Bearded Man Mural

 Passed this bearded man wall mural while walking around the Wolska district of Warsaw the other day.

Panda Vegetable Shop

 Really liked this panda mural that I saw on the side of a vegetable shop in Warsaw.

Warsaw Christmas Decorations

 While in and around the Old Town a few days ago, I got to see the Warsaw Christmas decorations:

The Old Town Market Square was lining itself up for Christmas:

Have been told that these kinds of Christmas market stalls, selling coffee, hot vodka etc., can be quite expensive.

But still, the atmosphere was quite warm down here:

And so it was outside the Old Town, on Krakowskie Przedmieście:

 Really like the mushroom in the picture below:

 It was the highlight of my short walk.

One of My Wife's Toy Models

One of the toy models that my wife has made recently.

This seems to be a good, relaxing hobby.

Kalandra, One of My Best Gigs of the Year

 Went to see Kalandra at the Hydrozagadka in Warsaw, on the last day of November:

It turned out to be one of my best gigs of the year, it was that good:

The set went by in a flash, with there being too many highlights to enumerate (Helheim; Borders; Ensom; Brave New World etc.).

Everything was fantastic about this gig, including some incredible drumming.

Also enjoyed the Lys Morke set:

As expected, A.A. Williams was great too, Love and Pain is an awesome tune.

A Closed-Down Kebab Place

 

During a recent Sunday afternoon walk in Warsaw, I was sad to see that this kebab place had closed down (or moved).

The beef kebab was good here, and the salad on it was excellent.

Unfortunately, many small food places are now closing down in Warsaw after the summer season due to increasing bill costs, stiff competition from other food places etc.

From under the Bridge

My Sunday afternoon walks are now dark and grey as autumn turns to winter, but when walking under a road bridge the other Sunday, I was greeted by some interesting-looking murals:

The murals were of a dark and greyish colour so they perfectly suited the late autumnal weather, and yet they kind of brightened things up a bit.

First Snow of the Season

The first snow of the season in Warsaw, mid-November:

Although it seems to be competing with the rain and turning into slush as the temperature hovers around zero degrees.

Still, it has lit-up the late autumn setting a bit.

Let's hope there's more of it.

Kotek Inside the Sofa Bed

When the sofa bed was opened up, Kotek took the opportunity to make himself comfortable:

Of course, he took a shine to the soft quilt.

Westerman / Twain - Warsaw Hydrozagadka (8-11-13)

Truth be known, I only came across Westerman on YouTube about a month ago, but immediately decided to go to the Warsaw gig after checking out a KEXP (live music programme aired from Seattle) performance from earlier this year.

Wouldn't know how to precisely define the Westerman sound, but there seems to be a lot of profound subtlety going on, in Float Over and Blue Comanche (two beautiful tunes), for example.

Was also happy to get to the Hydrozagadka early to catch Twain:

Who later on, joined Westerman on stage for a couple of tunes:

Rival Sons / L.A. Edwards (Warsaw Stodoła 5-11-23)

What better way to beat the autumn blues than going to a good Rock gig, and both Rival Sons and L.A. Edwards delivered the goods on a wet Sunday evening.

Have heard Rival Sons in passing for quite some time, but this was the first time seeing them live:

In over 40 years of going to concerts, Mirrors is one of the best coming on songs I've ever seen, it just perfectly suits the atmosphere of a band coming on stage.

Despite being packed tight into a back corner of the Stodoła, I still thoroughly enjoyed the Rival Sons set, with Do Your Worst; Rapture; Open My Eyes; Feral Roots etc. going by in a flash.

Must say that frontman, Jay Buchanan, has one hell of a voice, it's that good, all complimented by a great band, of course.

It was also interesting to see drum and guitar solos being genuinely appreciated by a crowd.

Another nice touch to the Rival Sons set, was the crowd loudly humming Jay Buchanan's solo rendition of Shooting Stars after it had ended, before Mosaic.

Besides Rival Sons, I made sure that I got to the Stodoła before seven to catch L.A. Edwards opening the evening's entertainment:

Only became aware of L.A. Edwards a month or two before the gig, and so glad I did.

How would I describe L.A. Edwards, upbeat Americana music, I guess.

