Chris James's Blog, page 6
October 16, 2022
More autumnal colours
We had the first, very light frosts of autumn this week. These withered most of the vines and other climbers while also advancing the colours on the oaks. Other, hardier trees will need colder weather; but, for now, there’s a fabulous range of colours. Here’s how my local area looks right now:
October 9, 2022
The first colours of autumn
As is my habit at this time of the year, here are a few photos of the beginning of autumn in my neck of the woods. I’ve had more time than usual to admire the changing seasons this year, as I’ve been recovering from some back trouble. This has been caused by being a normal-sized person (I’m 1.94m (6′ 5”) tall) having to live in a world designed by, built for, and full of, pygmies. And as an aside, if you ever have trouble sleeping, I can thoroughly recommend a muscle relaxant called Tizanidine. My doctor prescribed it to help my spine recover, and for the last couple of weeks I’ve been sleeping about 15 hours a day. And when I say “sleeping”, I mean being almost comatose; the kind of deep, all-encompassing sleep I haven’t enjoyed in years.
The weather remains mild here in Warsaw, so the autumnal colours are progressing slowly. I’ll post more shots as this most beautiful season continues. Stay safe, peeps!
September 11, 2022
“Nice monarchy you’ve got there, Charles. Be a shame if something happened to it.”
“Hello, your majesty?”
“Er, hello? Who is this?”
“Liz Truss, the new prime minister. We met briefly on Friday.”
“Ah, right. The turncoat Liberal Democrat who voted remain in the Brexit referendum, yes?”
[Pause] “Yes, but that was a long time ago. I’m calling you to discuss your tour of the capitals of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland next week. I think I should accompany you.”
“I rather think not. My subjects might get the impression I approve of you and your tawdry band of halfwits.”
[Pause] “Your majesty, the people I represent would be very grateful if you would agree. The Royal Family has been very accommodating over the years, and we would like our cooperation to continue with you at the helm.”
“What the blazes are you talking about, you daft minnow?”
“You don’t remember the 1992 general election, your majesty? It looked like Major’s Conservatives might lose to Kinnock’s Labour Party. On 19 March, three weeks before polling day, two economic figures were due out: the inflation rate and the unemployment rate. Both were going to show increases, and we knew that would be enough for Labour to win. So, on the day those figures were published, Buckingham Palace announced the separation of Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah Ferguson. It blew the bad economic news off the front pages and allowed us to cling to power for five more years, destroying British Rail on the way. And your dear, departed mother was instrumental in making that happen.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Good, I’m glad you do, your majesty. Now, we have to hold another one of those annoying general elections in a couple of years, so right from the beginning of my premiership and your reign, I need you to show everyone that you know what is good for the country by taking me on your tour.”
“Look, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. 1992 was 30 years ago. You can’t expect a new monarch to be the same as–“
“Oh, I rather think I can, your majesty. I hope you haven’t forgotten that the people I represent control 80% of the UK’s media. We got Brexit through on a wave of deceit and lies, and no one was able to stop us, not even your dear, departed mother. For now, we can let the people of this country forget about your younger brother and his predilection for very young girls.”
“By Jove, that’s blackmail!”
“And we certainly wouldn’t want to encourage the readers of The Sun, The Mail, The Express, The Telegraph and The Times, as well as viewers of programmes like Question Time, to question Prince Harry’s parentage, would we?”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Perhaps the reason those two men don’t get along is because they are only half-brothers?”
“Damn you!”
“I and the people I represent are not asking for much, your majesty, simply to keep the status quo. We are going to make life extremely difficult for all of the undeserving poor in this country, so, as with your dear, departed mother, if you want the public to support you, you will need to support us. Unfortunately, the poor still have the ability to vote, so we need to distract them.”
“And apart from the tour next week, what else do you want?”
“Not a great deal. Next year, we will decide the timing of your coronation–“
“To take the emphasis off more bad news?”
[Laugh] “Well, it will only be bad news for poor people, your majesty.”
“Very well. I agree. You can accompany me on my tour.”
“Excellent. Thank you, your majesty. See you tomorrow!”
September 4, 2022
Another reason why Warsaw is such a great place to live
Mrs James and I enjoyed a fun few trips on the Vistula river this morning, thanks to the largesse of our local authority. A range of boats were available for anyone to have a ride, including a speedboat, which I found was great fun! I do admit, I had been griping earlier this year when my local real estate tax jumped from around PLN 400 (EUR 85) to PLN 500 (EUR 106) for this year. But it’s difficult to complain when, in addition to all of the local amenities one would expect, the authority will also organise one of the city’s sailing clubs to send a few boats to give free rides for local residents. Here are a few pics. Stay safe peeps!
Sailing boat, red ex-rescue boat plus a speed boat. The Warsaw skyline is top-right.
