Fair Trade Awareness Week has been Ssstttrrreeetttccchhheeeddd!!!

With an article in this week's edition of the Minnedosa Tribune touting the value and importance of Fair Trade Coffee, and with a box of Fair Trade Awareness Materials wending their way to Minnedosa, the staff and management of Minnedosa's very own Chipperfield Coffee Company are extending Fair Trade Awareness Week !!

So, stop by the real Chipperfield Coffee Company and try the daily Fair Trade Selection (I highly recommend the Ethiopian Cafe Awasa myself), and learn a little more about Fair Trade and why it is not only a viable means of economic development, it is something that we as educated and informed consumers should be advocating for ALL food stuffs. Imagine the benefits to our local farm families if they were paid 25-30% of the final purchase price for their input into things like a loaf of bread, a case of beer, a bag of flour or a box of shredded wheat cereal ??

Wanna change the world?? Learn more about Fair Trade and you'll discover a tangible way to make it happen !!

See ya there !!

Visitors one spring afternoon ...

The other afternoon when I popped into Chipperfields for a coffee, the places was packed and a row of classic imported sports cars was parked outside the shop ... It turned out that a group of car enthusiasts on their way to Clear Lake had stopped in at Chipperfield Coffee Company en route !!

The eight cars were beautiful, and their stop was appreciated by the many people who were walking and driving along Main St that afternoon ... Rubber necking the row of cars pictured above made my photography especially hazardous !!

My only regret was that I couldn't get a picture of the row of cars in front of Chipperfields!

A picture like that could have been post card material ... oh well, we'll have to be content with Chipperfields standing in the background ...

Fair Trade !!! The only way to go ...

This week at the REAL Chipperfields (the place that didn't have a fire ... that didn't have a car drive through it's front window ... that didn't have any thing happen to it) the staff and management will be promoting FAIR TRADE products. Join them as they participate in Fair Trae Awareness Week by promoting the variety of Fair Trade products they use and sell ...

What's a Fair Trade Product??? Well, click here and learn more from the Trand Fair Canada web site ... but stop by and learn more about the wonderful world of Fair Trade Products and how your decision to buy a Fair Trade Coffee can make a difference half a world away ...

Wouldn't it be great to live in a world where we can change the world ONE CUP OF COFFEE at a time???

Well - that world is here ... stop by and order the daily menu Fair Trade Coffee and learn more.

And stay tuned ... in addition to the exciting conclusion of our fictional adventures ... we will also be sharing information about Fair Trade Products and the difference they can make to you as a consumer, and to the producers elsewhere in the world ...

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LXXII ...

The silence in the store was almost deafening ... the sizzle of the broken water pipe spraying on the exhaust system of the car ... the ticking of the car motor and the intermittent tinkle of glass falling to the floor were the only sounds as they followed J-- from the kitchen back into the wreckage strewn shop. They picked their way carefully through the debris, each of them looking awestruck at the carnage spread before them.

"Oh My Gawd," wailed Bonnie as she stepped past the ice cream cooler and the full extent of the accident became evident. Tables and chairs were scattered, the couches and counter were crushed under the weight of the car, and scattered everywhere was the remains of what moments ago had been a coffee shop brimming with beverages and refreshments ...

"Kinda puts the fire in a whole new perspective doesn't it?" snickered J-- as he poked at a soggy cinnamon wedge with his toe.

Jay-Dee and Dani snorted and supressed a smile.

As they stood the door of the car opened and three teenagers piled out on to the wreckage covered floor. They looked up and scurried over each other as they headed to the now gaping front windows and began running down the street.

"Hey," shrieked Bonnie dashing after them, "where are you going? Get back here ..."

Jackie, one of the EMS workers pulled her radio out and began talking into it, "Yeah, dispatch. I'm at Chipperfields, and we've had a bit of a problem." She stepped out on to the sidewalk and turned to watch the three teens flee, "Can you call the RCMP and let them know that a car just crashed through the front window and the suspects are running up the street?" She paused and held the handset up to her ear to listen to the reply. "They're running up toward the gas station ..."

