LATE NIGHT OR EARLY MORNING,NOT SURE WHICH!

As we travelled back from Riga the sky was beginning to get light in the east as dawn approached, we were returning from what might be called a long day out, it had all started a week earlier. Let me explain....

As readers of my blog will know the 'Stelpe Dancers' were chosen along with 10,000 others to take part in the 25th Latvian Song and Dance festival (see.. Hot sun roses and flags) and our friend Sandra being the village Cultural person was expected to accompany the group through out the days leading up to the finale.

Accommodation was organised and would be in Riga 88 vidusskola (secondary school) our dancers would stay there  for the week all just one big happy family and be bused to the stadium where they would perform each day, or make alternative arrangements, this is what Sandra decided to do electing to travel home each evening/night.

I was happy to help in any way with transport and during the week I travelled to Riga some 5/6 times the best being the first when we left Stelpe a 6am with very little traffic on the road,and moving round Riga was a dream. On the Friday of festival week we were due to meet up with a lady called Rita from the 'Wales Baltic Society' formed by a group of Latvian's old and young living around the Bristol, Cardiff area. Making arrangements to meet at the Laima clock at 2 pm, everything worked well and we spent about three and a half hours together, including visiting a pancake restaurant

The best pancake house in Riga
complete with music

 One should never judge a sausage by it's skin and likewise never judge a pancake house by the outside, not that it looked bad at all, inside it was plain but you don't eat the decoration or furniture now do you? The pancakes were delicious, both savoury and sweet and the prices,                               well just look at the sign in the picture.

A good meal for under  £2

We had been trying to find a source of tickets for the main event on the Sunday of Festival week, the grand finale concert in the Mezaparks. We made enquiries as early as December 2012 but were met with a blank wall. The nearest we got was when I enquired at the information desk in a very large shopping mall called 'Spice' (pronounced spit-say) when the young lady told me “Ah yes we sold tickets for the festival four years ago but I do not know if we will sell them again next year'

Ah well, such is the way of Latvian organisation. But finally we managed to get just  just two tickets, which were like 'hen's teeth' to find. Later we heard that tickets were selling for up to £200 each.

Gold dust

Sunday is the day of the grand parade through the streets of Riga, a procession which takes some 5 hours to pass and is made up of dance groups, choirs, brass bands and groups of Latvians who come from as far as Australia and Canada to join in the festivities.

We planned to park close to the Mezapark as possible so when the concert was over we wouldn't have to far to walk back, but every road had at least one policeman (or woman) guarding it as if their very life depended on it, and upon asking if we might park up were told in no uncertain terms NO!!, well where can we park then? I asked only to be answered by a shrug of the shoulders and a curt 'I don't know'. Most helpful I don't think.

As luck would have it retracing our steps (all be it in the car) I spotted a parking sign and shot across some tramlines and into a secure car park, ' I don’t care how much it cost's we have somewhere to park' Buying a parking ticket then turned out to be a bit more of a problem, yes we could park for the concert and yes it would cost 2 lats. Not bad for secure parking, but we must pay to park for the day which would be another 2 lats OK still not bad that would be for almost 24 hours, but if we wanted to park for the day we must buy tickets for Riga Zoo as it was their car park and tickets for the zoo were obligatory. We had plenty of time so we found ourselves enjoying a stroll round the zoo before catching the tram (whose rails I had crossed to get in the car park) into the city centre.

Made by Skoda

 Riga has a good tram system and for just 50santims (60p) each we rode into Riga on what was the most modern tram I have ever been on.

When we got back to the city centre, finding a place to watch was no problem and we found a spot which with a little patience found us at the front waiting and hoping we hadn't missed the folk from Stelpe as they proudly marched along, after what seemed an absolute age we were just about to give up and find a little shade and cold drink when in the distance I saw the banner for Vecumnieki Novad with the respective villages following Skiastkalne band
 with some young people from school came first

Here they come

 and then Stelpe Dancers. Wonderful we hadn't missed them.

Arranging to meet  Sandra and Tereze in front of the Opera House we found a seat in the shade and  and enjoyed a short respite from the sun which blazed down from a cloudless sky. Finding something to eat was the next priority but where?? MacDonald’s? A lido restaurant? a sandwich and bottle of drink? No none of these, when we met our Latvian friend on the Friday we went to a pancake house so that is where we decided to go now.

