A new beginning(Inquista-Strathae Summit 2021)
-
"I haven't escaped from the hustle-and-bustle of Saint Dominico in a long time. It's nice to experience a change of scenery every once in a while," Mikaela expressed with a smile, as she peered out the window at the rural surroundings.
"I can't wait to see the eco-village. I bet it will be really cute and quaint. Deffo instagrammable. Inquistans are very interested in importing more organic foods. We take our health very seriously, and we always make sure that we put the best and healthiest things into our bodies. I've been eating pure organic food since I followed Lilly Eats on Instgram. Do you follow her? She makes the most delish looking food, and her body looks soooooo good! Last week, she posted this cute pic of herself in this stunning yellow dress, and her body looked so gorg. It's totally thanks to her great recipes. I've been having nothing but organic berry smoothies since June. My body is going to look so snatched in my Christmas greeting card photos in December. I'll be sure to send you one."
"Yes, I do know the Roscoes, and I am one of their godparents. They're a kind family, and they're very generous too - they give a lot money to my cousin's foundation, the Silas Kligenberg Institute of Child Illiteracy. I've never tried your shortbread, just because it's waaaay too many calories, but I am sure it's delish."
-
Seirlit listened she knew of Mikaelas reputation for being a major chatterbox but had also heard she was lovely and smart behind it all and her interest in fashion and fads. She responded "I am glad you are looking forward to the village and farm , the food there is just amazing. Yes I heard about your Autistic god son , Amaziah isn't it , we were all so sorry to hear about what happened to him , the whole nation that knows is disgusted with what went on there and is hoping he recovers well. No kid deserves that. maybe our nations could work together more to form an international organisation to combat that , a proper one not the one that gobshite Blair set up but we have an amazing beautiful place to visit right now!" She had heard about the attack and wanted to do something but maybe that was something for other times. They arrived at the Cana Organic Farm with its farm, farm shop , and cafe owned by farmer part of a farming co-operative like many farmers were. They arrived and met Laoghaire Mac Cana MacCarmaig who welcomed them to the farm explaining how he built the farm at 22 after marriage on the land given to him by the clan and brought the lands around the house as time went on as he developed a farming business now being a good supplier and exporting to other countries. They tried the shortbread and tea and also the Stovies from the cafe menu.
Then they visited the eco-village of Glenablair . The community was only 17 years old and had its own farm and businesses contributing to income of workers and was run as communal community. The community living close to the land renting the houses for cheap to people of any clan or origin. She wanted to show the more accepting side of Strathae and that most people were very nice, they toured the houses and public venues and the Breizhighist temple , Seirlit explained about the customs in the temple and some of the odder elements such as the Skyclad ceremonies where whole families would go Skyclad for a dance to be closer to the nature gods. She wanted to show the best of Strathae and that it wasn't all like what she thought, they welcomed her and showed her the liberal Orthodox church in the village as well. Everyone welcomed her and it was genuine welcome though they did have a bit of joke about her attire perhaps not being most suited to the more boggy areas around the commune!
They then went back to the capital and to the government Sruighlea Castle where they held many of the meetings at executive level. They would discuss terms in the main hall.
-
Mikaela nodded in sorrow as Seirlit offered her condolences about the unfortunate events that surrounded her godchild. The Archbishop appreciated her warm words and her empathy, but was slightly taken aback when Blair was referred to as a 'gobshite', which made her turn red as she held in a good laugh. Mikaela liked the idea of organization which would combat such hate crimes, and agreed to Seirlit's proposal emphatically.
The Archbishop enjoyed visiting the Cana Organic Farm and Glenblair village. Both the farm and the village were rather picturesque, and the Archbishop made sure to take several photos of the landscape, the food and the crops on her phone while she toured the premises. The Breizhighist Temple was especially pretty, and the Archbishop made sure to compliment her hosts on its architecture. Breizhighist traditions and ceremonies sounded both interesting and fun to the Archbishop, who quite liked the sound of the dance worship.