Ross was pulling Bonnie back into the store as she continued to shout at the fleeing suspects running south on Main St.

"Dear, leave it to the police," pleaded Ross, "they'll deal with it."

"Yeah," added Kriss, "I know who they are ..."

"And where they live," added Abigail, the other EMS person quietly, "when the member shows up we'll get them where the kids are."

"Besides," added J-- with a grin, "they left their wallet and cell phone in the car." He leaned in the door and pointed to the items resting in the console.

A small crowd was gathering out in front of the store and people began talking and asking questions as they took in the vista of devestation spread before them.

Suddenly Jackie's voice cut through the din, "Will you all shut the hell up? I'm trying to listen to my radio and you're making too much noise ..."

Onlookers glanced at her nervously, but all of them suddenly silenced themselves.

"Thank you," Jackie said, shaking her head as she returned to her conversation on the radio.

"Maybe we should shut off the water?" asked JayDee noting the growing puddle of water that was spreading across the floor.

"Killing the power probably wouldn't be a bad idea too," observed Dani.

The two of them headed off to the back of the store to tend to that while The Rev and J--, lead Bonnie out to the street and to the passenger seat of their car.

"It's only a building," observed The Rev, "you can always rebuild it."

"Again," moaned Bonnie.

"We have the technology," offered J-- with a laugh, "we can rebuild him. Stronger, faster, more powerful ..."

"You watch way too much tv," said Ross shaking his head, on his face was a dumb-founded, "this is not some bionic man who needs to be rebuilt. This is a business."

"Oh I know," snorted J--, "but right now, you either laugh or you cry. And don't you think it is better to laugh?"

Ross stared at J-- and grinned slightly.

As the three of them stood by the open door of the car while Bonnie buried her face in her hands the RCMP car pulled up and threw on it's roof lights. The member stepped out with a smile.

"Bad day huh?" she asked as she strolled around the front hood of the car.

"Adds new meaning to 'Grand Re-Opening' doesn't it?" said J-- with a laugh.

The officer laughed as she walked over towards Jackie, who was still on the radio and the two of them began discussing with Kriss who the suspects were and where they went. As they spoke a second RCMP car pulled up, followed closely by a van from the Gas company. Across the street in the Hardware Store parking lot the editor of the town newspaper pulled up and hopped out of his car carrying his camera.

Ross looked around at the still increasing crowd and said, "Too bad we couldn't put on coffee for everyone ..."

J-- glanced around and laughed, "Yeah, we haven't had this big a crowd on Main Street since the Church fire ..."

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LXXI ...

The door opened and in strolled J-- and The Rev, both were smiling.

"So, how goes the battle?" asked J-- with a wide grin, "almost ready to re-open?"

"Almost," said JayDee as she flopped down on the couch and smiled back at the two men who were now standing glancing around at the clean up and restoration that the staff had been rushing to get done before Bonnie and Ross arrived home later that day.

"So, do Bonnie and Ross know about the fire yet?" asked The Rev.

JayDee shook her head as she picked up a coffee mug and sipped it, as she put down the mug she spoke, "We tried their cells, but they were out of service, and we emailed them, but got no reply."

"Did anyone just go up to the house and knock on the door?" asked J--, still grinning.

"I did," said Dani as she walked up from the back of the store. There were sploches of paint on her cheeks and in her hair, "But there was no answer."

"Did you look in the windows?" asked The Rev, his eyebrows lifting in amusement.

"No," said Dani, she paused then gave in to the smile that was fighting to come out, "actually I looked in all the windows and knocked on them ..." with that, she blushed.

"Were they home?" asked J--, a broad smile crossing his face, "or were they really out of the country?"

"I don't actually know," said Dani seriously, "I couldn't tell."

"Was Ross' car there?" asked The Rev.

