Postcard from Bishkek

In the US, March 3rd is known as National Anthem Day … a day for celebrating the patriotic music that is thought to represent the history, traditions and struggles of a nation, as recognized either officially by its government as the official national song … or by convention, through use by the people. In Britain, […]

There are several days in the year when we, in the office, traditionally have cake or some other informal celebration … such as birthdays, of course – including Beethoven’s Birthday on December 16th, (thanks to Schroeder in Charles Shultz’s Peanuts cartoon), and anniversaries … public holidays, (being a hotel, of course, like the Windmill Theater […]

Today is a big day here in Kyrgyzstan … it’s Dehn Pobeda – Victory Day – a public holiday … and this year it will be bigger than ever because it is a Jubilee – the seventieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War … or, as it is known here, the Velikiye Otchestveniye Voiniye […]

Tomorrow is going to a big day here in Kyrgyzstan … it’s Dehn Pobeda – Victory Day – a public holiday … and this year it will be bigger than ever because it is a Jubilee – the seventieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War … well, in Europe, at least … well, […]

Apparently, it’s the answer to a crossword clue:- “A city ESE of Tashkent (3 letters)”.  Although I have to admit that a lot of people might well be flummoxed by it, to anyone who knows this part of the world, the clue is relatively easy to solve: OSH.  I can’t help thinking, however, that there […]

In the United States, today is Arbor Day – a day when individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees.  (It’s actually a ‘moveable feast’ in that it takes place annually on the last Friday in April) Although Mankind has long had a special affinity with trees, the Celts, for example, held […]

Today, the second Tuesday after Easter, is Radonitsa – often referred to as Roditelskoy Dehn – Parents’ Day. It’s a day to remember our parents and other relatives, a day when families visit the cemetery and clean the graves of deceased relatives, saying prayers of intercession for the departed. It’s an Orthodox tradition, and seems to […]

Back in 1983, 18 April was endorsed as The International Day for Monuments and Sites by UNESCO. The aim of this special day is to raise public awareness concerning the diversity of the world’s heritage and the efforts that are required to protect and conserve it, as well as drawing attention to its vulnerability.   It […]

Whoops – Confession time … This was written to be posted tomorrow, (6th April), … but for for some reason I got mixed up and posted it a day early.   April 6th is the International Day of Sports and Physical Activity, established by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2013 in order to […]

Here in Bishkek we are coming to the end of a week of special events designed to celebrate the French language and cultures that are grounded in it – Francophone Week. Similar special thematic festivals are organized from time to time by the relevant embassies – German Week; Indian Week; Japanese Week and so … […]