Monday, November 09, 2020
Back home / A new home
Eventually I get into my new home. a place I have passed through dozens of time in my life on the way to Whitby or to Runswick Bay to the seaside usually. Easington. Knowing nothing at all about the place,it's a new adventure. SO the exploring begins with a walk along the cliff to the next town, a fantastic fishing village called Staithes.
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Pandemic
What happened to this year?
I find myself writing my Blog, that I promised to write regularly, almost 6 months after my last post in January.
Shocking!
But then the world has gone mad hasn't it!
Life here in Russia has been nothing if interesting. What do we do in this situation? Well I was always taught to , do as I was told!
Not applicable to everybody and not to everywhere it seems. Lockdown rules are for those who, like me, do as they are told. British politicians are as bloody stupid as they look, yes! that is possible in this case!
It is beyond belief, the stupidity of some people as they flaunt the simple rules of lockdown. I sit in amazement as people in the UK flock to places that are closed, for God's sake! Whitby and the seaside is closed!
And here, well the lockdown started slowly and then, Boom! The Muscovites flocked to their country houses and dachas, therefore spreading the virus everywhere and before long Russia was the second most infected country in the world.
Lovely, I felt stuck, trapped ! I contacted the British Embassy and ,there were no flights, I wasn't trying immediately to return ,but it seemed as though I was marooned among the Russians.
Now all I need to do is sell it! Of course there is no chance even now on May 26th to organise a book signing event, but I am plodding on selling a copy here and a copy there!
One of the advantages of being at home all of the time is working out what the hell you are going to do all day.
I decided against sleep!
I had much more time to spend on my Creative Writing Master's course . I also was able to chat to Bob Beagrie and Hilary more often than I probably would have.been able to.
An interesting outcome is also that, I have ended up with my next collection of poetry and writing which is called;
A window on the yard is a mixture of poetry and prose. I wanted it to reflect my experiences in Russia and indeed during the pandemic. It is a mixture of feelings , experiences and emotions, whilst living and learning this language and more about this culture and the people of Russia. and for that matter how an Englishman managed in this land.
.
So now, Online learning has come into its own. Moodle and VLEs seem old fashioned and out of date. Technology has naturally taken a huge step to be a common part of everybody's lives.
We used to laugh at Moodlers and moodling , but now we have Skyping and Zooming introduced to the ever expanding vocabulary of tech. jargon. As if text speech isn't enough! It drives me crazy! LOL!
PMSL!
That's a phrase I like! FFS! Oh and another!
'Que le monde est petit!'
Is a phrase that has never been truer. I have been teaching English to children in China regularly, from here in Russia, also regularly teaching French to my lovely clients in Guisborough in North Yorkshire, U.K., Italian to my student Steve in Ingleby Greenhow, North Yorkshire, U.K.. Who is working with Laura our partner in the city of Milan and yes it's true they are singing from the balconies!
. I have a young student in Germany now learning English with me. Of course I have all ages and levels of students here and especially my classes with OK ENGLISH here in Kostroma. I am starting a new project with students in MOSCOW which is a really exciting new project.This is with a French -partner living in Russia, who was recommended by our friend Conor, an American also living here in Russia, our partner in Italy will soon be working with more of our students . And I regularly hear from my lovely friends in Venezuela. this is alongside the fact that we are always thinking of our friends and partners in Bourges , France and of course La Coruna in Spain.
Keep safe and healthy.
A plus
Peter
Any enquiries for courses, books or online classes, please get in touch through Facebook, Cafe Pierre Languages.
I find myself writing my Blog, that I promised to write regularly, almost 6 months after my last post in January.
Shocking!
But then the world has gone mad hasn't it!
Life here in Russia has been nothing if interesting. What do we do in this situation? Well I was always taught to , do as I was told!
Not applicable to everybody and not to everywhere it seems. Lockdown rules are for those who, like me, do as they are told. British politicians are as bloody stupid as they look, yes! that is possible in this case!
It is beyond belief, the stupidity of some people as they flaunt the simple rules of lockdown. I sit in amazement as people in the UK flock to places that are closed, for God's sake! Whitby and the seaside is closed!
And here, well the lockdown started slowly and then, Boom! The Muscovites flocked to their country houses and dachas, therefore spreading the virus everywhere and before long Russia was the second most infected country in the world.
Lovely, I felt stuck, trapped ! I contacted the British Embassy and ,there were no flights, I wasn't trying immediately to return ,but it seemed as though I was marooned among the Russians.What to do? My first children's book 'Kirill the Kostroma crocodile', book was finally ready to publish after some amazing help from two of the most wonderful Russians I have had the pleasure to meet. You know who you are! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
One of the advantages of being at home all of the time is working out what the hell you are going to do all day.
I decided against sleep!
I had much more time to spend on my Creative Writing Master's course . I also was able to chat to Bob Beagrie and Hilary more often than I probably would have.been able to.
An interesting outcome is also that, I have ended up with my next collection of poetry and writing which is called;
'A window on the yard'.
