The Chilli Alchemist: October ’15
It’s sometimes said that Communism started with four people in a room. The word ‘Communism’ is actually derived from the French word ‘communisme’ which developed out of the Latin words ‘communis’ and ‘isme’, and was in use as a word designating various social situations before it came to be associated with more modern conceptions of an economic and political organization. ‘Communis’ can be translated to “of or for the community” while ‘isme’ is a suffix that indicates the abstraction into a state, condition or action, so ‘communism’ may be interpreted as “the state of being of or for the community”. Now, I’d never describe the UK’s largest free chilli club as a Communist organization in modern terms, far from it, but it did start with four people in a room (by ‘room’, I mean ‘bar’) & it’s definitely “for the community”.
Around 6 years ago, four guys were drinking together in their local bar & looking for something to do on the weekend. After a little discussion & online browsing, they decided to attend an open day at a local nursery that specialized in chilli plants. Within minutes of their arrival, they were smitten with the sheer variety on offer. Up until this point, they had only known of the more common chilli varieties so their trip became an eye-opener & inspiration. The journey back was full of ideas and conversation. It was during this time that the idea for the Clifton Chilli Club was born.
