I made a terrible mistake last night and broke one of my few golden rules in life….
I had a strong coffee after 3pm.
The result was inevitable; a disappointing, broken night’s sleep and 24 hours on, those wicked mid-afternoon caffeine sirens were calling me again. But this time, just like Odysseus as he sailed past the Sirens, I lashed myself to the metaphorical mast and resisted. I did, however, fail on the chocolate Twirl challenge. I guess no one’s perfect…
But let’s rewind.
The story goes that in the tenth century, high on the fertile, volcanic Ethiopian plateau, Kaldi (a young goat herder) noticed his flock becoming very energetic after eating the red berries from a certain bush. This was reported to a local monastery, which resulted in the head monk brewing a concoction with the said berries. He discovered this enabled him to stay awake during the long hours of evening prayer far more easily and coffee, as a drink, was born.
In AD 1000, Arab traders brought coffee back from Ethiopia and named it ‘qahwa’; meaning, ‘that which prevents sleep.’ In turn, in 1475, the first coffee shop (Kiva Han) opened. It was a roaring success and became central to family life to such a degree, that Turkish law allowed a woman to divorce her husband if he failed to provide her with a daily coffee quota. And we thought baristas were under pressure these days…
More than a thousand years on from these humble beginnings, coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world behind crude oil (a different type of the black stuff). Five billion cups are drunk each year. Interestingly, a recent survey estimated that 20 coffee shops are opening every week in Britain, whilst 30 pubs are closing. By those numbers, coffee shops will outnumber pubs by 2030, although not all are frequented by those who resemble the cast of ‘Friends’. Oh and the rapid growth isn’t even exclusive to Earth. The International Space Station installed an espresso machine in 2014, although I hear George Clooney has yet to visit…
The rise and fall of the pub is also worth reflecting on. Pubs, like modern coffee houses, were once valuable social centres; first seen in Britain in AD 43 in the form of ‘tabernae’. They were roadside shops selling wine to quench the thirst of Roman troops as they marched, conquered and built their way across British countryside. The Jutes, Angles and Saxons developed them further in the years that followed. Over time, tabernae became taverns, which became inns and then alehouses, public houses and then pubs. At the height of their popularity, there was one pub for every 200 people in the UK. Each offered a beverage, inevitably safer than the local tap water, but also food and rest for weary travellers, merchants and pilgrims (as immortalised in Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’). Think The Prancing Pony in Lord of the Rings though, rather than a Travelodge in Dover.
And what of all of this? The continuing rise of the coffee house and the decline of the public one?
Well, as the world continues to urbanise, the desire becomes ever stronger to connect, socialise, work and play. The archaic bastion of a male-dominated pub with pints and pork scratchings is now a post-modern centre of 4G connectivity, lattes, paninis, and croissants. Del Boy would approve I feel…just. As we look forward though, it’s not only high streets that will house such hubs, but floors within high-rise buildings; a shrinking of our urban ecosystems if you like. For those who enjoy a coffee and muffin in M&S for example, you’re already on your way there.
LWC’s social hubs are not entirely focused on the coffee bean as yet (and nor should they be, although Zanetas is a start). As we continue to transform our spaces within school though, one can see our desire to ensure all of our pupils are well-versed in conversational connectivity with each other, in an increasingly social media-driven world. At the heart of the LWC campus design in the years ahead, is what the Greeks would have called an ‘agora’, a meeting place. The initial stages of this are beginning to take shape on the pedestrianised street between the Flowers Science Centre and the Art Department.
Alas, we may not have any over-energetic goats on-site, but our aspiration to continue to find ways of bringing our community together in social spaces remains strong. The hope being, that our students, staff and parents continue to flourish in these influential spaces in the years to come.
Yours,
Adam
