Premiership run in and Pak Doo -Ik.

The last few games are coming up for the end of the English Premiership season.

Who would have bet that Liverpool would be in contention?

Not me!

But , it's the people 's choice. Any neutral football fan, or in my case a Boro fan!, would love to see Steven Gerrard lift the Premiership trophy.

The alternatives, Chelsea and Manchester City are wonderful teams full of highly talented players, but somehow they don't have that magic and tradition that Liverpool have.

Liverpool have never won the Premiership, unbelievable really when you think about the way that Liverpool dominated the 70s and 80s, especially in Europe.

Another good reason is that there are a lot of really good English players in the Liverpool setup. Without even mentioning our Captain Marvel Steven Gerrard.

Surely these Liverpool players wil be the mainstay of the English attempt of winning the World Cup in the summer.
God knows, they would become legends, should we get anywhere near the semi finals!

The World Cup has a very special place in my heart, as my very first experience of a football match was at the 1966 World Cup in England.
Ayresome Park was the venue for 3 games in the first stages of the World Cup.  Ayresome Park is the former ground for my team.Middlesbrough FC.

I will never forget my first experience of a big crowd and the big match atmosphere. I was only 10 years old, a wide eyed innocent child who loved nothing more than to kick a ball against the wall in our street. We had our own World Cup , dozens of scruffy little kids playing football from dawn till dusk.

It was the Soviet Union v North Korea. It is only recently that I realised how well the Soviet Union did in the 1966 World Cup, they only just lost in the semi final to West Germany.

But of course the legend of the game North Korea v Italy will last forever in football folklore.
Mighty Italy had been beaten 1-0 by the Soviet Union and were rank favourites to beat the minnows from North Korea and progress as expected to the next round.

The Ayresome Park crowd , the Boro crowd, were behind the underdogs North Korea. My dad told me that in fact he really didn't like the Italian team, too dirty and physical, he said.
In fact, there was a deeper reason why he didn't like the Italians in general, he served in Italy at the end of the War.

The Russian game was amazing, but this game was something else, it was electric. When Pak Doo Ik scored, the crowd, my Dad, and I went mad. Imagine! North Korea, Pak Doo Ik, so strange, so unlikely!
Ever since that match, I have loved football, playing , watching, talking about it, so thank you Soviet Union and most of all, thank you Pak Doo Ik!

Pak Doo Ik scoring against Italy at Ayresome Park.

I love flags me!

With the Russian national flag.

Kostroma song.

This video is just charming! Olga I need the words!

I think that this video sums up my wonderful visit to Russia this year.

Everywhere we went, we were treated with traditional music, dance and just honest , warm wondeful people.

Я люблю Россию

You are my Swift Tees, my only Swiftees! Mermaid, Marske by the Sea.

You make me happy, when skies are blue. You'll never notice how much I love you.

Don't ever take my Swiftees away!!

All together now!

You are my Swiftees!!!!!!!

Mermaid 10k.

Struggling towards the end of the race!

Mermaid 10k. Marske by the Sea.

What a beautiful Spring day for a 10k run!

A sea of SWIFT_TEES blue shirts.

This is my first Official 10k, therefore it is a world record for me!!

End of the trip to Russia

All good things must come to an end.
Today we spent the day in Volgechensck at a school, where we had an excellent day.

Yesterday was a wonderful day with my friends in Kostroma.
I spent most of the day in Bar Barbara, drinking beer, chatting, eating, after this I returned to a Barbeque, salmon , salds and a lot wine!
OK, it was fairly fresh , in the garden and the guns came out for target practice, but when in Russia!

I seem to have managed to drink more alchohol in the last two days than I have in the last two months!

And we have tomorrow night's leaving party, yet to come, with the endless toasts and vodka.

But tomorow is a special day, because I will be spending it in the town of Krasnoye.

CAFE PIERRE Languages

I have found this cartoon of me, that Ronnie drew a few years ago.

Oh , how I miss the days of working in a hot kitchen, NOT!!!!

