Living without being connected to the internet for a week

The Lahovice interchange south of Prague where the ring road crosses the main road south from Prague city centre. The top photo is how it should be; the bottom photo is how it was on Monday 3rd March 2013

Last Monday evening (3rd June), just as I was uploading photographs to illustrate a draft blog post about the serious flooding we were experiencing in Prague, our connection to the internet died. I soon discovered that the cause of the problem was that our landline phone was also dead – our broadband internet connection is via the landline.

Awaking on Tuesday morning, to find that we still did not have a functioning internet connection, I contacted Gordon the Church Treasurer using my mobile phone, to explain the problem. Although the contract with our service provider O2, is in my name, the monthly bill is . . . → Read More: Living without being connected to the internet for a week

Prague Floods – June 2013

This was written and should have been posted late in the evening of Monday 3rd June. However, as I was uploading the photographs, the internet connection to the Chaplaincy Flat died, along with the landline phone. Nearly four days later, we are still without internet or phone. Our provider O2, tells us in a recorded message that they have ‘technical issues in our area’, with no information as to when these ‘technical issues’ will be resolved. We assume that floodwater has got into their system somewhere. I have finally managed to complete this post using the wifi connection in Bar-Restaurace U Topolu whilst eating my lunch 🙂

Don’t try walking or parking your car here © Ricky Yates

I have previously written on this blog, about flooding in Prague. I wrote that post from a historical perspective and illustrated . . . → Read More: Prague Floods – June 2013

Royal Gardens, Stalin and the Metronome

Towers at the eastern end of the Prague Castle complex © Ricky Yates

Many of us here in Prague, are beginning to think that someone has kidnapped Spring and early Summer, the weather having been cold and wet for most of May. So Sybille and I decided to take full advantage of a rare, fine, dry and partly sunny evening earlier this week, and take a walk through some of Prague’s wonderful green spaces.

We took the tram to Pražský hrad / Prague Castle. But instead of crossing Prašný most, the bridge over Jelení príkop, and entering the Castle complex, we turned left into Královská zahrada, the Royal Gardens. As well as a wonderful collection of mature trees, there were several rhododendron bushes still in flower – shades of our visit to Pruhonice Park the previous week.

From the Royal Gardens, there are . . . → Read More: Royal Gardens, Stalin and the Metronome

Trinity Sunday

Fractal image of the Holy Trinity © Sybille Yates

‘The average Christian is as well equipped to meet an aggressive atheist or agnostic as a boy with a peashooter is to meet a tank’. So wrote my former Diocesan Bishop, Rt Rev’d John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford. I am sure that comment could be a deemed a little unfair by some Christians but, when it comes to the doctrine of the Trinity, I fear that in most cases, Bishop John is probably right. For the doctrine of the Trinity is one that Christians know they ought to believe, but which many will tell you is one they have not, or cannot, fully grasp, let alone adequately explain.

Today, the first Sunday after the Feast of Pentecost, is always kept as Trinity Sunday, the only Sunday in the Christian calendar dedicated to a doctrine. It is . . . → Read More: Trinity Sunday

Pruhonice Park revisited

Pruhonice Zámek/Chateau and Park © Ricky Yates

In June 2012, Sybille and I visited Pruhonice Park for the first time. In my blog post about that visit, I said that, as we had only explored about a quarter of the park, we planned to return to explore more of it at some future date. I also mentioned that Pruhonice Park is famous for is its collection of rhododendrons which flower in May. Knowing this, a return visit in May 2013 has been provisionally scheduled for some time. Therefore this week, on my day off, we finally made our second visit and saw the flowering rhododendrons in all their glory. We also got to explore some remoter areas of the park.

Rather than writing about the beautiful rhododendrons in all their immense variety of colours, this is an occasion when one picture can take . . . → Read More: Pruhonice Park revisited