Then it was back on the tram and into the Mezapark for the concert. As one might expect the tram was a little crowded on our return journey but it was all part of the fun, and actually some of us did mange to get a seat, And as we walked down the main avenue to the venue one could feel the buzz of excitement around the crowd,

All roads lead to the
Mezapark

As we had seats in  different parts of the Mezapark we made arrangements to meet at a certain point at 11pm when the concert was due to finish and  went to find our seats.

The view from our seats

Now where is our seat

 On the dot of 7pm the singers started to fill the huge stage and so it started, non-stop music some seeming a little sombre some light hearted, but all performed with the enthusiasm only Latvians can show for such an event. The program was still in full flow at 1 am, and we left to meet up and head for home.

While we were waiting to meet up Valerie and I found a seat and watched folk coming and going.and as we waited a lady approached and asked something in Latvian, what !! we had no idea, but she persisted and we thought she was begging but no, although she was quite merry her companion explained that as Valerie was dressed in white she thought Valerie was a holy lady (a nun I guess) ha ha !! and wanted to kiss her hand, she was not offencive and in the end kissed both Valerie's and my hands and went on her way a happy lady. By the time we had all met up it was well gone 2 and hence by the time we had reached the car and driven across Riga we were watching dawn starting in the east.

Today Stelpe is host to the European Motocross riders whilst the wind is blowing in the right direction to take most of the sound away from us, one is still aware that just 500 meters away as the stork flies there is what sounds like a swarm of angry hornets buzzing around waiting for a place to land.

Talking of storks flying, on days like this one can see them lazily circling round high high in the sky. Much like gliders sailing round at what must be 1000 ft plus making it look effortless. I guess it must be their idea of fun, still why not it will not be long before they all decide to head south for the winter, and who can blame them!! Oh yes the house martins have started to congregate on the electric wires another sign that summer is fast passing and the time of mists and mellow fruitfulness will soon be with us. We mustn't complain though we have had a cracker of a summer this year with it being so hot at times we didn't know what to do with ourselves.

As we look forward to family visiting us in just a few days time 'sod's law' will swing into action and you can bet (if I was a betting man I'd put money on it) our summer will go straight down the pan!!!!

There are times in life when you wonder just what you are doing where you are, and we often think that, but then an opportunity comes along and life make sense once again

Two such opportunities came about when least expecting them. Fortunately I was a boy scout and we all know what the scout's motto is.don't
don't we??

My mobile rang one day and it was a friend asking if we could take her and one other lady to visit a pensioner friend who had been unable to attend the last pensioners meeting, we took with us the gift and flowers she should have received to celebrate her birthday. No problem we would be delighted to help and so at the appointed time we picked them up and headed for our friend's home, on arrival we were greeted and taken to the sitting room where a veritable feast had been prepared for us ( if we had known perhaps we would have gone without breakfast) there were cold meats, pickles, tomatoes, two kinds of bread (white and black) cake, biscuits tea and coffee and of course the traditional bottle of home brew (well it was a belated birthday celebration) and all this at 10.30 in the morning. So we all tucked into the food,and drink!! [but I only had a little sip as I was the driver,,,,,] and we had an enjoyable time together,

We left our friends around 12.30 happy that we were able to help, (well it might have been the home-brew hic that helped)

We are told in the bible to bear one another’s burdens, I firmly believe that this does not just mean fellow Christians but those we come in contact with on a daily basis. Or if you are not a Christian the song says 'If I can help somebody as I pass along, then my living will not be in vain'

The second opportunity occurred when our neighbour knocked on our door the other evening asking for our help. Could we look after her daughter as she had been called in to work (she is a nurse) and her husband was not yet home from work, not a problem! we have pencils paper games all manner of things to keep little people happy, But sitting a 5 year old down and expecting them to sit still ain't no fun, so what else can you do? I know , we can make a cake said Valerie, and that’s just what they did here is the proof, my job in all of this was to make a pictorial record and here it is.

Mix sugar and marge well,then add eggs.