However, my dear old Boss always called me Pierre and therefore, it has stuck and this is how the name Cafe Pierre has evolved into the name for my language business.

Saturday 12th April

Kosomonaut's Day!

Собака ! Russian for dog.

Of course 12th April in Russia. is the day to celebrate the amazing conquests and expeditions by the cosmonauts and the famous space dogs.

To celebrate this event every dog in Russia has come to my street and decided to bark!!!!!

What a racket!
Talk about ' Barking at the Moon'!

It is like something out of 101 Dalmatians, but they are all barking in Russian!

I think that if this carries on for much longer, I will be  'Barking Mad!

Kostroma Friday 11th. April

Bortsch , blinis, suchi and Macdonalds.

If I was to comment as a food critic of the Russian diet and culinary skills, I wouldn't know where to start.
It's easy for the 'so called' food critics to knock restaurants and food in general, basically because they haven't got a fxxxxxxx clue what they are talking about!

I am sure that if a certain food critic from my area came to Russia they would rip their cuisine to pieces.

Russian food is simple, everyday food consists of soups, vegetables, fish, bread, pasta, sweet tea, it is practical and to use a pedagogical term, 'Fit for purpose'.

We discussed stereotypes today in our class and of course Vodka was mentioned regarding a Russian stereotypical man.
You need vodka in Russia! It's bloody freezing! I will post some photos of Ice fishermen on the river Kostroma, they bloody well need the vodka!

After walking aorund the city yesterday for a while, the best thing in the world to warm you up is a bowl of Bortsch. We had our lunch in the Local Government Cafeteria and it felt like another era! It was  like something out of a Spy thriller. I am sure the KGB were there!

Russian food has its identity, it is Russian, the vegetables that are the most delicious are usually preserved from the Family's Dacha. I absolutely love the idea of the forest and the Dacha.
Natural resources are abundent, I was told of a woman who collected wild Dill, got on the bus and shared it out with the passengers. Food is appreciated , I think that because of the climate, it is also treat with respect.

I have to visit Russia in the summer and spend some time in the forest and experience mushroom picking and the process of preserving food.

You never know it might inspire me to re-launch Abigail's pantry!

Kostroma Thursday April 10th. 2014

Reflections in Space!

As we move towards the end of the week, I am reminded of the 12th. April .
This is Kosmonaut's day in Russia and 3 years ago, I managed to visit the Space museum in Moscow.

What a different world it was then, in the day of Gagarin and Strelka and Belka the space dogs. I remember so clearly watching wide-eyed at Apollo 11 and Neil Armstrong walking on the surface of the moon after landing on the 20th. july 1969.

I was just 14 years old, innocent and mesmorised by the USSR and the USA and the space race.

It seems to alien to me now as I am sat in a Russian home with my Russian family.
Yet, as I am meeting new people here and getting to know them and the language, this hazy dream of a 14 year old is becoming reality.

Language teaching and learning, a new level!

As life goes on, you sometimes realise that you have achieved something almost withour noticing it.
tonight, I think was one of those occasions.
I am in Russia , in Kostroma working with the group of English teachers, which in itself is a dream come true.
After the teaching sessions I took a Bania, believe me it has to be experienced, again another wonderful experience in another culture, we were drinking beer and of course talking about the situation in the Crimea.
Ok, yet another experience, but then, I returned to the house and went back to work for an hour.
I rang my student Carmen who lives in Spain near to Granada, and we had a one hour lesson all spoken in Spanish, but I was teaching English, in other words I had to explain everything in Spanish whilst we practised our English work.

Incredible! How the world has changed, I am so unbelievably happy that all of the things I have been looking at are coming to fruition.
I knew that we could use this type of tool, but the fact that I am in Russia, living with a Russian family, teaching English in Spanish to a Doctor in Granada is mind blowing.

Brilliant!!!

And now we are looking at the Russian market, we have  2 or 3 students ready for a program. It's up to Olga and I now.

