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.