Add a smile

Fold in the flour

Put in a 9 inch sandwich tin

Bake for 20 or so minutes

Always clean up 

And there you are just for my dad.

PS. I have video of the festival procession but Blogger does not want to upload it, sorry.

ROAD TRIP (Day two)

OK so there we were, bedded down for the night, Alarm set for an early start, what could go wrong now?

We both woke at 6am and were ready for the day, the restaurant was located next to the squash courts ,well were else would you put it? but it was deserted apart from a cleaner who was totally uninterested in us, perhaps someone might be in the kitchen? and a shout brought someone out “yes?” we would like breakfast please, of course, we had ordered the full english !!!! and were told !!!! “the kitchen doesn’t open until 7am” Well!!! if someone had told us we could have had another hour in bed, as it was we sat and watched the empty squash courts ,went for a walk,then sat some more until finally our breakfast arrived, eggs (2) bacon (3 rashers) sausage (small) cucumber???? lettuce?????? (not sure where they fit in an english breakfast) but plenty of coffee and bread rolls.

We finally shook the dust of Poznan off our wheels at 7.30am, only to return again,!!on our way home (but that's another story)

Motorway travel might be quick but
it's also very boring.

Polish  toll road. Excellent  driving.

We just had another 1104 kilometres to go but then we had 22 and a half hours to do it in and don't forget it's motorway all the way. The sun was up, it was a glorious day and our spirits were high.

Four hours into the day we were zipping down through Germany I was at the wheel when I commented to my friend and co driver ,, the road here is making quite a noise must be the surface, one of those new ideas to help keep you awake, but the sound grew louder and with a pronounced wobble on the steering wheel ,oh no!!!the front nearside tyre had gone, POP!!!! Help !!!we had a blow out and with expert handling( ha ha !!) and a great deal of help from our guardian Angel , I was able to get onto the hard shoulder and relative safety.

I have been driving for over 45 years and this was the first time I had this experience,(they say there's a first time for everything) don't want to do that one again.

German countryside, 

OK, all we’ve got to do is whip the spare off,,, jack the car up ,whip the wheel off and replace it, two experienced drivers no problem!!!! 15 minutes max and we would be on our way again. First things first ,hazards on ,triangle about 100 mtrs back. The spare was up to pressure (I checked before we left)

Talk about feeling exposed as we wound the spare tyre down from its place under the back of the car, first problem was,,could we get it off the cable it was hanging from could we heck , well,,, lets get the wheel off and look at it again when we need it ( who knows the cable could grow a bit longer!!! )So jacked up we started to undo the wheel nuts there's six on the Alhambra 5 were no problem the sixth could we shift it? Not a smidgen!! Don't panic Mr Mannering, we have plenty of time, lets look at the problem,

can't get the spare off can't get the wheel off, ummm!! I know lets call the police.

Now the clever people who had made my triangle thought it would be a good idea to mold into the case the SOS numbers you need to call when in need of help in an emergency and I thought our situation came into that category (for Germany it was 110) All the time we were expecting the police to come and get us towed away (at some exorbitant price) arrest us and throw away the key for breaking some obscure motorway rule.

Now picture us if you can on the hard shoulder, under a junction bridge against the crash barrier on our right, as there was a two lane filter onto the motorway on the other side of it feeding the motorway with vehicles at speed, and 40ft articulated lorries plus what seemed to us like every other motor that had been built ,thundering at a zillion miles an hour, on our left, we did feel a tad exposed to say the least. And the noise unbelievable!!!!!

I clamped my phone to my ear having dialled 110 prayed please let whoever answers speak some english, my prayer was answered “Hello police how can I help” “I am on the motorway and have broken down I need someone to help me” “Hello police how can I help” I;m broken down----------- after five minutes of this back and forth he realised I was broken down, Hallelujah!! I will send a car where are you??? I don’t know it's your motorway!!!!!!! across the road there is a tall thing with a triangle shape on it turning round, ( it was the only landmark I could see, and there wasn't another one like it that I had seen) but where are you at what Kilometre are you? At that point the penny dropped (I always wondered what the numbers by the motorway were for, ) I will find out and ring you back!!! While all of this was going on I saw not one but two police cars both with green stripes along the side, must have been a different department as they took no notice of us at all. Could you imagine that conversation if one had stopped “ ello ello what seems to be the problem??? broken down ave we sir!!! ummm sorry not my problem, see we’re urban not motorway police, someone will be along shortly, sir.