I have been able to write this alongside reading and learning about wonderful writers and poets, introduced to me on the course.A window on the yard is a mixture of poetry and prose. I wanted it to reflect my experiences in Russia and indeed during the pandemic. It is a mixture of feelings , experiences and emotions, whilst living and learning this language and more about this culture and the people of Russia. and for that matter how an Englishman managed in this land.
So now, Online learning has come into its own. Moodle and VLEs seem old fashioned and out of date. Technology has naturally taken a huge step to be a common part of everybody's lives.
We used to laugh at Moodlers and moodling , but now we have Skyping and Zooming introduced to the ever expanding vocabulary of tech. jargon. As if text speech isn't enough! It drives me crazy! LOL!
PMSL!
That's a phrase I like! FFS! Oh and another!
'Que le monde est petit!'
Is a phrase that has never been truer. I have been teaching English to children in China regularly, from here in Russia, also regularly teaching French to my lovely clients in Guisborough in North Yorkshire, U.K., Italian to my student Steve in Ingleby Greenhow, North Yorkshire, U.K.. Who is working with Laura our partner in the city of Milan and yes it's true they are singing from the balconies!
. I have a young student in Germany now learning English with me. Of course I have all ages and levels of students here and especially my classes with OK ENGLISH here in Kostroma. I am starting a new project with students in MOSCOW which is a really exciting new project.This is with a French -partner living in Russia, who was recommended by our friend Conor, an American also living here in Russia, our partner in Italy will soon be working with more of our students . And I regularly hear from my lovely friends in Venezuela. this is alongside the fact that we are always thinking of our friends and partners in Bourges , France and of course La Coruna in Spain.
Keep safe and healthy.
A plus
Peter
Any enquiries for courses, books or online classes, please get in touch through Facebook, Cafe Pierre Languages.
2020 What will it bring?
2020. What will it bring?
Well the start of another decade, that's for sure, A lot of decision making and decisions to be made. Travel! for sure, strangely enough I will hopefully be also travelling back to the UK more than I anticipated. I am hoping to be involved with a language school in sunny Scarborough! At least two trips are on the horizon.
The first pf which will be in May 2020 and then another trip in July. Other travel projects that I would like to make include. a trip to Volgograd, a trip on a ship to Nizhny Novograd on the Volga. And more exploration of the Kostroma Oblast.also more exploration of the Volga if possible. Especially along from Krasny na Volga.Saturday, January 04, 2020
Spirit of the New Year
Meet Spirit, he is a character in my next Children's book. 'Kirill goes to the USA'. In the background of the scene I have painted, El Capitan' a magnificent mountain in New Mexico in the range of the Guadalupe mountains in the South East of New Mexico. This is my first effort using oils and I am delighted with the result. Thank you , yet again to Raisa for my 'Masterclass'. I am already sketching the next image for Spirit and the other characters for the next episode of Kirill the Kostroma Crocodile, as he searches for the truth and his family.
Using oil is a completely different experience from the watercolours that I have been using for my illustrations. The techniques are fascinating and I would like to explore more.
To do more drawing and painting are one of my New year's resolutions. It helps me relax and chill out. I went into the session with a massive headache after the stress of an online English class with a group of 3 x 5 year old Chinese kids and a neighbour who decided to start drilling the moment the class started!
Oh the joy of living in a Kruschovka block of flats!
Paper thin walls and neighbours from Hell!
A start to a decade that I will begin very soon as a retired person ' officially in August 2021. How strange to think that I will be of retirement age anyway!
But then again isn't it what you are supposed to do when you are retired~? Paint , draw, write and do things you never really had time to do before?
Lets see if it happens! I will probably work for the rest of my life! I certainly hope so anyway, at least to the point of doing what I want to do and not what everybody else wants me to do!
Quite apt that I was wearing my Texas t shirt. A visit to the USA that I will never forget, an amazing part of the world!
January is a month that I will visit one of the most famous Russian cities in history. The city of Stalingrad, now known as Volgograd,
An adventure I am really looking forward to and writing about.
To do more drawing and painting are one of my New year's resolutions. It helps me relax and chill out. I went into the session with a massive headache after the stress of an online English class with a group of 3 x 5 year old Chinese kids and a neighbour who decided to start drilling the moment the class started!
Oh the joy of living in a Kruschovka block of flats!
Paper thin walls and neighbours from Hell!
A start to a decade that I will begin very soon as a retired person ' officially in August 2021. How strange to think that I will be of retirement age anyway!
But then again isn't it what you are supposed to do when you are retired~? Paint , draw, write and do things you never really had time to do before?
Lets see if it happens! I will probably work for the rest of my life! I certainly hope so anyway, at least to the point of doing what I want to do and not what everybody else wants me to do!
Quite apt that I was wearing my Texas t shirt. A visit to the USA that I will never forget, an amazing part of the world!
January is a month that I will visit one of the most famous Russian cities in history. The city of Stalingrad, now known as Volgograd,
An adventure I am really looking forward to and writing about.