Like with Rival Sons, I enjoyed the whole L.A. Edwards set, especially Day I Die with the three Edwards brothers singing together.

Already Gone was another highlight, another real great coming on song.

Sunday night was cold and miserable outside, but both Rival Sons and L.A. Edwards warmed up people's souls, it was a great show all round.

Brown Autumn Leaves

 As we get deeper into autumn, there's little to observe, except for the beautiful brown leaves, of course.

Loads of Pumpkins

 Loads of pumpkins outside the Arkadia shopping centre in Warsaw.

Guess that the pumpkins add a bit of colour to the place.

Kotek's Tiny Box

Somehow, Kotek customised this tiny box so that he could sleep in it in the hallway.

Unfortunately, he has now chewed most of it away.

PJ Harvey - Warsaw Palladium (25-10-23)

This was the third time I'd seen PJ Harvey but the first time I'd seen her in a very small place under cramped conditions.

Got inside the Palladium about 70-80 minutes before the gig started and there was already a big build up of people jockeying for a decent position for the (obviously) sold out show:

I ended up somewhere just to the right of and behind the mixing desk.

Once the concert started after a small technical problem, I started getting increasingly pushed into a pillar and kind of remained in a semi-crushed position for the first half of the gig.

From the first half of the set, showcasing the recent album I Inside the Old Year Dying, my favourite tune was always going to be A Child's Question, August (think that this is the best song that PJ Harvey has done for some years).

Found it interesting to read that PJ Harvey comes from Dorset, my favourite county in England, still largely rural and culturally English thanks to the abiding presence of Thomas Hardy (my favourite novelist).

Think that PJ Harvey kind of shares a profound sentience, a deep understanding of the human condition, like Thomas Hardy (of course, this could just be my imagination).

For the second half of the set (the older songs), I tried finding a better spot further back, but just ended up completely behind a pillar.

But at least, I now had some space.

From this position, I could see some of the band members:

But not PJ Harvey herself.

This position became interesting as a lack of the visual lead to an intensification of the audio.

And especially during The Garden, I could kind of feel the full subtlety and quality of PJ Harvey's (narrative) voice.

Plus just before the encore, when many people headed for their coats, I managed to get a central position where I stood on a lone chair and watched/listened to White Chalk in comfort.

After the show, it was noticeable that not everybody moved away from the stage, as quite a lot of people just stayed rooted to the spot, trying to fully take in the musical sublimity they'd just experienced:

Me, myself, I was happy to get an ice cold beer before collecting my coat and catching the metro home.

Wet Autumn Leaves

 Just a few of the many wet autumn leaves that I saw:

While out on my last Sunday afternoon walk.

The strange billboard faces below also caught my eye:

It was a rainy sunny afternoon, can understand why the Americans call autumn the Fall.

Warsaw Uprising Mural at St. Faustina's Shrine, Warsaw

Having not walked this way for a few weeks, this Warsaw Uprising mural outside the opening leading to St. Faustina's Shrine in Warsaw immediately caught my eye.

It seems to transform the whole street:

My Battered Copy of G.K. Chesterton Short Stories

After 2-3 years, I'm over 600 pages into my battered copy of the Complete Collection of Father Brown Stories.

Some of the Father Brown stories are riveting and others okay, while a few pass by without me hardly noticing them.

Many of the stories are characterised by two key points: Father Brown's detective instinct to quickly see when things don't logically add up, and his Catholic priest ability to see the original sin side of people's souls.

Concerning the latter point, the central message that I take from Chesterton's Father Brown stories is that all human beings are only one or two bad decisions away from committing mortal sin and heinous crime. 

This is something that Father Brown, himself, often reflects on at the end of the stories, as he offers insights into the workings of the human soul (e.g. learning to direct it towards virtue rather than vice) to the secular/non-religious sceptics that are willing to listen to him in the stories.

Rainbow at Modlin Airport

Early morning, mid-August: a beautiful rainbow at Modlin Airport.

I was waiting around to fly to England.

Earlier on, I'd been at Warsaw Central Train Station, the early morning zombie hour:

Just hanging around:

Waiting for the 3am train to Modlin.

Dreaming about what my south-west to north-west England trip held in store.