Kostroma 2014

Here we go again, I travel out Saturday 5th. April and return 16th.
Clearly this is going to be a different experience in the light of what is happening in the Crimea, but hopefully it won't affect my trip!

The Russia I know is a fascinating place with warm and friendly people who are only too happy to meet an Englishman.

Watch this space to see if that remains the same!

I am looking forward to renewing my friendships with Max and Larissa and Olga , and all of the teachers and of course the young Russians who are so talented.

Sunday evening should be fun as I am visiting a Russian rock concert with a group called Aquarium.

Lets see also how my Russian is coming along!

Swift Tees and Thirsk 10 mile race.

After all of the training and early Sunday mornings. My first taste of a real race for at least 12 years was last Sunday at Thirsk racecourse.
In fact , having just realised that this is only my second post for this year, it is clear how much running I have been doing!
It has been between 14 and 20 miles a week! Over a Swift Tees training  session, a park run and a Sunday morning.

http://www.parkrun.org.uk/

Another PB this week! 

Park Run at Stewart's Park in Middlesbrough.

Already the second race of the season at Hartlepool, this time a 5 mile race!

Near the end of the Hartlepool 5 mile race. Thank you Andy! Brilliant support!

3 amigos!!

Nice and fresh before the race!

SWIFT TEES Wednesday night team photo with our Hartlepool Shirts.

Café Pierre Languages

Café Pierre Languages 

est arrivé!

Finally!

We will be offering;

Classes in;

English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Russian, Japanese, Arabic and Mandarin 

VIDEO LINK FOOD 1.1

This is the Introduction to a Video Podcast resource for my colleagues in Kostroma, Russia.

The text below is the text for the video link above.

[1]   An introduction.

In the wake of the recent horsemeat scandal in January 2013, British food has been under the spotlight for all of the wrong reasons.

‘A specialist food crime unit should be set up’, says the government!

‘Food fraud!  Not food safety! Says the BBC.’

At a time where obesity is at a record high in the UK, British food is yet again under scrutiny.

‘All of a sudden my mind goes back to being a 16 year old.’

‘ I remember my interview as clear as day.’

‘What is your favourite food to cook? Asked the Landlord of the Public House/ Restaurant where I was to work as a chef for almost 30 years.’

‘ Soup’, I replied. It was true, I loved making soup, but then again only at school, home was a different matter in those days.

There were 4 young boys, no father at home and a mother who was barely coping with it all.’

We lived off chips and patties, scraps and sandwiches. Maybe once a week we had a cooked meal, on a Sunday. Because I am the eldest I had to learn to cook to survive!

Back in the 1960s, when I was a kid, the U.K. was a much different place than it is today.

Nobody could afford to go to restaurants; foreign travel was for the rich.

As far as foreign food was concerned, people thought spaghetti came from a tree!

The basic diet in the North East where I was born and still live, was heavy, stodgy and tasteless.

 The diet was designed for workers in the heavy industry in the area, such as Iron and steel, shipbuilding and the Chemical Industry.

It consisted of Stews, dumplings, pies, potatoes and fried food and people had no idea of a balanced diet.

Yet, I don’t remember Obesity!

How times have changed!

As I progressed through my career in catering, I became interested in France and French cuisine.

The first time I visited France and introduced myself as a chef, the reply came back ‘ça existe?!’

Does that exist?!

TASKS [1] An Introduction.

a)      Explain, ‘In the wake of’.

b)      Explain, ‘ Under the spotlight’.

c)       Explain, ‘ Under scrutiny’.

d)      Discuss your diet as a child.

e)      What is your favourite food to cook?

It's 2014!!

My God, I have just realised that I haven't wrote on my Blog since November.

Shocking!

Plans are ahead for the New year.

What are your new Year's Resolutions?

Here is a list of mine.

In April I am visiting Russia for the fifth time, Kostroma again.

In May, I will be entering the Edinburgh Half Marathon.

It is more than 10 years since I ran my last Great North Run and I am quite anxious about the challenge.

