I love Sundays

Had a proper English Expat Sunday (EES). Got up late, listened to BBC Radio 3 and had fried eggs and bacon with toast and a cup of tea for breakfast.  Played Words with Friends  - aka Scrabble - via my iPod. I only do this with people I know - my daughter and a few others. (Although it turns out that 'Ken Taylor' is not the one I expected, but someone who lives on the US West Coast.)

Then skyped a few mates and listened to both the News Quiz and I am Sorry I Haven't a Clue (this says far too much about me, is probably a very embarrassing fact, and will only make sense to a small cross-section of readers.) Did some desultory work, and stared out the window a lot; snowing on and off all day, with everything clean white for a moment and the sky that completely washed out grey-blue pale. Lovely.

What is strange is that the longer I am here the more I enjoy deeply stereotypical English middle-class behaviours, at least in the privacy of my own flat. Does this happen to every expat, or is it just me?

Anyway, it shows up the ridiculousness  of some British politicians' tendencies to insist that foreigners 'immerse' themselves completely into  'our' culture. I don't think eating English breakfast makes me a threat to Russia, so I can't understand why some British people are so frightened of the reverse.

deja-vu view

Finally got to the New Decor exhibition at Garage yesterday (which is touring - with some changes - from the Hayward Gallery in London). I went to see the curator Ralph Rugoff talk about the show some time ago, with the kind of simultaneous Russian translation that reduced everything to pretty mindless sound-bites.

But then, the show itself is quite peculiar. Many contemporary artists work with found objects such as furniture and environments in various ways to subvert their everyday ordinariness; and the best pieces here do indeed resonate to some degree with the 'uncanny'.  But there is something distractingly odd about collecting them all together in one show, even in a space as big and relaxed as Garage. Some of the curation is actually sharper than at the Hayward; but still there is an overall aura of the furniture warehouse, of elderly chairs and tables scattered unceremoniously about in varying degrees of distress and without much logic.

Maybe it is to do with smallness and repetition; once you have seen one piece of furniture cut in half and its edges bandaged you have seen...etc etc. The end result was quite unsatisfying; and not only because I saw it before at the Hayward.

Garage is also running it's first photography exhibition called How Soon is it Now which as the promo says "presents fifteen of the most interesting contemporary artists working with the photographic medium."  They were selected by five curators –Tom Eccles, Liam Gillick, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Philippe Parreno and Beatrix Ruf - as a bit of a statement about what international contemporary photography is, or should, be about.


Which was also weird to see, not so much the work - although it does tend to the highly conceptual - but because (unexpectedly) I have seen this show before too. At the Arles International Photography Festival last year. Which either means I am right there culturally deep in the thick of things; or just very pretentious.


New Decor closes on Feb 6th and How Soon is it Now on Feb 8th.

Cuban artists Los Carpinteros, photo from Artguide Moscow (too many guards to take pictures)

handy hints for travellers 15: stay away from building edges!

The mild conditions have a regular result: snow melts during the day, freezes at night and is then covered with a fine layer of snow by morning - making completely lethal surfaces. And - equally dangerously - snow melting from roofs forms icicles which freeze, then melt again and crash to the ground.

One of my colleagues got hit by a falling icicle over the holidays, which broke her nose (this, she said mournfully happened immediately after her dog swallowed a toy and nearly died.) Still, she continued, at least it didn't fall on her head. Which is why random barriers appear on the street, and people tend to walk on the outside edges of pavements.

snow-midget

Whilst there have been extremes in climate across the globe this winter, Moscow continues to be unseasonably mild. So little snow that even the snowmen are tiny...

tales of the unexpected 4

Whilst we are on an animal theme, I should mention that these stuffed rabbits seem to have popped up in a lot of (arty) places here recently. The point? Who knows, although given that large painted cows have been appearing all over London - and for all I know other major cities - for a while, maybe it is just because they can.

goat in a coat

There are a lot of homeless and drunks in Moscow, mainly around train stations. There are also quite a lot of beggars, these usually ex-soldiers (or at least people in camouflage uniforms) with missing limbs or elderly ladies on their knees with icons. This man was the first I have seen begging with a goat.

resolutions

I am not a great fan of New Years’ resolutions but –following a long conversation with Russian colleagues about the many important sights/sites in Moscow I have NOT yet visited - have returned here determined to regain my inner tourist in 2011. 

