Page 60

All change!

Regular visitors to this blog will have noticed that, in the last 24 hours, its appearance has changed. After three and a half years, I’ve decided the time has come to alter my ‘theme’. No – I’m not changing the theme of what I write about. What has changed is the way it now visually appears on yours and my computers. I’ve adopted a new WordPress theme.

As always, when it comes to technical matters in relation to this blog, it should really be what my internet savvy wife has done. Whilst I outlined the appearance I wanted and am responsible for the photograph of the Prague skyline featured in my new header, Sybille has been totally responsible for implementing the changes you can now see. If you like what you see, her services are available to you – for a donation 🙂

Why have I made the change? Partly just to freshen up the blog appearance. But a major factor was that my previous theme was fluid. This meant that the way any post appeared on my computer was not necessarily the way it appeared on other people’s computers. It depended entirely on each person’s screen resolution. Seeing several blogposts as they appeared on other computers made me recognise the problem. Therefore, I am now using a theme with a fixed layout.

Inevitably, as you fix one problem, it is very easy to cause others. A quick journey back through the blog shows that a few photographs now run partly into the sidebar on the right. This is a problem I hope to fix in the next few days. But if any of my readers spot any other issues, please let me know either via the ‘Contact’ page or by leaving a comment.

I have also taken the opportunity to change the tag line for the blog. It used to say ‘Ricky Yates – a blog and more…..’. Now it’s ‘Ricky Yates – an Anglican in Prague’ which is a far more apt description. My thanks to ‘Girl in Czechland’, who has used this tag line for my blog in her blogroll for quite some time and which I’ve now chosen to adopt myself.

What has also changed, is the computer on which this blog is being compiled and published. Courtesy of a generous donation by one of the members of the St. Clement’s congregation, together with a contribution by Sybille and myself, I am writing this on a shiny new laptop computer which functions using Windows 7 and speaks to me in English! My previous machine had Windows XP, spoke to me in Czech, and was rapidly dying.

Once more, courtesy of my computer savvy wife, in the past forty-eight hours, the whole contents of my old computer – email, photographs, a vast variety of files – have all been safely transported onto this new machine. There are sure to be a few teething problems as, with Sybille’s encouragement, I’m now drafting this in ‘OpenOffice’ rather than ‘Microsucks Word’. But as far as I am concerned, it certainly is, ‘All change!’

If you like what you see – tell me. If you don’t – please also tell me!

Appearing on Czech TV again!

Being interviewed on Czech Television by Daniela Písarovicová

For the second time in just over a year, last Friday 25^th May, I was invited to appear on Czech Television. Whilst my previous appearance was as part of their coverage of last year’s Royal Wedding, this time it was to talk about my home city of Coventry and the 50th anniversary of the consecration of the new Cathedral being marked that day.

Like last year, I appeared on CT24, the rolling new and current affairs channel of Czech Television’. I was part of their morning magazine programme simply entitled ‘Studio CT24’. Last Friday they were covering a number of issues in relation to World War Two, not least because Sunday 27^th May marked the 70^th anniversary of the assassination in Prague by Czech parachutists trained by Britain’s Special Operations Executive, of Reinhard Heydrich, the acting Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia,.

Bookmark — The bookmark given to me 50 years ago to mark the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral

The reason I got the invitation to appear was entirely due to Jana Michálková, who teaches at the Janácek Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno. I met her earlier this year when one of her students kindly played the keyboard for our January service in Brno. Jana had studied at Royal Holloway College in London where her College Chaplain had been Christopher Cocksworth who she proudly told me, was now the Bishop of Coventry. I in turn told her, that I was born in Coventry and had spent the first eighteen years of my life living in the city.

Jana had encouraged one of her contacts in Czech Radio, to broadcast some of the musical events surrounding the Golden Jubilee of Coventry Cathedral, not least a new performance of Benjamin Britten’s ‘War Requiem’. And it was her suggestion to another friend working in Czech Television that led to the feature about Coventry Cathedral on ‘Studio CT24’ last Friday and the invitation for me to appear as a guest on the programme.

Having been picked up by taxi from the Chaplaincy flat and driven to the studio, the procedures that followed were very similar to those I had experienced in 2011 for the Royal Wedding. First there was a quick bit of make-up to ensure I looked my best under the glare of the TV lights! Then there was a cup of coffee to lubricate the throat whilst I chatted with my interpreter Martin, fortunately the same translator as for the Royal Wedding. He remembered me as I remembered him!

Whilst talking with Martin, particularly about any unusual ecclesiological or theological terms I might use, a technician ‘wired me for sound’ with a clip-on microphone on my lapel and the battery pack clipped to my back trouser pocket. I was also fitted with an ear piece through which I would hear what I was being asked in Czech, being translated by Martin into English.

I reminded Martin of the technical problems I had for the Royal Wedding with a loose connection somewhere, which led to me to having a rather intermittent English translation coming into my ear. He too, remembered the problem and insisted we had a thorough technical test of the system before going live on TV.

