2 more trips before the end of the year.

Tomorrow I will make a trip to Slovenia, specifically Ljubljana. I have been invited to give another talk on Sport and Meditation at the same place that I did in March. It is always to visit and meet old friends especially at this time of the year because so many Christmassy things go on there. I usually take the bus and the trip used to take around 10 hours but since Croatia , which I have to pass through has joined the EU one less border delay has reduced this to around 9 1/2 hours. I will be there for 6 days and have quite a few things planned including of course my talk.
When I get back to Sarajevo I will have around 3 weeks before I make my annual Christmas trip to the UK to spend it with my family. I bought my ticket last week and it was only 1 euro more than last year so that is pretty good. I guess the airlines are staying pretty competitive.

Sarajevo Jazz Festival

At this time of year in Sarajevo there is a jazz Festival . 2 years ago I was invited by a new friend to go and see the Rosenberg Trio and enjoyed it very much. Last year there wasn't anyone that I really wanted to see, but this year when I saw the schedule there was one that stood out. While living in New York I had discovered Jack De Johnette and listened to quite a lot of his music along with others. So when I saw that he was coming to Sarajevo I decided I was going to see him. The tickets cost twice as much as the other acts but he is well worth it. I got my ticket at the beginning of the week and last night I went to the performance., it was outstanding. It has been my experience that the concerts are not sold out but are very close too it.I had a very pleasant walk home afterwards. I hope that I get the chance to see someone great again next year.

The visit

So a little time as gone by but I now want to fill you in on the visit of my friend Uranta Tom Kane. We have known each other for probably 20 years but have not seen each other for about 3 years maybe 4. It turns out he was at a conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia and decided to come and visit Sarajevo. He wanted to come by train but had no idea what this might entail. After a missed connection and delayed trains he arrived early evening and after a short walk back to my place from the station, we ate cheese pie and talk until late.
An early morning run started the day and then we drove with friends to Banja Luka for the day and as it turned out arrived back in Sarajevo in the early hours of the morning. Another early morning run then up into the hills for the day and to have lunch at Ecofutura, the Eco village where I used to work. In the evening we experienced traditional food and drinks in the old part of the city.
Sunday was a day of sight seeing and I tried to show him as much as I could and in the evening pizza with another friend.
I happened that he had a flight back to Edinborough from Dubrovnik in Croatia on Tuesday morning and we had to figure out how to get him there. The answer was for him to get an afternoon bus to Mostar stay there overnight and then an early morning bus to Dubrovnik. So after a last coffee at the train station he was off to the bus and his all too short visit was over. However he was more than impressed with Sarajevo and indeed the Balkans in all, that he will be back again soon I think.

I'm back :)

Ok so I did say I would try to post more often but time went by so fast.
During the summer I was playing tennis on weekends with an old friend of mine, it was nice cross training and I think it helped my running. This summer was not as hot as the last one, though there were a few hot days in there.
In September I had a short bout of food poisoning which was followed by the flu and this all happened, just as I was about to travel to Zagreb to give a talk. I did travel and the talk was interesting, as my voice got a little strange from the flu.
I spent a few days in Ljubljana where I met with my publisher and hopefully my book will be out soon.
Tomorrow an old Scottish friend of mine will be visiting me in Sarajevo for a few days. He was at a conference in Ljubljana and decided to take the opportunity to come. We have not seen each other for maybe 4 years so there will be a lot of catching up to do.
OK that's it for now, will try to keep my promise and post more often.

Linden trees

Well it is June here in Sarajevo and as in many other places around the world st this time, the Linden trees are blooming. Here they are called Lipa and I usually run along Lipa Alley in the morning and it is so nice to run under trees that are filled with fragrant flowers.
On May 29 I gave a talk on Sport and Meditation at the Academy of Sport in Sarajevo, to around 70 students and 11 of them are interested to learn more about meditation.
Tomorrow I will go to a training session of the Sarajevo Athletic club and meet with some of the guys, I am thinking to maybe see if I can train with them during the summer.

Projects

A week ago I had a meeting with the director of the International Peace Center in Sarajevo, he was very helpful in arranging the planting of a Peace tree in 1997. Over the years the plaque by the tree has been damaged and eventually disappeared. So the meeting was about dedicating a new plaque and actually re-dedicating the Peace tree. The director was a bit cautious at first since a few years ago a fountain to the children who died in the war ha been placed nearby, but eventually was quite enthusiastic and will arrange for a ceremony for both in the very near future. I will keep you posted on that.
Then Tuesday this week I went to the Academy of Sport in Sarajevo to speak with a Professor about me giving a talk there on Sport and Meditation and since next week is the last week of school he recommended I give one then , so on Wednesday May 29 at 15:00 I will speak to students from the running class and anyone else who wants to come, I also have the chance to give 2 more talks when the new school year starts :).

Spring almost flies by

Spring arrived in Sarajevo and then it  almost became summer a moment later. with temperatures entering into the 30 degree centigrade range. My friend Elvir asked me if I wanted to play tennis with him, he has not played before so we took 2 lessons with a local coach. It helped me a lot to remember some long ago learned skills. Now on Saturday mornings we play tennis., in our first match I beat him 6-4, 6-3 on the strength of me holding serve 3 times, but both of us are improving and we have a lot of fun, which is of course the main thing.
Rain and cooler temps have seen Spring return and of course as a gardener this will help the plants.
On Sunday Elvir and I ran the Run for Europe 4 k race, he has been running 4k in 30 minutes in training and I paced him to a time of 19:31 which of course he was very pleased with. He wants to run a half marathon in September so this is a good boost for his confidence.