"The garage was locked up tight, and the window blinds were drawn over all the windows too," said Dani, her face becoming more intense, "So, it could have been, but I just couldn't tell."

"Well," said J-- thoughtfully, the smile fading from his face for a moment, "when are they due back?"

"In about an hour," said JayDee leaning back on the couch and stretching.

"Gonna be re-opened by then?" asked The Rev.

"Yup," said JayDee, "we all worked the last three days after Cascade Cleaning came up and tidied up. We've cleaned machines, we've painted, we've re-decorated, and we've gotten everything ready. We are good to go ..."

"Congratulations," said The Rev, "but did you remember to get the baked goods ready to sell?"

"Yes," said JayDee, her eyes narrowing, "I thought of THAT." She glared at The Rev, show simply smiled back at her, "I had everyone do something at home, so our cupboards are well stocked."

"Good for you," observed The Rev, "that's why you get paid the big bucks right?"

"Sure," said JayDee, picking up her coffee and taking another sip.

"So, what's left to do?" asked J--.

"Not much," said Dani, "we've got everything done. We just need to turn on the sign, and wait for Bonnie and Ross to come back from their vacation."

"Their stay-cation you mean?" said J--, "I still think they were hiding out in thier basement."

"You never know," said JayDee, standing up and stretching as she picked up her coffee mug and headed over to the switch for the neon sign, "we ready?" she asked as her hand reached out to the light switch. Dani nodded and JayDee flicked the light on for the first time in five days, "Chipperfields is once again open for business."

"Yeah," said J--, "can I have my usual?"

"One Organic Manitoba coming up," said Dani as she headed around the counter, "you want your usual too Rev?"

The Rev nodded as he again glanced around the store, "Other than the loss of the crap on the top shelf over the office, no juke box and the new pictures on the wall where the juke box used to be, you'd never know there was a fire here less than a week ago."

JayDee nodded, "The only worry I have is the freezing rain this morning," she nodded out the winow, "all we'd need to have happen now is a car to come careening through the front window and shut us down again."

"Yeah like that would really happen," observed The Rev, "like they say - 'lightning doesn't strike twice.'"

J-- snickered behind The Rev, "now that you've said it, it WILL happen."

"I hope not," said JayDee glancing about the store nervously, "it's been a bad enough week, we don't need any more problems."

As she spoke the door opened and Kriss strolled in, "they back yet?" she asked as she glanced around at the work she and the other two had accomplished in recent days.

Dani and JayDee both shook their heads.

"They could be in any time," said JayDee glancing at the clock behind the counter.

"If they really left," observed Kriss laughing, "I still think they've been on a stay-cation in the basement. The picture we had was compelling."

"Yeah if someone hadn't left it on the table before the fire," said The Rev smirking as he glanced at J--. J-- shrugged and laughed as Dani slid his tea across the counter. s J-- reached for the tea JayDee gasped behind him.

"They're here," she observed pointing out the front window at Ross' car that had just pulled up at the curb. The view was blocked momentarily by to EMT personnell walking past the front window and coming in the door.

"You open?" asked one of the Paramedics.

Dani answered with a nervous smile, "Yes, what can I get you?"

The other paramedic replied, "Two Rolos to go please?"

"Coming right up," Dani was nervously watching Bonnie and Ross step out of the car as she spoke.

The store fell silent as those assembled watched with some apprehension as Bonnie and Ross walked in the door themselves.

"Hi," said Bonnie as she stepped into the store, her tone more of a question rather than a greeting. She glanced at the faces of all those standing before her and said accussingly, "Okay what the hell has happened while we've been gone?"

Ross stepped up behind her, his face was unshaven and looked relaxed until he notices the group gathered in front of the counter, "Oh oh ..." he said the smile leaving his face, "why does it look like someone has died ..." he glanced over to the corner and noticed the lack of a juke box and swallowed nervously, "and where is my juke box?"

