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
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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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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,
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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.
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| The view from our seats |
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| 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.
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| Mix sugar and marge well,then add eggs. |
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| Add a smile |
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| Fold in the flour |
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| Put in a 9 inch sandwich tin |
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| Bake for 20 or so minutes |
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| Always clean up |
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| 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.