I guess that after a while living in any country/city you get out of the habit of really looking at what’s there and just begin to live in that state of everyday distraction which constitutes normality. Which is nice in one way, but also feels like a blurring of the reasons for moving somewhere else in the first place.  As a method for reviving my initial enthusiasms I have begun making a list of things to see. This starts with the major museums (Tretyakov, Pushkin, MMOMA, all of which I can’t believe I have not yet been to); goes on to all those fabulous looking house museums and other architectural stuff (such as the Shchusev Museum of Architecture) for which Moscow ought to be more famous; and then moves towards a, as yet, rather rougher and shorter list of contemporary culture and events – restaurants, bars, shops etc, which I consider my answer to the Wallpaper City Guides. In fact, the whole project keeps threatening to segue into one of those 10 Best Things to See in Moscow if you are a Culture Vulture lists, an inclination I am trying to resist. And this is even before I get to all the potential sights near the city, let alone trips further afield.

Anyway, I decided to make my NYR public here, so that you all can keep me to these good intentions (which I always thought was the only way to keep to a New Year’s resolution). Oh, and any recommendations for good and unusual places to add to my ‘tourist’ visits are also welcome. 

There remains only one issue, and slight crisis, which is to do with photography. This will only be of interest to camera buffs, so everyone else can stop reading here. I set a rule when I first started this blog – not that I told anyone else – that each post would only have one photographic illustration and that I would only use my little ‘point and shot’ compact (a Ricoh GR since you asked). I liked the idea of a restriction, a kind of what -you-see is-what-you-get approach without the possibility of any fancy footwork. I still like this idea; the problem is that the Ricoh collapsed on me when I was in Sydney – cameras do like to pack up when you are on trip-of-a-lifetime type excursions – and is still behaving very eccentrically. I also have a Lumix GF1with a couple of lens, a relatively recent purchase after my original much-loved, elderly and very oversized Fuji S2Pro digital SLR finally died and Fuji stopped making high-end consumer cameras, damn them.

This, then, is the issue. Whether to just go over to using my Lumix (which breaks the initial rule) or to go out and buy another compact, which will take a lot of fluffing around in selection, cost, country of purchase etc. A difficult decision...

(....and sorted almost immediately by buying a the cheapest Fuji compact available at the airport, and using my Lumix just when I feel like it!)

Photo above is of a photograph I bought recently - just to show I do get out and about a bit - from the first student art fair being run at ArtPlay. Interesting to see what the next generation are doing; much still quite derivative, but lots of creativity.... this is by Alena Beljakova. For more go to http://perhydrol.deviantart.com/gallery/

Happy New Year!

the horrors, the horrors

I know that I was extraordinarily lucky to sneak into London, and then out again (to Sydney, Australia) a few days later, without being buried in snow for days at Heathrow.  All my sympathies go to the many people I met who had horribly delayed holidays, and I won't even be smug about how much better Moscow airports deals with bad weather. But - I was reminded of that specifically English characteristic of complaining; of always being ready to be offended at the the slightest alteration to the assumed smoothness of things; of an excess of sensitivity that someone else might be jumping the queue, getting a better deal. What is this English habit of for ever being ready to be cross about something?

Unlike the Russians I know who always expect the worst to happen.

not all nice

Actually the shouts in the stairwell were initially quite unnerving. One of my young Russian colleagues was too scared to come to work some of last week because of the massive recent violence in Moscow against people who look like they are from the Caucasus.  See You in Moscow, which is usually an art blog, captures the threat of the current situation resonantly; while the Moscow News is its usual more vague self.

So now I know I live somewhere trendy

My neighbourhood is very like bits of East London - rundown with several derelict factories  but also with pockets of cultural activity (Winzavod, ArtPlay) and many bright young things in evidence at weekends. But now I know the area has really arrived. Instead of the usual drunks on the stairs, there has been a many-personed film crew occupying several floors for the whole day. With the whole works, including external floodlights.

