I found this yesterday. It brought back memories of my cousin Gustaw who died a few weeks ago in Poland. I met him for the first time when I was eleven, in 1965, in Częstochowa, Poland. My father had taken me by car and generally the trip was quite gruelling for me, partly because everyone […]Read Post ›
Our hotel, luxury personified, offered us a free one way tour to Murano glass works in a water taxi. Why oh why did I not look more closely at the map? There was an enormous expanse of sea to cross and, as if you didn’t know, I don’t like water. Or boats. Or anything really […]Read Post ›
Yesterday we had our first full day here. Mass in our local church Santa Maria Di Salute and then lunch in a very local very expensive restaurant – we shan’t be going back. I went for an exploratory walk while Jacek had a nap and rested his foot, ready for the afternoon’s saunter. We got […]Read Post ›
This is my first time in Dubrovnik, but not my first connection with it. Many years ago, when I had just finished university, I had a boyfriend who was a disaster in many ways. But it took me a long time to see it, but that’s another story. He was an amateur archaeologist and I […]Read Post ›
45 years ago I got married for the first time. I’d met my husband a month before and we decided to get married as soon as we could. Various reasons, mostly practical, but of course we didn’t envisage any of the fallout. I’ve written about this before, so I’m not going to dwell on it […]Read Post ›
For M and A KE Thank you What a city. What a weekend. I had never been to Amsterdam before. Look out for the windmills. Look at the tulips. Anne Frank. Van Gogh. Vermeer. Rembrandt. Well, it was wonderful. But nothing like that at all. We arrived Thursday afternoon and went by taxi from the […]Read Post ›
Wednesday. And we’re off again. Is there anything more stressful than packing on a hot day to go somewhere even hotter. Luckily there is lots of time and I actually did most of my own packing yesterday. Work expands to fit the time available so I spent all day, running! Up and down the stairs, […]Read Post ›
When I was eighteen I went to Poland for six weeks. It was a great turning point in my life, as up till then I had been very shy, very nervous, lacking in confidence and with very few independent skills. I was clever and well read, but that was about it. I left school after […]Read Post ›
No. Not the band but the area of London. Walthamstow. The Far Eastern end of the Victoria Line. Not difficult to get to from where I live. Ealing. The most western end of the Central Line. But a long way nevertheless. I went in order to make the typical Polish Londoner’s pilgrimage to the William […]Read Post ›
Life Through Basia's Eyes 