Romeo and Juliet - the musical

Yesterday we went to see the new musical 'Romeo and Juliet' at Nova Scena in Bratislava.
I thought it was a great production - combining elements of modern
day youth culture with the Renaissance. There was a strong influence from Baz Luhrman's film with angels, big crosses and a candlelit crypt at the end, but the intense emotions are expressed through dance and music rather than Shakespeare's words. This meant the second half was much pacier than the film and I nearly shed a tear at the end. The appreciative audience gave the performers a standing ovation at the end.

At the Farmers' Market

I have just been to the farmers' market / fair at the local Secondary School of Food Production. You had to change your money into a currency of paper slips called 'banose'. Then you can wander round the stalls selling specialities such as mutton stew or wild boar perkelt, traditional dumplings with apple, pig knee or ribs, sheep's cheese and sour milk as well as products from bees, wooden rakes, pottery, beer, a lecture on clipping trees with a crowd of interested gardners and gingerbread decoration.
It was interesting to see a man weaving baskets and hear the gypsy music.
You could also visit the bee hives which the school has and read the information panels.

First barbeque of spring

'What is life like in Slovakia?' people sometimes ask me (not Slovaks). There are two seasons in Slovakia - either you are skiing or ...having a barbeque. This is my first one this year. Note the Olympic flame. We have cheeses, spekacky and sausages. If you know how to translate 'spekacky' , then let me know.

The Thirty-Nine Steps - questions for chapter 2

n

The Milkman Sets Out on his Travels

 

 

1. Richard Hannay has killed men before. Why is he so shocked by the death of Scudder?

n2. Why does Hannay not go to the police?

n3. It took me an hour or two to think this out, and by that time I had come to a decision. What is the decision?

n4. What does Hannay take with him?

n5. How does he get out of the flat?

With 1C at the exhibition of Maria Corejova

We are at the Central Slovakia Gallery, and we are learning to read the pictures or art works there. I like the way Janka from the gallery asks questions that help the pupils make sense of what they are seeing and look deeper. I think the works are challenging - they are not about decoration and 'beauty', but explore ideas of existence, identity and the relationship of the individual consciousness to a wider civilisation through contrasts such limitation and escape. 

Márie Čorejova: A Conversation Leading Elsewhere

Tomorrow 1A and I are going to the Gallery of Central Slovakia to see the current exhibition by Márie Čorejova and to take part in a workshop. I think the exhibition sounds interesting in that it involves collaboration with other artists who add to the work of Márie Čorejova in different ways to create new perspectives on the work and new outputs. I think this is a dynamic way of creating and viewing art.

To learn more about the exhibition, you can go to the gallery website.http://www.ssgbb.sk/vystavy/167-maria-corejova-rozhovory-ktore-vedu-inam

5A cover lesson

I am having an interesting talk in English with 5A. They are clever students. They also recited a lovely Slovak poem.

The Slovak Spring pt 2

After lunch it is time to get down to work. We raked up the dead leaves and cherry stones under the trees with a rake.

 

We swept the patio with brooms.

 

Then we hosed the patio down.

 

We cut the lawn with a vertical cutter.

 

Then we raked up all the cuttings and carted it away in a wheelbarrow.

 

Now I feel quite tired, but I can see the results of our work so I am feeling pleased. It is good to do physical work.
The cat Cica and Nelly the dog watch us with interest.

Slovak Spring

Spring has finally arrived in Banska Bystrica. 

It is time to get out in the garden. I don't have a garden, but my friends do. I am there now helping with the pruning. 

 

We have to cut the old branches and twigs away so that there won't be a lot of small apples, but more larger fruit. I help to cut up the branches and twigs and put them in the bin. 

 

Nelly the dog also gets a spring haircut.

Lard and lardons pt 2

The first batch of lardons are turning a golden colour. 

 

We are starting to remove and drain the smaller pieces. The fat and the lardons should be separated so we are using a sieve. 

 

Now time for the next batch.

Making lard and lardons

Right now I am with my friend Dasa in her kitchen and we are chopping up and frying 5 kilos of pig fat in order to make our own lard and lardons. 

I am trying to be more self-sufficient like a good Slovak and not just buy everything in a shop. In the past pigs were reared for their bacon. Now they are reared for the meat, so the fat is not as thick as it was in the past.

Fashion in the UK

Fashion in the UK

British people are famous for their fashion sense. We are the nation that invented those staples of world fashion -  the Wellington boot and the headscarf. Here is a picture of Her Majesty Elizabeth II wearing both at the same time.

Here is the Hollywood version of the way British teenagers dress. The most notable feature is the choice of dull colours - greys, greens, black. This is what you should wear if you are fighting evil wizards like Voldemort and want to keep a low profile.

Here is a famous photograph of school boys taken in 1937 outside Lord's Cricket Ground. The boy on the left is a pupil at the private boarding school, Eton College. The local boys on the right seem to be fascinated by him while he pays them no attention at all.

Nowadays, we can see the former Eton boy Prince Harry dressing like a local.