On 2 October, batik often comes out of the wardrobe with more intention than usual. A shirt is ironed before work. A scarf is folded into a bag. A blouse appears in a classroom, office, shop counter, commuter train, or family lunch. National Batik Day can begin simply: fabric worn while real life keeps moving.

International Coffee Day, observed on 1 October by the International Coffee Organization, is a good reason to look at that hidden part without turning the cup into a lecture.

The match has not started, but the room is already divided into opinions.

You know a song is about to become a memory when strangers start singing it before the first note arrives.