Blog update

Wisteria flowering at the back of my house © Ricky Yates

I am very aware that it is now two and a half months since I last published a blog post. I am also aware that, either in the text of previous posts or in answering comments, I have promised to provide further updates on things I’ve written about. So this post is my attempt to kill two birds with one stone.

Back in late April I complained that ‘Someone keeps trying to kidnap Spring‘. Well Spring did eventually arrive as I hope is illustrated by this photograph of wisteria flowering at the back of my house, taken at the end of May. But it has been noticeable how much later plants and trees have been producing leaves or . . . → Read More: Blog update

A letter to Victoria Prentis MP

This past week, I have personally experienced the ‘wonderful benefits’ of Brexit. So I decided to write to my MP and tell her all about it. My letter to the honourable member for North Oxfordshire and junior government minister – Victoria Prentis MP.

Dear Mrs Prentis,

Although I have lived outside of the UK for over twelve years, I am currently still on the electoral register as a former resident of Finmere, in the eastern extremity of your constituency. So I am writing to tell you of my recent experience of the great benefits of Brexit.

. . . → Read More: A letter to Victoria Prentis MP

Someone keeps trying to kidnap Spring

Snowdrops appearing © Ricky Yates

As I have indicated in two previous posts, here and here, this past Winter has been a cold and very snowy one. And Winter has been very reluctant to release its grip. It seems that each time Spring tries to make its appearance, someone promptly kidnaps it 🙁

Altogether, we had over six weeks of lying snow, which only finally began to melt in the latter part of February. This photograph, taken on 20th February, shows one of my clumps of snowdrops, reappearing as the surrounding snow slowly melted.

Snowdrops flowering © Ricky Yates

And here they are ten days later, flowering beautifully.

Believing that . . . → Read More: Someone keeps trying to kidnap Spring

There is a very big hole in my bank account

As I wrote at the end of my previous post, on the afternoon Sunday 28th February, I was driving back from Decín to my home in Stará Oleška, when the car accelerator went limp and the engine died. I was fortunately able to roll to a halt at the far end of a long lay-by, part of which is a bus stop, which at least meant I didn’t foul up the traffic on route 13 / E442.

A cri de cœur to my neighbour, Lucie, resulted in her younger brother Pavel, driving out to rescue me, accompanied by her daughter Lucka, who I help with English for an hour each week. Pavel and Lucka helped me unload my supermarket shopping and my new toaster from the boot of my car, into Pavel’s vehicle, . . . → Read More: There is a very big hole in my bank account

It’s beginning to be a bit expensive…..

Money © Ricky Yates

I knew that the work to connect my house to mains water was not going to be cheap as the house is set back quite some way from the road. In the end, it cost me CZK 30,500, about £1000 at current exchange rates, together with a further CZK 1000, paying František to complete the work the ‘chancers’, (thank you Sean, for your perfect terminology 😉 ), didn’t do.

I was also aware that once the house was connected to mains water, I would soon need to purchase a new washing machine. My existing machine was frequently failing to complete the set programme, in particular, stopping after one rinse. Therefore it was always impossible to go out whilst the washing machine was in use because of needing . . . → Read More: It’s beginning to be a bit expensive…..