Warsaw: The Atheist Meetings (March 28th-30th 2015)

Didn't even know that these atheist meetings had taken place until yesterday, as not many people in Warsaw seemed to take much interest in them.

However, after finding out about these meetings yesterday, I scoured the Internet for pictures of the events, as, despite not subscribing to the atheist creed myself, such events would've still been interesting to attend for the anthropology on offer.

In the picture of the meeting below, I definitely recognise one face, an Englishman, who while not being a fan of the Islamic worldview is far from being a subscriber to the atheist creed.

Through reading about these meetings on the Internet, I have become aware that the main event of the weekend was some kind of march down Krakowskie towards Warsaw Old Town in honour of Kazmierz Lyszczynski (1634-1689):

Before this, I'd never heard of  Lyszczynski despite having lived in Warsaw for over 10 years now.

From the Internet, I've quickly discovered some very general information concerning Lyszczynski having been tried and executed for writing 'De Non Existentia Dei' (commonly viewed as an atheistic treatise by subscribers to the atheist creed in Poland):

Of course, from what I have read of Lyszczynski's execution in Warsaw Old Town market in 1689, it seems to have been an extremely cruel and barbaric event:

Thank God, we don't live in those times, when seemingly you could've been executed for all sorts of mad things, (of course, this kind of thing still remains in some parts of the Islamic world).

 Also interesting from what I can gather from the Internet is that Lyszczynski may've not been an atheist after all, as one school of thought points towards him having intended to give a Catholic response in the second half of 'De Non Existentia Dei' (I wonder if this was mentioned at the Warsaw atheist meetings?).  Besides this, it seems that there may've been some kind of politically-motivated ecclesiatical tug of war over whether to execute Lyszczynski or not (I wonder if the Catholic clergy who tried to save him from execution got a mention at the Warsaw atheist meetings?)

And this brings us to Maryam Namazie (who appears to be a kind of communist who escaped the Iranian Revolution of the late 1970s) who seems to have been the star turn at the Warsaw atheist events:

From what I can gather from a quick look at the Internet, on one hand, she argues against such rhetorical constructions as 'Islamophobia' being used by politically 'correct' ideologues to shout down critics of Islam, but on the other hand, she is said to equally despise Christianity as Islam despite the former having become much more humanised over the past few hundred years.

And where do I stand on all this?  Probably with Pascal, to be honest.  For me, the 'God Question' is too big to answer 'Yes' or 'No', but it seems to be more rational to veer towards the option that offers more rewards (belief rather than unbelief). Also really like the work of the great American sociologist of religion, Rodney Stark, who stresses that having some kind of religious belief is often psychologically healthier than constructing a non-belief creed. 

My Wife's Artwork

Here's a snippet of my wife's artwork.

Archive Live at Warsaw Torwar 27th March 2015

Must say I really enjoyed Archive at Warsaw Torwar last night, an early candidate for my concert of the year, definitely.  For the first few tunes, 'Feel It'; 'You Make Me Feel'; 'Black and Blue' etc., I was up near the front of the stage trying my best to get a few decent shots:

Over the last few years Archive have gradually grown on me, and now I think that I'm finally getting to understand their eclectic (Progish, sometimes trip-hop/alternative) style.

After 30-40 minutes up near the front of the stage, just before the band did 'Bullets', it was time to retreat further back to enjoy a nice cold beer (even though it was Tyskie, one of my least favourite Polish brews), and watch the band with all the interesting projections from a distance:

Must say that I interpret Archive's music as being more Prog than anything else, and find it a little surprising that not more 'Prog people' have cottoned onto them. 

Last night was great and for a Prog person like myself 'Lights' was always going to be a fitting finale to a fantastic show.

Warsaw: Statue of John Paul II

Was walking through Warsaw city centre this week, in the area near the Jewish synagogue, when I came across this statue of late Pope John Paul II outside a Catholic Church.

Warsaw: Easter Music at the Church of the Holy Cross

Went to one of the above Easter concerts at the Church of the Holy Cross on Krakowskie (near the Old Town) recently and found it really enjoyable, as a very talented Polish ensemble did a recital of some Bach music.

Before this concert, Bach had meant very little to me, but not long into it, I started recognising this kind of Baroque/Renaissance music from having listened to the Late Junction (a wonderful eclectic, late night, BBC radio 3 programme) back in Britain in the mid-1990s and early 2000s.

Warsaw: Solidarność-Femina Alleyway Wall Art

Here, the wall art is from an alleyway in the Femina/Solidarność area not far from metro Ratusz Arsenał in Warsaw.

This Femina/Solidarność area contains a few interesting-looking, small theatres and cinemas, so it's no surprise that the wall art here is of a (quite recently deceased) famous Polish stage/theatrical actress.

Warsaw School of Ballet

Was strolling down towards the Old Town yesterday afternoon when, by chance, I came across the Warsaw School of Ballet (above).

