Hello my lovely booklovers,

how are you? Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, a blog hop by the lovely Diana over at Part Time Monster. Every weekend we get together for virtual coffees and a little casual chat. How has this past week been for you?

If we were having coffee today, I’d offer you a chocolate Macchiato or a steaming mug of mulled wine to get into the Christmas mood! Can you believe Christmas is less than a week away?? Where did the year go?

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that this week has been all about Christmas presents for me. It all started with me receiving a mystery envelope, that contained a Doctor Who charm bracelet. This time there was a note, and it came from my bestie! She really does know me.

All week I’ve been trying to find presents for my family members. And I am happy to say that except for one I still have to pick up, I’ve got all of them together now. It’s such a relief, now I just hope my family likes them.

My Secret Santa parcel has arrived and it came all the way from Utrecht, the Netherlands. And boy, did my Secret Santa Marleen spoil me! Just look at all the amazing stuff she got me:

I love all of them so much! Now I just hope that my own Secret Santa liked what I got and made for her! I’ve been checking her social media bút she hasn’t posted yet, but through parcel tracking I know she has received it!

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I attended a classical piano concert last night. My friend, Hungarian pianist Elöd Ambrusz played his second solo-concert here in Germany, showcasing the works of Liszt, Schumann, Beethoven, Chopin and Rachmaninoff, as well as an on-the-spot Jazz Improv of Silent Night as an encore. He was incredible and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that his auditions at some of Germany’s top universities and music academies next week will be successful. He is already one of Hungary’s top young pianists as a student of an elite Budapest music high school, and his concert last night was proof that he has truly mastered his instrument. Because Elöd’s father works for my dad and we’ve known the entire family since Elöd was born, the entire office was invited for gulash at my gran’s house after the concert, and it ended up a really nice night with easy conversation, music and gran’s home cooking for 10 of us.

If we were having coffee today, I’d tell you that I tried to get press coverage for Elöd’s concert and sent a note around to the publications in town, asking to be added to their cultural calendar and suggesting reviews and/or interviews. I even provided info on how to contact Elöd, that he’s fluent in German etc. While the two main daily papers didn’t follow up, a “news outlet” that’s pretty controversial to start with sent me the rudest reply. And not just some “reporter”, but the CEO. He went on an all-out attack, asking whether what I sent was meant as a press release and suggested I got my M.A. from a gum machine and he didn’t want to read all that. Well, my email included the flyer that had the main info on it, I just provided additional info and it came from my private email, not from any official capacity as event organiser or PR person. And as far as press releases go, I have had to work with far worse. It took all my willpower not to respond in the heat of the moment, because in the end I guess I’m more professional than him. But he chose the wrong person’s leg to piss on, and asking around with friends and family (some of whom hold political positions in town) revealed that he treats everyone this unprofessionally. So instead of giving him the satisfaction of rising to his bait, I’m doing something else. Guess who will have official complaints lodged against them with the German press council and the German Union of Journalists? Two can play that game, mate. And unlike him, I DID have journalistic training. He runs a glorified news blog that publishes press releases verbatim (maybe he didn’t like mine because he would have had to rewrite it) and aggravates everyone he comes into contact with. Because he holds a position within the GUJ aimed at young journalists, I will simply ask whether behaviour like his is really the sort of example a role model for young journalists should be setting in his official GUJ capacity and provide a screenshot of his unprovoked outburst…. That should land him in a bit of trouble. Especially because I will ask those who have been treated like this by him to report him as well. And because we’re fairly well-connected in this town, we’ll be suggesting that he and his organisation get blacklisted and removed from media mailing lists of all groups, activities and events we are in some way connected with, even if it’s just friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend. Might even mention his conduct to his sponsors – pretty sure they would not appreciate being treated like that either. If he lashes out at a civilian who informs him of a classical concert like this, I can only imagine how he treats others who have to deal with him and genuine news sources. As I said, two can play that game. And frankly, he’s exactly the sort of journalist I hate the most, because his behaviour reflects badly on all of us who are trying to do their job well.

Anyway, that’s it from me for this week. I’m not usually this vindictive, but I simply don’t tolerate crappy journalism and rude behaviour. How was your week?

Check out the other Weekend Coffee Sharers as well. I’m sure they’ll love to see you too!

Thank you for having coffee with me. Same time, next week?