Some Good Polish Cider

The Lubelski cider on the left looks and actually tastes somewhat like champagne, while the Miłosławski cider on the right is sweet with less bubble life than the Lubelski (both are well worth drinking).

Also, well worth drinking is the Miłosławski dry cider below:

This dry cider kind of reminds of draught cider that I used to drink at the Man & Scythe pub in Bolton, Lancashire many years ago, although at 4.5%, it's not as strong as the 7% brew at the Man & Scythe.

Finally, also at 4.5%, the Sadowski pear cider below is very good, with a decent champagne sensation too:

I was pleased to find these (more than) decent ciders on a supermarket shelf in Warsaw after spending August in England drinking Stowford Press cider in Wetherspoon pubs in various parts of England.

Two Ways of Eating Potato Pancakes

A few accompaniments for eating with (fried) potato pancakes, starting with beetroot soup, yellow cheese, beetroot itself, and pickled gherkins:

The second option is with green salad such as lettuce and cucumber, plus white cheese:

Really like potato pancakes but they're pretty heavy going on the stomach.

Kotek's Christmas Presents

 A nice shot of Kotek with a couple of Christmas presents:

A new bag of biscuits plus a new pack of meat with sauce (thick gravy that he likes).

Tangerine Dream - Warsaw Progresja (5-12-24)

Just a few months after seeing Tangerine Dream headline the Friday night at A New Day Festival in south-west England, I was lucky enough to get to see them again in Warsaw, Poland:

Tangerine Dream really are a wonderful audio-visual experience live:

Really enjoyed Dolphin Dance; Horizon Parts I and II; Mothers of Rain etc., plus White Eagle and Stratosfear (a fantastic set), of course:

Can't get enough of Tangerine Dream live, to be honest.

Mid-November: IST IST - Warsaw Klub Hybrydy

 

Mid-November, I had the pleasure of catching Manchester band, IST IST, at the Hybrydy in Warsaw.

Always nice to catch a band live on a Friday night.

Emily and It Stops Where It Starts were my two favourite tunes from a great set.

Truth be known, I only found out about this gig a week beforehand, so glad I did.

Mid-October: Solemn, Dignified March

October and November went by in a flash.

Mid-October saw a very dignified and quiet procession go by outside:

 It lasted for about half an hour with thousands of people filing past:

It was heading towards the church of St. Stanislaus Kostka (Warsaw) where Father Jerzy Popiełuszko is buried to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the latter's martyrdom by communist secret police.

The march was solemn and dignified.

A Red Squirrel at Work

 Near our place in Warsaw, a red/brown squirrel on the ground doing its autumn business:

Burying nuts and other bits of food for the winter months ahead, I guess.

Kotek's Tunnel Toy

At first, Kotek didn't know what to make of his tunnel toy, but he soon made his way inside it:

Catching up with Faxe (Refreshing Danish Beer)

To be honest, this was the first time I'd drunk Faxe in the white can for 20 years or so.

And I'm not sure if I've ever drunk Faxe Pilsner (the green can) ever before:

But both beers went down an absolute treat, being neither bitter nor sweet, something profoundly in between, both really refreshing drinks.

Autumn in the Dark

This yellow-leaf tree in the dark seemed to symbolise the growing onset of autumn for me.

Despite the beautifully coloured trees, autumn is flu season, of course.

Kalandra: Highlight of the Weekend

No surprises here, Kalandra at the Hybrydy Klub (in Warsaw on Friday evening) was always going to be my highlight of the weekend.

Saw Kalandra late last year at the Hydrozagadka in Warsaw and they blew me away, so I had to catch them again.

Find many of the Kalandra tunes hauntingly beautiful, such as Ensom, Borders, It Gets Easier, and, of course, Helvegen (Wardruna cover).

I was also lucky to get to the Kalandra gig on Friday as I'm just starting to get over a few weeks of really bad flu.

Really do think that Kalandra are the world's greatest kept secret, they really are a fantastic band.

Kotek Making Himself Comfortable

A nice shot of Kotek making himself comfortable on an empty cat litter bag:

 Cats like to have a knap whenever they can, of course.

Two Concerts Back in Warsaw

Have now been back in Warsaw for almost a month, and have seen two gigs, starting with Kosheen at the Klub Niebo on 13th September:

Kosheen came on with the immensely powerful, Damage; closed out the set with the incredibly melodic, Catch; and thankfully, did my favourite tune of theirs, Avalanche.

It was good to catch up with Kosheen as I'd last seen them about 20 years ago.