Didn't even realise there was a School of Ballet in Warsaw, but was really pleased with the three-dimensional-type shot that I somehow came up with below:

Love the way the ballet dancers almost look like ghosts in the faint foreground of this picture.

Warsaw: The Airport Statue

This is a shot of the famous 'Airport Statue' which lies just outside Warsaw city centre at a crossroads where you turn and start heading straight on a long road to Warsaw Chopin Airport.

Warsaw Citadel Watercolour and Wall Art

Was at the Warsaw Citadel recently at sundown, and took the shot above with my small mobile phone which seemed to almost turn out like a watercolour.

Was also a bit shocked to find the hammer and sickle symbol quite high up on one of the Citadel walls:

The designs below were more what I expected to find at the Citadel:

For some reason, the snowman (above) is a common motif around Warsaw.

The Go-Betweens: 'You Can't Say No Forever'

Had this tune ringing round my head for donkey's years.  Knew it was by The Go-Betweens and eventually got round to looking up the title of the song recently.

Warsaw: The (Newly Opened) 2nd Metro Line

Was walking about near Swiętokrzyska in Warsaw city centre today, and couldn't help but notice that after the long wait, the city's 2nd metro line is now well and truly open:

Got to say that from what I quickly saw today, the 2nd metro line looks great inside:

And of course, outside, I had to get a shot of one of the distinct yellowy-green 2nd line entrances with the Palace of Culture in the background:

Canterbury Dane John Gardens: World Music from the Early 2000s

Here's a few shots from one of the World Music events held in the Dane John Gardens in Canterbury, Kent, from the early 2000s.  If my memory serves me well, the band above were from Brazil, but, for me, the most interesting act that I probably saw was the one below with an African harp player and British guitarist:

Of course, this festival was always colourful (I went to it about 3-4 times in the early 2000s) as shown by the Indian dancers below:

And it included all kinds of entertainment such as the balancing act below:

So glad I've still got these pictures as I'd almost completely forgotten about the World Music event in the Dane John Gardens.  Wonder if it still takes now, as I really enjoyed it when I was living in Canterbury in the early 2000s.

Faversham, Kent

Visited Faversham a few times while living in Canterbury in the late 1990s/early 2000s.  Really love the Town Hall building on stilts in Faversham (above).

Went to Faversham once for a guided tour of the Shepherd Neame brewery (below):

As a lover of Real Ale, this trip was a dream and I especially enjoyed drinking the fresh beer inside the brewery at the end of the guided tour.

Not 100% sure if the scene below is from Faversham, but I assume it is:

However, no matter where it is from, it caught my imagination (e.g. almost as a setting from a Dickens novel).

The Go-Betweens: Early 2000s Manchester Academy 3 Gig

Couple of adaptations of the same shot of Robert Forster (great shirt) from a Go-Betweens gig at Manchester Academy 3 (the top place in the university building) from the early 2000s when the band had reformed.

Nice surprise halfway through the gig when Robert Forster asked if anyone was from Bury, Lancashire, and then revealed that the band's female bassist originated from Bury.

Don't remember too much from this gig, the only time I've seen The Go-Betweens, but can remember them doing my two favourite tunes: 'Was There Anything I Could Do' and 'Too Much of One Thing'.

Warsaw Uprising Museum: The Catholic Priest's Vestments

When I visited the Warsaw Uprising Museum last summer, this was one of the images that stood out most for me.

It just reinforced what quite a few Poles had told me about Catholic priests having literally fought in the Uprising against the Nazis.  Given this, it's not surprising that Catholicism is still (to some degree) associated with national identity in Poland.

Def Leppard Concert Poster in Warsaw

Saw the Def Leppard concert poster above while out and about in Warsaw yesterday.  May well go to this gig, as I haven't seen Def Leppard since 1986 when I caught them at Castle Donington with Motorhead; The Scorpions; and Ozzy Osbourne.  Before this, I'd seen them on the 'On Through the Night'; 'High 'n' Dry'; and 'Pyromania' tours at Manchester Apollo in the early 1980s.  Just think it's a good idea to catch up with such bands as Def Leppard live before it's too late.

Probably won't go to see Judas Priest in Lódż.  Last saw Judas Priest in 2004 in Prague where they were excellent, and, previous to this, I'd seen them on the 'Point of Entry'; 'Defenders of the Faith'; and 'Ram It Down' tours during the 1980s at Manchester Apollo.

Warsaw: Koło Woods, Early Spring 2015

 
Above is one of the numerous entrances into Koło Woods, while below, there is one of the magical paths through the Woods:

People generally go through the Woods to just walk the dog or get a bit of fresh air, but, on several occasions, I've seen people reading books or magazines in the shelters like the one below:

Below, the table in one of the shelters has been customised into some kind of cooking place:

While the bars below offer the opportunity to do a few press-ups and pull-ups:

Still, I can't really guess what the structure below has been designed for:

Just seems like Koło Woods offers people a quick retreat and respite from the stress of it all.