[Sorry for the broken promise of posting the Flat Richie update yesterday. It was a bit of a day from hell, with mother dear playing her manipulation game because she got up on the wrong side of the bed. Talking of beds, her new bed will be delivered today, and the delivery guys have given her the wonderfully exact time window of “7am to 9pm”… She’s sitting in the empty flat, waiting. Meanwhile, I am trying to organise an extra load for the 6 boxes and 6 chairs that need to be delivered to Ireland. And I am selling stuff on eBay, a bit of a practice round for three weeks from now… Otherwise the world is well because my son unexpectedly turned up here while my daughter is still here, too. I am thoroughly enjoying having my children around me for a short while…]

But now to today’s post. We last caught Flat Richie while frolicking with California girl Kathy. Transatlantic parcels take their time, but Richie made it to Korinka last week. The following is her own report, illustrated with her own pictures.

Chapter one: Where is Flat Richie?! 

Hello fellow RA fans!

So, Slovakia. We’re not a total backwater, we have internet, Air Bnbs and Starbucks, but this post-communistic country can still surprise with its laziness. Thus it happened that the first info about Flat Richie I received came from Guylty herself. See, Richie was waiting for me in my local post office, and both Kathy (who sent him a month ago from California) and Guylty knew it, but I didn’t! The post office workers just didn’t send me the yellow slip to pick him up. No idea how long he was sitting there… I finally rescued him on the 18th of July and had a chuckle when I found out from the sticker that there might be some “ass” included. Armitage ass? Anytime 😀

Chapter two: Got him! 

With Richie in my hands and shivers down my spine (not kidding, I was terribly excited) I headed straight to my parent’s, where my mum was babysitting our 16 months old charmer of a son. I explained the Flat Richie concept to her, told her how it crossed the Atlantic several times already and how we’ll get to see goodies from RA fans from all over the world. I got her quite excited too! She made me open the package right then and there and translate all the messages in the log for her. She says hi to all of you and says Flat Richie is a great idea!

Chapter three: Waiting in a special place.

Richie had to wait for more of my attention, though. I had to tackle heaps of ripe apricots that started arriving from well meaning family friends exactly when I didn’t need them to. But now I have a freezer full of fruit puree for the kiddo, which is a good thing (I sent Guylty a photo of a pot of puree that kiddo inhales in about a week). Then there were some assorted shenanigans and impromptu living room picnics (see photo of some treats that were “set free”) that both the kiddo, the dog AND the ants enjoyed very much. Oh, I do love summer! 

I planned to take the travelling shrine and the log to some good photo-op spots in Bratislava so you can see our lovely town, but it just didn’t work out. Instead of introducing you to our castle and an iconic bridge called the “UFO” (guess how it looks, hehe), I opted for a place that is special for me: my home office. I get there so rarely since kiddo’s birth that my Sons of Durin background picture is a veritable treat for me. I thought you wouldn’t mind if I just took a pic of Thorin 🙂 

I added a stock photo of Bratislava for Guylty to post here if she chooses. Google us, though, Slovakia is beautiful. We have about a hundred historical castles ranging from ruin to perfectly habitable, a lot of mineral water springs and some truly gorgeous mountain ranges.

Chapter four: Time to pick meself some goodies! 

You know, the ladies who got Flat Richie before me must be telepathic. How else would they include gifts that were so perfect for me? I’m forever an Oakenshield girl (with a dose of Mr. Thornton thrown in), so the first gift was obvious: a framed picture of Thorin that now rests in a cabinet with my favorite trinkets. I thank whomever put the cute cloud light in the box, my kiddo loves it! The last gift was easy to grab too. See, I did coloring books before they were cool… A Richard Armitage coloring book. What an idea! Here’s a pic of the coloring book with my pens ready.

Chapter five: Sail forth, Armitage in a box! 

As for the gifts that I included, I will just say that there might be a tad more Thorin inside the box than there was before, hehehe. In the end, Flat Richie stayed with me for a week and by the time I’m writing this report he hopefully arrived at his next destination. May he make all of you as happy as he made me, shivers and all! 

Love, Korinka

Big thanks to Korinka for her comprehensive report. Loved all the pictures – particularly the one of that blond cutie!!! Exact opposite of the Oakenshield, but well, I bet he could break hearts, too 😉. Also, the “ass” contained in the parcel was particularly intriguing! Hope you will have fun with your chosen gifts ❤️.

And further good news, btw. I have had word that Flat Richie has arrived at the next destination already!! We’ll hear from him at the weekend, I have been told, but in the meantime, here is the latest Flat Richie World Map: