Postcard from Bishkek

SPOILER ALERT: This postcard has (virtually) nothing to do with Kyrgyzstan. One of my fabourite sayings is that “I don’t believe in absolutes …” which is ironic because that, in itself, is an absolute. Even though I taught Mathematics, the Queen of the Sciences, which is often considered to be about rigour, logic and absolutes … […]

Spoiler Alert: This postcard has (virtually) nothing to do with Kyrgyzstan! Television executives have a predilection for Game Shows … not only do they provide entertainment, they are also very popular … and they are relatively cheap to produce even when they involve celebrity contestants.  One reason for their popularity is that they can provide […]

I am often amazed at how well some people here in Kyrgyzstan speak English.  Not everyone, by any means, but there are some people who are extremely proficient.  When I first came here, for example, I met a number who were not only fluent but spoke with an appropriate accent and could even use idioms […]

The other day I was having a chat with another ex-pat who put to me an interesting question: “Are you an Oxford man …”, to which I was about to say “Yes … albeit by ‘sneaking in through the back door’”, but then he continued, “… or a Shakespeare man.” I realized that he wasn’t […]

Of the six basic questions in life, (Kipling’s “six honest serving men”: Who?, Where?, When?, What?, How? and Why?), five are basically descriptive and the last one – Why? – is analytical, giving an explanatory justification.  Also, it can often involve speculation.  It’s a very powerful question – perhaps the most powerful of them all. There’s […]

As we come to the end of the year it is time to look back over the last twelve months and reflect and what has happened, recognizing achievements … and also what could have been. This year in particular, I was intrigued by a couple of announcements from the Oxford English Dictionary: I was born in […]

A few years ago I was in a meeting where one speaker stood up to make a point and once having been granted the floor would not release to podium until, basically, the microphone was turned off.  Actually, I felt that the point he was making was a perfectly valid one … that the document […]

Today is International Translation Day. The day was established in 1991 by the International Federation of Translators, (an international grouping of more than 100 professional associations – representing over 80 000 translators in 55 countries.) For the record: The Federation was established in 1953 to promote professionalism, improve conditions for the profession in all countries […]

One of my favourite anecdotes tells of a couple of Japanese tourists that end up in a bar in New York.  They have a few drinks and then some more … one thing leads to another and, sure enough, they begin to get louder, more emotional and more belligerent … an argument ensues and the […]

We had an inquiry the other day from a client who wanted a single room in one of the hotels.  They had stayed with us before pm a previous visit to Kyrgyzstan and were about to pay a return visit and wrote to ask about availability and if we could give him our “best price”. […]