Anyway back to reality ,they need to know at what kilometre we are at, I told my friend,, you go that way I'll go this and the first one to find a marker wave you arms and jump up and down as a signal, can't remember who was first but we found one. So it was back to the phone and “Hello police how can I help you”

It's that man broken down by the side of “your” motorway and the only number we can find is! Very good I will get a car to come and see you, I was just going to ask how long when he hung up.

On and on and on

We could be here for hours and then towing us off will take for ever, we'll never make the ferry now all for a puncture, sitting against the crash barrier we settled in for a long wait but within ten minutes a very smart BMW estate with a blue stripe along it's side (told you !!different department) ,with it's blue lights flashing it pulled up behind us.

Here it comes I thought the might of German law is about to descend on us, but no!!!

one policeman got out and wandered up to us “what’s the problem”? I have a puncture and can't get the spare wheel out and the punctured one off, with all the traffic we didn't feel safe laying on the ground! He said “so what do you want us to do? Well ,with your flashing lights traffic will move over and you will give us some protection.

OK, and so we attacked the problems again this time with the added protection of the police while they sat on the crash barrier chatting, ten minutes later with the damaged tyre in the back along with everything else ,we were seen back out into the stream of traffic and on our way, oh yes one of the policemen even walked back along the hard shoulder and retrieved my warning triangle folded it and put it back in it's case for me. Full marks to Germany’s Autobahnpolize. From start to finish the whole episode had taken no more than an hour although it had seemed like a lifetime to us.

Did I tell you we took in Italy as well.

But we were back on the road and it just meant we were an hour behind schedule and we could make that up no problem even if it meant driving a bit longer.

An hour later all was well, we pulled into a service station with a KFC and straightened the boot ,went and had a bit of a wash and brush up plus a quick bite to eat, then it was back to sailing down the road with not a care in the world we had plenty of time and a clear road in front of us,!!!! When!!!!!!!!!!!

an oldish looking minivan pulled in front of us followed closely by a small blue 4X4, on the back of the van there was a flashing sign saying FOLLOW ME unsure if it was meant for us, we thought we had better follow it, and at the next exit we pulled off and round into a service area. So there we were the van ,the blue car and us, out of the van jumped three men wearing camouflage outfits ,pistols on their hips and looking quite menacing. Oh my!! we're being high-jacked went through my mind, give them what they want,do what they say, but above all ,stay calm!!!!. First thing they did was wave the 4 x 4 away and he shot off like scalded cat. With one man at each door and another standing in front of us I wound down the window, without chance to open my mouth, the man spoke ,, bla bla bla, “hold on I'm english and don't understand,” OK , my hijacker said , “ how many cigarettes ?, how much booze ?and how much cash do you have in the car?” ( I kid you not) none, none and none, we don't smoke ( It's bad for your health) we don't drink ( well not when driving!!) and we haven't any cash as we pay everything with our debit card, “ So you are saying you have none of these”, yes sir I said... “OK is this vehicle yours and why is it Latvian?” Yes it's mine and I live in Latvia. “I see ,so what is in the boxes in the back, please open the doors, and the suitcases, show us what is in the boxes, so there we were cases and boxes on the ground around the car.

One of the things I had was a christmas present for our son and daughter in law, (bit late ),,gifts for the rest of the family and 10 jars of home made jam, well, we must have honest faces as after a short while they explained they were from customs and excise and were looking for smugglers, but we were free to go. They jumped back into their van and went back presumably to see if they could catch someone else, leaving us to repack the car and continue.

Help which way!!!

We'll just have to keep going until we get to Dunkirk now and rest up while we wait for the ferry, and so the rest of our journey was quite uneventful, that was until we reached Dunkirk we filled the car with fuel ( not going to pay UK prices ) and the ferry signs we had been following just disappeared and we found ourselves in the middle of what looked like an industrial estate ,,,lost!!! ( not many ships about) and the tom tom seemed lost as well,,,,,. To one side of the road I saw a security guard standing by his van ,so we stopped and out I got, only to find he didn't speak english, drat it!!! Not to worry I was able to make him understand we were looking for the port and a ship to “angleterre” The long and short of it was he lead the way until we could see the lights and a funnel in the dock area.