I have to admit that I still found it quite disconcerting, being spoken to in Czech by the presenter Daniela Písarovicová and hearing a slightly delayed English translation coming into one ear, all at the same time. I roughly knew what I was going to be asked and could also understand some of the Czech being used. But I had to both look intelligently at Daniela, whilst simultaneously concentrating on every word of English entering my left ear. Not easy – I assure you!

I was asked about the bombing raid on Coventry by the Luftwaffe on the night of 14^th November 1940. What did I know about it? What parts of the old Cathedral had been destroyed? I explained that whilst I am now sixty years old, I wasn’t alive at the time to remember the events, but rather knew about them from my parents. But I was able to explain that the bombs had been incendiary devices which had destroyed the roof of the mediaeval Cathedral but had left most of the external walls intact and, most surprisingly, also the Cathedral spire.

I was particularly pleased to be able to explain that, not long after the bombing raid that destroyed so much of the mediaeval Cathedral, the Provost had made a cross from two of the charred roof beams and erected it behind the altar and had the words. ‘Father forgive’ carved on the east wall of the old sanctuary. For me, this is such a powerful symbol of the Christian message of reconciliation. Reconciliation between God and humankind – but also, reconciliation between nations and peoples who have previously been at war with each other.

I was also asked about the events of fifty years ago. Had I been at the Consecration Service? Of course, as a ten year-old school boy I wasn’t invited! But as I explained, about three weeks after the Consecration Service, I did attend a service in the new Coventry Cathedral, for schoolchildren from the Diocese of Coventry and was able to show the bookmark given to each of us to mark the occasion. As you will see, it has suffered a little from regular use in one of my Bibles.

After I was interviewed, the presenter Daniela Písarovicová, conducted a telephone interview with Czech Television’s London correspondent. He was asked how the Golden Jubilee of the consecration of the new Cathedral was being celebrated and he explained that there was a special service being held, attended by Princess Anne on behalf of the Queen. But when asked what Coventry was like, he had the audacity to compare it to Kladno, a small industrial town a short distance north-west of Prague.

With sincere apologies to all the residents of Kladno, Coventry is four times bigger by population and I thought his comparison to be both somewhat inaccurate and rather rude. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the right of reply!

The interview with me is currently still accessible online though I do not know for how much longer this will be the case. Click on this link and then scroll forwards to 84 minutes.

The danger of purely relying on spelling checkers

Further to my most recent post that has attracted both a considerable number of comments and also aroused a little bit of controversy, here is a funny poem on a related theme. A reminder that spelling checkers have their limitations.

Eye halve a spelling chequer,
It came with my pea sea,
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a quay and type a word
And weight four it two say,
Weather eye am wrong or write,
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long,
And eye can putt the error rite,
Its rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it,
I am shore your pleased two no,
Its letter perfect all the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

My blogging and online philosophy

Ever since I started writing this blog more than three years ago, I have always sought to recognise three important things. Firstly, I am a native first-language English-speaker. Secondly, I am an expatriate, living in a foreign country – in my case, the Czech Republic. Thirdly, I am a Christian minister – an Anglican priest in the Church of England.

Therefore, as far as I am concerned, numerous consequences flow from these three things.

As a native first-language English-speaker, it behoves me to use correct English spelling and grammar; particularly so when I have written and posted many times about the numerous examples of Czenglish which I regularly encounter.

As a foreigner resident in the Czech Republic, it is essential that when I write about Czech history and geography, I get my facts and locations correct.

As a Christian minister, I have a duty and responsibility to always seek to be accurate and truthful in what I write and publish online.

In order to ensure I am true to each of these responsibilities, there are a number of precautions I take before posting anything either on this blog or anywhere else online. I always use a spell checker to pick up any spelling mistakes. And I also normally get someone else, usually Sybille, to read through what I’ve just written, to ensure what I want to say, is actually what I’ve written – not what I think I’ve written.

Of course, spell checkers do not think. If you misspell your intended word as another perfectly legitimate word in the English language, no spell checker will pick this up. An online friend of Sybille recently intended to write about ‘Public and private information’. What she actually wrote was ‘Pubic and private information’. You can imagine the hilarity that followed once this was spotted!

Likewise, I am quite thorough in checking my facts before publishing anything. For this, I use both books in my possession and online resources, always recognising that, because it’s on the internet, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s correct!

Despite all of this, I do still make mistakes, spelling, grammatical and factual. So I am always grateful when someone picks this up and points out the error of my ways. Thank you Tim, for the correction of my spelling. Thank you Sean, for pointing out that I had Jan Hus born in the incorrect part of Bohemia. And thank you Katka, for spotting my more recent mistake, in writing ‘Prague’ when I clearly meant to write ‘Brno’.

You will only know about these errors if you follow each of these links and scroll down to the comments. This is because, as soon as an error is pointed out to me, I correct the main text. But if the correction is made via a comment, then the comment still gets published, followed by a thankful and apologetic comment in response from me, acknowledging my mistake.