At the end of June, I will be going to back to one of my favourite places in the world. GALICIA. Thi sis the final visit of our project ULTREIA Y SUSEIA and it will be quite emotional. We aqre hoping to complete at least one stage of EL CAMINO DE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELLA.

In the meantime, there is the question of my study at the University of Durham.
Having visited Durham today, I am more confused than ever!!

Historic Russian Radio Announcer Yuri Levitan

LINK TO YURI LEVITAN'S FAMOUS SPEECH.

Today in our Russian class we were introduced to a very famous Russian.

In this speech, he introduces the speech with;

 Внимание! Говорит Москва

Attention, Moscow speaking.

As a child who grew up during the , 'Cold War', this is an amazing insight into Russian history.

The BBC is presenting a new series entitled the 'Cold War' and personally, I can't wait to see it!

THE COLD WAR BBC 

Punch and Judy. That's the way to do it!

How do you explain Punch and Judy?

It is part of the British Seaside culture.

Even today, it is still seen around the country, although nowadays, it is hardly PC! [Politically correct]

PUNCH AND JUDY ON THE WEB

Apparently in Russia this type of Street theatre is called PETRUSHKA?

Maybe you can confirm Olga?

In France of course there is  the Guignol of Lyon.

A very popular TV show called LES GUIGNOLS was also similar to a show in the UK called

 SPITTING IMAGE. 

Very funny and very popular, satirical , tongue in cheek, rude! humour

ALL RELATED TO PUNCH AND JUDY!!

On top of the world

Abigail and I on the top of Carlton Bank at Lord Stones.

A fantastic new project on the North Yorkshire moors.

Train Spotter!

I live very close to the Esk Valley line, probably one of the most beautiful railway lines in the world.

Every now and then we have a visit from a classic train. I don't know a lot about trains, except that I like them. 

This diesel turned up full of railway enthusiasts [train spotters], having a nice ride from Whitby to Battersby and back again.

Park run

Abigail's First Park Run

Here we are at the end of Abigail's first Park Run. Saturday 14th. September 2013.
Today in the UK more than 40,000 competitors take part in the Great North Run, maybe next year?

GREAT NORTH RUN 2013

Sweet Soul music!

Last week Christine and I went to see a legend.
Geno Washington.
Ok to most people he is Geno who?

You don't know what I know.
Since last week, I have managed to book tickets for real legends, the Four Tops and the Temptations. This concert is in March 2014 and I can't wait!

I can't help myself!

Kildale Show

A village show in England is a really enjoyable way of spending the day.
Especially in Yorkshire!

Kildale Show link.

This year it was slightly different for me as I was a judge. I was asked to judge the ' Jams and Preserves'.
It was in fact quite a challenge, I had to taste all of the entries, even the Sloe gin!
Here I am before the judging began.

Judging the Jams and Preserves[ and the Sloe Gin!]

At the show, people can enter lots of different competitions, such as photography, best vegetables, flowers, baking.

All sorts of handicrafts, such as knitting, also painting, drawing, flower arranging.

Other judges checking out the giant cabbages.

Of course this is an agricultural show and it is also very important for equestrian competition.
VIntage cars, motorbikes and tractors were displayed .
Kids could watch a juggler and go on the rides and bouncy castle.
The most important tent is of course the bar where we all meet up for a beer [or two!]

Stokesley Farmers Beagles

A display of Hounds was given along with shooting and dog skills.

Best chicken ?

Cleveland Way Stage 3 August 22nd. 2013

What a day to choose the third stage. Its my 58th ! birthday and a beautiful day to walk across the North Yorkshire Moors.

I took the bus from Sokesley to Osmotherley to begin the 11.37 mile stage.

At the top of Sutton Bank on my way to Clay Bank

At Clay bank at the end of the stage, with Molly,[ Who didn't walk with me]

Cleveland Way Stage 2 August 8th. 2013

At last! Months after I started the Cleveland Way, I have got myself organised to continue.

So, Christine took me to Sutton Bank where I finished the last stage in the snow, back in March.

