patrolling the Narrows, goes to the nearby hardware store, buys heaps of spray paints, and then they both go to town erasing slurs and dodgy graffiti and replacing them with pride flags and positive messages.

—> Bonus: They get Instagram famous!

- Alfred volunteers as a vendor for the parade, because he wants to make sure everyone has access to food. He also wears one of those “free grandpa hugs” shirts.

- Bruce, as Batman, is uncomfortable with conversing with civilians for long periods of time (especially in the daylight) but he approaches a group of distressed kids (obviously at their first parade) who have been separated from their friends and helps them rejoin their group. He holds up one of those tiny pride flags (the ones connected to toothpicks, or something) to show his solidarity, and then disappears in classic Batman fashion. The kids lose their minds.

- Bruce, as Batman, travels to Arkham Asylum to spend an afternoon with Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, resident bisexuals and currently in a relationship. He checks in to make sure they’re not bring mistreated or discriminated against for their sexualities. He negotiates to have little pride flags placed in their cells.

- The Rogues enter a kind of unspoken truce, to not do anything too drastic during the parades (because they know the retaliation from the Bats and other Rogues will be especially vicious.)

(Please add more to this I would love to read some headcanons!)

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gentleadventure · 5 years

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Sustainable Pride Celebration

It’s Pride week in Helsinki, so I’ve collected some last minute pointers (they’ll work next year too!) on how you can make your Pride celebrations more sustainable.

Travel

Arrive with public transport, favour rails: trains, trams, underground

Come by bicycle if you’re closeby!

Food

Have a vegan picnic

Bring a fork, spoon and napkin along (and water from home)

We like to pack our picnic foods and dishes in cloth wraps (furoshiki), glass jars (for wet/oily stuff) and paper bags (for dry stuff)

Avoid single use dishes or plastic cups. Make picnic foods that require less plates/stuff around them, such as fruit, bread, different finger foods.

Shop picnic things zero/low waste. Some ideas: Homemade or takeout sushi (bought into your own container), with noodle and cabbage salad seasoned with sesame oil. Homemade or storebought bread with hummus or tapenade. Fresh foccacia. Crispbread with jams. Dried fruit. Fresh fruit. Cold fancy pizza slices, topped with large capers, thin slivers of seitan, zucchini, dill, vegan cheese. Potato salad with wild herbs. A simple pound cake cut into bite sized bits.

Drinks

Favour lightweight aluminium cans, cardboard packages, wine boxes and deposit PET bottles

There’s an excellent deposit system for beverage packages in Finland, so buy packages with deposits and return them.

Make your own lemonade or mocktails and bring them along in reusable bottles

Decorations

Use second hand materials for crafting outfits, accessories, flags and signs. Local Reuse Centres (Kierrätyskeskus) has a wide variety of craft materials available.

Lend, reuse and share craft materials/props.

Dispose of any props properly. Or if you use flags or signs year after year, store them for future use instead of purchasing/making new ones every year.

Responsible Flower crowns We love flower crowns for their beauty, and for the craft, and because they compost.

If you use thread in the crowns, choose a compostable fibre (most sewing threads are polyester, so check. Use cotton, linen, hemp). Cut the crown up before binnning into compost.

Pick common plant species that are not threatened. A list of protected species (pdf in Finnish) can be viewed here

It’s better to pick sparsely here and there in a wider area than deplete an entire patch

If you have a garden, mix wild and grown flowers

Craft the wreath in nature where you can pick just the amount you need and not any more, or gather a reasonable amount of plants to take home

Cut the stems and put the picked flowers in water, you can also pop them in the fridge (they keep better in a cool environment) if you’re gathering the plants beforehand

Pick locally flourishing and especially invasive plant species to use in flowers crowns, such as lupins (Lupinus polyphyllus).

Makeup

Use what you already have

Make a communal glitter purchase and share with friends

Use glitter that is more likely to compost with less plastic in it

Dab tiny flowers around the eyes with lip balm

Use packageless makeup like Lush’s gold bars

Sun protection

Find some shade

Wear a hat

Try some solid package free sunblock (I like the bar from Lush)

Trash and recycling There’s usually very few trashcans and virtually no clearly separated cans for recyclables at the Pride parade’s park festival, so be super and take your recyclables back home (I like to take a separate bag or wrapping cloth for oily/wet recyclables).

Hold on to decorations and festive items (esp. if they’re balloons). We don’t want seagulls choking on rainbow plastics

If you’re being ⁓festive⁓ outdoors, be safe but bin condoms and wrappers responsibly!

Don’t leave trash or heavy bottles behind. Take everything you brought to the park back home with you, or to a suitable recycling/trash can.

You can give your empty drink cans with return deposit to people collecting them, but please note that heavy sparkling wine bottles are usually not taken.

People who collect cans don’t take heavy bottles because they’re extremely bulky compared to cans. Lightweight cans have significantly better weight/value ratio: they usually have 15 cent refund, while glass wine/sparkling wine packages have only 10 cents. An empty 0,5 litre aluminum can weights about 17,2 grams, and an empty 0,75 l Prosecco wine bottle I checked weighted 800 grams. So to get, say, 1 euros, you’d need to carry 8 kg in bottles versus to 0,115 kg in cans. And to get 5 euros, you’d need to carry 40 kilograms of bottles. Versus 0,575 kg of cans. The difference is huge, even with slight variations in the bubbly wine bottle weight.

So, take your empty heavy bottles home or pop them into a return point on your way. If you carried them into the park full, you can most likely carry them back empty.

Consider volunteering in cleanup or try and suggests good recycling spots/policies for events. The city of Helsinki had a campaign where you got a movie ticket in exhange for 10 champagne bottles during May Day cleanup, similar might work for Pride.

Have a wonderful, fulfilling, responsible and delightful Pride!

– Amir

Sustainable Pride Celebration was originally published on Gentle Adventure

#gentlelife

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lsesu · 7 years

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March Highlights 2018

There’s so many amazing things going on in March. We’ve rounded a few of them up into one handy blog - have your diaries at the ready!

LSESU & Society Highlights

WEEK 9

International Women's Day Brunch

What: To celebrate International Women's Day, your LSESU Women's Officer will be hosting a FREE brunch for all self-identifying women on campus. Come along any time from 11 am - 1 pm to grab some food and chat.

When: Thursday 8th March, 11am - 1pm.

Where: The Venue, Floor -2, SSH

LSE Cocktail Society celebrates International Women’s Day

What: Join the LSE cocktail society as they celebrate International Women's Day 2018! A menu of 3 unique cocktails and 1 mocktail has been created for this event, all named after and inspired by inspirational women.

When: Thursday 8th March, 6pm - 8pm.

Where: 6th Floor Cafe, SSH

Sparks at LSE 2018

What: Founded in 2010, Sparks has emerged as the largest and most prestigious student-run entrepreneurship conference in the UK. This year is no different - expect a dashing lineup of keynote speeches, a VC panel discussion, a networking lunch, 2 rounds of workshops, and closing drinks. Check out the confirmed speakers so far & the conference agenda here, and get your tickets here.

When: Saturday 10th March, 9am - 6pm.

Where: The Venue, Floor -2, SSH

TEDxLSE 2018: Brought to Light

What: In the spirit of "Ideas Worth Spreading", TEDx is a program of local, self-organised events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. This year, TEDxLSE presents its annual conference, ‘Brought to Light’. Prepare for a full day of inspirational talks from a huge range of incredible speakers - check out their Facebook event page to see the full list!

When: Saturday 10th March, 10am - 4pm.

Where: Senate House, Beveridge Hall.

WEEK 10

LSE Dance Society presents Resonance 2018

What: LSE Dance Club’s presents their annual dance show, Resonance at the Peacock Theatre. Featuring dance performances from a range of genres, it’s one not to be missed!

When: Monday 12th March, 7pm.

Where: Peacock Theatre.

AU Pride Night

What: Get out your neon clothes, rainbow laces, and glitter and join us in the Tuns for AU Pride Night. Expect glitter, face paint, and rainbow flags galore!

When: Wednesday 14th March, 7pm - 11pm

Where: The Tuns, SSH.

Working on a Tier 4 Visa

What: The LSESU International Officer has teamed up with the International Students Visa Advice Team and LSE careers to present an informal talk about how the changes to the Tier 4 Visa and how it may impact you after graduation and what kind of opportunities there are after you complete your degree.

When: Wednesday 14th March, 6pm - 8pm.

Where: Room 9.04, 9th Floor, Tower 2

Mature Students Mixer for London Universities

What: Come along to the first ever London-wide social mixer organised by mature student representatives from across the city (including King's, SOAS, LSESU & LSBSU). SOAS is hosting the inaugural event and we invite London's mature students to enjoy free food, drink, music and the opportunity to mingle with other mature students from across London. This event is open to mature students at ANY London university. Please check the Facebook event page to claim your FREE ticket.

When: Wednesday 14th March, 7.15pm.