The reasoning behind this blogging and online philosophy of mine is quite simple. I write because I want others to read what I write, take it on-board and think about what I say. I want what I say to be taken seriously. Incidentally, it is ‘seriously’ and not ‘serious’, an ever-increasing error in spoken and written English!

This is because when I read something online which contains bad grammar, careless spelling and/or glaring factual errors, I have great difficulty in giving much credence to what that author is trying to say, even though they may be very well-intentioned. So consequently, I often do leave comments on other expat blogs, online newsletters and on Facebook, when I spot something wrong, be it a funny but unintentional typo, or a factual inaccuracy. I do this because, as I explained previously, I appreciate it when people do this for me because, so far as it is possible, I don’t want to ever be inaccurate or untruthful in what I publish online.

Most of the time, the response I get is similar to mine. The writer is grateful for the error being pointed out, their text is corrected, and a friendly acknowledgement is given. But in recent months, I’ve had a small number of rather negative responses. These have ranged from complaints that I’m ‘always finding fault’, through to the dismissive, ‘it’s vaguely right so why does it matter?’

Of course, everybody is entitled to their opinion and I am very aware that, having worked in publishing for several years before my ordination, I do possess what is usually known as ‘proof-reader’s eye’. But when these comments come from first-language English-speaking expats who cannot be bothered to use English correctly or get their facts right about the country they are now living in, I have great difficulty in giving any credence to anything else that they write about.

Am I being too harsh? Am I being pernickety (British English) or ‘persnickety’ (American English)? And I would be interested to hear about other people’s blogging/online philosophy. As always, comments and discussion are welcome.

Liberation Day – 8th May 2012

Marshall Konev 1 — Statue of Soviet Marshall Ivan Konev with floral tributes © Ricky Yates

Marshall Konev 2 — Inscription alongside the statue © Ricky Yates

Today is a public holiday here in the Czech Republic, as it is in several other European countries. The public holiday marks the ending of World War Two, sixty-seven years ago, on 8^th May 1945.

I took the photograph on the left today. It is of a statue that stands in Námestí Interbrigády, a large square on one side of Jugoslávských partyzánu, the main thoroughfare leading from our nearest Metro station at Dejvická, to Podbaba where we live. And the person it portrays is Marshall Ivan Stepanovich Konev of the Soviet Red Army, who led the troops that liberated Prague from Nazi occupation, finally entering the city early on 9^th May 1945, just a few hours after the unconditional surrender of all Nazi troops across Europe, had come into force.

As I wrote in an earlier post on this same topic two years ago, this statue is a rare sight today, anywhere in the Czech Republic or Slovakia, as it features a leading figure of the Soviet Army which, during nearly forty-two years of communism, was regarded as an army of occupation by the people of Czechoslovakia. Nearly all public monuments featuring or seeking to celebrate, ‘Soviet friendship and brotherhood’ have, since the Velvet Revolution of 1989, been quietly removed. But, because it commemorates an event that took place before the communist coup in 1948, it remains standing.

As you can see, a large number of floral tributes have been placed at the foot of the statue in recent days. Some are official, such as the ones from the Czech Military and from the Defence Office of the Czech President. Others are simple bunches of flowers, left by private individuals. Although there is a considerable dislike of Russia and Russians amongst the Czech people today, (see some of the comments on my previous post), there is a recognition that it was the Soviet Army that was responsible for liberating Prague and two thirds of what is now the Czech Republic, early in May 1945.

Marshall Konev 4 — Floral tribute with Cyrillic writing © Ricky Yates

However, I was intrigued by one large floral tribute pictured here, whose ribbons have an inscription written in a language using the Cyrillic alphabet, presumably Russian. If anyone can tell me what it says or which organisation might be responsible for it, I would love to know.

Marshall Konev 3 — Inscription behind the statue which refers to the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic © Ricky Yates

And I was also intrigued by this inscription on the low wall behind the statue, which refers to the country as the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the name used only during the years of communist rule. Whereas elsewhere in the Czech Republic, specific communist logos and references have been removed from war memorials such as in Tábor, here communist nomenclature remains.

Whilst the liberation of the country from Nazi occupation is still marked each year here in the Czech Republic, what has changed since the Velvet Revolution, is the attitude of Czech people towards Germany and the German people. Most Czechs are now freely able to distinguish between Nazi Fascist ideology as exemplified by Hitler’s Third Reich, and present-day democratic Germany, still very much aware of it’s relatively recent past history.

Therefore these days, Germany is the Czech Republic’s biggest trading partner. Germans also travel here in considerable numbers to enjoy the delights of what this country has to offer and in doing so, make a major contribution to the Czech Republic’s tourist income.

On the other hand, although the part played by Russia and the Soviet Red Army to liberate the country from Nazi occupation is still acknowledged each year, those who liberated, in turn became an army of occupation. And although all Russian troops had left Czech soil by June 1991, there remains a strong feeling that Russia still wants to control its former republics and satellite states using its economic power, particularly with regard to the supply and distribution of natural gas.