The Sisters Brothers

On EOMs (Election Observation Missions) we are asked to assess the overall conditions in polling stations; very good, good, bad, very bad are the choices. We thought they were mostly very good in Ukraine but decided to mark them as ‘good’ so that when there was an especially good one we could make it stand… Continue reading The Sisters Brothers

Birds in the Parks

An ornithological highlight in Ukraine was seeing cranes nesting beside the road. My Polish and German election observer partners weren’t impressed as they see plenty at home. I said I’d only seen one pair nesting in England and they are made of stainless steel.

Train-spotting in Ukraine

We returned to Kiev via Poltava after the election and again stayed at the Palazzo Poltava. I had a first floor room with a balcony and a view.

Sunday Lunch

I went out for a belated birthday lunch with a Goddaughter (we share a birthday) and her hangers-on on Sunday in a local gastro pub. The food was excellent, the service friendly but not 100% professional.

The Honoured Society

I had to wait a few minutes on the ground floor of Waterstones flagship branch on Piccadilly while Robert went upstairs to buy the new John Niven (not to be confused with David N).

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Introducing Bali

I met Bali yesterday morning and we clicked. His owner has a problem with her Achilles‘ tendon and cannot take him for walks. As she lives only a few doors away I stepped into the breach.

Hug a Tree

You cannot hug any old tree – it has to be this London Plane. Any questions?

The Holodomor

The Holodomor was the famine of 1932/33 caused by Stalin’s reorganisation of agriculture in Ukraine and Russia. Something like five million Ukrainians died and the same number were born with defects or stillborn further depleting the population.

Mass Observation

Almost half a million people took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch, organised by the RSPB, this year. That’s Mass Observation.