Where: Room G3, SOAS Students Union

Disabili-TEA Party

What: This is a relaxed social for all self-identifying Disabled Students. It's a chance to meet other disabled students, share experiences and have fun :) There will be tea, cake and arts and crafts!

When: Thursday 15th March, 2.30pm - 4pm.

Where: 3rd Floor Meeting Room, LSE Students' Union.

RAG AU Vertical Rush Challenge

What: 932 steps, 42 floors, one epic competition. AU-RAG’s first ever collaboration takes on this massive skyscraper challenge. Each AU team will race against each other all the way to the top of Tower 42, all in aid of homelessness charity, Shelter.

When: Thursday 15th March, 12pm - 4pm.

Where: Tower 42, London.

St. Patrick’s Day at LSE

What: Irish Society hosts LSE's annual St. Patrick's Day celebration! On St. Patrick's eve (Friday March 16) the Tuns will be transformed into an Irish bar for the night, complete with Guinness and Irish music from UCL Ceilidh Band. All are welcome, Irish and non-Irish alike, so round up your friends and come and take part in the festivities!

When: Friday 16th March, 4pm - 11pm.

Where: The Three Tuns

See LSE’s amazing A Capella group, The Houghtones LIVE!

What: See KCL’s Rolling Tones, Bath’s Aquapella and the brilliant LSE Houghtones all in one go! Your ears are in for a treat!

When: Sunday 18th March, 7.30pm.

Where: The Venue, Floor -2, The Venue

WEEK 11

Talking About Mental Health

What: We have a panel of professional counsellors representing the private, NHS and LSE services. They will discuss the topic of mental health, demystify counselling as a service and provide self-help advice.

When: Monday 19th March, 12-1pm.

Where: The Venue

LSESU Baking Society: Inter-University Bake Off

What: This year, the LSESU Baking Society will be hosting the London Inter-University Bake Off in collaboration with University College London (UCL), Queen Mary University and King’s College! Whether you love baking and want to put your skills to test, want to learn more about opening your own bakery or simply want to taste some delicious cakes, this is the event for you! Check out the Facebook event page for more details on how to enter or attend!

When: Monday 19th March, 6.30pm - 9pm.

Where: 6th Floor Cafe, SSH

Happiness & Wellbeing // A Talk With Professor Paul Dolan

What: LSESU is hosting a lunchtime talk with LSE’s Professor Paul Dolan. Paul is a professor of Behavioural Science with an expertise in human behaviour and happiness. In addition to lecturing at LSE, Paul’s research has influenced government action on Wellbeing. This is one event not to be missed. As the time for exams and revision looms ever closer, we hope expert advice on happiness and wellbeing will put you in a great mind-set for future success!

When: Tuesday 20th March, 1pm - 1.50pm

Where: The Venue

LSESU Pole Fitness Annual Showcase

What: Join the LSESU Pole Fitness Society for an evening of breathtaking performances and body positivity. You will see things you didn't know was possible to do on a pole, and might even get the opportunity to try some moves yourself!

When: Tuesday 20th March, 7.30pm - 10pm

Where: The Venue, Floor -2, SSH.

Click here for tickets

STARS Awards

What: The annual celebration of the most outstanding students at LSESU - the most active, most engaged, those who have made real change - those who embody the spirit of LSE and the Union. Get your tickets here: bit.ly/lsesustarstickets

When: Thursday 22nd March, 5pm.

Where: The Venue, Floor -2, SSH

You Survived Lent Term!

What: Chill event to celebrate finishing Lent term with colouring in, card games and snacks. Also a chance to chat with your LGBT+ Officer.

When: Friday March 23rd, 5pm - 7pm

Where: 1st Floor Cafe, SSH.

LUCA London Students’ Run

What: Hosted by London Universities and Colleges Athletics (LUCA) these organised 5 and 10k races welcome all abilities and are chip timed meaning you’ll have yourself an official new time or even a PB! Plus, there will be goodie bags… need we say more? Pre-registration is required, and you can use the code ‘LSERUNS2018’ to get a discount on your entry.

When: Sunday 25th March.

Where: Victoria Park, London.

Click here to visit the London Students’ Run website.

Career Highlights

Have a browse of all the great events being run by LSE Careers this month here! You will have to login to your LSE IT account.

LSE Life Highlights

Take a look at the events going on at LSE Life this month here, and you can also sign up to the LSE LIFE Weekly Update email in order to stay up to date with everything that's going on in LSE Life. They have some amazing resources for exam planning and preparation - drop by LSE Life on the Ground Floor of the Library to pick up a revision schedule.

Volunteering Highlights

Make this the month you dedicate a tiny amount of your time to volunteering! You can view the current volunteering opportunities on CareerHub, and for more information about getting involved, visit the Volunteer Centre’s website.

LSESU PRO: Beyond The Classroom Highlights

The newly launched LSESU Pro gives you the opportunity to gain and develop professional skills. The Beyond the Classroom emploability training programme has previously run sessions such as introduction to British Sign Language, negotiation skills, project management, and much more - take a look at what’s going on this month here.

Have you been to an LSE Public Lecture yet?

LSE hosts a public lecture programme featuring over 200 events each year, covering a range of debates and topics where some of the most influential figures in social sciences can be heard. These can be extremely helpful to go to as outside research for your course, or to gain further knowledge about an area you’re interested in or passionate about.

The vast majority are free to attend, and they are open to anyone - LSE or not - so you can bring all your friends and family along! If you want to listen to podcasts or watch videos of past events, browse LSE’s extensive library of their past events here.

Do you have an event you’d like to add to this blog, either for this month or for a future month? Email me on [email protected] with the details of your event and we’ll add it in ASAP!

Happy March!

#lsesu #london school of economics #londonstudent #march #spring #thingstodo

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didanawisgi · 7 years

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Extreme Bookbinding - A fascinating Preservation Project in Ethiopia by Lester Capon

It began with 8a telephone call one Thursday morning in May 2006 from James Brockman. The conversation went something like this :- J.B. - "Do you want to work in the Ethiopian mountains on a 6th. century manuscript?" L.C. - " Yes" When, some months later, I was being hoisted up a sheer rock face a stones throw from the Eritrean border, trusting my prolonged existence to an ancient leather strap and an even more ancient monk, coupled with my laughable attempts at rock climbing on the only day of rain in the whole trip, I had time as I dangled dangerously to reflect, through gritted teeth as it were, on my hasty reply.

Introduction

The two manuscript volumes are kept at the Monastery of Abuna Garima in the Tigray Region, that is the Ethiopian highlands, in the north of the country. There are many monasteries and rock-hewn churches scattered around this area in varying degrees of inaccessibility - up mountains, on lakes and miles from anywhere.

They nearly all have 'treasures - crosses, crowns, manuscripts and books' which are shown, though not always, to the few visitors who pass through. It is not uncommon to trek for a day over rough mountainous terrain to reach one of these churches, only to find that the resident monk is disinclined to show its treasures, or that he is simply absent, or, dare I say, sleeping off a home brew tasting session.

Perhaps the most famous one is at Lalibela. This is a group of churches situated in the Lasta Mountains, Northern Ethiopia, which are carved out of, and freed from, the rocks, creating a space around them. They contain striking carvings, friezes and frescoes as well as manuscripts.

Of all the manuscripts in Ethiopia the gospels at Garima are believed to be the oldest and have been dated by European scholars to the sixth century. (They are believed by the Coptic monks there to have been written and illustrated by Abba Garima, their founder and one of the evangelising saints of Ethiopia, in one day!) There are plenty of wild beliefs, I guess, in all cultures. Gabra Manfas Qeddus, born in Egypt, was supposed to have lived for 562 years, neither drinking water nor eating food.

The Charity for the Preservation of Ethiopian Heritage in London were organising this project. They had been advised of the options and viability of any work being carried out. Clearly, the ideal treatment for these manuscripts would have been removal to a conservation unit where it could be analysed, taken apart, repaired and reassembled. This of course would be a huge undertaking - years of work - a massive commitment from an institution or team of conservators. In practice this will never happen - the books rarely see the light of day, and are not even allowed beyond the perimeter of the monastery's Treasure House courtyard. They have never left the monastery in over 1400 years, let alone the country.

I agreed with the sponsors that a limited amount of consolidation and repair could be achieved without compromising the volumes and that this would result in the manuscripts being safer to handle.

Accompanying me for some of the time would be Jacques Mercier, an expert on Ethiopian manuscripts, icons, healing scrolls and botany, who has spent about thirty years on and off in Ethiopia and was, thankfully, more than capable of dealing with the complicated hierarchy and bureaucracy there and Daniel SeifeMikael, his assistant, an Ethiopian lecturer in Theology who was kindness personified. I was lucky that Mark Winstanley, owner of the Wyvern Bindery in London volunteered his services as assistant. He was unfailingly helpful with all the work, very jolly company and excellent at keeping the monks amused and occupied. (This last skill was very necessary, as we shall see.)