The plan now was to get in the port and sit and wait till our 6am ferry was ready to board, phew !!!we had made it with 2 hours to spare. I parked and walked over to the control booth and said to the Englishman ,I'm a bit early but can we check in now and wait, wev'e done just over 1200 km ( Google got it wrong) and are a bit tired. “ If your quick mate you can get on the ferry thats leaving in a few minuites” and with that we shot through the dock area and onto the ferry. Great !!!!!!

Next stop England

The white cliffs of Dover,
it had been a long way.

JUST A LITTLE SNIPPIT BLOG

Over past times I have often referred to my lack of computer skills so it will come as no surprise to many of you when I say I hate all things technical!!! What ever happened to being able to fix things with a big hammer and a block of wood? When I look under the bonnet of my car it's a different world, gone are the days when one could strip an engine, grind in the valves ( on the kitchen table, of course) and pop it all back together all on a Saturday afternoon. Oh happy days.

Where is this all leading ? The past few weeks have seen me threatening to throw the laptop in the bin, make phone calls to people I didn't need to and call on the service's of a garage ( it needs connecting to the computer to sort the problem sir) to sort out the heating problems I have had from the start.

Oh and also booking a ferry crossing on line. Still we wouldn't be English if we didn't have something to moan about would we?

But let me take you back to when the snow was deep and crisp and even. Throughout the winter months we have suffered with a lack of warmth in our car it could take for ever to get any heat out of the heating system and even then we were never sure how long it would stay. So in despiration I contacted a friend who knew another friend who knew a man with the right softwear that could read my engine. ( now softwear to me is a nice vest and pants, or maybe a lambs wool pullover. {In a nice pastel color of course} I'll leave you to decide which) and so I parted with 10 lats to have my car read, not to bad I thought!!!! My friend reported back, “Oh dear you have BIG BIG problem” (sharp intake of breath) “ the engine needs big repair's” apparently the cylinder head needed to be taken off as the gasket has blown or there is a crack in the cylinder head and it will need to be replaced!!!! How much? At this moment my mind was watching the Lats clock up like the tills in Tesco's on a Friday night. If it is only the gasket broken then 175 Lats (about 200 pounds) if it is not then who knows????

Let me say here that in the UK it would be a case of now is the time to change the car and let the garage deal with the problem!! Here a bit of a different approach was needed and so biting the bullet I said go ahead and while the job is being done could you change the cambelt. No problem, until I Googled how much it was likley to cost. I had to use a UK site and the cheapest I could find was a 2006 price and that was 350—400 pounds.

Time for a Brandy ( just for medicinal purposes of course)

Surrendering my car key's to the garage I went and lay down in a darkened room whilst they went to work on it. Three days later I collected it and paid the final bill 375 lats inc VAT at 21% and drove away . The moral of this story ? Well perhaps you can come up with one.

P.S.It was just as well I had the car repaired as I was about to embark upon a road trip that would have “Thelma and Louise” on the edge of there seats !!!

AT LONG LAST

I thought that if I kept quiet , no one would notice that I hadn't been doing 'tales from Upes Iela '. But oh no some bright spark made mention of it on that social network site !!! and then the comments started Where is it' 'I've missed it' { thanks a bunch Lucy} and Andrew said Dad,,it's been four months since you last did your blog' and so on  !!

We never fail to be amazed at the views from our bedroom window

My O my, how things change, it's Mother's Day today and Valerie opened her gifts which contained sweets, candles, scarves and other things, plus more to follow it the postal service gets it act together. It's a far cry from the days when it was called Mothering Sunday and as children we would come home from Sunday School with a small posy of flowers for mum, who as always had cooked the Sunday dinner, apart from maybe a cup of tea and a slice of toast in bed not a lot changed. Did we think any less of our mothers then? I think not  !!! If truth be told we thought more and didn't take them for granted as it seems the younger generation do today. Right off the soap box now and back to the matter in hand.

