174:The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Two items of interest today (to me anyway).
The first is mildly amusing, the second mildly entertaining.
Some time ago an edict was passed to say that temporary structures on the streets of Moscow would be demolished. This edict is being carried out..

However, many of the old temporary structures are now being replaced by newer, more permanent buildings. So it is still possible to buy almost anything on the street at any hour of the day or night.

The video clip below explains what makes up the United Kingdom and talks about the few residual bits of Empire that we still have left scattered around the globe! I'm sorry the American is speaking so fast. maybe one day I'll record it myself but at a slower speed.

173:UK Study breaks

One of many beautiful buildings in Cambridge.	Now my working schedule has changed to 2 weeks in Russia and 1 week in England I am able to offer one week study breaks in England. Stay (all inclusive) with me and my wife in our house in Cambridgeshire and immerse yourself in the language. Choose the balance of formal tuition and excursions to suit you. We look forward to welcoming you to our house and hospitality. Book soon before places go!		The mathematical bridge on the lovely river Cam.
Prices: http://www.inter-bridge.biz/ukpricesR.aspx		Dates: http://www.inter-bridge.biz/calendar1.aspx

172:Another Russian wedding!

Newly weds do like to take a tour around town being photographed at the various sights (достопримечательности!).
Can anybody explain the definition of a flash mob? Is it supposed to be a spontaneous gathering of people in a place pre-arranged at short notice? Every one I've seen so far looks to be a pre-planned, well-orchestrated, stage-managed, event. Like this one? Don't get me wrong, it's great entertainment, especially if you're there, on the spot, on Sparrow Hills but did this bride and groom really walk into this as a surprise on their wedding day? Somehow I don't think so.

A great video clip, but I will be singing/humming "putting on the Ritz" for the rest of the day!

As an aside, the hot water was coming out brown from my tap this morning. Yukh! Still, at least it will go some way to colouring my grey hair! (N.B. UK серый,седой = grey, US серый,седой = gray)

171:A Russian wedding

I went to a Russian wedding "breakfast" on Saturday - boy do those guys know how to have a good time! I missed the ceremony in the registry office (ЗАГС) as that was on Friday and I was working but I managed along to the reception on Saturday (afternoon, evening, night). Unfortunately I was rendered somewhat hors de combat having been struck by a bout of sciatica (ишиас) early on Saturday morning - nice timing! 
The reception took place at a big leisure complex somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Such places are quite commonplace here as it lets Muscovites escape the city and "commune with nature".  
There was a Master of Ceremonies (тамада) who, together with his wife, did a magnificent job of making things happen in the right place at the right time. There are quite a few differences between Russian weddings and British, the first of which became apparent when all the guests stood outside the building and greeted the newlyweds as they arrived. The guests threw flower petals, the groom's mother presented traditional "bread and salt" 

and the bride's mother gave them each a glass of champagne. We all moved inside to the "banquet". The starters (закуски) were laid out on the tables together with strategically placed bottles of vodka, white and red wine, champagne, and cola for the faint-hearted. A banquet fit for a king. With a traditional British wedding feast the meal would then proceed from start to finish. The Russian meal has long gaps between the courses whilst dancing and other entertainment ensues. A lot of the guests chose to give money (in an envelope) as a present and there was a kind of letter-box-shaped box into which the envelopes were dropped, after the donors had stood in front of the "top table" and proposed a toast to the newly-weds. I do hope they didn't lose that box - I think they should have hired a security guard!
Some of the other memorable events included: the presence of a caricaturist, and his wife, who had been hired to draw all the guests (free of charge). I include the drawing he did of me - form your own opinion but I think it looks more like my Dad! the Bride and Groom, and all the guests, going for a walk beside the lake to a "special" tree where they a tied a ribbon to the tree, along with all the other ribbons that were there, there was a fire-show at about 11 p.m. where a performer turned up and did amazing things with a couple of sticks that were on fire. I nearly forgot, there was an interesting session where the bride and groom were instructed in the noble art of parenting - see for yourself!
All in all a great time. I didn't get to bed until 0200 on Sunday and then up again for lessons. Life goes on.

  

170:Русская смекалка - improvisation?

In Russia nothing is wasted. things are re-used wherever possible and often, as here, the second usage of an item has nothing to do with the original use.
I think this adaptation of a pallet* is an example of русская смекалка but if any of my Russian friends disagree then do please tell me and suggest a better translation, in Russian, for what they can see in the picture.
It puts me in mind of the old story where in Space it was discovered that ball-point pens wouldn't work in conditions of weightlessness. The Americans spent millions on research to develop a pen that could write upside down. The Russians used a pencil. Maybe it's apocryphal, and maybe not.

I guess the thinking is that if the children go home with a splinter in the bottom (осколок в попе) it will toughen them up.


*Do not confuse pallet with palate or palette. A pallet is 'a platform for moving goods' or 'a makeshift bed'; palate means 'the roof of the mouth' or 'a person’s ability to distinguish between different flavours' ( flavours that appeal to the palate); a palette is 'an artist’s board for mixing colours'.

169:the week in pictures

Time, as ever, is pressing in on me (this morning mainly due to spending too much time in bed), so I thought I would simply present a few pictures taken around and about during the week and add a few comments where appropriate.

This guy was parked, nose and tail, on a zebra crossing. The sticker, dripping with irony, had obviously been placed there by an irate citizen and says something like "I spit on everybody, I will park where I want." Lovely. I hope it takes a lot of "elbow grease"* to remove. I know parking is a problem in Moscow but it doesn't give drivers carte-blanche to park "willy-nilly*". A little consideration for others might be nice.  *elbow grease - an idiom for hard work. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbow_grease *willy-nilly - in an unplanned, haphazard fashion. http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/willy-nilly.html
The delightful and enchanting pipe music of the Andes, right here in Moscow. An impromptu, unscheduled, concert right next to the portaloos at Paveletskiy. I saw two policemen walking past, probably wondering whether to move them on or not. The musicians I mean, not the portaloos! Just off camera there were, of course, people selling CDs of the group performing.
Cherries and strawberries are in season. They are being sold from stalls all over town and what a beautiful aroma of fresh cherries as you walk past them.
The beautification of the city continues apace. Here, on the pavements around Victory Park, are piles and piles of "instant grass" waiting for gangs of labourers to arrive and unroll them.

168:No smoke without fire..

This is my second recent blog about smoke and fire but that's the way life is. This is the view that I get when I leave my flat, on the 10th floor, and wait for the lift to arrive. Except that there is not usually the pall of smoke and one of the helicopters being used to help douse the fire with an under-slung bucket of water. Such was the view last night, when I came home. Thankfully, we don't see too many fires here. I know the flats in the foreground look as though they have been fire-damaged but as far as I can remember they are always that attractive!