Preamble

The monastery itself is a group of small stone built huts some circular, some square with turf roofs where the monks live. There is a church, gaily painted on the outside in reds, greens and yellows; having small windows, its interior is dark and atmospheric.

This was usually locked shut although occasionally a monk could be heard within reading aloud from the gospels - using not the early manuscript but one of the many other later manuscripts they have, bound in wooden boards with heavy leather outer covering and fabric inner lining, substantially hidden by the large turn-ins. They usually have illustrations at the beginning of St. Giorgis, their patron saint (our own man, the very same) slaying a dragon, and the Virgin Mary with Jesus at the end. I believe it is quite a common practice to have the illustrations 'freshened up' every so often.

Near to the church was the Treasure House, a charming circular blue painted building. This also was often locked. It housed not only the manuscripts but also, in a huge glass fronted cabinet, dozens of books, old and new, made in the same Coptic style of binding. There were seventeenth and eighteenth century ornate crowns, a fourteenth century ceremonial silver spoon, early silver crosses, robes and fabrics, silver and pewter jugs and trays, faded curling photographs all crammed together. On the floor were faded and flea infested rugs.

Hanging everywhere were the bright multi-coloured umbrellas they use as sun protection, each section a different fabric, and wonderful book bags of very tough leather and vellum. Mahda, I believe they are called. I will never forget my first entry into this dark and magical room as, watched intently by the Keeper of the Treasures, I sat on a stone seat built out from the wall and let my eyes grow accustomed to the dim light that gradually revealed all these wondrous objects.

But I am ahead of myself.... We arrived at Addis Ababa and took an internal flight over the Simeon Mountains to Aksum. Here we discovered that half of Mark's luggage had stayed with the plane and was on its way to Gonder. Well, it could have been worse - it could have been my luggage. We were driven to Adwa, the nearest town to the monastery. The scenery was stupendous - a mixture of mountains and grasslands and Acacia and Olive trees with some cultivated areas. According to Sidney Cockerel many of the boards used for bindings are of Olive wood.

The main crop is Tef, a sort of wheat, with which they make their staple diet of injera. This grew everywhere, greeny gold, blowing in the breeze like our fields of wheat. So much more attractive than what it eventually produces. Injera is basically an edible plate - spicy meats are placed on it and the injera, which has the look of an old damp grey kitchen rag, is broken off in order to pick up the meat. A good sociable system but I fear I never adapted to the taste and consistency.

On our first day at Adwa it was the Festival of Abuna Garima so there was no chance of getting over to the monastery. The monastery, however, had come to Adwa. Dozens of monks looking splendid and imposing in robes and crowns, carrying huge crosses and books, were in a procession through the town, gathering as they went half the inhabitants, plus three Europeans - or faranji -Jacques, Mark and me.

We arrived at a hill top church and watched with the large, noisy and excited crowd the monks dancing and singing, with groups of women complementing the extraordinary sounds with continuous ululations. We were told by locals, with pride and pleasure that the old church had been torn down, and replaced with this one, with brand new murals.

This was a rich and colourful event that continued the next day. The Patriarch, or Pope, of Ethiopia was in town. He had originally come from the Garima monastery, and was visiting Adwa to speak to the masses, which he did at length. To the monk's disappointment and annoyance he did not visit the monastery and the last we saw of him was as he was driven away, throwing handfuls of tiny crosses, like sweets, out of the window, to enthusiastic children chasing the car. As absorbing and thrilling as it was it did mean that two days had gone by and I hadn't even seen the monastery, let alone the manuscript.

The next day came and still we were told it was not possible to go there. Daniel was working hard waving the necessary documentation in front of the necessary noses and I think it was a frustrating and dispiriting experience for him.

Finally that Wednesday afternoon we were driven in an ancient Toyota van by the normal team of three - one to drive, one to take the money and one to open the sliding door - along the rocky road up into the hills to Abuna Garima. We were greeted with a sort of nervous and wary friendliness.

After some discussion - I say some discussion, - it was about 3 hours of talking. Mark and I took the time to climb the slopes above the monastery and gained a terrific view of the surrounding valley standing on the holy spot where Abba Garima spat on the ground and created a permanent spring - the manuscript was produced and I had my first breathtaking sighting of the beautifully bright colours of the illuminated pages which were at the beginning of each volume, although some were loose. I'd seen photos previously in London when I was preparing for this work - but seeing this book in real life was truly astonishing.

It was big - you could fell an ox with it, it was beautiful - the colours were vibrant - and it had, as I said to Mark at the time, the look of a burst mattress. The text pages were written in Ge-eze, the earlier language spoken in this area, but no longer in use. They speak Tigrinya now in this region.

The monks even at this stage were still undecided about how to proceed. The problem was that although they are the custodians of the books, the ownership rests with His Holiness, the Patriarch. The hierarchy of the various diocese also felt it necessary to give their permission. This was further complicated by the fact that the Ministry of Culture maintained that the government owned these types of artefacts and only they could give permission. We were pawns in the political power struggle between Church and State, as were the monks. I felt sorry for the Abbot who kept peering at all our letters of authenticity in a manner that suggested that he couldn't actually read.

Eventually we left - the monks were to have another meeting that evening, and we were to return the next morning.

The next day, we were allowed to start. I took out the materials I had brought and explained with the help of Daniel that these were the finest skins of vellum and the best papers from Japan.

The books were brought out into the courtyard of the Treasure House which was to be my 'bindery'. Not ideal, we had to move the benches (which consisted of an old table and two funeral biers) twice daily to avoid the sun whilst also contending with a gentle breeze. Other slight differences between this work space and my workshop at home included the occasional visits of donkeys and the regular visits of monkeys. I kept an eye on them as I was fearful that one may jump down from the roof, grab a folio, scrunch it up and run off down the hill.

At the start of work nearly all the monks gathered round, eyes fixed on me, Jacques started photographing from all angles and the Abbot sat down close next to me. Of course at this moment I wished them all elsewhere. Mark did his best to distract them. He did this brilliantly on many occasions as the monks were constantly wanting to sit virtually in our laps watching us work. He would engage them in conversation, even though they knew no English and we had about five words of Tigrinya, he taught them to ride a bike, which he had hired for a few days, he showed them how to burn their hands with the sun and my magnifying glass, and generally entertained them.

On this first occasion, however, there was nothing for it but to proceed with dozens of eyes following my every move. Having taken some initial photographs I picked up my 2B pencil to lightly collate the folios that were to be removed. I was alarmed to have my hand stopped by the Abbot. He did not want me to add anything to the great man's work. However, after a while he started to relax and to my amazement and even more alarm picked up one of my scalpels and started trying to cut some of the threads. My turn to stop his hand.

Gradually we settled into a routine of Mark and I working as a team. There were always at least 2 or 3 monks lingering casually as close as they could get, occasionally trying to examine the verso of the page we happened to be on. I called them neh nehs the name of a type of Hawaian goose - the name translates as - lets sit around and chat.

We arranged our makeshift benches - the funeral biers - as much as possible keeping them back. One morning one of the biers was missing - it was in use in the nearby village. Like the flies that continually pestered us, they had to be swotted. I did not blame them for this close interest. They made it clear they were grateful for the work. This work, in the most extraordinary circumstances and situation, Mark and I undertook in the most professional and responsible manner we could.

Condition and Treatment The Abba Garima Gospels are three manuscripts bound into two volumes. The first (AG1) contains the sixth century manuscript. The second volume (AG2) also contains the sixth century manuscript which is bound together with a later manuscript, from the 14th. Century.

AG1 is sewn with two pairs of sewing stations with a hard 2 ply linen thread. The boards are copper with holes that would presumably have displayed coloured glass or jewels originally. On the inside of the back cover are the remains of a deteriorated papyrus board. The metal boards are attached loosely by the sewing threads from the sections, as well as from the tacketing at head and tail, being wrapped around the hinge rod. The spine is three separate pieces of much more recent vellum, brought round under the boards and sewn through the preliminary pages approximately four cms. from the back fold, with parchment strips. This prevented satisfactory opening of these pages. Further damage had been effected by vellum guards being sewn into the pages, with parchment strips, diagonally through the images, thus preventing proper opening, and the formation of creases where attempts had been made to fold the vellum leaves back. With this secondary sewing, intermingled in places with a tertiary sewing of a soft 2 ply linen thread from some later repair, the most important and attractive folios were rendered inaccessible and vulnerable. On one occasion the page was creased in two places and sewn through the doubled part. All four edges of each page had damage and missing areas through use over fourteen centuries. Insect damage was found throughout the main text block.

AG2 is also sewn with two pairs of sewing stations with linen thread. The wooden boards are covered in a chased metal of a later date than AG1. The spine edges of the wood are chamfered. There are no holes horizontally through the boards (in keeping with later Coptic bindings) but there are many holes vertically through the boards suggesting later additions for repair purposes.

The illuminated and text folios in AG2 had suffered the same treatment as in AG1, and were in a similar condition.

Of the illuminated folios in AG1, three had to be moved to their correct place which was in AG2; two had to be moved to their correct place within AG1 and three had to be reversed, having been sewn in along the foredge.

