In the mid-month update I mentioned that we voted in the Romanian elections. We had to choose between a trump&musk-approved pro-russian populist thug with no education, and an independent mathematician who did his BS at the University of Bucharest, before studying in Paris for his Master’s at École Normale Supérieure and for his PhD at Sorbonne.
Romania showed that its democracy is stronger when compared to many other countries, including the US, and that people are more aware of the risks of picking a populist. We opened a bottle of Champagne to celebrate. It was the first time we ever did that.
This was the MAGA pro-russian guy. He or his team selected a flag that really looks like the Romanian flag, but it is Chad’s. The level of incompetence was incredibly high. The Romanians dodged a considerable threat to the country’s democracy. Instead of a president that is very capable and eager to work, the country could have been led by a Romanian version of trump&musk&Fox-News anchors.
We were at the LFC parade and I blogged about it. We didn’t see the attack, as we were a few minutes walk from where it happened and we were on the main street. The authorities said that it is not a terror attack, basically because the guy is white and he was on drugs. I am concerned by the lack of understanding of who can do a terrorist attack. White people can do that and some people are taking drugs before doing a terrorist attack. I studied this briefly for an essay at university, so this is something the police should be aware of.
The perpetrator was named and he was following far-right people on twitter. It might not have been a terror attack, but I think this possibility was dismissed too quickly.
Volya is waiting for breakfast. In the kitchen I weigh her dry food, so that spot is perfect. When I am in the kitchen she looks over the window sill to check if I’m doing what I should do – prepare her food.
She loves this tunnel. It was a few pounds at B&M and it was such a great purchase. She plays with it daily.
In the office she is looking out.
1. Art therapy with the children. 2. My last volunteering shift on this trip. 3. Festival at Domivka. 4. Last day in Lviv, seeing the House of Scientists. 5. Arriving in Poland, first part of our journey. 6. Vegan food in Krakow. 7. Flying with the cat. 8. Driving home. 9. Having fun at home. 10. Apples in the garden. 11. Walking with Volya in the park. 12. Oxford, to set up the exhibition I’ve organised. 13. The first trial of sitting in the garden was ok. 14. Liverpool Central Library. 15. Vyshyvanka Day. 16. Voted in the elections. 17. March in Manchester. 18. Romanians chose Europe, democracy, freedom! Romanians said no to the russian puppet. 19. New plant growing from seed, a tamarind tree. 20. I received this review copy recently and tomorrow I am starting to read it. 21. Shepherd’s Pie. 22. I just sent borscht rations made in Lviv with Royal Mail, for an event. 23. Random street in Liverpool. 24. Delicious food, The Vibe 25. Volya’s new toys. 26. LFC celebrations. 27. Hoping that the goodreads librarians will finally list the book I requested. It takes ages. 28. Uzvar. 29. Volya being sweet. 30. Pub. 31. Books in May
I read a decent amount of books in May, but it was a mixed bag. Merkel’s book is so incredibly bad, an I-was-always-right nonsense, over hundreds of pages.
From the rest I highly recommend Putin’s Sledgehammer by Candace Rondeaux. It is a review copy and I am so happy that I accepted to review it. The information is clear and very well presented. Considering the topic and the things she had to read/see to make this book, I think it is worth reading. It’s not long either, under 400 pages for a 35 years history. I will review it next on my blog.
The book in Romanian was very good, on how the secret service was working with an interloper to duplicate cassettes with movies which were sold to the public. The only issue with it is that it’s not in English. Hopefully it will be translated, as those stolen movies were American and they influenced the way we saw the west.
Books in May:
Freedom by Angela Merkel – 1 star
The Modern Fairies by Clare Pollard – 1 star
The Cat Encyclopedia by D.K. Publishing – 5 stars
Bravado by Jeffrey Stephaniuk – 5 stars
The World We’re In by Will Hutton – 2 stars
A fost ca-n filme Liviu Tofan – 5 stars
Putin’s Sledgehammer by Candace Rondeaux – 5 stars
I am glad that the results of the election sounded like the right ones! Your beautiful cat is so silly, these pictures really brightened my day. You seem to be reading a lot of interesting books too.
I’m glad that there was a good outcome for the Romanian election. I agree with you that white people can do terrorist attacks and the attitude towards people who do such things shouldn’t change purely because of the colour of their skin. Glad Volya is settling in well. She is such a beautiful cat. #project365
Louise (Little Hearts, Big Love) recently posted…Friday Focus 06/06/2025 – Calm
Thank goodness that Romanian people chose the good choice and not the thug!
I’m very glad for them and the champagne was very appropriate!
Volya is so beautiful!! Obviously, you are her obedient servants already!
Kx
Ah love the cat photos. It’s so fun watching them play. I do miss having a house cat sometimes. We just have dogs (kennel based ‘working’ dogs, and feral farm cats who won’t come near you). We had friends at the LFC parade. So horrific how it ended up after such a celebration.
Emma T recently posted…Project 52 2025 week 22
I don’t form an opinion on what I read online without verifying the story through several websites and I will unfollow/unfriend in real life people who follow right wing groups. Volya is my cats twin. Pushkins is originally from South Africa.
They do look very similar, Volya and Pushkins, and both of them had a long journey to get to the UK. 🙂
Good on the people of Romania for choosing democracy. It’s such a worrying time all over the world, but this was hopeful news.
I’m glad you were safe in Liverpool. What an awful thing to happen. There is so much speculation, but we will have to wait for the trial to hear the full facts.
It’s so lovely to see Volya enjoying her new life in the UK. She’s a gorgeous cat.
Angela Webster recently posted…Project 365 Week 22-Coastal Walks, Hot Doughnuts & Peaceful Mornings
I really love that tunnel! I was so relieved to hear about the Romanian election here. As for Liverpool terror — our biggest domestic terror attack perpetrated by an American (the Oklahoma City bombing) was done by a white guy, citizen. That’s absolutely stupid logic. Unless the person driving the car has a stroke while driving and is completely incapacitated, any event like that is terror, pure and simple.
I am glad it was a good result in the Romanian elections.
You are so right, white people can be terrorists, skin colour really doesn’t matter when you are wanting to harm people.
It looks like Volya has settled in well. x
Kim Carberry recently posted…This week my Word of the Week is: Pottering! #WotW
No surprise, but I love seeing all your photos of Volya. After all, it was Festus who initially brought me to your blog. 😊 I laughed at the photo of her ear and tail sticking out of the tunnel. So cute and entertaining.
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That tail-ear photo is so funny. It’s very easy to miss either one of those. She is very cute and entertaining indeed.