12.14 Miles ahead of me, Osmotherley on the horizon.

At the start of stage 2 , Sutton Bank

I don't like cricket, oh no. I love it!

My 2013 debut for my cricket team, Ingleby Greenhow finally came Saturday against Craythorne.
We won!

What a game, it was a beautiful day for the most English of sports.
I can not think of anything more traditional, cricket on a summer's day, cricket tea folowed by a couple of beers after the game.

Fantastic!

My second outing was in the village cup at Great Ayton last week. I can't believe that I scored 20 runs! Not out!
I loved every minute, we all had to bowl 2 overs. Ok, we got beat, but what a brilliant night we all had!

The final test in the 'ashes' start today and to finish off a wonderful summer of cricket, England could win 4-0 , which has never been done before.
COME on England!!

10 cc Dreadlock Holiday.

Golf. A good walk spoiled?

This week was the Monthly meeting of our Golf Society, ' Battersby Putters'.

We played at Durham City course on a beautiful day , followed by a couple or 3 ! beers
and a meal.

Our Society has now been in existence 19 years and we are celebrating the 20th. anniversary in 2015.
Discussion has started in how we will mark this date, including a possible trip abroad to Bulgaria or hopefully Spain!

My very good friend Gordon Snowball, who is no longer with us, was the inspiration and reason for the Society and he would have been very proud to see the Society last as long as 20 years!

Tomorrow is my birthday and what did I ask for? A new golf club of course, a driver, the only problem now is , How do I use it?!

A week of memories

Thornton le Moor.
When you return to a place  where you had your 21st. Birthday, your wedding reception and to where you worked. The memories are bound to come flooding back!
37 years have passed since I worked at the Black Swan at Thornton le Moor.
I remember how proud I was to have my own kitchen and not quite 21 years old.
I had just qualified with my City and Guilds and I was asked to run the kitchen in a new pub / restaurant out near to Northallerton. It seemed miles away! My girlfriend lived miles away, my friends were miles away, I was playing for a football team which seemed to be miles away.
But my friends came to see me, my girlfriend came to see me and I went to see her and I had the most memorable year of my life here.

We had a meal and I met some of my guitar playing friends and we had a great night!

Simon's 50th  birthday.

You know the saying,' You know you are getting old, when.......'

Well an old friend has just turned 50 and even worse! My youngest brother is 50 next year.
Scary!!!!

My week- in Germany

This week is our meeting in Germany for the project Ultreia y Suseia.

Leinfelden - Enterdingen is on the outskirts of Stuttgart in  Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany.

A successful visit was had, we are now almost ready to start the second year of our project.
Of course, the visit was a mixture of work and a little tourism, a lot of singing and a little beer and a little Ouzo!

Go to this LINK to listen to the students singing in Galego! Pure magic!!!!!

In the Stuttgart Volkshochschule.

VHS Volkshochschule Leinfelden-Echterdingen

At a time when Community Education is going through a worrying  transformation, I was  seriously impressed by the German Volkshochschule System.

A visit to the Beer Garden

Beweis für Arbeit

Exam week and Поехали!

Michael Gove promises challenging exam changes. BBC Link

Poor Abigail and year 10 and 11 have been revising and studying for their GCSE exams. I feel for her when you consider that she is only 14 years old!

I myself have also had my final GCSE Italian exam and I really admire all students young  and old who are currently swotting, cramming and generally stressing out!

And yet again the government are saying that the exams are too easy!

Yuri Gagarin

Поехали!

A very beautiful quote by one of my childhood heroes came to my attention today in my U3a Russian class.

Облетев Землю в корабле-спутнике, я увидел, как прекрасна наша планета. Люди, будем хранить и приумножать эту красоту, а не разрушать её!

• Orbiting Earth in the spaceship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, not destroy it!        

Thought provoking!      This then reminded me of the moon landing conspiracy theories and political rumours.'Allegedly' Gagarin was asked by the Russian leader, Nikita Khrushchev  'Did you see God?Yuri Gagarin was reported to have said,' Yes I did'. he was then ordered no to tell anyone.

