A wonderful group of exhausted cats greeted us in Zamość:
Two were sleeping on the outside window sill of a lawyer's office:
They were simply zonked from the midday sun and had no choice but to be stroked.
Some of the group were sleeping on the pavement beneath the window sill:
The one below was more awake and didn't allow himself/herself to be stroked:
It made my day that we were greeted by the cats of Zamość.
This is the famous statue of Jesus Carrying His Cross which stands in front of the Church of the Holy Cross on Krakowskie Przedmieście in Warsaw:
As can be seen below, the Church of the Holy Cross is a mightily fine building:
Unfortunately, the statue outside the Church of the Holy Cross has been desecrated recently by extreme leftist agitators.
The video below shows how the extreme leftist agitators 'behave' in front of the Church of the Holy Cross:
What wonderful stoic virtue the young Catholic man shows to not retaliate against the crazy old woman.
What worked really well was putting olive oil on white rice which made the meal a lot less dry.
Couple of shots of Kotek acting the goat again, this time with a jar of raspberry jam:
Below, he seems to be using the jar of raspberry jam as a kind of pillow while he lies in the midday sunshine:
Now that I'm more than halfway through Pride and Prejudice, I can say that the novel is a 'grower'.
Can now see that the mature character development of Elizabeth Bennet is the central feature of the novel.
Through Elizabeth, the novel shows how early negative judgements against somebody can lead to the latter being almost permanently misjudged. Thankfully, Elizabeth slowly remedies this process with Darcy, recognising that he represents authentic goodness behind a sometimes awkward appearance, while Wickham represents superficial goodness behind an immediately likeable appearance.
A shot of my wife's freshly-made bread from eastern Poland:
Thankfully, Kotek didn't make a mess of this.
Nice shot of Kotek observing freshly-prepared pierogi:
Unfortunately, he then decided to sit on them, making a mess of everything. He must've found the pierogi comfortable, I guess.
Passed this wonderful neo-gothic building on Marszałkowska in central Warsaw a few days ago. Had always wondered what it was and discovered that it was the Italian Cultural Institute
Have just read that the building dates back to the late 19th century.
Really enjoyed my trip up to the Progresja to see Laboratorium Pieśni on Saturday night:
Hats off to all the Progresja staff who worked wonders to set this concert up outside on a heavy rainy Saturday night.
Thoroughly enjoyed the concert despite the fact that it was pouring down for the first hour or so (thankfully, I managed to shelter under a big umbrella near the beer tent).
How would I describe Laboratorium Pieśni? Slavic (especially Bulgarian and Ukrainian) folk music with Red Indian-type drum beats, I guess. The end result is a very soothing, hypnotic, and ethereal-type listening experience.
First heard Laboratorium Pieśni about a year ago when I came across 'U lisi' on Youtube. The band did the latter early on during their Saturday night set.
Always a magical sign when a two-hour or so concert goes by within a flash, and that's what happened on Saturday night, it was well worth making the effort to get out on a heavy rainy night.
While my wife was hoovering around our place in eastern Poland, Kotek found himself a nice throne to sit upon:
Last year, two friends and I went to Stonyhurst College, but we chose one of the wettest days of the year for the trip:
We knew it was going to be incredibly wet, but it was the only day I had free before I returned to Warsaw.
Due to the heavy showers, we decided it was unwise to do the Tolkien Trail.
Still, with some of the buildings at Stonyhurst and the surrounding countryside, it wasn't difficult to imagine where Tolkien may've drawn some of his imagination/inspiration for the Lord of the Rings from.
And, of course, it was nice to have a good pint,
and a warm-up in the Shireburn Arms.
Another shot from last summer, looking into St. John's Hospital:
Have just read that St. John's Hospital was founded by Archbishop Lanfranc in 1084.
In the late 1990s/early 2000s, when I lived in Canterbury, people could freely walk into St. John's Hospital grounds to have a look at the beautiful church and residential buildings there, but nowadays, access is blocked by a big locked gate.
Years ago, a friendly old resident showed me around the St. John's grounds, focusing on the inside of the Anglican church there, and some very old public toilets which are said to be the oldest in England.
Was happy to catch the last part of the Jazz Na Starówce Festival on 29th August 2020 in Warsaw Old Town Marketplace. This time it was the turn of Leszek Moźdźer & Gloria Campaner.
Without knowing much about Leszek Moźdźer & Gloria Campaner, I enjoyed the incredible subtlety of their piano play.
It's always a pleasure to pass the fountain in Ogród Saski Park (the Saxon Garden Park).
On a balmy, late summer evening, the sprinkling of the water provides some kind of relief, a bit of a cooling down. That's why people like to sit down near the fountain.