Of the illuminated folios in AG2, three were loose and needed to be reinserted, and one needed to be moved to its correct position.

There was one extant double folio in each volume. The vulnerable edges of the illuminated folios were to be repaired where possible to prevent further damage.

The illuminated pages needed to open more freely. With all the added repairs the main advantage of Coptic binding - the ability to open the book completely flat - had disappeared.

AG1

The front board was removed by untying threads that were wrapped around the hinge rod. The spine vellum pieces, which were sewn into the first pages, were unthreaded where possible, releasing them, and creating access to the spine folds. The first twelve pages - illuminations and text - were detached and the repairs running across some of the pages were unthreaded.

The torn and damaged edges were repaired in small areas with laminations of Taizan 36gsm smooth toned Japanese paper using a parchment size adhesive.

I had taken with me a variety of Japanese papers - different weights, tones, textures, and a selection of differing thicknesses and tones of vellum. Although I had seen photographs of some pages it was difficult to be sure which material would be most suitable until I actually confronted the manuscript. The Taizan was a sympathetic match.

It would have been inappropriate to build up the large missing areas with new vellum as the stresses created would have transferred through to the original vellum causing more possible damage. Also the new pieces of vellum would have been largely unsupported by the rest of the volume and would therefore be vulnerable to damage, again possibly transferring through to the original. The torn edges and small vulnerable areas were consolidated with the toned Japanese paper.

Two laminations of Taizan paper were profiled to the spine edge shape of each single folio, edge pared and attached to the vellum page. No single folios were guarded together to create a double folio, the validity of which I could not be certain of.

A loose vellum guard was added around the outside of the spine folds to strengthen and support the sewing.

The loose text pages were repaired similarly and reassembled in their correct order. New sewing hemp cord was connected into the existing sewing of the text block, and the newly arranged and repaired folios were sewn in using the normal Coptic sewing method which had been employed throughout the rest of the book.

A blank, toned vellum flyleaf was sewn in to protect the first page from the inside of the copper board.

The three later vellum spine pieces were sewn into the stub of the new flyleaf enabling freer opening, and not hindering the opening of the first few pages.

The front board was reattached using the threads from the sewing which were wrapped and tied around the hinge rod securely.

Before I go on with describing the second volume work I should interrupt myself by mentioning that we were interrupted in the second week by a visit from the Mr. Fissela Zibola from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism looking very fierce, and telling us in no uncertain terms that we did not have permission to be working on the manuscript. We should stop immediately and return to Adwa with him. We proffered a letter that Jacques had left with us. Jacques and Daniel had left us several days before to oversee the conservation of an icon in another monastery several hundred miles away. Mr Zibola and Jacques obviously had some history. . He wasn't impressed and we had to leave the book - pages loose - and we were driven back. If we could not prove we were legitimately working we were told it was prison for us. Fortunately Jacques sorted this out and we had quite a pleasant afternoon being treated to some sort of coffee ritual at the hotel.

Anyway to return to the book.

AG2

The early part of the manuscript was separated from the later part. The illuminated folios were treated as AG1. Again there was only one extant double folio. The existing sewing was pretty shaky so it was strengthened with new hemp cord being sewn in, using the original sewing stations, and the newly arranged and repaired folios were added. A new toned vellum flyleaf was sewn in for protection against the board. The early manuscript was at the back of this volume so the front board was detached and sewn onto the front of the early part using existing attachment holes in the wood.

By returning the sewing to its original structure the illuminated pages could be viewed completely and with no real strain on the vellum. No evidence has been destroyed of what has happened to the books over the centuries - the holes from the misguided repairs using the parchment strips are still there, and samples of those strips and other sewing materials have been retained. Extensive amounts of debris - dust, leaves, insects etc. were found in the back folds of all the sections throughout the book. These were left in situ, partly as evidence for some possible future study and also9 because the removal would further loosen the sewing.

The pigment of the images was not flaking, and the vellum of the illuminated folios, despite being worn away in areas, was sound and more robust than the vellum of the text folios. It had also aged differently by becoming darker and more greasy. It may be that these pages were produced elsewhere, possibly in Egypt, and brought into Ethiopia. The differing appearance may simply be due to the more constant handling of these pages.

When the work was completed the monks were generous in their appreciation. We had decided to take them gifts, and noticing that they only had 2 drinking glasses for their tea - they had plenty of large cups for their home made beer - we bought a set of twelve. This was fortuitous as they looked on them as symbolic for the 12 Apostles. Jacques had suggested a more dramatic gift - a sheep for a feast. We got our taxi chaps to buy one which they brought out on the last evening. Mark presented the glasses and some other items showing great defference to the Abbot which surprised and pleased them. A small ceremony of thanksgiving for the work took place in the courtyard. Mark and I and all our families were blessed. Prayers were offered, counted out by the Abbot on his finger joints - as a Catholic will do on his rosary.

The books were returned to the wooden chest that had previously been made to house it. I understand it may be made more accessible to travellers - not for handling, but for viewing - bringing in some much needed funds.

Although I have worked on many early manuscripts this is by far the oldest and I felt privileged to be temporarily a part of this unchanging culture of poor and dignified Coptic monks. Repairing old books, I always feel I am touching history. With this book it was ancient history.

Postscript

I mentioned being suspended by a leather strap at the beginning of this article. This occurred on a trip out (we couldn't work on Sundays) to visit Debre Damo, an important early monastery , founded in 4th. Century by Arigawa, one of the main 9 saints, about 100 miles from where we were. Miraculously, considering the terrain and the condition of our vehicle, skilfully driven up and down rocky steep slopes and through rivers by our cheerful team of chauffeurs we reached this distant site. One of the local boys came up to me as I walked from the van and said solemnly ' You are a very old man and I will help you'. Nonplussed, I gratefully handed him my knapsack to carry.

The monastery is on a plateau reached only by scaling a sheer cliff face. The arrangement is that, being secured by the strap from the top, one climbs up the face of the cliff utilising another rope. Mark shinned up first, making it look easy.

For the whole three weeks that I was in the fabulous country of Ethiopia I had a nasty debilitating chest infection which I somehow picked up just before leaving England. I did feel at my lowest ebb that day, in the pouring rain, at the foot of the cliff. I really wanted to see the monastery with its books and ceiling carvings so it had to be done. I struggled up but was of little help to the monk holding onto the strap. When, with one final effort, he hoisted me over the top edge I looked up into his kindly grinning face to see that he must have been at least eighty. Feeling, and I'm sure, looking foolish (Mark has a photo) I recovered enough to enjoy this remote religious site where the monks are self sufficient, even having their own livestock and reservoirs of water hewn into the rock . The trip down was, as I suspected, just as vertical and I was accompanied by many whoops of encouragement.

I would like to thank Jacques Mercier, Daniel SeifeMikael and Mark Winstanley for all their much needed help and support. Also thanks to Tova Irving at William Cowleys who was extremely helpful with suggestions regarding the vellum.

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newqueerpanthermodern · 7 years

Text

A Queer, Midwest Joan of Arc

“The fire is still there -- we just need a reason why,” she said.

I first met Trish “Devi8” through roller derby, where she volunteers as a medical staff member to keep us safe during all the collisions and chaos of the sport. A 40-something Minnesota native and a nurse at a local children’s hospital, she is the most cynical optimist I’ve ever met, with a dark humor and a bright, genuine laugh.

When not working long night shifts, Devi, as she’s affectionately known in the roller derby community, volunteers at the Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition shot clinic and speaks about queer issues anywhere and everywhere she can.

Most recently, Devi was an instrumental part of a movement to change the name of our Minneapolis derby league, North Star, from “Roller Girls” to “Roller Derby,” as a major step toward welcoming non-binary, trans and queer skaters to the sport, and validating those already participating.

“Derby is a very alternative, grassroots and progressive community,” Devi said. “I have been involved in North Star for five years, and we’re a bunch of misfits. I mean that in the best way possible.”

In spite of her tireless work ethic and strong voice, she doesn’t claim the term leader, at least not for herself.

“I think of it as advocacy -- I choose to use my voice for good because there are some people that can’t, because it’s not safe for them to do so. It’s an opportunity and a privilege,” Devi said. “After being out for 23 years, it would honestly kill me to not use my voice. It’s ingrained in me, it’s so much of who I am.”

“I have always known I’m queer, not like anyone else, and that has never bothered me,” Devi said.

With a high school graduating class of just 48 people in the tiny town of Warren, Minnesota, “it was intimidating being a queer kid.”

She didn’t come out formally, however, until college. At age 18, while studying to be a paramedic, Devi was outed by someone else.

“Instead of being angry, I embraced it. I ended up meeting some very good friends that way,” she said.

Devi hasn’t missed a Pride celebration in the Twin Cities since, and often takes the stage as her flamboyant and sassy persona, Miss Trish, to MC the festivities.

On or off the stage, Devi said being queer is just a part of her, and she’s not afraid to show it.

