My recent Trip to SE Poland (while we await news)

 


While we wait for developments on Tom's near future (he is sentenced on 26th October), we can look back at my trip to Poland at end of August. This, the only photo of me on this trip to S E Poland, was taken by another tour member on my camera, in Krakow (Cracow) on our way home, where we spent 2 hours looking around. I was near the famous 16th century Wawel Castle in the centre of Krakow, on the River Vistula (Wisla). I now plan a short visit back to Krakow next Spring to see more of this beautiful, ancient city.

The mountains in S E Poland (the Bieszczady National Park), where I was for most of this trip, do not go very high - they are about the height of those in Scotland or Wales; now are they rugged - more like large green topped hills. I have also been in the Slovakian Tatra in 2003; at their highest these are really rugged and alpine, with jagged pointed peaks. The Tatra Mts. also continue in S W Poland. All these mountains are part of the Carpathian range. I have now had developed 2 of 3 sets of my slides (transparencies), which means I have a huge album of pictures plus a set of slides from this trip now. I have some close-up pictures of the ecology - plants: gentian and wolfbane (monkshood), wild rose, scabious, rudbekia (cultivars run wild), giant fungi, natural mixed forest in Bieszczady, and small wildlife: frogs large and small, lizards, huge crickets, moth caterpillars and a strange blue-black slug, native to this regions - plus the stocky, splendid "Hucul" horse: usually bay, brown or skewbald - a wild horse that was tamed for use by humans centuries ago in Eastern Europe. (It is said to have been ridden by the Huns in the Dark Ages.) Bears and wolves thrive in the woods - we did not see them (you never do, unles you live there) but found big, fresh bear paw-marks and droppings at a new ecological centre: these were less than 24 hours old. There are also lynx - very rare, as is also the case in Slovakia. One sees them even less than wolf/bear - on TV I saw a wonderful film of a lynx family with kittens. We saw beaver territory - lodges and dams on streams. We often saw ravens and eagles (lesser spotted) flying close over our heads. We searched for Ural owls at night, but never saw one: you can't have it all. Ditto bats - and bison, which live in the forests. We saw wild deer in the distance.

This trip is good to look back on while I wait for developments with Tom - also those with the health of E., D's stepfather, who is gradually declining in hospital. We visited E. today and also a week ago. The drive there is an hour and a half by motorway. Despite sunny conditions - it was glorious weather - we saw two road crashes on the way over (on the M25 and A21) - one (3 cars) had one car piled onto another one. (No victims remained at either scene.) Poor old E. had declined since last week, when he was chatting with us. He couldn't really talk, he had a feeding tube up his nose, and had to keep breathing heavily through his mouth. He is terribly thin. He is deaf anyway, and now could not really hear at all, unless I sat very near and really talked loud & clear. D. couldn't be heard by E. as he has a soft, man's voice. E. is now in a small single room, near the nurses' station. He can see out of the window, but has little to pass the time with. He's too ill to read or hear the radio. He was sitting in a chair by the bed and esponded to most of what we said - he managed to say a few words when we left. I don't think he (at 88) will be in this world long - if he 'passes on' near the end of this month, it will cause us practical problems as well as grief, as Tom's case is at that time. If Tom is sentenced to stay in jail, he won't easily be able to come out for a funeral. This would be sad, as Tom was fond of E., and vice versa. Though E. and his wife, D's Mum, really adored our daughter Alice (named after her "Nan"), who died in 2000 - he keeps her graduation photo in a silver painted frame on his sideboard. Alice was loved more than Tom by our older generation, apart from my late mother, her late sister, Aunt G., and D's Aunt Lil (who all loved Tom equally, as a cuddly but naughty toddler, and as a moody teenager).

In all these circumstances we have not yet been able to adopt another cat or two. It's now a month since our cat Whitton died (aged nearly 18). We were making inquiries, and have had our house checked by one of the 2 local organsations that 'home' rescue cats. There are 2 pairs of young cats (bro. and sisters) we were interested in. Whether we get them depends on whether other people get in first with their requests. Meanwhile, we are still visited each day by Jack, the 9 year old half-tailed mackerel tabby from next door who was Whitton's friend. He is looking for him, I am sure! He often lies right by Whitton's grave in our back garden - just like "Greyfriars Bobby". Or he lies by the old tree stump near it, or under a garden chair (where he used to go with our puss), or sits outside our back door, miaowing to us. We must not kidnap him! He may not like it when we have 1/2 more cats here - there could be trouble - perhaps the fur will fly! We don't want to chase him away.

I've been doing things to relax... I did some heavy work last week in our garden (cutting grass and clearing overgrown branches). I also I sat down later in the week and wrote a piece on serenity for the Al Anon group I go to, which really helps me. This is my first go at doing a "chair" piece. I think it is OK. for me, being in Al Anon is a way of gaining peace and serenity - otherwise I would be more anxious. I try not to worry ahead, and to focus on today, or the next few days only. We've not yet managed another visit to Tom, as we are waiting for an order from him. He was moved to another local prison (with a special centre), so perhaps the bureaucracy is holding things up. I've sent him 3 postal orders so that he could put money on a phone card, but we've not heard.

Once again - that's all. I hope I can soon report things in our lives have improved. Enjoy the photos of Poland. I'll add some more later.

Love & peace - Tigey