At a time when we are apparently all under surveillance,

[BBC News story regarding CIA surveillance programmes] 

Jason Bourne

 I have decided to watch the excellent 'Bourne Identity' and the trilogy of films, 'Bourne Supremacy and 'Bourne Ultimatum'.

Goodness knows, my childhood world of 'George Orwell's Big Brother' and Space travel is now reality.Or is it all a conspiracy?
And maybe Sir Richard Branson works for the CIA? 

Beam me up Scotty!

A fishing week with ducks everywhere!

Me at the middlesbrough 5k.

      MIDDLESBROUGH 5K RUN

Beaten by a duck!!

I was beaten by a Duck! But it is the taking part that is important, after all!! At least I achieved my PB!

It has been a week of Ducks and fishing.

If you compare the two photographs, I would suggest that the duck looks a lot healthier than I !

However, it is a long journey to full fitness at my age!!

But we are on the way.

Mallard duckling

The whole point of going fishing is to be outdoors and see all sorts of wildlife such as this gorgeous little Mallard Duckling!

The fishing season has started with a really good day ,my friend and colleague Mark and I had a great day catching lots of fish!

It helps when you are catching superb Carp, such as this specimen.

Happy as a lark! 

Prince Philip is in the news again this week, when asked how he was, the Queen simply answered, "I don't know yet he has just gone into hospital ". BBC Link
Another interesting Royal story this week is that our future King William has DNA links in India.

Prince Phillip the Duke of |Edinburgh

Possibly the most famous statesman of my lifetime is also in the news, Nelson Mandela is very ill at the moment and of course this is a major headline in the UK this week.
NEWS LINK

A cookery week.

A week off work!
It started great! A bit of fishing, tidying the garden, then the rain started!
It seemed like the rest of the country was dry and warm, but here! I should start to build an Ark!

The Ashes 

England beat New Zealand in good preparation for the Ashes and our football team managed a draw 1-1 against Ireland, this in preparation for the game Sunday against Brazil, a miracle is needed to beat Brazil in Rio de Janeiro.

Jamie Oliver Website.

If anything or anyone would inspire me back into catering it is Jamie Oliver. We went for our lunch in York on Wednesday and it is simply perfect! Wonderful innovative dishes with excellent service and impeccable surroundings!

No golf tomorrow, unless a new sport Aqua Golf is invented!

So as it is still raining today, I have spent the day in the kitchen, creating a mess and some reasonable curries and a Chilli.

FOOD BANK RELIANCE IN THE UK TRIPLES!
On the subject of food and cookery, our government has released figures, suggesting that people in the UK are relying on Food parcels, as during the War, I reckon that a simpler action would be to teach people how to cook!

A sad week and a good week.

It is a sad week in the UK.
A young soldier was killed , whilst off duty in England.
The murderer was a crazed Extremist.
I feel for the soldier's family and friends.

Lee Rigby British soldier murdered in London.
LINK TO BBC Story.

On a happier note, I ran my second Park Run of this year and 'Smashed!' last week's time. It looks like the ' no pain, no gain' training regime is showing some profit.

When I am training in the gym, I usually listen to my i Pod.
I decided to put my i Pod on 'Shuffle' which means that it chooses random tracks and plays them one after another.
After about 20 minutes, I began to realise what the inside of my head must look like!
The first track was in Russian, the second in Spanish, then some classical music, then a track by the Rolling Stones, then some Northern Soul, then more Russian followed by some Italian!
Is there any wonder that I often say that ' my head is in a shed!

We have the Whit Bank Holiday this week and Abigail is off school. This means lots of spending money and shopping!
It's also a good week for gardening! We have had a couple of lovely days and my leeks are coming on great!

The football season is finally over with a German team , Bayern Munich winning the Champion's league. 
At least one German team lost at Wembley!!
Crystal Palace won the biggest prize in British football by beating Watford in the Championship Play Off final and acquiring a place in the Premiership. 
Here's hoping my team Middlesbrough can do better next season!