“I am pretty much in your fucking face, and I have been spit on, hit, had things thrown at me, been called ‘demon spawn’,” Devi said. “I just take that ill will and turn it around.”

As a nurse, and as former EMT, Devi has seen difficult, awful things, sometimes experiencing first-hand the effects of transphobia and homophobia.

“I am a nurse first. Most of the time when trans kids are in the hospital, it’s because they’ve attempted suicide. The worst thing you can do is misgender them,” Devi said.“So much of nursing is social justice. I wanted to change healthcare from the inside out.”

Outside the hospital, she aims to make sure no one ends up there in the first place.

Like a modern day Joan of Arc, Devi’s resilience and courage makes her seem born to take on the pain, physical and emotional, of others, and to stand up to protect those that need protecting.

“I do not think I’m wired the same way as everyone else. I just try to find the lesson in everything, do what I can to help, and accept what I cannot,” she said. “I do not identify as a Christian, but I do believe in goodness and in karma. I try to be very present for the people I care about.”

After more than two decades of being loud, proud and queer, Devi said she hopes the next generation of young, ambitious and determined queer advocates won’t forget their history.

“When I first came out, we did not have rights. You could lose your job, your housing, for being queer. It was not safe. I feel like queer youth do not understand where they come from, the people that did boots on the ground work for things we take for granted today.”

She added, though, that there’s still plenty of hope for the future, just as long as we remember where we come from.

(Photo credit where due: the first and last are mine - the second and third are Devi’s. The fourth picture is from Twin Cities Pride, by Rebecca Jean Lawrence Photography: and the fifth photo credit goes to Timothy Knox, one of our wonderful volunteer photographers)

#queer #northstarrollerderby #nsrd #minneapolis #devi8 #journalism #queerhistory #twincities #minnesotarollerderby #minnesotaqueer

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bublp0pr · 7 years

Text

Thaaaaat’s politics!

fanfiction idea:

A story focussed around an NPC character. Minimal to no reference to Sans, Papyrus, Alphys, Undyne, Mettaton, Asgore, Toriel.

(I mean, obviously to put things in motion you need a bit of a catalyst so I’ll include Flowey to make things interesting, but still)

So Flowey is playing around with his power and has a friendly chat with the “Thaaaaaaat’s politics” bear. And he goes “You know, mister, you really should run for mayor.”

Now, Bear has a crush on the inn keeper, who lost her husband in the Core accident and is now a single mother running the business on her own. But he’s never had the courage to actually confess. The little bun needs a responsible role model in their life and he’s not sure he can fit that bill. Flowey manipulates him, saying that he could impress her if he became mayor. This is the turning point for him and he becomes driven to make this happen and rock the boat.

He starts gathering support from the other under appreciated NPCs in Snowdin. We take a little look under the hood at the 1 dimensional characters, flesh them out a bit with relationships and backstory, establish their families and personalities etc. as Bear tries to convince them to meet in the centre of town.

They congregate together and have a discussion that raises some pretty convincing points about some of the not-so-sensible things Asgore has put in place and all the discontent that happen under the current system

(Papyrus is there too i suppose, he personally doesn’t see the problem with dangerous puzzles at every turn and “overcrowding” just means more chances to make friends in his opinion. He does get mildly concerned when people point out that their only law-enforcement is by an over powered fish lady with low impulse control and mild anger management issues, who doesn’t even live in Snowdin or understand their town’s core values... Sans is just too lazy to even bother showing up. But never mind them! Who needs main characters?! pffft)

At the end of the day, they agree to send out some representatives to the capital to bring their concerns to the capital and demand that they be given the right to have their own mayor. A very confused king listens to them over a cup of tea agrees lets them hold an election.

And here’s where Flowey has to come back in to keep the story interesting. Because underhanded political feuding is something he’d love to get his sneaky little vines all tangled in.

Bear runs of course but so does the shopkeeper, Dogaressa, Grillby (not that he wanted to, he hates public speaking. But his customers pushed him into trying because of how well-liked he is), one of the ladies who writes the newspaper and Sans (again, someone else volunteered him, more for the joke of it. Papyrus confronts him about it, [insert pun here] and he somehow pulls out before it’s even started.)

He starts the campaign out strong, trying to gain respect in the community and presenting strategies for re-allocating their resources to improving the lifestyle of locals. But with Flowey as his campaign manager, this isn’t going to be a clean fight >:)

Flowey knows what makes people tick: empty promises, bribes, scandal, blackmail, slander. Again and again he offers to “help” Bear win the election. It starts off with harmless suggestions, nothing he’d feel... uncomfortable with. Just a little leverage. That’s all. At the start Bear insists that he’s better than that. He got into this thing to clean up this town, not step on monster’s toes to gain power.

The town starts to divide into different sides of support. Everyone really gets into the festivity of the thing, with parades, posters, flyers and all sorts of stuff. Monsters raise good points and get inventive with how they sell their persona. Conversation on the UnderNet is abuzz about this new system and what it could mean for other locations such as Waterfall and Hotland in the future. Polls about who people think will win turn up in the newspaper. Mettaton starts a TV special promising full coverage of the story. There’s a new energy to the place that the monsters hadn’t even realised they’d been missing.

Unbelievably, it’s the lesser encounter enemies that start to become the main demographics for voting. Making allowances for the anarchist desires of the teenage gangs in the woods, promising better treatment of Gyftrots in future with more efforts to raise awareness of the mistreatment during this gift-exchanging holiday, the removal of the snowball tax, distribution of more caps for icecaps, more union breaks for Royal Guardsman (Sans is mysteriously always suddenly very present when people bring up this one)

But the competition starts to become more ruthless (thanks to some intervention from anonymous plant sources) And slowly, as he gets more desperate, he gives in starts to try out some of Flowey’s “friendly suggestions”. (Thaaaaaats politics!)

I saw Dogamy with a certain bunny at Grillby’s the other night... Haha. Can’t you keep a collar on that husband of yours Dogaressa?

What would Undyne say if she found out about all those “dog treats” you’ve been sniffing Doggo? My my, if someone were to... oh, I don’t know, tell her. What would she do I wonder?

So you want out of your job sending ice to the Core, Ice Wolf? ...I know a guy. That can be arranged.

One by one, the competition drops out in fear, stress or shame. There’s some last minute underdog candidate but they haven’t so much as shown their face since signing up (does it really even count as running if they just suddenly trot into the room and leave a paw print on the ballot paper and then running away again before people could make copies ; ) ??) Bear looks like he’s going to win.

Feeling confident about his chances, the night before election he builds up his courage and goes to confess his feelings to the innkeeper. She rejects him because of the awful way he treated her sister, (Flowey had threatened to distribute her secret cinnamon bunny recipe to every vendor in the underground). He goes to Grillbys and tries to drink his feelings away. Grillby remains silent, but Bear knows he’s judging him. “Tt’s all that flower’s fault!” He’d moan. “I didn’t want this. I didn’t think it would be like this!”

Flowey’s waiting for him outside when he leaves for the night. He’s not happy that his toy is acting so irresponsibly the day before election. They deserve a small scolding, a little reminder of who’s really in charge here. There’s too much at stake here. Once Bear becomes mayor, Snowdin will be his. An entire town in his pocket! The possibilities are endless... He can’t afford stupid mistakes so close to getting his prize.

Bear, with a little liquid courage still in his system, stands up to Flowey. He says that he can’t take this anymore and has decided to step down.

...

Flowey doesn’t like being told no.

Perhaps he wasn’t clear enough. Did he honestly think that Flowey had dirt on every person in Snowdin and couldn’t tear his reputation apart too? “I’ll tell Asgore what you’ve done... I’ll tell him every single dirty crime you’ve committed for this. Hehehehe! We’re in this together you and I! To the very end.”

Bear has no choice. In dismay he goes back to his home, ashamed of the monster he has now become.

The next day, Asgore himself visits Snowdin for the counting of the votes. Bear looks up at that stage like a man looking at his own guillotine. From the trees, Flowey watches with a keen eye. He’s already tampered with the votes. Snowdin’s as good as his. He just needs to make sure there’s no funny business.

Bear searches through the crowd of people and spots the innkeeper. Walking over to her, he apologises for everything he’s done and what he’s about to do. “Wait, what? What you’re about to... Bear?” He’s already walking towards the stage. A fluffy white dog is sleeping on one side of the stage. It looks quite comfortable despite the noisy location. Asgore smiles at him as Bear takes his place on the stand. The dog is the first to speak. With a small yawn, it stands up and moves to the microphone. It lets out another yawn and a small bark before pantering back to it’s warm little spot on the wooden stand.

Bear looks at it nervously. Dammit. Who’s supposed to say no to a speech as direct and persuasive as that?? He shuffles his cards and walks to the podium. Looking down at his furry paws, he can see them trembling. With a sigh he looks up at the crowd. He sees the faces of those he used to get here today. With one last glance, he tosses aside the notes carefully written by Flowey and tightens his grip on the microphone.

