So, as I mentioned a couple of months ago,
myself and my partner have both been involved in a British Panto, which thanks
to a number of international and local volunteers we successfully executed last
week.
Jack and the Beanstalk was the third offering
from Sarajevo and London Mature Dramatics Society (S.A.L.A.D.S) and went down
an absolute storm (even if I do say so myself)!
We put the production on in the Dom Policije
theatre, which is an impressive state-run building which houses a beautiful
theatre. Sadly, the venue itself has not had much TLC over the last few years,
so when the curtain jammed shut at the start of the first dress rehearsal we
should not really have been surprised!
However, apart from a few inevitable
challenges and technical issues (all of which we overcame) the production was a
massive success with around 600 people attending over a three night run.
In true
panto style, we encouraged plenty of audience participation and ensure that the
adults were suitably lubricated with alcohol and the kids with sugar! This
ensured that the shouting, booing and hissing was as loud as it needed to be! We
had frightful panto dames, who spent much of the show trying to show off their ‘unmentionables’,
we had a trio of baddies who have since become included on the most wanted list
for the under 5’s throughout Sarajevo. And a formidable performance from the
Hen who lays golden eggs… this performance was worthy of any Olivier
Award!
Its success
hinged on a great group of people, from actors and the production team, through
to the volunteers. It really was a team
effort and something I have been so very proud to be a part of! Since the panto
has ended, it has been great to catch up on some sleep, but I still seem to be plagued
with the words from various songs, which I cannot seem get out of my head, so
to share the love, here is a tiny snippet of the opening song:
As a result
of the ticket sales and the nightly bucket collections, we have managed to raise
over 4,000KM which will be going to Helping Hearts and Hands Foundation, who
are an active volunteer group here in Sarajevo within whom I am a trustee.
So, the
Christmas season is well and truly underway… oh no it isn’t… oh yes it is…. Until next
year ;-)
So, yet another post about the weather...
After a beautiful, if somewhat short autumn, December arrived and... It snowed!
One of the many things I love about living in
Sarajevo is the clearly defined seasons and moving from autumn to winter was
certainly this. It was only 6 weeks ago we were enjoy a BBQ on our balcony with
temperatures in the high 20’s!
Over the past 12 days, we have had several
inches of snow and temperatures have already dropped well into the double minus
figures. More importantly, I heard rumors that the ski resorts have started to
open (a little earlier than planned), so fingers crossed we should get some
good skiing in, over the Christmas break!
So whilst the town itself is not particularly
Festive, the thick snow on the ground, the freezing temperatures and a
beautiful Christmas tree up in our flat, there is certainly a Festive feeling
in our household! I am certainly looking forward to our first Christmas in
Sarajevo!
One of the
projects I am involved with is sitting on the organising committee for this
year's Diplomatic Winter Bazar. Winter bazars are big events here in Sarajevo
and provide the chance for the community to get together and raise a lot of
money for a variety of local charities.
This year's
event promises to be bigger and better than ever, thanks to the united efforts
of the Diplomatic Wives Club, Helping Hands and Hearts Foundation and the
International Women's Club.
Embassies are
all invited to attend and sell food, drinks and good all relating to their
county. So there will be a wide range of delicious things on offer, from wine
from the French, raclette from the Swiss, Carlsberg beer from the Danish and
homemade jams and chutneys from the British.
In additional
to the various stalls (there will be approximately 200 exhibitors), there will
be a kids zone, so parents can leave kids for an hour or so, whilst they go off
and shop (and try the wine), Father and Mother Christmas will also be making an
appearance and kids will be able to have their photo taken with him (and Dads
can have their photo take with Mrs C)!! There will be entertainment throughout
the day, including the local International choir singing a selection of much
loved Christmas Carols.
And there
will also be a Grand Raffle, with some amazing prizes on offer, which have been
donated by a large group of wonderful sponsors. This year the
funds raised will go to four beneficiaries:
Helping Hearts and Hands Foundation, Sarajevo
EDUS in Mjedenica, Sarajevo
Association for Children with Special Needs, Doboj
And under the umbrella of one NGO in Gorazde;
Primary School
“Fahrudin Fahro Baščelija“
Association for
Helping Persons with Learning Difficulties
So, put the
date in your diary:
When: Saturday
1st December, 11:00 - 18:00
Where: Collège
International Francophone Sarajevo (CIFS), Paromlinska 66,
Tickets cost
5KM for adults and kids under 12 years old.
Tickets can
be bought in advance on Saturday 24th November between 11:00-15:00 in front of
the BBI or on the door.
As
the temperature has dropped marginally, I have dug out the baking tins. There
is the most wonderful selection of fresh berries in the markets at the moment.
Whilst we an abundance of strawberries earlier in the summer, the raspberries
are still going strong and the blackberries have just started to come into
season.
We
have been eating these fresh every morning, either in fruit salads or smoothies
- when a one kilo of raspberries is around £1.20, it would be rude not too!
This
week it was our language teacher's birthday, so I knocked up a batch of
Blackberry, Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins. The result was perfect, tasty,
fresh and moist, ideal for breakfast with coffee or mid-afternoon with a nice
cup of tea.
One
of the many delights of living in an ex-communist country, apart from the
architecture and the availability of Tito 2012 wall calendars has to be State controlled
heating.
This
morning, our heating was turned on. We had not made a conscious decision that
this was necessary and if we were in the UK in control of this and the
temperatures were the same, we would be putting another jumper on, before
giving into autumn!
However,
here, in our ex-Yugoslavian style flat, someone within the depths of the state electricity
department has deemed it an appropriate time for us to have heating again.
Rumour has it, that for this to happen, the temperature has to drop below a
certain level for three consecutive days. The last two days have been grotty,
but today for the foreseeable future; it is going to be around 25 degrees!
So,
the summer clothes are not being packed away quite yet and we will have to go
against everything we have learnt about saving energy and throw the balcony
doors open for a bit longer yet!
This
Saturday I found myself standing in the middle of a cricket pitch, fielding for
an international cricket team playing the Pakistan Embassy. I had one of those
moments where I thought, how did this happen, playing cricket, in a field on
the outskirts of Sarajevo, in the beautiful sunshine on an October afternoon. In
true Bosnian style, cucumber sandwiches were swapped for cevapi. Sadly
we lost team lost to a much stronger Pakistani team. Maybe if we start to
practice now, we might be in with a chance next year!!
