Warsaw: Curved Building in Stary Bielany

Love the curved shape of this small block of flats in the Stary Bielany district of Warsaw.

Warsaw: St. Zygmunt's Church, Stary Bielany

When we'd reached the end of a side street leading down from Stary Bielany metro station, we encountered the spaceship-type structure of St. Zygmunt's church:

Somebody had told me that the church was 'ugly', but I viewed it as unusual and quite interesting.  Really like the juxtaposition of triangle shapes below:

Granted, the tower is less than pleasing to the eye:

But the overall shape of the building seems to work, albeit in a strange kind of way:

Think I've read on the internet somewhere that St. Zygmunt's was built in the late 1970s.

Warsaw: Stary Bielany Side Streets

Near the Stary Bielany metro station, there are some picturesque side streets leading down towards St. Zygmunt's church.

The small building below is some kind of herbal product shop (I think):

Somebody told me that Stary Bielany was largely spared the destruction of the 2nd World War through having been outside the boundaries of Warsaw at that time.

Kotek and the Sports Bag

Nice shot of Kotek and his favourite sports bag here.  Followed by one of him on the bed where he looks a bit like an owl:

Kari (Amirian) Live at Warsaw Stodola 17th October 2017

English-based, Polish musician and vocalist, Kari, first came to my attention a few years ago when I saw an advertisement for her playing at the Basen in Warsaw.  At the time, I checked out her 'Bjork-type' music and quite liked it.  In time, 'Hurry Up'; 'Winter Is Back' and 'Stronghold' have become my favourite Kari tunes.  However, I only got round to seeing her live for the first time last night at Warsaw Stodola:

Wasn't really in the mood for a gig last night, but found the show quite good:

The occasional intermingling of male and female vocals worked well: 

I kind of preferred the slower, ethereal-type tunes to the more up-tempo, disco-type stuff.

Got to the Stodola just before eight, so I caught all of the British opening act:

Again, I preferred the more ethereal-type stuff than the more up-tempo tunes (this could be something to do with my age):

The drummer, who was often quite witty with an Oxbridge-type accent, revealed that the three-piece band were from Leeds but I didn't quite catch the name of the band (have had a look all over the Internet but still can't find the band's name).

Couldn't resist taking the more abstract shot from the mixing desk below:

Last night's gig was the first I'd been to at the 'Open Stage' at the Stodola, and when I visited the gents, it sounded like the music was coming from directly above:

Still, I think I prefer the bigger, 'more comfortable' stage that I'm more used to at the Stodola.

'Discovering Hardy's Wessex' by Anne-Marie Edwards

Like Margaret Marande's 'The Hardy Way: A 19th-Century Pilgrimage', Anne-Marie Edwards' 'Discovering Hardy's Wessex' is fantastic, an absolute must for anybody who enjoys (or is thinking about) exploring Hardy country.

While Margaret Marande's book focuses on walking long distances to see many (Hardy and non-Hardy related) places between prominent Hardy sites (e.g. Higher Bockhampton to Wool; Wool to Wareham; Wareham to Wimborne etc.), Anne-Marie Edwards' book more focuses on many specific Hardy-related places that can be seen in and around the prominent Hardy sites.  In other words, if combined together, the two books offer an enhanced guide to exploring Hardy country.

I have the 1982 edition of 'Discovering Hardy's Wessex'.  I was lucky enough to buy it in a second-hand bookshop in Dorchester, a stone's throw away from the model house that Hardy had in mind for Michael Henchard's residence while the latter was the mayor in 'The Mayor Casterbridge' (this building is now a Barclays Bank, as it was when Anne-Marie Edwards wrote her book).

I'm currently about halfway through 'Discovering Hardy's Wessex' and two of the most eye-opening chapters have been on the time(s) Hardy spent in Cornwall helping to restore the St. Juliot church; meeting his future wife, Emma, at the St. Juliot church rectory; writing 'A Pair of Blue Eyes' etc.  Thanks to these chapters, I now feel confident of travelling to north Cornwall and following in the footsteps of Hardy through Boscastle, St. Juliot, Beeny Cliff etc.

I also really enjoyed Edwards' section on Dorchester, as despite having visited the place twice, I've only really seen the most prominent places of Hardy significance (Maumbury Rings; the model for Michael Henchard's house; the hangman's cottage; the section on Hardy in the museum; the Hardy statue; Max Gate etc.) there, and now I feel more confident of finding less prominent, more secluded sites, especially relating to 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' story, in Dorchester.

Have just started reading the chapter on Sturminster Newton, where the Hardys stayed while 'The Return of the Native' was being written, and this is eye-opening as it gives many details about where Hardy enjoyed going walking from his Riverside Villa residence there.  I'm also looking forward to reading the chapter after this, about the major sites from 'The Trumpet Major', as I'm not familiar with the Dorset terrain of this novel.

Percival Live at Warsaw Stodola 15th October 2017

This gig passed my expectations: I thought it would be interesting:

But it was much more than that with the well over two-hour set often verging on and entering the sublime:

Only discovered Percival a few months ago while Youtube surfing with a few beers one Friday or Saturday night.

Didn't take me long to recognise that their 'Wild Hunt' set was something special.  Just love the music, don't really know much about the game which the music relates to and everybody in Poland is currently raving about.

Some of the stage theatrics which accompanied the gig last night were absolutely stunning.

Especially the acrobatic swordsman:

And the concentration and skill of the musicians and singers, to keep up such musical beauty for 140 minutes or so non-stop:

Almost forgot about the Venetian Carnival-type dancers:

At one point, they went down from the stage doing a sprightly dance up and down the aisles with unsuspecting members of the audience.

Yeah, the whole experience was magical:

Below, the band are taking well-earned, mass applause at the end of the show (no sooner had the show ended than the band were out greeting people in one of the bar areas at the Stodola).

Almost forgot about the nymphs too.  They were sometimes doing acrobatics on the stage, and other times unexpectedly arriving in the audience to surprise people.
 

Yeah, all in all, this was my equal favourite gig of the year alongside Blue Oyster Cult at Manchester Academy in late June (when BOC did the whole of their psychaedelic-type, debut album all the way through).