A few Fridays ago I had the pleasure of doing a lecture / discussion and reading of The
Last Summoner in the Roncy district of Toronto. The historical fantasy takes us back to Poland in 1410 on the
eve of the Battle of Grunwald between the warrior monks of the Teutonic Order
and their oppressed Prussian slaves. The Lady Vivianne Schoen, Baronness von
Grunwald has a vision … a vision of a different battle. And a different world. When
she discovers that she can alter history, she is branded
and chased as a witch. Vivianne flees through a time-space tear to an alternate
present-day France, ruled by Teutonic Black Knights; where she must decide how
to remake the history she authored...Every choice has its price...
The Venue
Located on
333 Roncesvalles Avenue, in the heart of the Polish District (affectionately
known as Roncy), Alternative Grounds is a cool funky intellectual granola kind
of coffee house. LOL! What does that mean? Deep with high ceilings, the café
opens into an eclectic assortment of tables and seats that range from old 60’s
vinyl chairs to comfortable couches, surrounded by warm shades of brick wall,
adorned with original art work and wooden shelves. A small globe of the world sits on one table.
You help yourself to one of a variety of unique mugs and fill up with fresh
roasted fair trade coffee. People sit in groups, chatting, or alone with their
laptops. Many are obviously regulars. You can see it in their body language;
like the place belongs to them.
“Alternative
Grounds Coffee House and Roastery is a community-based business,” says Linda Burnside, owner. “We believe that the practice of business and the strengthening
of community should go hand-in-hand.” Their café is rooted in the concept of
“welcome”, evident in the arrangement
The Coffee
Alternative
Grounds originated in 1995 as a roaster of only fairly traded coffees; back
when little attention was paid to fairtrade and why it was important, says
Linda. Alternative Grounds was one of the first licensees when
in 1998 Fair TradeMark Canada, an independent fair trade licensing and
regulatory body came into being. They are the only roaster in the area that
roasts solely fair trade coffees and in 2005 they became a certified organic
processor.
Alternative
Grounds Café roasts and custom blends their coffees daily, providing the
highest and freshest quality coffee you can get and supports the people who
actually grow the beans and are stewards of the land. That’s what fair trade
means. “It also helps show that there are other ways of doing business, ways
based on mutual trust, cooperation and respect,” says Linda. They are a member
of Cooperative Coffees, which allows them to access a wide variety of coffees
and collectively contribute to the development and support of emerging
cooperatives. It’s a win-win scenario.
Nina Munteanu is an
ecologist and internationally published author of novels, short stories and
essays. She coaches writers and teaches writing at George Brown College and the
University of Toronto. For more about Nina’s coaching & workshops visit www.ninamunteanu.me. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for more about her writing.
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