Our New Friend, Kotka

 

Our new friend, Kotka, from a recent visit to Eastern Poland.

Kotka doing a stretching exercise:

 It soon became clear that Kotka was expecting kittens:

Zosia: Moving to Warsaw from Eastern Poland

 

Young Zosia has recently moved to Warsaw from Eastern Poland.

She was sadly without owners in Eastern Poland but thankfully she was adopted by new owners in Warsaw:

 Hope this is the start of a good adventure for Zosia.

Sweet Apples from the Orchard

 

Sweet tasting apples from the orchard in Eastern Poland.

Raspberries as well, fresh from the fields:

 

Seeing Infinity Song in Warsaw Last Friday

 Yeah, this time last week, I was watching the wonderful Infinity Song at the Hybrydy Club in Warsaw:

 Find this band's music incredibly uplifting, especially tunes like No One Comes Close and The Sunshine (a truly beautiful, therapeutic song).

 

But the highlight of the night was the 13-14 minute version of Slow Burn.

Will readily admit that a few months ago, I'd never heard of Infinity Song but I saw that they were playing Warsaw; checked them out; found them incredibly harmonious/melodic; and could not waste a chance of seeing them live.

 

The picture below shows the band dancing with members of the crowd (fantastic band-audience interaction): 

 

But for an almost 60-year-old bloke like myself, I really enjoyed watching things from the back with a few decent beers.

 

And after the band finished a thoroughly engaging 90-minute set, Joan Baez's Diamonds and Rust started being played (this caught the atmosphere perfectly as Infinity Song remind me of that kind of profoundly innocent music that accompanied the late 60s/early 70s such as Joan Baez, Godspell etc.).

 

And after the concert, being greeted by a lit-up Palace of Culture:

 

 

Old Friends in Eastern Poland

 Catching up with some old friends in Eastern Poland.

 The koniky (small ponies) that are native around the Zwierzyniec area.

Had last seen them many years ago as they were being fed on Christmas Day.

A Nice Shandy

 

Mixing a 3.5% beer + 2% shandy = 2.75% shandy, very tasty indeed.

I'm not that far off 60 now so drinking shandy is a kind of good idea, getting the best of both worlds (and no hangover the day after).

New Friends in Eastern Poland

 Plenty of new friends in Eastern Poland who were interested in the honey on the window sill.

With their mother making sure that they kept in order:

 The full team of kittens below:

 

Alfa Mist - Warsaw Łazienki Park (27-06-25)

 Last Friday night at Łazienki Park with Alfa Mist:

Full credit to the band and crowd, despite the incessant rain, this was a great gig.

 

Foreword; Teki; Organic Rust etc., beautiful tunes just flew by, it was so good, I hardly noticed the rain, even found myself jiving around.

 Fantastic musicians and a beautiful setting (saw Judith Hill here last year which I also really enjoyed).

Bubbles Above the Metro

 

Coming back from Alanis Morisette at the Torwar in Warsaw last week, bubbles above the Politechnika Metro station.

 Not often I say it, but I loved the advertisement, it just lit up an ordinary scene.

Small Birds Helping Me Eat My Rice

 

Had the pleasant experience of some small birds helping me to eat my rice at a Vietnamese place in Warsaw.

 Both small birds enjoyed rice like they would bread and kept coming back for more.

 I like the Vietnamese places for the green tea as well as the food, and now the great company.

 

Alanis Morissette - Warsaw Torwar (19th June 2025)

 So glad I finally got round to seeing Alanis Morissette.

 Loved the gig from start to finish, it went by in a flash.

 

The running of a short version of a song into another tune worked a treat (e.g. Sorry 2 Myself into Head Over Feet).

 

And three acoustic tunes (Rest; Mary Jane; Perfect) being done at the mixing desk was a really nice touch.

Favourite tune of the night, that would have to be You Oughta Know (this tune marks the mid-90s for me, living in an attic bedsit in my hometown, Bury, Lancashire, all another lifetime away now).

 

Finally, things being rounded off perfectly with Thank You, hearing this song live had always been on my bucket list (last year, I got to see Chris Isaak do Wicked Game live, certain songs are just on my bucket list)

 Yeah, a truly wonderful evening, overall.

Mint Cider in Warsaw

 Somehow ended up drinking mint cider in Warsaw. 

As expected, it was very fresh tasting, not bad at all. 

My One Concert from May

 Only went to one concert in (late) May but it was a cracker:

 

Cool Cool Cool (with Julie Slick) opening with a five-song set (would've liked to have heard much more, as the band was fantastic.

Then after the opening set, Cool Cool Cool (and Julie Slick) joined Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew on stage for a nice evening of Talking Heads classics (Psycho Killer; Take Me To The River; Life During Wartime etc.)

Plus the King Crimson (Mark II) classic, Thela Hun Ginjeet, an incredible song.

Yeah, this was a nice Sunday evening out at the Progresja in Warsaw on 25th May.

Sheltered from the Hailstorm

 While in Eastern Poland, I got caught in hailstorm, you can see the stuff bouncing off the road above.

Thankfully, a bus shelter was just across the road:

 It was just big enough to offer shelter, and small enough to feel part of the storm:

 Ten minutes of raw weather excitement or so.

Turning over the Compost Heap

 The compost heap while being turned over with a rake.

Should help to provide good nutrition for the garden.

An apple tree looking in early bloom:

Small Bird on the Window Sill

 A small bird on the window sill outside the bathroom window, hoping to make a nest during springtime.

Apple Orchard Amidst Yellow-Flowered Fields

 Some nice shots from a small orchard in springtime Eastern Poland.

 Thankfully, a professional gardener has given the place a kiss of life.

 It was great seeing the apple blossom with the yellow-flowered fields in the background.

 The fields of yellow flowers are for local margarine production.

Hopefully, there'll be a decent yield of apples in August/early September.