Mettaton shoves BurgerPants, who’s carrying the heaps of camera equipment shakily in his hands. “ARE YOU FILMING THIS YOU WORTHLESS THING?” Last minute drama. How thrilling!! With a grumble he zooms in on the determined look in Bear’s eye.

“I would like to formally apologise for how I’ve acted. I started this simply wanting the best for my town and somewhere along the way, I lost that focus. To my fellow candidates, my fellow citizens of Snowdin, my fellow monsterkind: I am sorry for how I have behaved towards you. I... am unfit to be your mayor. For this reason,” He glances at the king, “I have decided to abdicate.”

There are collective gasps from the crowd. Monsters watch in a mix of pride, shock and confusion as the tiny white dog receives a sash around it’s neck and licks Asgore’s face.

Flowey is seething in the background. How dare he?! A sick grin twist on his face. “Oh... you think you’re so clever do you??? We’ll see who’s clever you idiot.”

Vines spread their way through the crowds of people without them noticing.

Bear leans down and shakes Annoying Dog’s paw with a weak smile. It barks happily, but looks like it would rather be returning to its nap.

Once in position, the green rope grows sharp thorns and becomes tense, tearing through the hoards of people. There are shrieks as all the monsters are suddenly raised in the air. Flowey emerges from the ground, a large smile on his face. “Sorry folks! Change of plan! Looks like it’s going to be a hostile takeover.” He cackles loudly. Monsters try and fail to struggle against him.

“Bear, Bear, Bear!” He sighs in mock disappointment. “I had such high hopes for you! But now look what you’re gone and done! I tried to warn you, I really did. What is it with monsters and never,” He squeezes the monster tighter “following through?”

Bear is terrified. He’d never seen Flowey this dangerous before. Sure, there’d been that disturbing look to his face when he spoke about certain things... but never like this. “P-p-please...” He starts blubbering, scared for his life.

This is starting to bore Flowey. He’d never be able to control the monsters properly after this point. As soon as he lets go of Asgore, he’s dust. In fact, in a few minutes Undyne’s probably going to arrive as well. Maybe he should just reset.

A monster manages to wriggle their way out from his grip. Flowey sends bullets towards them flippantly, turning the thing to dust. “Here’s how this is going to work, pal. I’m going to kill you-” There’s a small wail at this. “SHUT UP!” He screeches at him. “I’m going to kill you. And then I’m going to start turning the rest of these monsters to dust one by one until Undyne arrives. Unless Mr Asgore here takes me to the human souls.” It’s not a well thought out plan but this timeline’s already ruined anyway, it can’t hurt to be direct.

Asgore lifts up his head in confusion, then it morphs into horror. He goes grim.

“No.”

Flowey starts laughing. “Hear that people?! KING ASGORE here, doesn’t think your lives are worth saving!” There are a few mumbles from the crowd. Asgore remains stoic. The good of monsterkind is worth more than the life of the individual. Flowey leans in closer to him. “You know, these worthless idiots do have a point. You’re a pretty sucky king, Fluffy buns.” He giggles at the stupid nickname. Asgore stares at him with an intense anger. “Let these people go.” Flowey tilts his head. “Sure thing! Will do! Just give me the souls.” The two are inches apart, glaring at eachother unwaveringly.

A blue spear sails between the two. Ah. That’s his cue to leave. “Well, this has been fun!” He calls. “We should do it again sometime! Maybe next time you can play along a little better though, Bear?”

Bear is in over his head here. He just hangs in Flowey’s vines, powerless.

Flowey pulls back his attacks and disappears into the ground with a grin as the rest of the Royal Guard approaches.

RESET. Continue?

#i've read too much finagl lately if you can't tell #meh #there was some good concepts that came out in this idea though #it's not really fleshed out enough for a full fanfic in my opinion #and i'd probably change the ending if i was going to make this proper #but yeah #fanfic idea #that ended up being really long

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michaelfallcon · 6 years

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The Making Of A Master: Inside The Technivorm Factory

Only five people in the world, I’m told, possess the lapel pin: a golden hexagon with block serif letters split over two lines. One is the person whose dark glen-plaid blazer buttonhole I’m inspecting right now under institutional lighting in Amerongen, the Netherlands. His name is Frans van Cooten. His title nowadays is director and owner of Moccamaster Sales EU, one of three independent entities overseeing the majority of sales for the manufacturer known as Technivorm—which is also the word, shining in relief, on Van Cooten’s lapel.

2018 was a momentous year for the factory that created the world’s most enduring, stylish, and reputable home filter coffeemaker: the Moccamaster KBG 741. The year began sadly, with the passing of the machine’s inventor and Technivorm’s founder, Gerard-Clement Smit. In January, the engineer died at age 87. Years ago, he had given Van Cooten, his son-in-law, the Technivorm pin—although the first to receive one was Ina ten Donkelaar. She is not wearing it on the bright morning on which she tells me who is in the circle of pin-possessors, but no one doubts how close the brand is to her heart. She was Smit’s partner. Currently, Ten Donkelaar is Technivorm’s CEO and has been with the company, established in 1964, from early on. She remembers when Smit rented a workspace in the tiny village of Elst, in the province of Utrecht, initially producing stepladders and stacking shelves, followed by his first patented coffee grinder in 1965. She recalls when, in 1967, Technivorm moved to the neighboring village of Amerongen, right into Smit’s backyard, which was convenient, yet rough on his prune trees.

An original 1968 Moccamaster.

The rerelease of Technivorm’s first-ever coffeemaker made 2018 more celebratory. Developed in 1968 but launched a year later, the Moccamaster 69, named for its debut year, is smaller than the 741 (brewing up to eight, rather than 10, cups). With a round-edged hotplate tray and a circular heating tower and water reservoir, it very much appears to be of a curves-embracing era. Called the ’68 Jubileum, the rerelease retains those features, making it an unblinking fit into all the mid-century modern design resurrected of late. The limited-edition model has been available in Europe since March 2018. North America has had to be patient, as it is only scheduled for purchase there starting spring 2019.

Ten Donkelaar and Van Cooten receive me at Technivorm’s headquarters and factory in Amerongen. No longer occupying the family’s former garden, they have been situated in an industrial section of town since the late 1980s. Still, in the Netherlands, it’s hard to ever really get away from the pastoral; trees surrounding the premises are lush and across the road, I catch a couple of ponies grazing. In traditional Dutch office etiquette, a receptionist promptly offers drinks. White demitasses arrive, filled with a medium-dark roast provided by two-centuries-old Dutch roasters Smit & Dorlas. When I ask, perhaps a bit insipidly, if a Moccamaster was used, Van Cooten answers with an amiable “Jaaaa.” Downstairs, he volunteers, professional-line Moccamasters brew fresh batches for the factory staff. An 11 AM coffee break is another Dutch labor institution, but the punctuality of a koffiepauze is crucial when a production line is at stake, stresses Van Cooten. A bell goes off to let the workers know when it’s time for, as Ten Donkelaar puts it, “drinking coffee, getting a little baked good, and enjoying a smoke.”

Ten Donkelaar and Van Cooten

But upstairs, we are in what seems to be part boardroom—upholstered conference chairs tucked under laminate tables—and part museum. Exhibited in, on, and around glass-cased shelves are decades’ worth of artifacts: various models and iterations of home and commercial coffee machines, blade coffee grinders, hot plates, water boilers, and dispensers. Plus, there are samples of Smit’s pre-Technivorm inventions from when he was, essentially, a freelancer; highlights include a box of hot rollers and a snijbonenmolen (a string bean slicer, once considered a Dutch kitchen staple). The walls are like an open scrapbook, decorated with vintage corporate posters and multi-language ads from the past. On a stand of its own is a quilt: the batik-effect fabric with images of cups and beans features a dozen blocks, each with a uniquely hued 741 machine. It was occasioned by Technivorm’s golden anniversary, and the quilter was Kathleen Bauer, COO of Moccamaster USA, a second of Technivorm’s three related entities. Bauer is another pin-holder, and her craft brings some palpable Americana to the functionalism-driven European environs.

Moccamaster’s internal functions were uncovered by Popular Mechanics in a “disassembly report” detailing all 137 parts that are elegantly engineered into a single 741. The 2017 review praised it as “many coffee snobs’ brewer of choice,” though the machine’s appeal has undeniably broadened. The MoMa Design Store has sold it since 2016, and in June 2018, “new brides and brides-to-be” among Good Morning America’s staff ranked it their #1 wedding gift.

These days, the brand has distributors worldwide. Nevertheless, all Moccamasters continue to be constructed by hand and individually tested in the Netherlands. The manufacturer prides itself in using, whenever possible, recyclable or fully degradable materials sourced from within Europe, if not the Netherlands itself. New machines come with a five-year warranty, though tend to last far longer, being easy to repair or spruce up with replacement parts.

“We get lots of emails from customers asking, ‘Does the jug for the new 68 also fit in the old one?’ And they’re very happy to hear that it does,” says Van Cooten. The rerelease has a few technical updates, but “on functionality there is no difference.”

