By Ricky, on September 22nd, 2012
The empty shelves in our local Kaufland supermarket © Ricky Yates
Whilst I have a couple of new posts in mind, one of which is already written but needs to be edited to take into account the advice of my best critic, aka Sybille, I thought that in the meantime, I would offer an update on my most recent post from one week ago – the current prohibition in the Czech Republic, of the sale of all alcoholic drinks exceeding 20% proof.
The photograph on the left is of some of the empty shelves in our local Kaufland supermarket following the implementation of the ban. In the middle of the shelves, is a notice on a yellow piece of paper, giving details of the banning order issued by the Czech Ministry of Health.
Whilst the reasoning behind this draconian measure is understandable, not . . . → Read More: A week after the ban on the sale of alcoholic drinks exceeding 20% proof in the Czech Republic
By Ricky, on September 14th, 2012
The shelves of our local Kaufland supermarket being cleared of all bottles of spirits more than 20% proof © Sybille & Ricky Yates
Earlier this evening, I saw something I never ever expected to see – the shelves of our local Kaufland supermarket being completely cleared of every bottle of alcoholic drink that is more than 20% proof. The reason for this drastic action is to try and prevent further deaths and injuries from rum and vodka, contaminated by poisonous methanol, which have already claimed the lives of nineteen people in the Czech Republic and two more in Poland. It has also put up to thirty others into hospital, several of whom have lost their sight.
Whilst the contaminated liquor that is responsible for these deaths and injuries is bootlegged/illegal in origin, some of it has been sold in bottles bearing a legitimate . . . → Read More: The consequences of contaminated bootleg liquor in the Czech Republic
By Ricky, on September 10th, 2012
The Wortley Arms in South Yorkshire with the Church directly across the road © Ricky Yates
At the end of August, I spent a busy but most enjoyable four days in the UK – only my third visit back to my home country in nearly four years since moving to Prague.
The trip started early, in fact very early, on the morning of Monday 27th August. My flight with the Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air from Prague to Luton Airport, (officially ‘London Luton Airport’, but as far as I am concerned, ‘Luton Airport’ as it is located adjacent to Luton and not London ), was scheduled to depart at 06.00 CEST that morning. Whilst I am a great believer in using public transport and two night buses would have got me to the airport, I eventually chose the easier option and booked a taxi which . . . → Read More: A visit to the UK
By Ricky, on September 3rd, 2012
Allison, Jan & Martin with me outside St. Clement’s Church, following the baptism © Ricky Yates
One of the privileges of being a Christian Minister is being part of what sociologists call people’s ‘major life events’ when I conduct baptisms, weddings or funerals. And because of the somewhat unusual nature of the Prague Anglican congregation, I have conducted relatively few of each of these over the past almost four years I have been here. This in turn has meant that I have been able to give each of these ‘occasional offices’, (as they are collectively known), more attention to detail than might normally otherwise be possible.
All but two of the weddings that I have conducted since arriving in Prague have been cross-cultural – between an English-speaker and a Czech/Slovak/Belarusian. These have inevitably raised cultural and linguistic issues about which I have written previously . . . → Read More: A Baptism
By Ricky, on August 21st, 2012
Sv Jakuba / Church of St James, Brno © Ricky Yates
As I explained in my previous post, we spent the last weekend of our recent holiday, in Brno, the second-largest city in the Czech Republic. Brno is just over 200 kilometres south-east of Prague and is situated at the confluence of the Svratka and Svitava rivers. With a population of about 400,000, the city is about one third of the size of the Czech capital.
Within the historic centre of Brno, there are a whole variety of different Churches. The one pictured on the left here, is dedicated to Sv Jakuba / St. James and is a fine example of baroque architecture. According to my ‘Brno City Guide’, the top of the spire is 92 metres high.
We were pleased to be able to walk around the interior of the Church and observe the . . . → Read More: A weekend in Brno
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