SPOILER!!: Lorraine

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

Lorraine had heard out her fellow candidates and whilst some of them had ideas that overlapped with her own, she figured it was high time she strode over and made her own statement, as she contemplated her speech in her head so as not to sound repetitive for what had been said.

Stepping up to the lectern, she smiled and patiently waited for some quiet so she wasn't talking over too many people. "Good evening, witches and wizards of the United Kingdom!" She paused. "My name is Lorraine Ellsbury, for those who don't know, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to speak with you tonight as well over the course of the coming months."

Lorraine rested her fingertips on the lectern in front of her and smiled around the room. "It may surprise some of you of my candidacy as I have not been a prominent figure in the British Ministry for over a decade, but I assure you that I bring a wealth of both International and Domestic information to the table. I have kept up with our country's affairs throughout my time in the Australian Ministry of Magic as well as in my current position of European Transportation Ambassador."

"I could tell you more about my qualifications, or details of my stance, but that information is all readily available so instead, I'm going to provide you with a story about adversity and life." It was of course a well-known story that had been around for awhile, but it was appropriate and held a good punchline, with what she thought to be insightful as to the kind of Minister she might be.

"A young woman goes to her mother and tells her of her struggles and how difficult things are. She wanted to give up, as it seemed problems were constantly evolving, as soon as one was solved. The mother takes her daughter into the kitchen and fills three pots with water on a fire. Once the water boiled, she placed carrots in one pot, eggs in the second, ground coffee beans in the third. Letting them sit in the boiling water for about twenty minutes, she then turned off the burners and fished the carrots out, placed them in a bowl, pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl, and ladled coffee out into a third bowl. 'Tell me daughter, what do you see?'

Her daughter stared, confused, 'carrots, eggs and coffee of course, but what does this have to do with anything?' She frowned at her mother.

Her mother just smiled and took her daughter's hand to feel the carrots. The carrots were soft. She then asked her daughter to break the egg; to which she pulled off the shell and discovered a hard-boiled egg. Lastly, she sipped the coffee and tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter frowned again though, setting the bowl of coffee back down. 'But I don't get it.'

Her mother just explained patiently that the objects each faced the same adversity, boiling water, but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, unrelenting - but after the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile, with its thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior. But upon sitting in the boiling water, its interior hardened. But the coffee beans were different - they changed the water."

She paused and let the story sink in. "As Minister of Magic, I cannot lose my strength; I have to be there for the people, for you. When the hours are at their darkest and trials are greatest, my interest lies in changing the situation around me for the better. So I could bore with credentials and my stance, which is all public knowledge anyway, but I won't. I will say this though, I have the experience to respond to adversity and to bring a new light to life's chaos. I have no doubts that we will better understand each other as the campaign progresses and I look forward to getting to know you. Thank you for your time and enjoy the rest of your evening."

Finally, the brunette stepped down from the lectern to mingle some more and get to know more people (and for them to get to know her).

........................ what in the hell? She hadn't come here for story time. How was anyone supposed to better understand this woman if she just spent ten bloody minutes on a cooking lesson? Because no, details of her stance, as she put it, were not readily available, this was when she was supposed to tell her potential supporters exactly what it was that set her apart. And that purple prose about adversity and chaos at the end? Althea was having none of it.

Big fat nope right here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

Annnnnnnnd here were the people she wanted to talk to. EHEHEHHEE. Tori was as pleased as could be to find her former professors, standing TOGETHER, next to each other. WHEEEEHEHE. This was all her shipping dreams come true. Boy was she ever glad her quill and notepad were still out...

"Mr. and Mrs. Scabior," the redhead bubbled with a simply devilish grin, "how ARE you two? My favorite former professors... together at last, in public, happily married, making appearances, doing their duties as concerned citizens....."

What else could she say? Should she jog their memories? Surely they wouldn't forget THE Bunbury they'd had in class... Tori settled for something simple, her quill poised as ever on the parchment in front of her.

"PLEASE tell me your thoughts on the candidates so far."

Thankfully her attention was diverted... by a former student. No, she had not forgotten Tori Bunbury. By this point in her life she knew a few Bunburys and not one of them were forgettable. Still, this one was with the Daily Prophet so potentially she had an angle.

"We're well, Tori." And Althea had no reason to argue with any of that. Very happily married actually, though that last part, well Dash was really only here because she'd insisted he attend with her.

As he should.

Oh she wanted her thoughts? Well, Althea wasn't about to slander or libel half (more than half, lets face it) of the candidates running, but she was willing to make her support clear where it fell and let her silence account for the rest. "I came here today to support Sherman Clark in his bid for Minister, and he currently has my vote. However I'm not close-minded to other candidates -if they impress me- and I was impressed by Preston Kingsley, and to a lesser extent Erica Radley. I would have liked to hear more substance from the others and more detail about important matters. This is the wrong election to be campaigning for Hogwarts issues."