"Ross. Bonnie," JayDee's tone was level and calm, "there is something I need to tell you."

"What?" Bonnie had the look of a deer caught in the headlights of an on comng semi, "what?"

"Well," JayDee was measuring her words and thinking of how to break the news of the fire gently, "last week we had a tiny problem with the juke box."

"What kind of problem?" asked Ross, his hand reaching out to a table to steady himself. He glanced around himself as though he were searching for a wayward Juke Box.

"It kind of started a fire," said JayDee quietly. You could have heard a pin drop, but no one had one handy to let fall to the floor, instead the only sound to break the silence was the shrill voice of one of the paramedics who suddenly screamed.

"Holy ..." she pointed out the front window, "that car is coming straight for us ..." Her finger pointed to the late model Taurus that was sliding diagonally across the intersection on a direct collision course for the front of the store. It was as though everything shifted into slow motion. The nine of them who were standing in various places around the front of the store suddenly began moving towards the back of the store while the car ricocheted off of the front of Ross' Toyota and then careened into the front windows of the store.

With a deafening crash the car shattered all four sheets of glass, crushed one of the couches and sent the display stand, the computer and the bar stool chairs flying across the front of the store. The car continued on its trajectory crashing through the display case, the counter and ploughing its way forward until it was resting in a heap of debris from which the glass fronted cooler was poking up. What was once a counter with an assortment of equipement, machines and coffee carafes was reduced to a broken pile of wood, metal, glass and assorted other items that no longer resembled their original purpose.

For a long moment the only sound that could be heard was the spray of water from the broken taps, the skitter of debris falling to the floor, and the intermittent tapping of the car motor as it cooled with various internal knocks and clunking. With a wisp of smoke, and a smattering of dust floating in the air, nine heads poked out from the kitchen doorway to take in the devestating vista spread before them.

They stood silently taking in the tableau with no one able to speak until J-- shrugged and with a broad mischievious smile said; "Gee, I didn't know you were planning on setting up a drive thru?"

Pssst ...

It's JayDee's Birthday !!!

Have a Happy One !!!

Overheard at Chipperfields' ... Part LXX ...

Dani, JayDee, The Rev and J-- were standing across the street in front of the Hardware store watching as the fire men entered and exited the front doors of the store. Wisps of smoke were still curling out the door that was propped open by one of the iron chairs used outside in the summer time.

"I knew I shouldn't have played a country song," said The Rev, trying to smile slightly, "I always said it was just bad news ..."

"Not really funny Rev," said JayDee, "how are we going to tell Ross and Bonnie about this?"

"Well, if this doesn't smoke them out of their basement, nothing will," said J--, his face looking serious, "pardon the pun ..." a slight smile crosed his lips.

As they stood with a group of folks from the community they noticed the fire chief heading across the road. He had removed his fire helmet and was carrying it tucked under his arm. He was wearing a forced smile as he approached. He nodded at J-- and The Rev as he stepped up in front of JayDee and Dani.

"The fire's out," he said flatly, "it looks like the juke box is toast and the pictures on the wall around it are gone, but we managed to get it out before it did too much damage." He paused briefly, "You're just lucky a couple of us were up at the station when this was called in, or it would have been a total lose."

"Like the Church," said The Rev shaking his head.

"Pretty much," said the Chief, "I'd hate to think about losing another Main Street institution."

"So, how bad is it?" asked Dani, shivering from standing outside without her coat.

"It's not as bad as it could be," said the Chief, "but it's pretty bad. There's a lot of smoke damage. But the place looks prett good. Nothing a good clean up and a coat of paint and some repairs couldn't set straight."

"When can we go in?" asked JayDee, biting her lip, "and when can we get the cleaners in?"

As she spoke the firemen dragged the charred remains of the juke box out and dumped it unceremoniously on the street in front of the store. The stepped away as one of thier comrades hosed the juke box down.

"So, what happened?" asked J--, "can you tell anything?"

