We Do Adventure

Tonight we are officially at the end of our Novi Most summer activities for another year. We had a parents evening to finish things off, giving them a chance to see what their young people had been up to over the last two months. We crammed a bunch of activities into a short video to tell the story, although there was plenty of good stuff that didn't make the cut. It's been another summer where we've seen lots of young people get the opportunity to try new things and have some great some great experiences they probably wouldn't have got on their own. For us it's encouraging to know we have happy parents of the happy young people we've been working with. As we said to them this evening, now we have a bit of a break and we start to think what's going to make this winter special when our activities start up again in October.

I guess it was iTunes that began the new music Tuesday thing. I'm sure the back in the days when Our Price existed you'd go and buy new singles on a Monday. Times change and Tuesday's it is. While I can have few complains about iTunes' service the Tuesday thing is slightly annoying. Monday's are often a day off – we work most weekends – and therefore an ideal day to go previewing new releases. Obviously, I'm ultimately the winner the way things are as the chance of impulse buying a new release is effectively removed. And for that my wallet is thankful! Throughout this summer Tuesdays are our music day. We didn't want to stop music courses altogether over the holidays so we set aside Tuesdays as the day to teach. This morning I've taught keyboards, guitar and bass guitar. I will be back in this evening for more lessons. All of us on the Novi Most team in Jajce teach music, all of us have students at different levels. Some came to us with a little ...

After a busy weekend in Sarajevo, today was a day off. I decided to make the most of the sunshine and head out on my mountain bike around the lakes near Jajce. I'd been going about an hour when I stumbled across this sight: the super-sized marriage of a decoy duck and a pedalo. Obviously, a photograph was essential, not just for its comedic value but because it illustrates an important attitude we have to our work here. Last summer we ran a month of activities with Novi Most for young people in Jajce. At the end of August we asked those who been involved for some feedback. Of the seventeen who filled out our questionnaires fifteen acknowledged they had some new experience over the summer: for some it was visiting a new city; for others it was going down a water slide at an aqua park; others went up an escalator for the first time. Having new experiences, at least fun, positive ones, is an exciting thing. The young people we worked with over the summer ended up with a better sense o...

Ever had that feeling that you missed an opportunity? It happened a few months back. I saw something I thought was particularly cool and said to Rowan it would make a great photo. But I got self conscious and thinking the others walking down the street would judge me for pulling out the camera I walked on by. Less a case of cultural sensitivity than lack of balls! Today, I was presented with almost the identical opportunity: same vehicle, same location, slightly less sunshine. This time...I walked on by. Then I stopped. And thinking better of my gutlessness I captured the image you see here. It may not rival the works of Ansel Adams or David Baily. If I’m honest, it’s not exactly the angle I wanted but that would have required laying in the road. Perhaps next time!

I missed the chance to make a fantastic video today because I didn’t have the guts to ask a shop owners permission. A bit stupid really seeing as I was his only customer and he was busily engaged in producing something specifically for me. I walked home rueing the missed opportunity, thinking I’d make up for it with a witty blog post. But I can’t do that because it might spoil a surprise for some people. It’s hard to know if they read my blog but you can’t be too careful. So this is an annoying non-post; a few lines of text telling you enough to know that really I’m not telling you anything! I know those of you who do read deserve better than that. Be assured for two things: I spent an odd, yet amusing half hour in a small shop somewhere in Mostar’s old town today, and that tomorrow I will return with something worth reading! Until then, if anyone has any travel tips or recommendations about Montenegro do let me know. It’s one of those places that’s been on my like-to-go-there list for...