Last weekend

On Saturday 3 of us drove to Banja Luka, it's about a 3 hour drive. After about 30 to 40 minutes of highway  you get the chance to see lots of nature and a few towns. In the evening 10 of us had a get together which included a meal for which a few of us provided an item.Then we drove back to Sarajevo, arriving just after 1am.
Sunday was a day for Spring cleaning which took place in the afternoon and was about a 2 1/2 hour excursion :) , a lot of dust can collect over the winter and the windows needed a good cleaning. Everything feels so much better now.

Overcast

It's a cloudy Monday here in Sarajevo, but the temperature is quite nice. For the last few nights we have had some rain so things are growing and it is supposed to get warmer as the week goes on. Inspired by this I have been potting on some of the new plants I started over the Autumn and winter moving them into bigger pots. I have also started sowing some of my vegetable seeds, Tomato and Peppers for now, but more to follow. My plan is to have fresh salad veggies growing on my balcony so that I can harvest as I need them. I have orange trees that I started last summer and plan to try Lemon and maybe Mandarin oranges this year

Easter

Here in Sarajevo there are not too many that celebrate Easter at this time in Bosnia it is mostly in Hercegovina, which is mostly Croatian and in the Serbian parts of Bosnia they celebrate a week later as with the rest of the Orthodox Cristian world.
Anyway it was a nice Easter weekend weather wise with very Spring like temperatures around 15 C though Easter Monday did show us some snow and rain followed by Sun. Quite a few trees are starting to show flowers and there are Daffodils and Hyacinth just down the street from me so Winter is slowly going away.

Half Marathon and more

March second I drove with 2 friends to Nis, Serbia to participate in the Half Marathon portion of the Winter Marathon there.This is the 4th time in a row that I have gone there. Four races ago I injured myself during training 2 days before so did not run, instead counting and supporting the runners and the 2 friends I ahd gone there with.
Morning of the race was cool but sunny and it got warmer as the race went on. I had some minor stomach problems but was still only a little bit slower than previous years.
Had a nice swim after the race and then got a ride to Slovenia with 3 of my friends who had come to also run the Half Marathon. Arriving in Ljubljana a little after midnight it was cooler and quite a lot of snow around.

What I've been up to.

At the end of February I went for a couple of days to Banja Luka. , an old friend from Canada was visiting for a few days and it was a nice chance to spend some time with him. The weather was quite cold, but the visit was pleasant, both of us like to talk and we had much to talk about, however the visit was quite short. He arrived around lunch time on Friday and because of bus and train schedules, had to leave late afternoon Saturday to arrive in Berlin, Germany for some meetings. I think maybe I have convinced him to visit Sarajevo next time he is in the region.

A day late

It's a day late due to me traveling yesterday, but here is the last poem in the series One Day ;

That tastes so good
I want to eat it all
but if I do
I'll blow up like a ball

So just one piece
will do for me just now
that just one piece
will have to be my lot.

Signs of Spring

Walked into the city this morning and on the way back I noticed  a bush with no leaves but a few pale yellow flowers on it..  Later I also noticed pussy willow. Signs of Spring indeed.

Today's poem;

Don't shine that
in my eyes
I can't see
where I'm going

It's bad enough
to walk here
without even knowing

Will I fall or
will I not
should I just
stand here on this spot

The only way
I'll ever know
is to move forward
just to go.

Just a hint of snow

This morning while I was out running there was just a hint of snow, the odd snowflake falling as I ran by the river. However I think that maybe it was a little too warm and eventually rain began to fall as it has done all day.

Today's poem;

It's that time of year
just like the last
climb through the ages
from the past

Rememberings from
years gone by
they make you laugh
they make you cry

Reflecting now
upon your life
to set the tone
to journey on.

A cloudy day in Sarajevo

Well it's a bit of a cloudy day in Sarajevo, but an old friend called me late morning and we had an early lunch and a nice chat in the city.

When will they stop
maybe never
they just go on
for ever and ever

To inspire
and to give joy
a gift from heaven
for this little boy.

One Day

One Day
is all it took
to get the content
for this book

It came out flowing
like the rain
it came out softly
with no pain

The words jumped out
I wrote them down
to give the answer
to your frown.

Power cuts.

In the 5 months I have lived in the apartment here in Sarajevo I have had I think 4 power cuts. It is usually the block of maybe 4 or 5 buildings.It probably happens in other parts of the city too from time to time and it only lasts for 45 minutes to an hour. Not sure what it is but it happens during the daytime and at night.
Anyway here is today's poem;

The Sun is warm
and gives me strength
warming now
my complete length

The rain refreshes
in the heat
the Moon the Stars
this day complete.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all. Here is the poem for today;

Rain has
washed the air
Sun now
brightens all around

Footsteps move along
making headway
on the ground

Birds are flying
the sky is blue
I am making progress
on my way to you.

This Day

This day
the words have
come for me

Come to carry away

Carry away
these feelings not meant
for me
not meant for me
this day.