Mikaela laughed along with the village residents as they pointed out her attire. It made no sense for someone to wear 3 inch heels into the middle of the bog, but alas, beauty is pain. Practicality was not much of a thought when it came to the Archbishop's clothes.
Once the Archbishop made her way into Sruighlea Castle, she seated herself in the main hall and crossed her legs.
"Thank you so much for that warm welcome, and that great tour of the farm and Glenblair. Such a charming place! I definitely think many people overseas have the wrong impression of Strathae.
I would definitely be interested in eliminating trade barriers between our countries. Inquista is always interested in diversifying our import and export markets, and I definitely think Strathae offers some unique things in terms of organic produce, which I know Inquistans would appreciate to get their hands on. Ideally, in the future, I would love for all Inquistan food imports to be completely GMO free."
-
Seirlit listened and replied "indeed we do have fine foodstuffs probably world famous and what we are famous for other than breizhighism. However what we struggle with is bigger industry things like cars , white goods etc we tend to import them and we know Inquista is a good source of that as is Telum.We'd like to make that trade easier by dropping tariffs and setting up an affordable freight rail link to Inquista"
Seirlit and the Inquistan delegation as well as the Strathaen delegation were sat on the long table in the castle hall with the Ardchosantóir Fionola Báirbre MacCarmai of Strathae. The state dinner was declared open with a variety of cheese dishes vegetable dishes and puddings including chocolate shortbread being served. They ate and more food came along with the drinks , there was obviously some whisky involved! Well maybe a bit more.
They went to the meeting room after , where they were to discuss terms.Seirlit started by saying "Is there any particular things Inquista would like to see in a treaty? One idea that's been touted here is some sort of cultural exchange programme between strathae and Inquista and also it's church as well as education exchanges so we can access the best of each other's education systems."
-
"I'm prepared to drop all tariffs on all goods between Inquista and Strathae, if you're willing to also be so bold. A freight rail also would be terrific!"
Mikaela enjoyed the dinner, and sampled the variety of foods, but she made sure to eat within what her diet permitted. However, once the drinks came, the Archbishop got excited. She loved a good drink. She diligently sipped the whisky, which was not normally her drink of choice, but it was still a drink she enjoyed nonetheless. Before the Archbishop knew it, she'd downed three whole glasses. The Archbishop complimented the hosts on the wonderful dinner and for topping her up on her whiskey.
Inside the meeting room, the Archbishop was glad to be able to sit down again, as she realised she could barely walk in a straight line. Typical lightweight. The Archbishop nodded along as Seirlit put forward her suggestions.
"An education and cultural exchange scheme sounds great! In addition to this, I propose a work experience and volunteering scheme, in which Inquistan and Strathaen young adults can apply to do work or volunteer in our respective countries, such as in Strathaen ecovillages, and community centres in Inquista. This would would allow young adults to gain valuable work experience while giving back to the communities in which they're serving. The Inquistan Orthodox Church is keen to encourage community service and charity among our youth, and hopefully the government of Strathae is eager to do the same.
While we're on the topic of exchanges, I also propose visa-free travel between our countries."
-
Seirlit listened to Mikaelas responses she was particuarly glad Inquista would drop all tariffs . She said in response "We can definitely drop all tariffs ourselves , the only requirement will be that goods meet our enivironmental laws and our laws banning meat products apart from pet food. But aside from that we are happy to do zero tariff and free trade and allow your companies in freely."
She moved on to the cultural exchange and was excited by the additions proposed saying " Joint volunteering schemes or short term work exchanges sound fantastic for both of us , the links from these could help us both and visa free travel we'd definitely give , perhaps even easier residency status requirements for Inquistans allowing your people to jump higher up the queue in applications." The meeting was going well and hopefully a good treaty would result from it. She then turned to transport "I want to suggest a bold idea , a night train and high speed trains from Dungael to Inquista via all our main cities via Czechslavia we'd obviously have to talk to Czechslavia but I believe a programme like this under Eurorail would benefit green travel and I know a great many Strathaens would use such a service , perhaps if branded right even tourists from other nations wanting a great journey would."
