Sometimes it's better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness

This afternoon diffrentcolours and I went to the art gallery, to get out of the rain as much as anything, and ended up at a lovely exhibit called Trading Station about tea, coffee, hot chocolate and sugar.

Right in the introduction, the exhibit says "These drinks were founded on the slave trade and colonization. It goes on: "The Gallery's collections were not designed to tell the story of hot drinks. They reflect the interests of privileged European collectors. We invite you to add comments and objects, to explore issues that our collections do not address."

And we got to see some objects on loan from members of the public too. My favorite being an old brass samovar. The accompanying text said

Electric samovar, mid 1900s Made in USSR Brass

My name is Iryna Anisenya, I am Russian. When I was a girl, in our family this samovar, nicknamed Hot Fat Man, with a funny doll on top of his head, was always in the centre of the festive table. My grandmother spread an elegant tablecloth, poured water into the samovar, arranged the cups and took sweets from the sideboard. The family sat around the table, and heart-to-heart conversation began. The samovar puffed, breathed hot steam, and began to sing: time to pour the delicious tea! The intimate conversation at the table revitalized everyone. It seems to me that an object like our samovar should be transmitted from generation to generation in every family, just as knowledge, memory and respect for our history and cultural traditions are passed on.