Archive sections: ‘Life In Kyrgyzstan’
My black tie has been getting an awful lot of use this year. I suppose that my particular annus horribilis, (the Brits, and anyone with a Classical education, will get the reference and understand), started in January when a close friend, Roma, died suddenly. I was sitting at my computer in my office when I [...]
The 1968 British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest was “Congratulations” sung by Harry Roger Webb, or Cliff Richard as he is better known. A popular song, it surprised everyone by being beaten into second place by the Spanish entry.
The closing moments of the 1966 World Cup final, between England and West Germany, gave us one of the most famous and memorable sporting quotations of all time: “They think it’s all over … It is now!”.
John is a consultant who has been working on a project here in Kyrgyzstan, off and on, over the past two. His contract has finally come to an end and he flew out early this morning. From the airport he sent me an SMS to tell me that he was boarding, and to say “goodbye”. [...]
The week that has just passed has been like marking time in limbo as we await the referendum. When thinking of a theme for this week’s postcard I toyed with the idea of “Waiting for Godot” … the trouble is that in Beckett’s play, Godot never arrives. The government is intent that the Referendum should [...]
This week has been a real “roller coaster” of a week, full of ups and downs, twists and stomach churning turns. The worst was probably watching the news and reading accounts of the events down South as the week unfolded. Remember that I am based here in Bishkek, and so I don’t have any direct [...]
Today, I am not sure what to write … the events of the last few days, which you will have seen in your news programmes and newspapers, seems to have thrown the whole picture into turmoil once more. Up until Thursday night everything seemed to be settling down into a typical long hot summer. Working [...]
One of my acquaintances has his birthday on June 12th … and he says that the city always gives him a birthday present. “Is he somebody important, that the city gives him a present on his birthday?” – no, he’s just an ordinary citizen, with a wife, three children, a car which he can call [...]
Some friends of mine, here, have taken one particular British tradition to heart … that of the “Loyal Toast“. A loyal toast is a salute, (or toast), given at a formal gathering such as a Dinner or Reception, to a head of state who represents and symbolizes the nation, (even if they not are actually present [...]
In recent times the question of ethnic rivalries and disputes has reappeared in Kyrgyzstan.