The beach, called plaża romantyczna (Romantic Beach) where the boats were based.
August 28, 2022
Six years of gratitude
I don’t know where the time goes. It seems that only a few weeks ago, I wrote this post marking five years since I published Repulse, Europe at War 2062-2064, and gave a little vignette of how Field Marshal Sir Terry Tidbury got his name.
Since August 2016, I’ve written more than half a million words and over 15,000 of you have been kind enough to read my books. My thanks go to each of you. Do check back here regularly, because I’m not quite done yet.
August 7, 2022
Green Velo: definitely the way to go
The Green Velo is a system of bike trails that runs from the south of Poland, up the eastern side of the country, and across the north of the Mazurian lakes. If you’ve never heard of it, it really is worth clicking on this link and having a look around at how extensive it is.
Last Monday, Eldest Daughter and I set off from Warsaw, taking regional trains to the town of Ostroleka. On Tuesday, we picked up the Green Velo at Wizna, south of the Biebrzanski National Park. The route north through the park was outstanding: this is an area of forest that takes your breath away no matter how slowly you peddle to enjoy the scenery. On Wednesday, we got an early start and cycled nearly 150km up to the town of Suwalki. Again, the scenery was unendingly beautiful; a mix of small, one-farm villages, fields and forests. Thursday transpired to be the toughest day. From essentially flat terrain before Suwalki, we were plunged into countryside full of hills and valleys. Again, these were outstandingly attractive, but the leg-aching uphill climbs seldom made up for the breathless downhill sprints. After spending Thursday night in the town of Goldap, on Friday we cycled south to Ketrzyn, where Eldest Daughter managed to chat the very nice lady at the train station ticket office into getting us back to Warsaw at 11.00pm on Friday evening.
In total, we covered more than 500km in the five days, and I maintain that there is no better way to see the real Poland in all its glory than from the saddle of a bike. Here are some pics from the week:
On Monday at the start of the week.
A church in Lomza
“Yeah, I think we’re going in the right direction.”
Maps of the national park
We cycled past forest like this for hours…
One of a few locks on the way.
And another.
After covering 146km in a day to reach Suwalki.
From an observation tower west of Suwalki.
From the same tower.
No internal combustion engines required!
The southern tip of “Black Lake”.
A tower in Goldap.
Day 2 map and distance.
Day 3 map and distance.
Day 4 map and distance.
Day 5 map and distance.
What can’t speak can’t lie 
June 19, 2022
Next door’s linden tree (summer in my garden)
My next door neighbours have a linden tree that was mature when we moved here 24 years ago; now, it is huge. For a few days every June, just after the rhododendrons have finished, it literally becomes a hive of activity, as swarms of bees descend on it. The noise is most unnerving, especially if you were mildly traumatised by the schlocky 1978 disaster movie The Swarm when you were a kid. But it’s okay. All those thousands of bees want the pollen, not to attack me. I think.
In any case. summer has arrived in Warsaw today with our first +30 degree heat of the year. The garden is alive and the first raspberry has turned red, promising the start of a steady supply that will continue until autumn.
Stay safe, peeps!
June 12, 2022
News from nowhere: panic grips Europe in the face of ‘imminent’ Russian invasion
DATELINE Sunday 12 June 2022, AP reports: European leaders urged calm as the westward surge of civilians panicked at a suspected imminent Russian invasion of the Baltic States, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania continued to increase. All major highways are blocked with stationary traffic now that Germany, France, and Austria have brought in restrictions on which EU citizens they will let cross their borders. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke at press conference in Brussels after an emergency meeting of EU leaders, saying: “We must not overreact to the build-up of Russian troops on the eastern borders. The citizens of those countries that border Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, should return to their homes.”
However, the exodus of people from central and eastern Europe turned from a trickle into a flood this week when US intelligence suggested that Russia’s army had now reached a “critical mass”, with sufficient battlegroups arrayed along NATO’s borders to commence “material incursions” within 72 hours from Friday night. A CIA spokesperson said: “If Putin does plan to continue his unprovoked attacks on previous Soviet-controlled countries, his army is now poised to do so. He will either attack those countries within the next 48 hours or he will be obliged to stand units down and return them to barracks for resupply. As with his invasion of Ukraine in February this year, all indicators point to an increasing likelihood of invasion, especially given that Putin and his military have been emboldened after Ukraine fell in less than a week.”
Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, reiterated the alliance’s commitment to defend its member states. He said: “Despite the strong concerns in those countries that are facing Russia, NATO forces are now fully ready to face any reckless attempt by Putin to continue his aim of reclaiming former Soviet-controlled territories.”
