website statistics
Jump to content

Totallympics Open International Song Contest 2020


 Share

Recommended Posts

:MLT is in :cheer: 

 

Only @thepharoah for Egypt and @amen09 for Tunisia are still missing, although our Egyptian friend answered positively yesterday, so I have good hopes. Other than that, @LDOG is the only jury member missing, but since our other Argentinian contestant has voted, Argentina is already known to be officially in for a while.

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

Delegation location 8 - Staverden

In the woods around Ermelo, we find a city - although you do either have to know it's there or just happen to stumble upon it, as yours truly once did. We could list all of the inhabitants without too much hassle, since Staverden is home to only 30 people. That is not a typo: 30 people, and with that Staverden officially is the smallest city in the Benelux - it was granted city rights in 1298, the German emperor confirmed them in 1309, but around 1320 the idea of a true city was given up and so Staverden remained small...but a city.

 

8071fe7e-6426-4747-9740-d61329cc732c_thu

Staverden castle, which lands comprise basically the entire city of Staverden


The main reason of existence for Staverden is the castle with the same name, built around the year 1300 and rebuilt and restyled several times since those days. The local dukes used it as a hunting castle and had to keep and protect it for the count, with one of their obligations being to keep white peacocks there: the feathers were used to decorate the count's helmets - the nickname of 'White Peacock's Keep' didn't come out of nowhere. This tradition is still around, although the feathers aren't used to decorate helmets anymore, and every two years one person or organization who has meant something for the cultural and natural heritage of the Gelderland province receives a white feather.

 

Pauw%20Staverden%202.jpg

This is a peacock and the keen observer will have noticed that it's white


Reading this takes longer than walking through Staverden, so we'll finish up with the local legend: there's a sort of monument behind the castle, with the text 'Leonora 1353' engraved into it. According to legend, this is about Lady Leonora van Barchem, who was supposed to get married with some dude. She married someone else, but he went on a crusade and the first guy tried to swoop in and then killed her lover when he came back. Leonora went to live with her foster mom - Eleonor of Woodstock of the royal House Plantagenet, married to the local count - at Staverden and slowly withered away and died in 1353. The 'Black Lady of Staverden' is still around, according to locals, and at night one can hear her cries around the castle, a place one should avoid during the night.

 

Leonaras-poll.jpg?resize=1024,683&ssl=1

The stone monument for Leonora, the Black Lady of Staverden - seeing her means certain death, so get out when you hear her greet the peacocks and let out her cries of torment and sadness

 

Lastly, a less...eery kind of fun fact: double Olympic hockey champion Jacques Brinkman leads a brewery at the Staverden castle since 2018, where they brew De Uddelaer, named after the nearby town of Uddel. Apparently this beer is getting popular around here and one can go and get a tour from the hockey legend himself.

 

Delegations in Staverden

:ITA Italy

:MLT Malta

:IRL Ireland

So will this delegation be accommodated in this castle? I know it's Halloween, but hearing the Black Lady of Staverden in the middle of the night would be something.. you know.. unpleasant to put it mildly :woot:  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, Glen said:

So will this delegation be accommodated in this castle? I know it's Halloween, but hearing the Black Lady of Staverden in the middle of the night would be something.. you know.. unpleasant to put it mildly :woot:  

Well it's Staverden, so...it's basically either the castle or setting up a tent in the forest around it :d 

 

There's some rooms reserved, maybe go ahead and get a taste of the Uddelaer beer to try and deal with the Black Lady, why do you think our Irish friend and his buddy Seamus are located here? :d 

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, tuniscof said:

can i still vote ? 

I am not sure what the rules say about this, but since Tunisia was already entered and so you voting would not mean there's a new country or anything, I'd say it's no problem (although if you could send your votes today, that'd be much appreciated).

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

I am not sure what the rules say about this, but since Tunisia was already entered and so you voting would not mean there's a new country or anything, I'd say it's no problem (although if you could send your votes today, that'd be much appreciated).

Oops... I thought that was amen09. :lol:

 

Nevermind then, I have no idea what is the procedure here.

#banbestmen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...