Postcard from Bishkek

I picked up the copy of Vecherniye Bishkek – Evening Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s biggest newspaper – and one day last week and did a double take … two in fact. Firstly because of the size … it may be Kyrgyzstan’s largest newspaper … but this issue had just 8 pages: two sheets of newsprint, printed on both […]

A few weeks ago I sat down to watch a film, Tracers.  It was a bit ubnusual for me – for several reasons: Firstly, because it was new film, (2015), and I don’t get to see that many new films as I don’t go to the cinema very often, so I tend to see them […]

Recently, I’ve received a lot of SMS messages on my mobile phone from the Ministry of Emergency Situations … who are responsible for the meterological service here in Kyrgyzstan … saying things like: Na avtodorogi Bishkek-Osh i na gornyh uchastkah avtodorog Respubliki ojidaetsya shod snejnyb lavin. Budte vnimatelny! Info 112, 101 – On the Bishkek-Osh […]

There’s an old joke routine that goes: When is a door not a door? I don’t know, when is a door not a door? When it’s ajar … … which, when the ‘answer’ produces nothing more than a look of bemused confusion, is usually followed by something like: Get it??? … when is a door […]

Seneca had a point when he said Quam bene vivas refert, non quam diu; It’s how well you live, not how long (… I confess that I don’t know Latin … but that’s I was told it means). Every year, (well, for the last eighteen years), the American consulting firm Mercer has conducted its Quality of Life survey […]

In Britain we talk about Rubbish, in America they refer to it as Garbage, in Russian it is called Musor … and in Kyrgyz, Tashtandy. One of the tasks in my daily routine is to walk around the hotel … it doesn’t take long, it’s a small hotel … to check on the tashtandy.

It used to be said that the average British family had 2.4 children … which always raises a smile from those who don’t (or don’t want to) understand the basic statistical concept of an ‘average ‘ … after all, how can a family have 0.4 of a child? Both my parents came from large families […]

A headline brought a smile to my face … but it soon disappeared as I considered the full implications of the story. It was above a short article reporting a survey carried out by the National Statistics Committee … the government’s bureau for collecting, analyzing and reporting on all measurable aspects of Kyrgyz society. Eight […]

We get asked some odd questions … and to do the occasional favour. A friend of mine once sent me an email.  He was out of the country on business and was going to be delayed … and, unfortunately, was going to miss his wife’s birthday … not by much, he was only going to […]

Everyday I walk from my apartment and the Hotel … and back – some days, several times. It’s not far – and takes about 10 minutes.  The most direct route takes me  through Gorky Park – which is really little more than a square that is criss-crossed by footpaths, separating grassed areas with trees and bushes […]