Two weeks later, again on a Friday evening, on the 27th September, I saw The Pretenders for the first time, at the Stodoła in Warsaw:

Thoroughly enjoyed this gig, Chrissie Hynde still has a great voice, and the finger-picking guitar play of James Walbourne was awesome.

The band delivered a wonderful two-hour set with a nice balance of big hits (Kid; Don't Get Me Wrong; I'll Stand by You etc.), and other songs that really caught my attention (You Can't Hurt a Fool; Junkie Walk; I Think About You Daily etc.).

Passing My Old Junior School

During my time in Bury (Lancashire) in late August, I passed my old junior school, St. Joseph's in the Chesham area of town:

As can be seen, the school is now surrounded by a giant fence which wasn't deemed necessary when I attended St. Joseph's in the 1970s (how things have sadly changed for the worse).

Near the school, one grassy part looked a bit scruffy but it may've been some kind of ecological garden, it's hard to tell nowadays.

Bumping into Old Friends

 In Bury (Lancashire) town centre, I bumped into two old friends:

Used to go down to the Castle Donington Monsters of Rock festivals with Jonny (left) and Toddy (right) in the 1980s.

Have known Toddy (Long Beard), since about 1970, when I was about 4-5 years old and moved from the Fairfield to the East Ward (near Bensons toffee works) area of Bury.

Around Elton Reservoir Towards Radcliffe

After visiting Tottington and catching the bus back to Bury, I had two wonderful, ice cold pints of Stowford Press cider in Wetherspoons which did the trick, nicely quenched my thirst. 

After this, I strolled down past Whitehead Tower Clock, my old school, St. Gabriel's, and the hogweed-infested footpaths running alongside the river Irwell to the Monkey Bridge:

Down here, I saw many kinds of non-English/non-European people sauntering round, it was a little disorientating.

But soon afterwards, I found myself veering round the left-hand side of Elton Reservoir, affectionately known as 'Elton Raz' to traditional Bury folk:

And then a really nice surprise, I found a great footpath which served as a shortcut to Radcliffe, cutting out Bolton Road completely:

Either side of this footpath, I passed field after field, let's hope it remains that way.

After 20-25 minutes of pleasant walking, I came out somewhere on the road to Radcliffe that starts from the Three Arrows pub at the top, and heading towards Radcliffe, I came across St. Andrew's Anglican church:

Not sure if I've never seen or just not properly taken notice of St. Andrew's church before.

But as can be seen, it certainly is an impressive-looking building:

Despite the profound formal appearance, I've just read that St. Andrew's offers a kind of low church/evangelical rendition of Anglicanism.

I'm not Anglican but I'm always happy to run into an impressive Anglican church building like St. Stephen's, it was like a half-hidden gem in a modern urban setting.

Saturday Afternoon Stroll to Tottington (Bury, Lancashire)

Having got up too late to go on a bus trip to Skipton via Burnley, I walked from Bradley Fold, near Radcliffe, to Bury Bridge, and decided to have a stroll up Tottington Road:

 After the impressive building above, I chanced upon Walshaw Cricket Club:

With all the rain that had been around, it was good to see local cricket taking place on a Saturday afternoon:

Upon entering Tottington, I passed a game of bowls, with everything looking really well-organised, clubhouse and all:

Of course, the War Memorial holds centre place in Tottington:

Facing the big Methodist church across the road:

And further up the road, veering left, I came across the old dungeon:

Another central feature of Tottington, of course.

Not long after, I found myself strolling up a hill, the place had a nice, village-type feel:

At some point, I had a quick look at St. Hilda's Catholic church, with its big iron cross:

And statue of Our Lady:

Then, headed back into Tottington centre:

To have a look round St. Anne's, the Anglican parish church of the area:

Had passed St. Anne's before, but this was the first time that I had a proper chance to walk round outside the impressive building:

Have just read that St. Anne's has stood at the centre of Tottington village since 1799.

Round the back of the church, there was the accompanying burial ground:

Containing a few massive trees:

Upon leaving St. Anne's:

I saw other interesting-looking buildings nearby:

And a little further away:

This building here, which had massive grounds, seemed to be in the process of being renovated:

Returning to the centre of Tottington, I had to have a look at St. John's church:

Have just read that St. John's is a Grade II listed building, and the oldest surviving Free Church of England church in the world (the Free Church of England separated from the established Church of England in the mid-19th century).

Have just read that in major restoration work inside St. John's, the size of the worship area has been reduced, with new rooms being built to offer services to the local community.

After looking at St. John's, I took a bus down to Bury town centre for a couple of pints in Wetherspoons, near the bus interchange.