"Well, I took a look in the Juke Box and it looks like whoever tuned it up used a fair bit of lubricant and oil, and my guess would be that that stuff overheated and lit up. The 45s in there would have lit up like a christmas tree, and the rest is ..." he exhaled, "your just lucky it wasn't worse."

"So can we go in?" asked JayDee, "to atleast lock up the cash and get out coats?"

"Oh sure," the chief said, "the fire marshall happened to be in town, and he's cleared the site already. The only loose end right now is contacting the owners of the building, and Bonnie and Ross so they can get the insurance involved."

"So, we can go in?" asked JayDee, her face serious, her eyes wide.

"Yeah sure," said the Chief, "come with me." He turned and headed back across the street. JayDee and Dani followed the Chief, JayDee turned and noticed The Rev and J-- were standing on the curb not moving.

"Come on you two," she said shaking her head, "you're part of the family."

Together the four of them followed the Chief across the street, past the remains of the juke box and in the front door. The interior of the store was dark, and the distinct smell of smoke caused them to gasp and cough.

"Gee, I didn't think I'd smell this again anytime soon," said The Rev as he stepped in the door and looked around.

"This isn't quite as bad as the Church," observed the Chief.

"No this is like the episode of Happy Days when Arnolds burned down," observed JayDee taking in the darkened tableau spread before her, "Where do we even begin?" a slight tear formed in her eye.

"I'd call Cascade Cleaning in Brandon," said the Chief, "they could be up here tonight and you could be up and running again in a couple of days."

"Don't I have to wait for Ross and Bonnie to open the Insurance claim?" asked JayDee.

"Well, if you explain the situation to them," said the Chief, "they might start the clean up so you can get back up and running. But I don't know. It wouldn't hurt to ask."

"So, do we need to find Ross and Bonnie?" asked Dani.

"I could drive up to their house and let them know," said J-- with a laugh.

"Not Funny," said JayDee flatly, "what if they really aren't at the house? What do we do then?"

"We could email them," suggested Dani helpfully, "I'm sure they'll figure something is up when they sign on to the security camera and don't see anything." Her hand waved toward where the camera once was. It was then that all of them noticed the charred and melted line of memorabilia and collectables that had taken the brunt of the fire.

JayDee gasped, "I thought you said it was only the juke box and the wall that was damaged," her hand motioned to the shelf, "there's a heck of alot more burned than just the corner."

"Well," The Chief paused, "the flames caught the fake pine tree stuff up there and it just went woosh ... looks like the TV and all the electronics there are done, and all the crap on the top shelf. I think the plastics just lit up like candles ..."

"Ross is gonna be some upset," said J-- quietly, "all his treasures are gone ..."

"Really," stated JayDee with a sigh, "I think losing his coffee memorabilia will be the very least of his worries ..."

"You okay?" asked Dani, arching an eyebrow, "you're sounding a little wound up ..."

JayDee sighed, "I'm okay ... I just feel so helpless right now ..."

Dani and J-- turned and looked at The Rev.

"Got anything to add?" asked the Chief glancing at The Rev too.

"Nope," The Rev shook his head, "I've been here before and helpless is all you get ..."

The other four nodded their heads.

"The best we can do right now is get busy and clean the place up," as The Rev spoke he pulled out his cell phone, "Phone the cleaning company now and get on to with it ..." he handed his phone to JayDee who nodded as she took it.

"Got the number for them Chief?" she asked as she flipped open the phone.

The Chief nodded and pulled a small book out his overalls and recited a number. Wordlessly JayDee began dialing it ...

J-- looked around and shook his head, "It's gonna be a big job ..."

"Got that right," said the Chief, "everything edible is gonna have to get dumped. And everything will have to be cleaned. It's gonna be big ..."

The four of them stood shaking their heads ...

"Bonnie's not gonna be happy," observed The Rev.

"Should we drive out to the house and let them know?" Dani asked, a slight smile crossing her face, "or do we email them in Costa Rico?"