25th of November I posted last, no excuses this time as I haven't got a single one!! Why change the habits of a lifetime, Don't do today what you can put off till tomorrow, or any other suitable phrase could come in handy here, truth is I just didn't feel like doing it.[plus having been unwell,]

Visitors to the school party

but today the sun is shining, the birds are singing ,the snow is on it's way out and Spring is just around the corner. So here is what has been happening since November.

Christmas parties both the school and pensioners (this year we made small box's and filled them with homemade florentines and heart shaped tree dec's) came and went in their usual enthusiastic whirl.

This years gifts for the pensioners

  Before we knew it we were at the airport to meet our friend Barbara who was coming to share Christmas with us, [along with friends from across the river]. It was grand to have her with us especially as she brought some English cheese with her.

We booked a trip to the theatre to see 'The Silver Skates' as to how this story would be acted out on a stage in the National Theatre was a bit of a puzzle but all was to be revealed, The cast were excellent and entered into the performance with such enthusiasm it was infectious and the whole audience were entranced by the skaters whirling round the set. Marking the performance out of ten it must rate at least an eleven.

During her stay with us over the Christmas holiday we were able to take Barbara to visit Sandra's parents, who live about 100k from us and it was quite an eye opener for her especially when she had to use the outside loo.

Another first for Barbara a winter picnic in the forest

All to soon her visit was over and we bid a fond farewell to her knowing she will be back.

Last of our entertainment program to date was a trip to the circus, we had hoped to go before Christmas but trip was so heavily over booked and there was no room for us and so another outing was planned, The circus act's included, trapeze artists, performing dogs and yes Lions, who were the happiest lions I have ever seen, far more content than many I have seen in zoo's. Oh yes and of course clowns, very therapeutic are clowns it's surprising just how good for you a. really good laugh is, beats any drug prescribed for stress hands down

We had enjoyed a white Christmas and almost as soon as we were back on our own the snow melted away and almost disappeared, to the point that

we thought we had escaped with a very short winter, but Oh no mother nature had a different idea and no sooner had we relaxed than we found ourselves in the grip of blizzard's, heavy snow, bitter cold winds and the daily chore of digging the path out of the snow drifts. 

Snow snow and still more snow

Now we find ourselves almost halfway through March and the snow is just begining to melt albeit very slowly.

As always there are jobs that need doing around the house and this winter we have replaced the sink in the kitchen (courtesy of Ian)

a work in progress

and I laid laminate flooring in the sitting room.

Now that's more us

Since we moved to Latvia we have enjoyed a much more active social life, what with local concerts and the Opera, Ballet and trips to the theatre, which are all so affordable to a much wider audience base.

Even the local concerts are of a very good standard as was the case  last night,when we were entertained by 'Vecumnieki Youth Orchestra' being greeted at the door with a polite labvakar (good evening), a flower for the ladies and a free glass of wine, and then being shown to your table by one of the senior members of the orchestra certainly sets a good impression. Especially when followed by an excellent performance of music that ranged from 'Moon River' (From Breakfast at Tiffany's) through ' I’ve got you under my

skin' ( Cole Porter) to a selection of popular Latvian songs, and to top it

all IT WAS FREE!!!!

Sorry but had to take a small intermission ,Sunday Club had been cancelled as some of  the children were going horse riding?? (strange) but low and behold at 10 o’clock children arrive as if nothing was changed. So after a quick think it was mother's day cards and baking session for buns to take home (this never happened as they were eaten while still warm!!) but the cards went home to mum.

Our involvement in school continues and it was very encouraging when class 8 came for a visit just before the end of term and told us they enjoyed our classes as they were fun and very interesting ( not to sure how much prompting they had had before hand) but it was good for our morale.

Last week when in class and asked what would you like to do ,ideas ranged from play games to eat tasty food, the girls can make it and the boys can eat it, which sounds about right  !!! Plans are in hand to do some cooking with them but the room used for what we would call domestic science is sadly lacking in equipment especially for a class of eleven students. ( detail's can be sent to anyone who would like to help improve this situation)

You can never have to much firewood

.

So where are we now well just last week we had our first delivery of logs for next winter yep Life really is just one big circle.