Caravan Live at Warsaw Progresja 23rd February 2019

Was an honour to catch up with Caravan on Saturday night at the Progresja in Warsaw.

The only other time I've seen Caravan was at the Canterbury Fayre at Mount Ephraim Gardens in the early 2000s, on the same bill as Hawkwind and Porcupine Tree.

Saturday night's concert was a two-hour masterclass and jog down memory lane with 'And I Wish I Were Stoned'; 'Golf Girl'; 'Love to Love you'; 'Farewell My Old Friend' (dedicated to the late Richard Coughlan) etc.
 

But of course, the highlight of the night was always going to be 'Nine Feet Underground'.

Also, really liked the good-natured banter coming from the stage, with Pye Hastings revealing how he'd met Geoffrey Richardson 46 years years ago in a garden shed in Canterbury.

Warsaw: Cold and Bleak

Was greeted by this cold and bleak scene after just coming out of the Plac Wilsona metro station in Warsaw:

Warsaw: A Grey, Dark Building

This building is just round the corner/across the road from the Library building in the Femina district of Warsaw.

I pass the building a good few times on the tram each week, and it just looks dark and grey.

But if you get off the tram, and take a bit of time out from the world, looking at the building from a distance:
 

You can stand back and admire the building, taking in more of its finer details (arches, pillars etc.).

Warsaw: The Femina Library Building

Had been meaning to get some shots of the big library building in the Femina district of Warsaw, and last week, I finally got round to doing this:

Just find this a grand, statuesque kind of building, although the pace of city life can make me sometimes walk past without taking a bit of time out to admire it:

Soya Burger and Courgette Wedges

This is a quick vegan meal I made recently: two soya burgers which almost tasted like meat; courgette wedges; and salad.

The soya burgers were simmered in water while the courgette wedges were steam-cooked on top of them.

Warsaw: Delicious Tomato Soup

Had this delicious tomato soup in a vegan place in Warsaw city centre. Thankfully, there was no dollop of cream in it which, for me, would've destroyed it.

Warsaw: Theatre Advertisements

Love these theatre advertisements near Warsaw city centre:

They just make the environment look more interesting:

They can be found near the Świętokrzyska metro station.

Cousins: An Old Picture

An old picture from childhood of some cousins on my mother's side of the family, my late brother, and me at a family event (probably a wedding).

Guess that the event was either at a pub at Hollingworth Lake in Littleborough or the Ukrainian Club in Bury.

A Polish Language/Literature Festival in a Small Town

A wall advertisement showing that a big Polish Language/Literature Festival is coming up in a small, eastern Polish town (Szczebrzeszyn) in summer.

Have heard that this is a time when this small sleepy town gets thousands of visitors and the local restaurants do a roaring trade.

Comfortable Kotek

 
Above, Kotek is keeping himself warm between a blanket and a quilt, while below, he is making himself comfortable among some of my clothes:
 

Kotek's Favourite Blanket

A few shots of Kotek lying on (and partially inside) his favourite blanket here.

 Kotek is having a nice warm snooze below:

Simon's Canal Boat

Some great shots that my friend Simon sent of his canal boat on an iced-over canal somewhere in Wiltshire.

Good to see that he's well stocked up with wood to heat the boat (think that the wood heater would make a really good brew):

 Very nice shot below looking through the door outside into the winter snow:

Thankfully, the weather seems to be bucking up in the picture below:

Flogging Molly Live at Warsaw Stodoła 31st January 2019

Nice night out watching Flogging Molly yesterday:

Like quite a few concerts I go to, this was a bit of a curiosity exercise, but thankfully, I knew more of the set ('Drunken Lullabies'; 'Requiem for a Dying Song'; 'The Likes of You Again'; 'Devil's Dance Floor' etc.) than I expected.

But my favourite tune of the night had to be 'Rebels of the Sacred Heart'.

Remember vocalist Dave King being in Fastway (with Fast Eddie Clarke; Pete Way; and Jerry Shirley) in the early 1980s.