My week

I am trying to get fit at the moment, going to the gym, cycling and on Saturday morning I competed in my 3rd. park run. This is a 5k race/run in a local park, Stewart's Park in Middlesbrough.
We have them all over the UK, all ages can compete and you can track your times and results through the use of a Bar code that you are issued when you register with Park Run.

It was absolutley 'chucking it down' ! I was completely soaked to the skin , when I finished and not surprisingly I had completed my worst time of 41.42.  But this has made me more determined  to do better in next weeks Park Run!

The cricket season is well under way now with England playing in a test match against New Zealand. Cricket is usually associated with summer!

Saturday night Christine and I went to Whitby on the train. We went to a 'Soul night' , this interestingly enough, is on the same night as the Eurovision Song Contest. A comment was made on the radio about how British music is and was much more influenced by American music than European.

THE BEST! SONG EVER WRITTEN 

PERFORMED BY

THE BEST GROUP IN THE WORLD!

MY GIRL

 THE TEMPTATIONS.

I can honestly say that my own musical influences are from  Tamla Motown and Soul music and not from the Eurovision song contest!

Molly pretending to be a 'Leek' in my allotment.

I spent most of Sunday in my garden and as you can see I was helped by my dog Molly.

 [Molly is a Jack Russell]

My week

A busy weekend! I spent most of the afternoon on Friday in the garden. I have a small allotment, where I am trying to grow some vegetables. I have a greenhouse and I have planted all sorts of  vegetables and flowers.
I have also planted some Russian seeds which I smuggled back from Kostroma!
I hope to grow giant pumpkins and courgettes.
I spent Saturday afternoon in a Safety boat on Scaling Dam  , where Abigail and I are members of the Sailing club. It was freezing! I am so glad that I was not sailing!

Roberto Martinez and Wigan Athletic celebrating their F.A. Cup win.

Saturday was also the F.A. Cup final and the underdogs Wigan Athletic beat the rich club! Manchester City, Excellent!

Sunday, Abigail decided that she wanted to go to the gym, so we went on the morning and I cooked lunch as Christine was at work.
Watched a film called, ' the Impossible' about the Tsunami last night. Very sad.
Monday and back to work.
I have a French class on a Monday evening and we are working hard with French grammar.

Roberto Martinez Manager of Wigan Athletic, looking quite miserable!

Tuesday.
Talk about ups and downs!
Wigan Athletic F.A. Cup winners have now been relegated!

My week

This is the first post of a weekly review of my life in England for my students, colleagues and friends in Russia, France, Spain and wherever else you may be!!.

So what's happened in the last week?
Last weekend was a long weekend, because Monday was a Bank Holiday.
Most of the UK would be spending time in the garden or stuck in traffic jams on their way to the seaside!
The weather was great, quite hot for May.
Saturday was a busy day, ironing followed by tidying the garden , then a couple of hours fishing!
Sunday was a family day, Nanna, Grandad, Aunty and nephews all together for lunch, followed by a walk by the sea.
Bank Holiday Monday had the usual Car boot Sale, hundreds of people including me! All searching for a bargain, I found a couple of pieces of excellent fishing equipment, so of course I had to go fishing on the evening to test them out!

Back to work on Tuesday for a short week. Taught German on Tuesday night, planning my visit to Germany at the end of June.

Wednesday saw the  opening of Parliament, our Queen makes a speech  and there is a lot of pageantry and tradition.

Our Prime Minister is in Russia talking to President Putin, no doubt discussing the terrible situation in Syria.
My friends tell me that it was Victory day in Russia and it is also a Bank Holiday.

Jim Platt

I was lucky last week to meet a hero of mine.

Former Middlesbrough and Northern Ireland goalkeeper, Jim Platt.

Kostroma Town Hall April 2013

I love flags, here I am in Kostroma Town Hall during the visit to Russia.

