I sat at the computer all day yesterday and worked on my novel. This is the first time I have revealed this on here.
The novel is a romantic fantasy entitled 'The Waterborne'. It is about a married couple who are separated when the wife (Alex) is drowned whilst swimming in the Med. Her husband (Philip) is an angler and after her death his anger at his loss leads him into conflict with an evil bird - a cormorant. Philip is unaware that those who have an affinity with the water become Waterborne spirits after their death. When his loss becomes unbearable he jumps in a river and finds himself as one of the Waterborne and discovers that they can be re-united in this world.
Unfortunately the evil cormorant, who has the power to destroy the Waterborne spirits, knows of their quest to find each other and does all he can to prevent it.
It is a love story, a fight against evil, a fantasy about life after death and an exploration of the world beneath the surface.
One of the driving forces that leads a person to become an angler is the fascination of the mystery of what goes on beneath the surface of the water and angling is about going part way towards unravelling that mystery.
My novel started as an attempt to fully unravel the mystery of what lies beneath.
Wednesday, 9 January 2008
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
The dacha
The dacha is a country residence.
Whilst the idea of a second home in the country is not unique to Russia the concept of the dacha is.
Only the very poorest of Moscow families do not have a dacha of some sort. If you fly into Moscow during daylight hours you will see patches of development; hundreds of little 'housing estates' in the forests around the city. This where most dachas are.
We used to have a dacha but because we spent so much time in the UK it was neglected and hardly used so it was sold. We spent some happy days there so I have the privelege of being able to tell about dacha life from direct experience.
The Communist government alloted plots of land (a commodity of which there is a great deal in Russia!) on which, for a nominal fee, Moscow residents could build a retreat from the city. The plots were 600 Msq and arranged in chequerboard communities cut into the forest. Access roads, potable water and electricity was delivered and the owners were free to build whatever they could afford, free of planning restrictions. The result is a range of sizes and shapes and varying quality of construction from small wooden huts to grand brick villas.
Ours was brick built with wooden extensions. It was spacious but primitive in it's accommodation. There was a wide enclosed veranda with toilet and shower room off, a large kitchen, a similar sized living area with two small bedrooms off. Upstairs was one big space, as yet undeveloped but with room for two more large bedrooms.
Non-drinking water was pumped from a well in the garden but it was always contaminated with fine sand and a previous attempt to make a plumbed bathing/toilet system just got clogged up. Waste went into a deep cess pit.
There was a brick chimney stack that climbed through the centre of the house with a wood burning stove in the living area. There were mature pine and birches in the garden as well as some apple, plum and currant bushes. Across the lane was the endless forest (although further development had started to erode this outlook.)
Our dacha community was about 200 km from Moscow and was on the site of some old peat diggings. This meant there was a lot of standing water surrounding us and standing water means MOSQUITOES :-( We were plagued with the little blighters but proper precautions made life bearable.
My most enduring memory was arriving there late one day in May and as we settled in to the evening we were treated to the song of a nightingale. I was enthralled. It started as an intermitent trill and occasional resonant piping and gradually developed into a full-throated glorious feast of varing scales, trills and sweet melodies. How poetic and romantic you think. Think again! You cannot switch a nightingale off! That bloody bird sat in the bushes close to our window and let rip at full volume all through the small hours of the night. I could have strangled it! Just as I started to drift off to sleep it would explode into song. It is now a nostalgic memory and I am now glad I experienced it.
Four years ago we went with friends to their dacha in the far North close to the Volga. This was not in a square community but in a straggling old village with straggling old Russian villagers still living there all year round. It was pointed out to me that one of these old wooden village houses could be bought for 500 pounds. I was not tempted!
We were treated to the song of the nightingale again but on this occasion nothing woke me - I was out of it on vodka :-)
Do svedanya,
Graham
Whilst the idea of a second home in the country is not unique to Russia the concept of the dacha is.
Only the very poorest of Moscow families do not have a dacha of some sort. If you fly into Moscow during daylight hours you will see patches of development; hundreds of little 'housing estates' in the forests around the city. This where most dachas are.
We used to have a dacha but because we spent so much time in the UK it was neglected and hardly used so it was sold. We spent some happy days there so I have the privelege of being able to tell about dacha life from direct experience.
