Postcard from Bishkek

In a previous postcard I used the phrase, “No news is good news”.  Well, this week has been an example of that … which means that Kyrgyzstan has settled back down to its usual “sleepy” self … and that this week’s postcard is, mercifully, shorter. That’s not to say that nothing has been happening … [...]

As a former schoolteacher, and a teacher of RE (Religious Education) at that, I have taken my fair share of school assemblies. For those readers who are not in the UK, and indeed for many who are in the UK, the idea of the school assembly might need a little explanation.  The Education Act of [...]

Following last week’s “massive missive” … which could hardly have fitted onto an ordinary “postcard”, I had hoped that this week’s contribution will be shorter, reflecting a more peaceful, if less “interesting”, period. Perhaps that was wishful thinking.  Sorry.

Tuesday was a “big day” for what I have been calling “the baseball kids” … the family of ten that I know.  It was May 25th,  the last day of the school year, the last day of lessons – especially for those in their last year of compulsory schooling – and is known here as [...]

One of my favourite highlights of Summer, is the appearance of Maksym Shoro. During long hot summer days – especially in the capital, Bishkek – the streets seem to be lined with people sitting behind a large barrel … from which they dispense cups of cool refreshing liquids.

This postcard is based on part of an earlier one which was sent as an email describing the events of the week between May 15th and 21st.  It contains supplementary information which came to light afterwards. In an attempt to draw the sting from planned protests in Djalal Abad in mid-May, 2010, the authorities released [...]

My brother, Tony, once took up photography as a hobby and I remember how he equipped the bathroom with plastic trays and bottles of chemicals so that he could develop and print his own films.  I was too young at the time to really appreciate all that was going on but I do remember the [...]

I appreciate that Kyrgyzstan is not on everyone’s radar … at least one my correspondents has pointed this out to me, what with the numerous other crisis points around the world.  Natural disasters, man-made disasters, war situations and civil strife … indeed, it all seems a bit apocalyptic.  But then, I’ve had that particular feeling [...]

This week saw revelations in a Sunday newspaper about a “Sting” operation, where a journalist pretended to be an international businessman and recorded the Duchess of York “selling access” to her former husband, Prince Andrew – who has a sort of “roving ambassador” for British Trade and Industry.  For some five hundred thousand pounds, it [...]

My father used to have a phrase he would use to say whenever he was astounded by something: “Well, I’ve got a bloody hell …!”. A friend of mine, Paul, had another phrase which he would use in similar circumstances: “The things you see when you haven’t a gun!”