Modern English Writers

If we look at modern English writers, it is difficult to know where to start.
However, I will start with my Dad's era, he was born in 1926.
Therefore he would have read, Enid Blyton as a child, he would have known about the Famous Five and Noddy. He would have also read the Wizard of Oz written by L.Frank Baum.

Most of his friends would have read Biggles written by W.C. Johns. At school , texts and readers would include, Dick and Jane, by William S. Gray and Zena Sharp.

Looking at my own childhood , I read books such as, A Kestrel for a Knave, written by Barry Hines.
We studied 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell and 1984 by the same author.
A really big influence on my reading and that of my brothers had to be comics. We bought hundreds of them, Batman, Superman, Spideman, Captain America, to name but a few.
I also read Tolkien, the Hobbit was a favourite and it is now a major film, along with the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
I like to read books by Charles Dickens and I would say that one of my favourite books and films of all time is, Greatest Expectations.
We also read and watched stories such as Bram Stoker's Dracula, this frightened the life out of me, but we would always watch the Frankenstein movies from behind the chair!
Books such as the Railway children by Edith Nesbit and My friend Flicker by Mary O'Hara were also very popular.

As a teenager, the diaries of Adrian Mole written by Sue Townsend was very popular and still is!
I have recently revisited some of my favourite books of all time and they include the timeless, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stephenson . This story of pirates has of course become very popular today because of Captain Jack Sparrow and the Porates of the Caribbean with Jonny Depp.
I have also recently  read Moby Dick by Melville, this is quite a difficult book, but well worth the effort!
Today's writers are as famous as Dickens, J.K.Rowling and her Harry Potter books are known throughout the world and rightly so! They are wonderful stories, timeless and I am sure will become classics in their own right!
So what about today's writers?
The Boy in the striped trousers written by John Boyne is a very important text that is being read by young people as a text for study.
Twighlight by Stephenie Meyer is a huge hit both as a film and a text. It seems to have folowed in the footsteps of the class Dracula stories.
The Hunger games by Suzanne Collins is also typical of the trending idea of turning the book into a film and then a computer game.
The Life of Pi by Yanni Martel is without doubt one of my favourite books of all time along with the thought provoking The Curious Incident of the dog in the Night by Mark Haddon.

Kostroma April 11th. 2013

Россию я люблю тебя!

Спасибо вам всем моим замечательным студентам!!!!!!!!

Питер
 xxxxx

50 books to read .

Time to reflect on my reading again.
I have been reading some Russian novels. I have joined a reading group in Guisborough, which is for Russian literature.
We have read books about Catherine the Great, a really good story called 'the Concert Ticket' the writer is called Olga Grushin,  which reflects the times in Soviet Russia when people queued for anything and everything.
Fascinating!
Recently I have read some poetry by Ann Akhmatova, this was translated into English, I would prefer to understand her work in its original language Russian, maybe one day!
I have also read the last book written by Solzhenitsin 'Apricot Jam'.

At the moment I am reading a book called 'Happiness is Possible' . This is written by, Oleg Zaionchkovsky and is about life in Moscow.
Report to come!

Kostroma April 2013

Here I am again in Russia!
I sometimes have to shake my head to make it clear that I am here again!            
We arrived in Kostroma late Wednesday night after a long journey starting at 3:30
 am from home.

I am staying again with my Russian family, Max, Larissa and Katia.
Thursday was a busy day, we met the Mayor in the Town Hall in Kostroma, then we went to Gymasium number 1 to meet teachers and students. I was a judge at the annual language competition. The standard was excellent and it was a memorable visit.
In the late afternoon we met our students at the Kostroma Institute of Education, I have a wonderful class of 16/17 year olds.

Friday , we left the Institute at 8 am to go to Volgoresenchk. The wonderful Natalia was there to greet us at her school and we visited classes and then we were judges for a Limerick competition.
The students then took us to the music college where we watched a wonderful concert with dance and music
We then returned to Kostroma and to the Institute do Education.
Saturday
This is the third and last day of my English course.