The Communist government alloted plots of land (a commodity of which there is a great deal in Russia!) on which, for a nominal fee, Moscow residents could build a retreat from the city. The plots were 600 Msq and arranged in chequerboard communities cut into the forest. Access roads, potable water and electricity was delivered and the owners were free to build whatever they could afford, free of planning restrictions. The result is a range of sizes and shapes and varying quality of construction from small wooden huts to grand brick villas.
Ours was brick built with wooden extensions. It was spacious but primitive in it's accommodation. There was a wide enclosed veranda with toilet and shower room off, a large kitchen, a similar sized living area with two small bedrooms off. Upstairs was one big space, as yet undeveloped but with room for two more large bedrooms.
Non-drinking water was pumped from a well in the garden but it was always contaminated with fine sand and a previous attempt to make a plumbed bathing/toilet system just got clogged up. Waste went into a deep cess pit.
There was a brick chimney stack that climbed through the centre of the house with a wood burning stove in the living area. There were mature pine and birches in the garden as well as some apple, plum and currant bushes. Across the lane was the endless forest (although further development had started to erode this outlook.)
Our dacha community was about 200 km from Moscow and was on the site of some old peat diggings. This meant there was a lot of standing water surrounding us and standing water means MOSQUITOES :-( We were plagued with the little blighters but proper precautions made life bearable.
My most enduring memory was arriving there late one day in May and as we settled in to the evening we were treated to the song of a nightingale. I was enthralled. It started as an intermitent trill and occasional resonant piping and gradually developed into a full-throated glorious feast of varing scales, trills and sweet melodies. How poetic and romantic you think. Think again! You cannot switch a nightingale off! That bloody bird sat in the bushes close to our window and let rip at full volume all through the small hours of the night. I could have strangled it! Just as I started to drift off to sleep it would explode into song. It is now a nostalgic memory and I am now glad I experienced it.
Four years ago we went with friends to their dacha in the far North close to the Volga. This was not in a square community but in a straggling old village with straggling old Russian villagers still living there all year round. It was pointed out to me that one of these old wooden village houses could be bought for 500 pounds. I was not tempted!
We were treated to the song of the nightingale again but on this occasion nothing woke me - I was out of it on vodka :-)
Do svedanya,
Graham
Monday, 7 January 2008
Talk Russian!
I am no good at foreign languages. I think it is something to do with my creative intelligence ;-) Actually, learning new words is just a drag and I can't be bothered. At odds with this is my fascination with 'language'. I know a lot about the roots and origins of english words and this can be very helpful when trying to decipher foreign languages.
I only spend two months at any one time in Russia and so I have a limited time to aclimatise myself to the language. I have a well established vocabulary now of about 80 words. My finest hour with the Russian language was when I bought and paid for 5 kg of potatoes from a street vendor.
Enough about my stupidity!
As most of us know Russian has its own peculiar alphabet - Cyrillic - named after an Orthodox Saint called Cyril. It has 33 letters, many shared in common with our own alphabet. It is almost consistently phonically regular i.e. with few exceptions each letter keeps its own unique sound no matter where it is found.
Once you have mastered the alphabet it becomes surprisingly easy to decipher many words as there is a significant common vocabulary with english. Words such as computer, menu, telephone, minute, technology etc. are there in their Russian shape.
A car in Russia is feminine!Yes, like a lot of foreign languages it is complicated by the mysterious need to give a gender to inanimate objects. I have not yet worked out why this is necessary, or how it should evolve in one language and not in another. No one seems able to explain it.
English is taught in all Russian schools so if you visit you will be able to get by with english. I was approached by a shop assistant once and replied 'Ya ne gavario pa Ruski'(I don't speak Russian). He replied, 'OK then, we'll speak in English.'
His accent was perfect:-)
Do svedanya,
Graham
Factoid: The word in Russian for man (Moshina) is feminine.
I only spend two months at any one time in Russia and so I have a limited time to aclimatise myself to the language. I have a well established vocabulary now of about 80 words. My finest hour with the Russian language was when I bought and paid for 5 kg of potatoes from a street vendor.
Enough about my stupidity!
As most of us know Russian has its own peculiar alphabet - Cyrillic - named after an Orthodox Saint called Cyril. It has 33 letters, many shared in common with our own alphabet. It is almost consistently phonically regular i.e. with few exceptions each letter keeps its own unique sound no matter where it is found.
