Like, I imagine, most people around the world, I have been watching events in far off Japan and around the coast of the Pacific Rim’s “Ring of Fire” with morbid fascination.
Safely cocooned and beavering away in my office at various mundane tasks, muttering to myself under my breath at each and every one of the interruptions that arose and dragged me away from the task currently at hand, it was only as the afternoon progressed that started to I heard something about a massive earthquake in Japan through tweets on Twitter. To be honest, I didn’t take much notice of the news until later in the evening when I eventually decided that enough was enough, pushed the keyboard back, fed the cats and I climbed the stairs to my flat to make myself a meal and settle down to an evening watching the television.
Unlocking the door, I walked in, removed my shoes (it’s de riggeur here when entering a house or a flat and it’s become a habit), turned on the TV and headed into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. Whilst the kettle was boiling I returned to the main room intending to go into the bedroom and change into something a little more comfortable. I never made it. The cup of coffee and any thought of a meal were also put on hold as I stood, and eventually collapsed onto the couch, mesmerized by the news coverage. What I saw shocked me. No doubt it shocked many other people around the globe, too. More…
After several weeks of very cold weather, with four foot icicles hanging down from the guttering surrounding our building, we are now experiencing a warmer period. Even though, however, I am still wearing a pullover, (albeit a short-sleeved one), … just in case.
On Friday morning I had an early morning meeting at the Hyatt and as I left the building in search of a taxi it was overcast and spitting with rain. By the time the taxi approached the Hyatt, however, a veritable shower had started. I told the driver to pull up outside the gates of the hotel and not bother driving up to the door. To do so would mean having to stop at the barrier whilst security walked round the vehicle on a tour of inspection. I could walk the short distance with no problem in the time it would take. The diver looked at me askance. “But, it’s raining,” he said, “you’ll get wet.” As usual in these circumstances, I pointed out that was English and, as such, wasn’t afraid of a little rain. I was used to it.
In fact the forecast is for more cold weather to come next week, with the possibility of snow on Wednesday. Indeed, by Friday evening the temperature had fallen sufficiently for it to start snowing.
I think I am going to need that pullover!
It’s not just the weather that’s changeable here in Kyrgyzstan. It should have been a quite week as, after all, it started with a two day holiday. The three day week, however, provided enough “excitement” to fill a normal fortnight. More…
When they asked about political affiliations and religious convictions for my profile on Facebook I facetiously replied respectively: “that’s between me and the ballot box” and “that’s between me and Big G”.
For anyone who looks through these postcards it should become clear that part of my reluctance to say is because the picture is far from a clear one … in fact it’s a very confused one. More…
I wasn’t sure whether to post this or not … for a start, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to give it any publicity, but when I found a particular post on the website of the Portland Mercury, it made me see red … and I felt that I just had to respond. More…
“To bodly go … ” is probably the best known example of a split infinitive that there has ever been. English teachers around the world have probably been cringing over it ever since, back in 1966, our television screens went black as a disembodied voice announced, “Space … the final frontier … ” and launched the first episode in the adventures of the crew of the Starship Enterprise.
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It’s nice to know that I am not the only one to get dates wrong. Yesterday I received a couple of “Birthday Greetings” … a day early, but it’s also nice to know that people are thinking about me.
Last year I did the same … and sent my nephew a congratulatory message on Facebook. He thanked me and politely put me in my place by telling me that I was a day early. I looked in my diary again, and then at his Facebook profile for confirmation, and to my embarrassment had to admit that, sure enough, I had made a mistake. If only I had waited for Facebook to “remind” me!
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Last week was a week of pancakes …
It started on Monday when I had lunch with Tim from the UK and Marat from Uzbekistan in a café not far from the office. We ordered from the menu and then the waiter suggested, that we might like to order some pancakes, (bliniy), as it was Maslenitsa. More…
Back in Britain, the phrase “Flag Day” has a particular meaning. It refers to a charity fund raising activity. Volunteers stand at strategic points or going from door to door with collecting tins, soliciting donations from members of the public who are given in return a small badge, (or “flag”), to wear as a symbol of their support for the organization.
The phrase has a more general meaning, however, and is used to indicate a day designated in some way to a flag. Either a day for flying a particular flag, (such as a national flag), or to celebrate an historical event such as a nation’s adoption of a flag.
Here in Kyrgyzstan, the day is not a holiday. Independence Day, (August 31st) and Constitution Day, (May 5th), are designated as public holidays to commemorate respectively Kyrgyzstan declaring it’s independence from the Soviet Union and the adoption of a new Constitution. When it came to the adoption of the flag, however, on March 3rd, 1992, it seems as if it was felt that there were already enough public holidays, and this occasion was passed over. More…
This week has been a busy one with lots of distractions, hence I am a little late with the postcard this week.
Next week, however, should be quite quiet as Tuesday is a holiday, (International Women’s Day), and they have moved Monday to Saturday … that is most offices are open today but will take Monday off making a long weekend. More…
Svetlana came to see me in my office yesterday. Half way through the conversation, I stopped talking, shocked by what I saw. I’m sorry you don’t like working for me I said.” That stunned her for a second, but as it’s not the first time we’ve had this conversation she quickly realized what I was referring to and smiled. More…