And they have kindly given us extra graffiti, together with a considerable amount of shouting, music and chasing about.

Ha!

This is one aimed at everyone in Britain who has been reduced to a standstill by the weather. Just to mention that Moscow has only about an inch of snow and yet this afternoon I saw 5 snow ploughs, 2 dumper trucks and my favourite device (above) - the snow-gobbler.

One-offs: number two

And this is the only disabled lift into an underpass I have seen (there is one on the other side of the street too which was both a relief and - in a way - a surprise.) Again, other sightings appreciated.

One offs: number one

This is the only set of re-cycling bins I have seen anywhere in Moscow - when I walked past them with a Russian colleague he laughed out loud. I know it is not a popular pastime here, but there must be more.....

double doors

I must stop  extrapolating from my neighbours' behaviours to Russian habits and tendencies in general. This is not only because of the poor logic involved in making such assumptions, but also because things here continue to be a little eccentric and singular.

For example, I now have a new, new front door.  I thought this was because the initial one was a rather tinny Chinese-made version which was going to be replaced because it was not secure enough. But, no, what I now have is another door immediately inside the old new one - so immediately inside that the door handles easily become entangled.

To this must be added the fact that the the handle on the new (inside) door does not work very well, so tends to get jammed. The new door, it transpires, is not for extra security - because the key has not been fitted properly - but for extra warmth and acoustic separation. So getting in and out has got a lot more exciting.

And in more neighbour news, I got invited next door last night to see Es collections. Tropical fish, plates from around the world, fridge magnets, coins and paper money both old and current. And a request to help obtain more of the latter. His flat is absolutely stuffed, not just with collections and ornaments but also with furniture; moving around is almost everywhere done sideways.

christmas time again

And whilst I am doing GUM, just thought you might like to see the Christmas decorations. Different from last year. Just.

wedding jam

GUM is one of the particular places of choice for wedding parties to go to have their photographs taken. I don't know why this Saturday was so popular, but there were so many different groups they kept bumping into each other. Very enjoyable to watch.

meeting the leaders

Caught Lenin and a mate having lunch together yesterday. They were in an appropriate place, the Russian Stolovaya/столовая in GUM (top floor), one of many contemporary examples of a Soviet-style cheap canteen in Moscow.

Interestingly, Lenin didn't talk to the other guy at all throughout their meal, he was too busy texting on his mobile phone.

And I feel really foolish. Lenin is a pretty good match but who on earth is the other one meant to be? Definitely not Stalin, and can't believe they would do Trotsky even now (certainly not in uniform - and I don't even know what period the uniform is). Help me here....

Note: If you want to know, read the comment below which just increases my embarrassment; he was, after all, a cousin of our own George V. 

minor improvements

I think I got rather smug (and rather snug) in my previous flats, both of which were modern enough to have proper double glazing. And I think I talked a lot about how indoors in a Moscow winter you only need tee-shirts and underwear.

Well, now I am in a proper Soviet flat, with warped timber windows and a gap wide enough between the double panes for the air in there to get nicely chilled. So, I have finally started to need jumpers indoors. My very sweet landlord turned up this evening (with the helpful neighbour) to implement one of the standard Russian solutions to this problem - a thin, but slightly padded sticky tape around all the joints of the inner window frames.

Whilst he was here we also talked cleaning. I am just no good with those short sweeping brushes made out of dried straw or sticks;  can't seem to get the knack, nor to lose my desire for a more sophisticated broom-like or electrical device. So I have been lent a small vacuum-cleaner for now - with the promise that we will 'refresh' the rugs by beating them (with aforesaid brushes) at a later date. This, it turns out, happens outside and so just waits for a thicker layer of snow as a proper base.

dog-in-the-metro

I don't know why the stray dogs seem much more obvious in the winter. Do they take summer hols? Anyway, I have also started to see more of them underground; it is a well known Moscow belief that strays travel this way. The dog pictured here has just left the metro through the main doors, where it was waiting patiently and with much dignity to be let out. (I attempt to take quite a few pictures of these dogs; as with this one they seem not to like it much, and turn away as soon as you point a camera. Well, at least that is what I think it is, it might be me being a bit anxious about getting barked at - which has also happened.)

what are they??