“This was the first ’68 model, back then called the ‘69,’” Ten Donkelaar specifies of an antique machine being stored behind glass. “We sold 769,473 pieces.”

The Jubileum ’68

In 2010, after selling off a local horse feed business inherited from his father, Van Cooten founded Moccamaster Sales EU. The move was steered by having agreed with Smit to find new markets for Moccamaster upon joining the enterprise of his spouse’s family. Clementine Smit, Van Cooten’s wife, once worked at Technivorm herself, though now is more likely to be found accompanying Van Cooten to coffee shows and festivals, he says, adding, “she know the product very well—she knows everything.”

Van Cooten and his team concentrated on Germany, Central Europe, and the UK. Scandinavia was not part of their remit because Technivorm had, since the early 1970s, been exporting to the region. It has remained the company’s biggest market for the last 30 years. Moccamaster Nordic, a third entity in the trio, handles these operations. Those strong ties are veritably sealed in a seal. Found on all Moccamasters is a sticker reading “approved” along with the name of the European Coffee Brewing Centre. Founded in 1975 in Oslo, the ECBC is an offshoot of the Norwegian Coffee Association, and testing brewers is its raison d’être.

Van Cooten explains: “In the Scandinavian countries, everyone knows about the ECBC, and our whole range passed this certification of brewing the perfect cup. For the ECBC, it’s not about the quality of the machine or the expected lifespan of the machine—they only certify based on achievement of the best brew, to reach the best extraction out of your coffee.”

To illustrate just how omnipresent, if not ho-hum, the Moccamaster is in the Nordics, Van Cooten asks if I’ve been tuning in to Dutch TV’s Detective Month, which airs crime series.

“If you watch the Scandinavian shows carefully,” he says, “probably at least once a week, you have a shot in the kitchen, no matter where the crime scene is, and they pour coffee with a Moccamaster.”

The younger of Van Cooten and Clementine Smit’s two children seems on track to wear a pin one day too. Rob van Cooten recently completed his third year of business school and has already done sales and marketing work in his father’s office. The elder Van Cooten says his son is interested in pursuing the family trade after graduating and getting some experience abroad. Daughter Floortje van Cooten keeps busy as an Amsterdam-based fashion blogger, though in a recent Father’s Day gift guide took the opportunity to call a Moccamaster the “best present there possibly is.” Her post spotlights a shiny stone gray KBG 741.

As Ten Donkelaar likes to say, the 741 is “an evergreen.” Developed in 1974, it hit the market two years later and today is the most iconic model. The Moccamaster remains one of several select home brewers certified by the SCA, reflecting its esteemed status among, to quote a Sprudge article on the brand’s Cup-one, “prosumer appliances.” It is true that Technivorm and specialty coffee have been friendly for decades. In 1988, the Dutch company became a founding member of the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe, and fast-forward to World of Coffee 2018, the Moccamaster stand was showing off the 741 in its latest colors: pastel green, pastel yellow, pastel blue, and midnight blue.

Globally, Technivorm and Moccamaster have about 200 employees. Amerongen hosts around 150. In August 2017, the European Coffee Trip published a cheerful video taking viewers inside the factory, profiling workers, and zooming in on the production line.

“We hope to build our 10 millionth this year,” Van Cooten said in that interview.

When, 11 months later, I follow up on the stated projection, he replies: “Yes, we did.”

Turns out, the 10 millionth coffeemaker was handed to Gerard-Clement Smit during a company celebration that coincided with the last birthday he lived to experience, in September 2017. The machine is a black and white Jubileum ’68. It is displayed in a hallway on an encased stand, with mini-spotlights flanking the keepsake. Above is a classic portrait of Smit, raising a cup to his smile. Below is the milestone, its numbers printed larger than all the other text, the Technivorm logo included.

“We just wanted to do the rerelease as an honor to Gerard,” Ten Donkelaar shares.

“But the second 10 million will not take that long,” she continues, returning to the brisker pace of business talk. “We are doing some internal movements to get more space for the production line. Last year, for the first time, we realized more than 500,000 machines—that was a lot of coffeemakers. And this year we will even sell more.”

Karina Hof is a Sprudge staff writer based in Amsterdam. Read more Karina Hof on Sprudge.

The post The Making Of A Master: Inside The Technivorm Factory appeared first on Sprudge.

The Making Of A Master: Inside The Technivorm Factory published first on https://medium.com/@LinLinCoffee

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mrwilliamcharley · 6 years

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The Making Of A Master: Inside The Technivorm Factory

An original 1968 Moccamaster.

Ten Donkelaar and Van Cooten

“This was the first ’68 model, back then called the ‘69,’” Ten Donkelaar specifies of an antique machine being stored behind glass. “We sold 769,473 pieces.”

The Jubileum ’68

To illustrate just how omnipresent, if not ho-hum, the Moccamaster is in the Nordics, Van Cooten asks if I’ve been tuning in to Dutch TV’s Detective Month, which airs crime series.

“We hope to build our 10 millionth this year,” Van Cooten said in that interview.

When, 11 months later, I follow up on the stated projection, he replies: “Yes, we did.”

“We just wanted to do the rerelease as an honor to Gerard,” Ten Donkelaar shares.

Karina Hof is a Sprudge staff writer based in Amsterdam. Read more Karina Hof on Sprudge.

The post The Making Of A Master: Inside The Technivorm Factory appeared first on Sprudge.

from Sprudge http://bit.ly/2FVbQrE

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jademoghulblog · 6 years

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Living The Holiday Spirit!

Christmas is one great time of the year when everyone gets a few days off. How to spend these holidays and what plans to make and checklists that need to be ticked off may sometimes seem overwhelming.

Every year people look forward to this much needed break, whether it’s to spend time with family, travel a destination or just chill during this time just by yourself. Plans are usually made in advance for ones who get seldom other opportunities to do what they want to do, but for some, these are like any other days that they may get to take care of things that have been put off the entire year.

Though it is difficult to deny that the festivities do rub a positive vibe on even the least bothered or interested in this yearly tradition. However you always encounter an over enthusiastic “planner” or the ever positive and cheerful soul in our whereabouts.

For people who savor more traditions, Christmas is the best time for family reunions and to reach out and reconnect with family and friends that have drifted apart due to understandably busy lives in general. After all it’s a festival of love, happiness, laughter and lights.

There are families who take pride in following memorable and much cherished traditions followed for many, many years, while others believe in setting up new and fun ways to make the coming years that everyone looks forward to. These traditions may involve having family members to decorate their own Christmas ornaments, bake Christmas goodies, go on a fun trip to get a Christmas tree and set it up together.

Having a fun neighbour Christmas decorating competition. Setting out cookies and milk for Santa and of course the exciting advent calendar with all the fun tiny surprises and treats. Although it may be time to make up new activities that the whole family can enjoy together. You can collaborate with equally fun loving neighbours to set up a “Christmas Bazaar” to sample treats and grab handmade crafts as last minute gifts for colleagues and friends.

The money and left over treats and crafts can be donated to a local hospital, church or even shelter homes.

This year you can set up a new tradition by being an example to your kids and involving them in all activities that show the true spirit of the holidays. Your entire family can volunteer at soup kitchens, or volunteer for fun wrapping of gifts and toys to be donated to kids.

We all can do with reminders of how fortunate we are and can share our gift of giving by buying just a couple of things for ourselves and making a donation to various organizations working selflessly and tirelessly all around the world. A good idea would be to have kids save some amount and then donate it to a charity that displays their name on the donated item. It could be a water fountain at a school in Africa or a bench in a park with their names. It would encourage them to be more generous especially when they see the smiles that they have brought to the faces of the less fortunate. Ask friends and family and grandparents to make a donation on behalf of the kids instead of getting them gifts this year.

These traditions will awake the true spirit of the holidays that we all so want to enjoy.

And of course, the Christmas dinner has to be as memorable as the event itself. But again, keeping up with the true essence of this special time of the year, try involving the kids by having them prepare a few side dishes or putting together hor d'oeuvres or simple yet mouth watering desserts. No shame in taking help from store bought sauces, puddings, cookies and cakes as long as everyone has a good time and in the end get to enjoy the fruits of their labor. A family favorite recipe book can be a great keepsake for all and new recipes can be added every year for all to enjoy. The messy kitchen can be cleaned up in no time when a family favorite holiday album is played along.

But then there are few of us who will be spending these holidays by ourselves. As we watch our friends making plans and driving or flying to their families, we wonder and sometimes look forward to some time all to ourselves. This may be difficult for some to understand but some of us actually look forward to this break and enjoy it as much as people spending holidays with their families do.

For those who possible are by themselves can take delight in crisp and refreshing walks around the neighbourhood and the happening places and witness the rainbow of lights and festivities, all the while sipping limited edition warm cinnamon and candy cane flavored coffee.