Once you have mastered the alphabet it becomes surprisingly easy to decipher many words as there is a significant common vocabulary with english. Words such as computer, menu, telephone, minute, technology etc. are there in their Russian shape.
A car in Russia is feminine!Yes, like a lot of foreign languages it is complicated by the mysterious need to give a gender to inanimate objects. I have not yet worked out why this is necessary, or how it should evolve in one language and not in another. No one seems able to explain it.
English is taught in all Russian schools so if you visit you will be able to get by with english. I was approached by a shop assistant once and replied 'Ya ne gavario pa Ruski'(I don't speak Russian). He replied, 'OK then, we'll speak in English.'
His accent was perfect:-)
Do svedanya,
Graham
Factoid: The word in Russian for man (Moshina) is feminine.
Sunday, 6 January 2008
Traffic in Moscow
Factoid: there are 7 roundabouts in the whole of Moscow.
Driving in Moscow is traumatic.
The congestion is terrible and most journeys take at least twice as long as they should. Car ownership has expanded faster than the roads have have been able to be developed to cope. Added to this is the bad driving style of the great majority of drivers - there is no lane discipline and there are two speeds: flat out and stop! The consequence of this is that there are bottlenecks and a lot more exhaust fumes than need be.
There is a constant programme of improvements of junctions and carriageways but it is never enough.
Fuel is 40p a litre and fuel economy is not a consideration.
I am not a fan of urban drivers in 4x4s but there is an excuse for the Muscovite: Road surfaces can be very uneven, snow and ice is a problem for 6 months of the year and many people have 'dachas' out in the countryside at the end of long unpaved tracks.
There is though a macho attitude amongst the owners of these vehicles and they 'bully' other car drivers. Many cars and 4x4s have blacked out windows - sad eh?
There is a single fine for speeding of 14 GBP and no 'points' system so there is no incentive to stick to speed limits. I have seen BMW's/Mercs travelling at speeds around 80 mph on the 'Garden Ring, close to the centre. There are no speed cameras.
Cars regularly shoot through red lights and anticipate the change to green. This makes crossing the road at traffic lights quite hazardous. Going through a red light attracts a fine of 12 GBP... so why worry?
There is 'zero tolerance' of drink driving (I am not sure about the penalties).
The public transport system is very good with the Metro, buses, trolley buses and mini-buses abounding. There is an attitude though of 'why should I use public transport if I have the convenience of my own car'.
Car ownership still has a feeling of novelty about it here and they all drive like kids with their first car and the girlfriend in the passenger seat. I don't hold out much hope of the Moscow motorist emerging from his adoloscence in the near future
Do svedanya,
Graham
Factoid: Street parking is free. There are no meters and no ticket machines. There are some roadside parking restrictions.
Driving in Moscow is traumatic.
The congestion is terrible and most journeys take at least twice as long as they should. Car ownership has expanded faster than the roads have have been able to be developed to cope. Added to this is the bad driving style of the great majority of drivers - there is no lane discipline and there are two speeds: flat out and stop! The consequence of this is that there are bottlenecks and a lot more exhaust fumes than need be.
There is a constant programme of improvements of junctions and carriageways but it is never enough.
Fuel is 40p a litre and fuel economy is not a consideration.
I am not a fan of urban drivers in 4x4s but there is an excuse for the Muscovite: Road surfaces can be very uneven, snow and ice is a problem for 6 months of the year and many people have 'dachas' out in the countryside at the end of long unpaved tracks.
There is though a macho attitude amongst the owners of these vehicles and they 'bully' other car drivers. Many cars and 4x4s have blacked out windows - sad eh?
There is a single fine for speeding of 14 GBP and no 'points' system so there is no incentive to stick to speed limits. I have seen BMW's/Mercs travelling at speeds around 80 mph on the 'Garden Ring, close to the centre. There are no speed cameras.
Cars regularly shoot through red lights and anticipate the change to green. This makes crossing the road at traffic lights quite hazardous. Going through a red light attracts a fine of 12 GBP... so why worry?
There is 'zero tolerance' of drink driving (I am not sure about the penalties).
The public transport system is very good with the Metro, buses, trolley buses and mini-buses abounding. There is an attitude though of 'why should I use public transport if I have the convenience of my own car'.