-
The Archbishop nodded with approval. "Of course, Inquistan producers will be more than capable of meeting any standards that Strathae may require. I also definitely support a night train and high speed rail between our two countries. I suggest giving Bina a nice ring and asking her if Czech Slavia would be willing to cooperate."
Mkaela sat up straight and placed her hands in her lap. "I think I've mentioned everything that Inquista was prepared to ask for. Do you have any other areas of cooperation or requests in mind?"
-
Seirlit thought after listening the meeting had been very productive with the agenda pretty much met , free trade and cooperation through exchanges in education and culture plus they had now some good positive images getting out. She replied " Perhaps the last thing is if we drop visa requirements for tourism for each others tourists and set up a cultural organisation between our two countries encouraging twinning and cultural festivals between each other to promote the real true positive image of each others countries in our respective countries. Sadly many do not see the difference between bigoted faiths and Inquistan Orthodox church as your church has orthodox in the title which is associated with the more lets say extreme faith we could change these by having programmes here on our media showing more liberal and accepting christian faiths like yours and you could do vice versa with showing some of the more liberal breizhighist faiths. Something to show not all religious are extremist to each side."
-
"Ah, interesting," the Archbishop stated with a nod, "that sounds great!"
The Archbishop compiled everything that was agreed upon and presented it to Seirlit. "So, is this a deal?" the Archbishop asked curtly as she picked up a pen, ready to sign an agreement.
I. The elimination of all tariffs and trade barriers between Inquista and Strathae.
II The creation of greater and more affordable freight and passenger rail links between Inquista and Strathae. The new rail links will include, at minimum, a high speed and night train from Dungael to Inquista.
III. The establishment of education, volunteering, and work experience programs between Inquista and Strathae, which will particularly focus on youth and young adults.
IV. The establishment of a cultural exchange that will instill positive images and feelings towards Inquista and Strathae in respective citizens. A cultural organisation will be created to help facilitate this exchange, foster cultural festivals, and host other cultural activities between Inquista and Strathae.
V. Visa requirements for Inquistans and Strathaeans participating in any sort of exchange program, work, volunteerism, or for the purposes of tourism, between the two countries, will be eliminated, and visa-free free travel will be permitted. -
Seirlit looked over the the agreement and replied "We are willing to sign on the dotted line . I very much hope we can have very positive relations in the future." Then she invited Mikaela to a traditional Gaels Dance night at the castle , society was getting together and she thought it would be nice for her to meet the clan chiefs in the castle.
-
Once the agreement was made, the Archbishop's eyes lit up when she was invited to participate in a traditional Gaels Dance night. Mikaela absolutely loved to dance, it is her second most favourite thing to do after singing. The Archbishop was on the very top of Inquista's pop music scene during the 2000's and early 2010's, and so she spent a considerable amount of time dancing and performing complex choreography while simultaneously singing (or usually, lip syncing).
The Archbishop had never tried traditional Gaels Dance, but after observing some of it, she took to it quite naturally. Mikaela couldn't resist putting her own flair to it, and so she incorporated a little bit of twerking and booty shaking into the traditional dance, which made her stand out. In between songs, the Archbishop also made her rounds around the room, greeting and meeting various clan chiefs and other people of importance. The Archbishop also made a point to dance with them, and then afterwards, offered to take a drink of whisky with them.
Mikaela was already quite tipsy when the dancing began, but after chugging down numerous glasses of whisky with some clan chiefs, she got absolutely shattered. By the end of the night, the Archbishop was breakdancing and doing the worm in the middle of the dance hall.
After the festivities, it was time for the Archbishop to return home. Mikaela stumbled out of the castle, and proceeded to vomit from atop of the balcony down below. After then fumbling down a few stairs, the Archbishop then vomited some more on the steps below her. The Archbishop threw her hands into the air and acted defensively. "This doesn't count as littering!" the Archbishop protested out loud.
Once she finished crawling down the remainder of the steps, the Archbishop was aided by some sort of member of security, who then carried her to her car, which returned the Archbishop to her pink jet.
