Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 84 [11 June 2020] Published: 14 June 2020 We were outside and walking down the street! It felt alien and wonderful at one and the same time. ‘O brave new world that has such people in’t!’ And, as I reflected on recent events in the western media, by the kindness […]
Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 579 [14 October 2021] Published: 14 October 2021 ~ A new QR code era in Kaliningrad ON THE 9th OF OCTOBER, the day after the QR code restrictions hit Kaliningrad, Olga and I walked through the atmospheric autumnal streets of Königsberg and then whizzed off by bus across the other […]
Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 576 [11 October 2021] 8 October 2021, QR codes are officially introduced in Kaliningrad and across the Kaliningrad region. What are they? Think Vaccination Passports in the UK and you are on the right track. Published: 11 October 2021 ~ QR Codes Enforced in Kaliningrad Since the 8th October 2021, […]
Zarya Cinema Kaliningrad+++ Updated 14 September 2021 | first published 6 March 2020 ~ Kaliningrad Cinema *Please be aware that since this post was first published on 6 March 2020 the Zarya has sadly closed. Perhaps another victim of coronavirus? I have published the edited, updated version as an epitaph to a cultural icon that […]
Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 394 [12 April 2021]And what has all this got to do with coronavirus and self-isolation? Published: 12 April 2021 ~ Spring Brings People Out in Kaliningrad With the temperature shooting up to a ‘very nice spring day’ 18 degrees, my wife, Olga, had no difficulty persuading me to walk to […]
Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 310 [18 January 2021]or Business as Usual Published: 18 January 2021 There is no lockdown in Kaliningrad, Russia. In fact, I think I am right in saying, and I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, that there is no lockdown across Russia, and it would be […]
Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 272 [11 December 2020] Published: 11 December 2020 ~ Hotel Tchaikovsky Kaliningrad is Nothing to Sneeze at Psychological problems resulting not from contracting Covid-19 but from the social prohibitions orchestrated and, in some instances, enforced in the name of spread containment and personal safety appear to have affected some people […]
A walk to Max Aschmann Park Published: 31 October 2020 We never did keep that appointment we promised ourselves and go for a picnic this summer in Königsberg’s Max Aschmann Park, but prompted by the delightful autumnal weather, all sun and blue skies, we did walk to the park today and, because it covers a large […]
Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 189 [19 September 2020]The thin dividing line between caution and common sense Published: 19 September 2020 Reckless, lax, less cautious, or a simple case of resumed normalcy? How should I describe the shift in my attitude to coronavirus, having, at the time of writing, completed my 189th day of ‘self-isolation’? […]
Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 98 [25 June 2020] Published: 26 June 2020 After hiding out for what seems like forever and making a splendid job of it, even if I do say so myself, I had to see a doctor last week. We hypochondriacs have to, you know. We are a bit like train […]