Nevertheless, despite this reassurance, scepticism is rife in the capitals of central European countries. President Duda of Poland complained: “Where is this European solidarity in the face of the aggressor? When Putin invaded Ukraine, we kept our border open for days beyond Kyiv’s capitulation, to allow as many Ukrainians as possible to flee the genocide we all knew would come. But now? Germany, France and Austria and even the UK have all closed their borders to fleeing Poles. Why? Because they are happy to see Poland destroyed in the fight to save the rest of Europe, just like it has always been in history.”
UK prime minister Boris Johnson defended the actions of his government, saying: “While we have been obliged to take the step of closing the UK’s borders, I maintain that no one in the world has done as much to help our European friends as Great Britain, and it will ever be thus.”
Ukrainian president-in-exile, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said during a press conference in Paris: “More and more evidence of genocide comes to me and my team every day from proud Ukrainians inside my country. All Europe must get ready for the same treatment. The Russian army are murderers, rapists and looters. And soon, people in the Baltics, Poland, Romania and elsewhere will suffer what Ukrainians have been suffering for months.”
But at the same press conference, French president Macron claimed: “I am in contact with Putin almost daily, and he assures me that reports of atrocities in the newly acquired Russian territory are entirely false, made up by the former Nazi bandits from Kyiv. Furthermore, he has given me his word that the forces massed in the former Ukraine, Belarus and on the border with Finland are purely a defensive response to NATO’s provocative mobilisation. I urge all NATO countries to consider how we can avoid humiliating Russia so that we can find a diplomatic solution.”
Today, US president Joe Biden was visiting injured survivors of the latest mass shooting, in Michigan. When one reporter asked him for his opinion on current events in Europe, he said: “The US will stand fully by our fellow NATO members and we will respond to any unprovoked aggression by Russia. But to be real honest with you folks, if only Ukraine could have resisted the Russian invasion in February, who knows where we would be now? It sure is a shame those Ukrainians weren’t able to stand up to Russia.”
#StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraine
June 5, 2022
Energy crisis? What energy crisis?
Regular readers of this blog may recall that in late March and early April, I blogged about getting a permit from the local forester to collect branches for firewood. Well, given that Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine is going from bad to worse for all combatants and seems to be heading for a long, drawn-out slog, I decided those three cubic metres of pine would only be the beginning. Over recent weeks, Mrs James, Only Son, and Only Son’s bestie have been pitching in while I scoured the sector of the forest our permit covers, collecting more and more branches. This time, I concentrated on oak and other harder woods. After several weeks of spare-time effort, the wood store now looks like this:
But I’m not done yet. The enraging fact that the West will supply Ukraine with sufficient weapons to defend itself, but not enough for them to smash the Russian army as they so easily could, means that this war is likely still to be grinding on come next winter. Already in Poland we are seeing energy prices skyrocket, and we all know how that Bloody Bastard in the Kremlin likes to keep everyone on their toes. Thus, one step I can take now is to stockpile enough firewood to help us cope if Poland starts to ‘lose reliability’ in energy supplies next winter.
The problem with gathering branches in the forest, however, is that you need to cover a lot of ground. You’re basically picking up the scraps left behind after the commercial guys have been through. The job involves much tiresome trudging and carrying. Then, Mrs James struck gold. In a quiet part of the forest, at least a hundred metres from any track or path, an old oak had been partially brought down in the January storms. Suddenly, we had metres of oak in one place. This week, for an extra PLN 20 (EUR 4.35, GBP 3.73) the forester gave me permission to take all branches up to 20cm in diameter from this beauty:
I went there yesterday with a sharpened chainsaw and a second tank of petrol for it. Six hours later, the tree looked like this:
Today, we took the Voyager up to the closest track and brought all of the wood home. So, I now have two piles to cut up into logs for the fire. On the left in the picture below, is all of the wood I will need to cut with the chainsaw and then split with the axe:
In the next picture, on the right are all of the branches that will go through the desk saw (which is underneath the polythene there). And that window is what the logs go through to be stacked after cutting. By the time all of the wood is cut, I will have enough for at least four regular Polish winters. So when the Bloody Bastard in the Kremlin stirs up energy trouble for the whole of Europe next winter, we shouldn’t freeze.
And if you’re wondering, yes, I did hug that beautiful oak’s massive trunk, well over 100 years old, wished her well, and thanked her very much for the parts of her I’d taken to keep my family warm.
Stay safe, peeps!
May 29, 2022
More spring in my garden and Race’s first month
Tomorrow, The Race against Time finishes its first month out in the world. It will drop off Amazon’s Hot New Releases chart (and the price will go up, *cough*). If you’re one of the hundreds of readers who have given the book their time, thank you very much indeed, and an extra thank you if you’ve left a rating or review.
Meanwhile, the rhododendrons are in full bloom this week and the whole garden is buzzing and humming with life. Today, I even managed to snap Deirdre the Dove when she stopped by to pinch some chicken feed.
Stay safe, peeps!