Car ownership still has a feeling of novelty about it here and they all drive like kids with their first car and the girlfriend in the passenger seat. I don't hold out much hope of the Moscow motorist emerging from his adoloscence in the near future
Do svedanya,
Graham
Factoid: Street parking is free. There are no meters and no ticket machines. There are some roadside parking restrictions.
Saturday, 5 January 2008
Drinking in Moscow
Vodka - 3 pound a litre!
Yes. It really is that cheap. You can get it even cheaper if you know where to look but I would not recommend drinking the stuff.
A good bottle of beer (500ml) only costs about 30p. Red wine costs from 3 pound upwards. Price is not a good indicator of quality so the best way to go is to find one you like and stick to it. You can pay a lot of money for undrinkable rubbish.
Every supermarket has its stack of vodka on offer; somewhere in the middle of an aisle.
The outcome of this availability of cheap alcohol is that there is a high level of early deaths amongst men due to intemperance. Average male life expectency is about 59 years.
There are some extremely pleasant drinking establishments in and around the city At one time we would have called it 'Continental' style: relaxed, family, cafe type establishments and there is a scattering of English/Irish theme pubs. One of our favourite, uniquely Russian, establishments is called The Rakes. It is spacious, comfortable and the food is good. The newer Russian eating/drinking places are very quirky and original with their decorations. The men's toilet at Rakes is lined with astroturf - walls and ceiling!
Unfortunately drinking on the street is common and there are empty bottles located on various corners throughout the city. There is a step behind a shop that we can look down on from the apartment and it is used as one of these outdoor meeting points. We call it the 'picnic site'. One of the picnicers was lying, sleeping it off on the freezing ground in temperatures well below freezing the other day. Fortunately one of his friends came and took him home.
Do svedanya,
Graham
Factoid: BALTIKA, one of Russia's biggest breweries, is owned by Scottish and Newcastle Breweries - the makers of Newcastle Brown Ale.
Yes. It really is that cheap. You can get it even cheaper if you know where to look but I would not recommend drinking the stuff.
A good bottle of beer (500ml) only costs about 30p. Red wine costs from 3 pound upwards. Price is not a good indicator of quality so the best way to go is to find one you like and stick to it. You can pay a lot of money for undrinkable rubbish.
Every supermarket has its stack of vodka on offer; somewhere in the middle of an aisle.
The outcome of this availability of cheap alcohol is that there is a high level of early deaths amongst men due to intemperance. Average male life expectency is about 59 years.
There are some extremely pleasant drinking establishments in and around the city At one time we would have called it 'Continental' style: relaxed, family, cafe type establishments and there is a scattering of English/Irish theme pubs. One of our favourite, uniquely Russian, establishments is called The Rakes. It is spacious, comfortable and the food is good. The newer Russian eating/drinking places are very quirky and original with their decorations. The men's toilet at Rakes is lined with astroturf - walls and ceiling!
Unfortunately drinking on the street is common and there are empty bottles located on various corners throughout the city. There is a step behind a shop that we can look down on from the apartment and it is used as one of these outdoor meeting points. We call it the 'picnic site'. One of the picnicers was lying, sleeping it off on the freezing ground in temperatures well below freezing the other day. Fortunately one of his friends came and took him home.
Do svedanya,
Graham
Factoid: BALTIKA, one of Russia's biggest breweries, is owned by Scottish and Newcastle Breweries - the makers of Newcastle Brown Ale.
Thursday, 3 January 2008
Music
There is a distinct difference in the way in which 'classical' music is treated in Russia from how we treat it in the West.
Russian artistes are highly revered and well known amongst certain circles (outside of 'popular' culture) so when a concert-goer looks for entertainment they look for the artiste first and the composer second. This is reflected in recorded music in that CD sleeve notes often tell a lot about the performers and very little, or nothing about the composer and the musicology.
Moscow is like any other capital city in that there is always something to go and see or liten to - every day of the year.
My one and only visit to the Bolshoi (the 'Big' theatre)was disappointing. It was a performance of Verdi's Nabucco. The opera was fine but the audience was appalling! They were tourists - only there because a visit to the Bolshoi was 'a must', and they had no idea how to behave: cameras flashing, phones ringing and the French woman next to me started singing along to the chorus of the Hebrew slaves. It was more akin to music hall.
