The last week included the Zagreb Anarchist Bookfair which meant all four of the Barabrith residents (not inc. Matchka the cat) spending Friday and Saturday night squished in to one room of our Zagreb flat. How on earth poor Ena (the dog) managed to sleep with the rest of us snoring like camels I don’t know!
Before that auspicous occasion we welcomed an old friend of mine whom I always think of as from Amsterdam but is now resident in Berlin. Grrt came with Masha whom I had begun to believe was in fact just part of Grrt’s over active imagination or perhaps a desperate dream having heard much of her for many years but never having actually seen her! Turns out the little Russian is real, and I mean ‘little’ in no way disparagingly ‘cos I know she’ll Kung Fu my butt into the next county if she believed so next time we meet!
So off we went to our fave local anti fascist toursit hot spots without the benefit of any local guides. The Partisan hospital complex hidden in the woods was especially interesting at this time of the year because with the tree canopy not yet in effect the sun lit up the buildings better than I have ever seen before.
It was also intersting to see one of the buildings has had its roof rebuilt. This is a good sign of care in a place that otherwise feels abandoned and left to rot by whatever authorities or caretakers it is meant to have. As ever when visiting this fascinating place we grumbled about what a travesty it is that such a place of interest can be so carelessly forgotten. Hey ho we are in Croatia!
Then it was off to Petra Gora where I found it easier to walk around this similarly abandoned ‘national treasure’ due to the brambles and weeds not having overgrown the ‘gardens’ yet this year!
Grrt and Masha left us at the beginning of the bookfair weekend only to be replaced at the end of it by Goldilocks and Innes and their dogs! The dogs included a huge hound that they had just adopted.
This bear like beast is in fact a fragile creature mentally and really deserves the name ‘Tim id’. I hope they manage to create an enviroment that he feels more comfortable and confident in.
I spent too much time on my feet and carrying boxes, during the last week and my poor foot was swollen most nights. Now I am on a stricter regime of resting it, dipping it in hot then cold water and generally trying to keep it happy. That said today I decided I could no longer wait to see how my t-shirt collection was fairing in the workshop. Most of my t-shirts were used as wrapping for my mug collection and stacked carefully in approximately seventeen banana boxes. Progress towards my new mug display shelves has been non-existent and I began to wonder if the damp in the workshop might be affecting my precious t-shirts. It was! 🙁 So today I unpacked about half of my mugs, put three loads of shirts through the washing machine and brought the rest up into my warm and dry room.
The mugs are now carefully stacked in the banana boxes without wrapping!! It makes me anxious just thinking of their precarious situation but at least they won’t be susceptible to mould. One day btw I will start mug and t-shirt collection blogs, I know, I know, you can’t wait….
It has rained for three days solid, feels like home! – my old one!- but its good for the plants, our estate has gone a gorgeous mix of greens.
Today was a made memorable by Sunni making her first “pie” of the year. It was meant to be a humble apple pie but ended up with kiwi, banana, strawberries and currants in it as well! It was truly wonderful fresh and warm fromthe oven but doubtless it will have settled by tomorrow and become even better! Oh goody!