Catching up on their reading. It is perhaps a good time to read favourite classics and rekindle the special memories associated with those stories. Going through the Christmas traditions such as setting up and decorating the Christmas tree is a good idea as it adds a holiday cheer to your living space.

Cooking or baking a recipe that you had always wanted to try will end up in a relaxing evening in pajamas and a best loved movie with a charming dinner date with yourself.

Don’t forget to pamper yourself with a massage or a spa treatment and do treat yourself to a gift. That cashmere that you had been thinking of or the shoes that you had been looking at every time you passed that store. Indulge in activities that make you feel special and good about yourself. Prepare a few extras of the meal that you cooked to hand out to a homeless. Order an extra latte to be given as gift to next person in line. A smile, a thank you and a little conversation can be the start of a new friendship.

You can plan things ahead of the holidays or just take it as the day comes and involve yourself with what suits your mood best at the time.

But most of all celebrating this time of the year with loved ones or by yourself, keep the spirit of love and giving alive as that is what brings us true happiness and joy.

#christmas #lovely #funny #winter #gifts #uniquegifts #favorite #new year #social media #travel #giving #enjoy #home decor #party

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epchapman89 · 7 years

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A Coffee Lover’s Guide To Ljubljana, Slovenia

Snuggled between Italy, Croatia, Austria, Hungary, and the Adriatic Sea, Slovenia is a surprising little country. The northwest corner ripples with the snow-dusted peaks of the Julian Alps, while barely 100 miles south, the country’s 29 miles of coastline cling to the Gulf of Trieste; vineyards stipple fertile valleys girdled by evergreen forests, and fairy-tale castles float on crystalline lakes. And all of it fits within a 100-by-150-mile patch of land.

You can walk Ljubljana, the tiny capital—and take your time doing it—in an hour. There are no exceptional museums or major historic landmarks, but what the city lacks in geopolitical importance it makes up with great attitude. The people are friendly, most of them speak English, and Ljubljana snagged the title of European Green Capital in 2016 for its environmental efforts. Riverside cafes line the car-free city center and fill up in summer and winter. While the majority of them serve commercial Italian blends, a few progressive souls have opted to work with local or international micro-roasters. Slovenia was late to catch the specialty coffee current, in large part because of a deeply rooted tangle of Italian, Austrian, and Slavic coffee cultures. But as more young people travel and more tourists catch on to Slovenia’s pint-size charms, the demand and market for specialty coffee is growing. Here are the standout specialty coffee cafes to know if you go.

Cafe Čokl

I nearly missed Cafe Čokl‘s discreet green storefront, distracted as I was by the bustling flower market across the street. When I cracked the door at 8:30 a.m., self-taught barista and roaster Tine Čokl was already pulling Americanos for several locals, and the cozy, wood-paneled room hummed with Slovenian chatter. Čokl has been making coffee for the past seven years, but he got serious about specialty coffee after volunteering at the World Barista Championship in 2012. “I realized I didn’t really know much about coffee, which was not fair to my customers,” he says. After hours of training and experimentation, he developed his own vision and saw that he couldn’t express it using other people’s roasts—so he started roasting on his own, eventually working up to 15-kilogram batches. Today, he roasts for his cafe and seven clients in Slovenia. Two years ago, Čokl and colleague Živa Lopatič created the cooperative Buna, which distributes Čokl’s roasts to other cafes in the city and works to educate Slovenians about fair trade and environmental concerns. As passionate about social issues as he is about coffee, Čokl uses his cafe as an example to other businesses: he’s working toward zero waste in the cafe, he sources his beans directly, and he privileges local provenance for non-coffee products. “We need to prove it’s possible,” says Lopatič. “If we can do it, others can too.”

Cafe Čokl is located at Krekov trg 8. Visit their official website and follow them on Twitter and Instagram.

Kavarna Moderna

Ljubljana is home to roughly a dozen museums, but it’s possible you’ve never heard of any of them. The city’s Museum of Modern Art is hoping to change that. Just under a year ago, it invited Kavarna Moderna, a specialty coffee cafe, to take over a corner of its basement level. The sleek, modern cafe stocks three single origins by local roaster Escobar, as well as a rotating coffee of the month.

Besides sparking an interest in Ljubljana’s modern art offerings, co-owner Bine Likeb hopes Kavarna Moderna will increase awareness of specialty coffee among Slovenians. “You have to present the idea of knowing the farmer you’re buying from, roasting profiles, preparing coffee,” he says. “[You have to explain] that there’s effort put into the coffee, it’s not just [some] product.” Kavarna Moderna certainly lives up to its name: Likeb’s brother, an architect, transformed the dimly lit space into a cozy multi-level hangout. Clever wood chair backs and bright-colored pillows transform broad concrete stairs into a seating area. On the landing above, mid-century modern meets Scandinavian cool in two comfortable lounge areas. Below, baristas prepare cold brew, filter, and espresso behind a slick workstation equipped with Sanremo machines for a largely local clientele. Insider tip: ask for a slice of the walnut cake with your V60. It’s a local delicacy done very well.

Kavarna Moderna is located in the Museum of Modern Art at Cankarjeva cesta 15. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Stow Speciality Coffee

Stow Speciality Coffee is very serious about coffee. Very. For the past three years, founder Aleš Turšič and his associate Peter Sevic have been working on all fronts to increase the profile of specialty coffee in Slovenia. In that time, they’ve become distributors for La Marzocco, started a Speciality Coffee Association of Europe-certification-based coffee academy, and created a coffee festival, all while roasting for their own cafe and several clients. Convinced that competition is the secret to growing Slovenia’s coffee scene, Sevic and Turšič have also supported the development of regional competitions like AeroPress, Barista Battles, and Latte Art. Stow’s elegant flagship cafe occupies the garden level of the City Museum in central Ljubljana. Past meets present here: on one side, a scrabble of preserved Roman ruins evokes Ljubljana’s distant life as a Roman military base; on the other, an arching glass wall looks out over a quiet garden. The cafe serves single-origin coffees in a variety of extraction methods, along with some less commonly found products such as coffee flowers and cascara. “We want to try to have everything we can in this space,” says Sevic. “It’s time that people know what good coffee looks like.”

Stow Speciality Coffee is located in the City Museum of Ljubljana at Gosposka ulica 15. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

TOZD

Credit: Matic Bajželj

Riverside spot TOZD is a charmingly undefined space: part cafe, part bar, part library. Like Tine Čokl, TOZD owner Robert Henigman was one of the first in Ljubljana to serve specialty coffee. A chef by trade, Henigman spent about four years in Australia, where he worked in hospitality and discovered third wave coffee. In addition to locally roasted coffee supplied by Escobar (always two varieties on offer), TOZD is one of the best places to try Slovenian craft beer and regional artisan spirits. You can also get a bowl of homemade soup, made with market-fresh ingredients, or a charcuterie-and-cheese plate. Ruster, the bar’s signature cold brew and one of the only in Ljubljana, comes in a house-designed glass bottle perfect for pocketing.

Credit: Matic Bajželj

“The message I’d like to give is always try something different, but which is local and of good quality,” says Henigman. “People have their habits, but here I always try to change this.” The elbow-to-elbow seating in TOZD’s front room is a great vantage point from which to admire work by local artists and cafe friends, all of it for sale. Henigman transformed the back room into a lending library with a take-a-book, leave-a-book policy. Out front, low wooden seats look out over the Ljubija river. In winter, wrap yourself in one of the cafe’s military-grade wool blankets and settle in for a chat and an espresso—even when it’s snowing.

TOZD is located at 1000, Gallusovo nabrežje 27. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Escobar

You can’t talk about specialty coffee in Ljubljana without including Escobar, the city’s first micro-roaster (even if it’s based in the nearby town of Vrhnika). When Omar Escobar moved to Slovenia from Honduras, he couldn’t find any coffee that he liked. So he started roasting his own. This wasn’t a totally new venture for him—he grew up on a coffee farm and attended the Honduras Coffee Institute—so starting a specialty coffee business was a natural extension of what started out as a hobby.

Photo: courtesy of Katja Turk Escobar and Omar Escobar

Escobar directly imports the majority of the roastery’s single-origin beans from farmers he and his wife, Katja, know and supplies them to specialty cafes around Slovenia. The couple also developed a high-quality blend for more traditional cafes, and they pride themselves on being able to roast and package according to the needs of individual clients—the biggest advantage of being a small company, according to Katja. Last year, the Escobars roasted between 10 and 12 tons of coffee, nearly double the year before and a sign of the changes that are slowly but surely underway in Slovenia. “The market is tough, people here are between two walls and they don’t like to look over,” says Katja, colorfully. “[Changing] the habits of a traditional Slovenian is quite difficult. But the younger generation is more open, and they also like to discover new coffee and new methods of preparation.”

Escobar is located at Grilcev Grič 12, 1360 Vrhnika. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Kate Robinson (@KateOnTheLoose) is a freelance journalist based in Paris. Read more Kate Robinson on Sprudge.

The post A Coffee Lover’s Guide To Ljubljana, Slovenia appeared first on Sprudge.

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