Russian audiences are very well behaved; in fact I think they take a collective pride in knowing how to behave.
I have fond memories of a performance of Don Giovanni which took place in a small theatre close to Red Square: the singing was extraordinary, the production original and exciting whilst the audience was reverential and highly appreciative. This is a normal experience in Moscow concert halls and theatres.
It is -17C out there today. Olga and I are waiting for it to warm up to around -10C before we venture out!
Do Svedanya,
Graham
Factoid: Red Square has always been called that and has nothing to do with Communism.
Russian artistes are highly revered and well known amongst certain circles (outside of 'popular' culture) so when a concert-goer looks for entertainment they look for the artiste first and the composer second. This is reflected in recorded music in that CD sleeve notes often tell a lot about the performers and very little, or nothing about the composer and the musicology.
Moscow is like any other capital city in that there is always something to go and see or liten to - every day of the year.
My one and only visit to the Bolshoi (the 'Big' theatre)was disappointing. It was a performance of Verdi's Nabucco. The opera was fine but the audience was appalling! They were tourists - only there because a visit to the Bolshoi was 'a must', and they had no idea how to behave: cameras flashing, phones ringing and the French woman next to me started singing along to the chorus of the Hebrew slaves. It was more akin to music hall.
Russian audiences are very well behaved; in fact I think they take a collective pride in knowing how to behave.
I have fond memories of a performance of Don Giovanni which took place in a small theatre close to Red Square: the singing was extraordinary, the production original and exciting whilst the audience was reverential and highly appreciative. This is a normal experience in Moscow concert halls and theatres.
It is -17C out there today. Olga and I are waiting for it to warm up to around -10C before we venture out!
Do Svedanya,
Graham
Factoid: Red Square has always been called that and has nothing to do with Communism.
Tuesday, 1 January 2008
A Russian New Year
It was only in 1922 that the USSR came into line with the West in co-ordinating the calendar. (For this reason the October Revolution of 1917 was always celebrated in November!)
The Orthodox Church remained outside of these changes, as they had remained outside of the changes made by Pope Gregory in the 16th Century (Introduction of the 'Gregorian' calendar). The situation we have today is that the main secular Winter celebration is New Year on 1st January, the Orthodox church celebrates Christmas on 6th January and the New Year on 13th January.
The Russian people are spared the absurdity of early commercial activity, so there are no Christmas greetings to be found in October. The activity from mid December though is feverish and exhilerating and arguably proportionate. The magazines are full of advice and recommendation on how to give a successful party and have fun. The numerous TV channels vie with each other as to who can provide the most outrageous glitter, the most schmaltz and the craziest party.
Poor health prevented me from getting out last night and celebrating with friends but I was still able to enjoy the evening with family. We had a meal and champagne. Tradition is that the more sumptuous the meal, the more prosperous will be your year, so we made the effort: roast chicken, smoked salmon, Georgian cheese pie, three salads, garlic prawns and other tit-bits.
Being on the eighth floor meant that we were able to enjoy everyone elses fireworks :-) I have never seen the point of buying your own when the show is always so public, but then I am a Yorkshireman!
Snovom Godom,
Graham
The Orthodox Church remained outside of these changes, as they had remained outside of the changes made by Pope Gregory in the 16th Century (Introduction of the 'Gregorian' calendar). The situation we have today is that the main secular Winter celebration is New Year on 1st January, the Orthodox church celebrates Christmas on 6th January and the New Year on 13th January.
The Russian people are spared the absurdity of early commercial activity, so there are no Christmas greetings to be found in October. The activity from mid December though is feverish and exhilerating and arguably proportionate. The magazines are full of advice and recommendation on how to give a successful party and have fun. The numerous TV channels vie with each other as to who can provide the most outrageous glitter, the most schmaltz and the craziest party.
Poor health prevented me from getting out last night and celebrating with friends but I was still able to enjoy the evening with family. We had a meal and champagne. Tradition is that the more sumptuous the meal, the more prosperous will be your year, so we made the effort: roast chicken, smoked salmon, Georgian cheese pie, three salads, garlic prawns and other tit-bits.
Being on the eighth floor meant that we were able to enjoy everyone elses fireworks :-) I have never seen the point of buying your own when the show is always so public, but then I am a Yorkshireman!
Snovom Godom,
Graham
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