We Do Adventure

The rumours were not true; they always sounded more like wishful thinking anyway. Mostar’s new shopping centre – TC Piramida – does not have a cinema in it. The city remains without a permanent big screen venue, but gains at least eight escalators and some shops it didn’t have already. The shopping centre will boast late night (10pm) opening six nights of the week and a tentative attempt at Sunday trading, which most of Mostar’s other mall don’t do. I found some pictures posted online earlier today that show it off quite well. I gave it the once over earlier one. It will definitely deserve a second look, maybe when the ‘coming soon’ units have finally been filled. If I was to make a criticism - which clearly I now am! - it would be that it felt cramped and dark, and of course the cafe bars are still smoky. Nevertheless, it is a more conducive shopping environment than either Old Mall or New Mall. My highlight was the Adidas Originals sections of the Sport Life store, although over here...

One of the things that can be a really stumbling point when learning a new language is turns of phrase: little collections of words that are used together to mean something other than what the words actually mean. When you start to listen closely to the way you talk you suddenly realise how many of these we use in English. Many, maybe most, do not translate. Bosnian has some too. Picking up on yesterday’s autumn themed post, I saw a cover of a local lifestyle magazine that declared ‘Jesen je zakon’ – literally ‘Autumn is the law’, but meaning something more like ‘Autumn rules’. Then there are phrases that are the same by ever-so slightly different; like ‘money laundering’. Now we know this, not because we’re involved in any financial irregularities but because as part of the running of a foreign humanitarian organisation we’re aware of the financial restrictions in place to stop such undesirable activity going on. However, our local team members will talk about ‘washing money’ rather t...

They say Fall in New England is something special. I’ve never seen it but I know in England it’s Autumn. The season of rain-soaked soggy leaves on the sidewalk, I mean, if a little less alliteratively, the pavement. Here in Bosnia and Herzegovina we have Jesen – pronounced ‘yes-en’ and a thing of rare beauty. I could go on, and on and on, about the quality of the light but I'll spare you that; although if you ever see me standing, staring at a mountain in the late afternoon that's your clue as to what's provoked the strange behaviour. A quick trip to Sarajevo over the weekend was made all the more dangerous for the abundance of breath-taking views edging the twisty mountain roads. Yes, I kept my eyes on the road – mostly! – but driving back this afternoon I had to stop once or twice – ok, probably three times – to try and capture the view. It never works. Maybe thousands of pounds on photographic equipment and a generous helping of talent would do it justice it a way my sna...

We spent five hours in the rain today, helping out a friend whose kombi didn't want to start. This short video is just a quick glimpse in to the madness. Enjoy! We did make it to the Renault dealer and an hour later she was back on the road, without too much painful lightening of the wallet.

“Liar, liar pants on fire” said one of our team, almost showing a great grasp of English playground phraseology. Clearly they betrayed the American influence on their impressive language skills. To confuse jeans, or any other pair of trousers, for pants, which should be worn underneath the aforementioned garments, is of course a school boy error! The reason the pictured ‘pants’ appear to be starting to combust is, yes, something to do with their proximity to the electric heater, but also in large part the result of the vast quantities of rain that fell on Mostar today. Driving home tonight it was ‘slow down’ heavy, which is saying something given the speed limits here. The plus side of the rain is it’s no longer particularly cold out. Sadly I apartment still is, but the electric blanket is on so our bed isn’t. Quite why we never got around to putting it on last winter I don’t know. Sleeping so much more pleasant when it’s not under a cold, damp duvet.

It is a sad fact that when people talk about ethnic tolerance in reference to Mostar or Sarajevo these days they are most often using the past tense. To say both cities are devoid of tolerant people would be to make a gross generalisation. I’ve meet plenty in both who can see past someone’s name or background. However most things I’ve read give the impression these cities are not what they once were. I spent the weekend in Tuzla, in north-east Bosnia. It is a place I’ve heard tolerance talked of in the present tense. As such it shouldn’t have surprised find myself there hearing someone quoting these words : “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” They went on to add that in Christ there is neither Bosniak or Serb or Croat or Roma. In other words, someone like Christ would not create divisions along ethnic lines. These are fine words in theory but they were not talking theory. They were tal...

‘You will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic.’ I’ve read those words many times and now they’ve taken on a new meaning. Jesus said them, St Matthew recorded them, but I’m reading them for the first time against the backdrop of a seemingly growing media discussion about the possibility of civil war in the country we’re living in. We’re not panicking but it does make you think a bit. ‘Don’t Panic’ is perhaps more famous for adorning the cover of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. That comic masterpiece involved the destruction of the whole world, an event that, while treated as not funny in the book, is really not funny. We live on a street where I can still see the sandbags behind which people defended their patch fifteen years ago. The thought of this country plunging itself into another violent mess when it hasn’t cleared up the remains of the last one is far from a joke. Into these sober thoughts burst an anthem that practically had me dancing around the living roo...