Despite me wanting to go to Ukraine for a week, I was too busy to be able to do so. The fact that the russians struck Lviv with an oreshnik [intermediate-range ballistic missile] only annoyed me and I looked again at flights and my schedule for the month. This IRBM has a range of up to 3,400 miles, so it can hit Liverpool or London in just over 10 minutes after it is launched. It’s the second time being used against Ukrainians, but this kind of missile is only good for nukes, otherwise quite bad.
In January I went to London, to Manchester, including an overnight stay, and to Cheshire. It was a very busy month.
I started my mid-January update with a picture of espresso and pinecone jam. I had no idea that, on the same day I published that post, in London I will have a pine hot chocolate at Cream.dream [on the left]. What a fun coincidence.
We stopped for breakfast and cakes because we didn’t have time to go there more than once and we really wanted to try the cakes. This is an Ukrainian restaurant, owned and staffed by refugees and their food is just superb. It is a fancy place with prices to match the quality.
The initial plan was to commute to Manchester on 2 consecutive days, but after chatting with a friend, I’ve decided to stay overnight. It was a great idea, as the train I got from Liverpool was 20 minutes late and without doing its 3 stops… it was still 20 minutes late arriving in Manchester, what a mess. I didn’t want to repeat that on the following morning.
I found an affordable room at Britania and I see why. The stairs, in the picture below, are just amazing and the building is stunning. The rooms were clean, but the beds [I had a twin room] were small. It needed a few more sockets too. I would stay there again for a night or two, but not for longer.
I was in Manchester for the 2 days to take part in the workshops made in connection with the exhibition of Ukrainian children’s art. I brought the camo net with me, to show the children. There were about 150 children in total, so it was very tyring. I loved chatting with the children and helping the guys from the charity.
On the day I spent in Manchester, I met my friend after the workshops of the day, we went for a drink. After that, she recommended to go to the International Mother Language Day Opening Event. At the event all guests received a new multilingual poetry anthology, and some of the poets read a few of their pieces. It was lovely. The short movie Voices of Hope and Peace was screened and the event ended with a couple of songs performed by Svitoch Ukrainian Chamber Choir.
After the event, my Ukrainian friend, I, and 3 more friends went for dinner, where we were joined by 2 more friends. It was lovely and I was back at the hotel at 11.30 pm.
In other news, we started this puzzle. I am not going to do another “non-standard” puzzle ever again. I gave a goal of 3 pieces a day, so, hopefully in a year I will finish this. It’s so annoying, but I will finish it and mount it for the home office.
As usual, I am sharing some pictures of Volya taken this month. She was sleeping before I took the picture. She sleeps often with her arms stretched in front of her.
She loves this big bird toy. It’s not a cat toy, but she likes the texture.
I moved her carrier when I was cleaning and she got very excited. So, I opened the carrier and one of the side “rooms” and she spent a couple of days in and out of it. I left it there, as I want her to feel comfortable in it if we travel a longer distance.
I knew about the language lessons at Liverpool University and I wasn’t sure if I can, as I plan to travel to Ukraine. In the end I’ve decided to sign up. This means I will not be able to stay in Ukraine as much as I would have wanted, for the next 3 months.
1. Coffee and Ukrainian pinecone jam. 2. New scratch-cake that she likes. 3. Took Volya in the local park. 4. Took Volya to a cafe. 5. Book I’m reading, from Ukraine. 6. Wine bottle I received for Christmas, now ready to be used as a vase. 7. Remembering Catherine of Aragon [pomegranate seeds, she died on 7 January 1536]. 8. Dry-washing Volya. 9. Attack on Ukraine and Lviv being hit with an IRBM. 10. My husband and I finished another batch of 2,000 batteries for power banks for Ukraine. 11. Drinks with friends [random pic from the city centre]. 12. Baking cozonac. 13. Holodomor exhibition at Liverpool Central Library. 14. Private view for the London exhibition. 15. My friend covered the exhibition in London, in a newspaper. 16. Delicious Ukrainian food at Cream Dream, London. 17. Volya in the sun. 18. Fruits for the 30-a-week challenge. 19. Drinks date. 20. Checking the originals for the next exhibition, in Manchester. 21. Oriel turned 700! 22. Puzzling puzzle. 23. New exhibition set up, this time in Manchester. 24. Fight for freedom – Ukraine and Iran. Weekly rally in Manchester. 25. President Zelenskyy turned 48, so I made a 48€ donation to United24. 26. Preparing for my trip to Manchester. 27. The workshops started. 28. Last day of workshops. 29. First lesson of Ukrainian at Liverpool University. 30. Volya and the toy. 31. Favourite book of the month [same book as the one shared on the 5th, so I took another picture]
Books in January:
De-occupied by Bogdan Logvynenko – 5 stars
The Secrets of Ashmore Castle by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles – 4 stars
Peril at End House by Agatha Christie – 3.5 stars
Secrets of a Wallflower by Amanda McCabe – 4 stars
I’m intrigued by pine hot chocolate – it sounds interesting. Love the photo of the stairs in your hotel. Glad you enjoyed taking part in the workshop event. That does look like a very tricky jigsaw puzzle. Beautiful photos of Volya as always. Good luck with the language lessons. #project365
I loved your update – thank you. I put the cat carrier down for ours to check out on occasion, but she is very wary.
jeanie recently posted…Home again
The missile sounds horrific!
I love seeing Volya enjoying her rest and carrier. Some time, I must visit Cream Dream. I had a rehearsal in Brentwood yesterday and my friend told me there’s a creperie called Nest there which is run by lovely Ukrainians so I hope to visit there next Saturday before my concert. I really fancied a pancake today!!
I didn’t know about Nest, I will have a look online. I hope you have a lovely concert and some nice treats at Nest.
oooh that puzzle looks real difficult, I don’t think I would have the patience. Volya is a gorgeous cat and very photogenic. The hotel also looks amazing.
That’s a shame you couldn’t spend the time you wanted in Ukraine.
That hotel staircase is stunning. A lot of the older hotels in Manchester are very dated and in need of an update, but I imagine it would be very expensive, and some are listed buildings.
I don’t think I would have the patience for that puzzle. I am so picky about the ones I do; they have to have a lot going on in them.
I hope February is a good month for you and that you get to visit Ukraine.
Hope the Ukraine language lessons go well. That hotel looks beautiful – obviously stunning historical building, but not set up for modern asks of good sized beds and plenty of plug sockets!
I always like seeing your food photos, also Volya.
You will finish the puzzle. I took that approach (only I made it one piece a day!) when I worked an incredibly difficult MC Escher puzzle. I had a boxed set of four puzzles, but gave away the remaining three, unopened. I still take that approach, especially when life is busy.
Kelly recently posted…Still Wordling
With the puzzle I am listening to something, an 1-hour talk or something like that and I manage to put a few pieces. Sometimes I spent 2-3 hours, listening and doing the puzzle. It’s still a few pieces each time.
I can understand why you gave up doing 3 more MC Escher puzzles.
It is scary to think that a missile moves so quickly and awful to think that such a thing exists.
That Ukrainian restaurant sounds wonderful and good idea about staying in Manchester for the night. The workshop sounds fantastic and it sounds like you had a brilliant time with friends.
Good luck with the language lessons. Fab photos!
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