I realise that this blog has currently deteriorated into stuff mainly about the weather or food, but my excuse is that I am just incredibly busy at work, and that these subjects concern me a lot.

So, I need help here. I am pretty certain the red things are berberis berries (these have a very delicate white speckled pattern and taste like sour pomegranate seeds) - but what are the green ones on the left? I was at the market with M, who said something about grating them (I am truly sorry for not listening properly) or cutting up and scooping out the fruit. They taste as if a lime and a pear have mated.

Which is a good taste.

at last...

So finally, with only minor flurries of snow, the temperature has plummeted to -18, and everyone is complaining of the cold. But I am loving  the bright blue, clear sunny skies. And interesting hats are back in large numbers...

(As last  year - England is trying to compete. Snow causes chaos and fun across the UK said the Guardian today, with the pictures to prove it.)

dairy product of the week: 5

After some delay I have finally got around to trying out a new Russian diary product - Ryazhenka, which is like a yoghurt drink. This was kindly given to me by U and O, as a healthy thing post-operation. (I have also been given Kefir, which I don't dislike, but get no enjoyment whatsoever from drinking).

So, I was pleasantly surprised. Its quite nice.

rainy days

Having what I would call English weather in Moscow. Grey, overcast, scudding grubby clouds and endless drizzle, puddles. Oh, and dark by 5.00 pm. Day after day. Mid-November and still no proper snow. I have been asking around and what I took as a normal winter here -  the glorious cold but bright days we (mainly) had last year - turns out to have been pretty unusual.

So, lots more greyness to come....

handy hints for travellers 14: being in hospital

Hope it doesn't happen to you; but here are my hints if you end up in a public hospital in Moscow. This, of course, is only my experience (and of one particular hospital and I think I was pretty lucky) so would appreciate any additional advice from others...

1. Bring your own cutlery - at the minimum a spoon. Most people had their own plates and cups also. Actually things seemed pretty clean, but I guess only 'washed up' rather than sterilised.

2. Food provided is low-level edible, but good to have extra supplies if possible. Otherwise there was always bread and a very weak, watery coffee available (see photo above).

3. Bring your own nightclothes and 'indoor slob' clothes (must be a better name, but I mean the relatively disreputable but very comfortable stuff most Russians - and me - wear indoors) .  I was stripped naked for surgery and felt quite lucky to be given a (temporary) nightgown when I woke up.

4. Remember your slippers - these are essential in any Russian indoor situation, but of course come into their own in hospital. One day I will get the etiquette of when to wear/when to remove, but not yet.

5. Expect few niceties. No curtains around bed, or privacy during examinations. Bed-sheets changed about once a week.

6. BRING YOUR OWN TOILET PAPER!

7. It is assumed you have family or friends who will help out, bring you treats etc. My surgeon asked crossly why my children were not there to help (though I don't see how that would have helped the language problem we were having at the time).

8. Valuables and clothes were 'signed in' before my operation; then taken to some distant and impregnable store. So don't do what I do. Keep your mobile phone and anything else you are going to need immediately after an operation with your clothes. It took me several days to find out how to collect my important stuff (permissions required and much signing of paperwork), that the store closes over the weekend and that I was required to stagger in my pyjamas across the whole hospital campus - a small town in its own right -  to personally collect them. I never again want to be stuck in hospital without a phone.

9. Most doctors and nurses will expect some form of tip, with varying degrees of effect on the quality of services provided. I have no idea about amounts, as this was done for me. It certainly relates to the fact that surgeons and doctors seem to be paid below the average wage for Moscow. I couldn't find accurate figures for 2010, but in 2008 doctors in polyclinics were getting 20,000 rubles a month (400 pounds or US$826).

10. The word больно (which I pronounce bolnoi) - meaning (it) hurts-  was very useful when I was prodded, along with saying OY, which is the Russian version of OUCH.