Tag: Photography

Why do I blog?

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I am still slightly insecure about this blogging world. It scares me at times but I love writing and love connecting with people and I guess this blog is my method for reaching out… reaching beyond borders, beyond social grouping and time constraints.

My professional life restricts my publishing rights so I write about daily matters, values and challenges and I find that it’s enough to build bonds with people.

I had different reactions to this blog, words of encouragement and congratulations, surprise and polite or impolite critiques. Some words gave me wings, others tried to snip them. That’s life…

And it’s this life which is worth writing about… because a lot of learning happens during it that we often don’t take any notice of… because daily life is a lot to deal with and a lot to be grateful for… and to me this is fascinating… to me this is worth capturing and documenting… because we are made of small moments… we are made of everyday conversations and exchanges of smiles, winks and grimaces… we are the reflections of it all… so why not to write about it? Why not give it its due status? The daily life that’s made so infamous… because it sometimes overwhelms us with its chores, choices and charades.

I hope that with time you see more stories of people here… of the quiet celebrities of our daily lives… the people that deserve the space because they just simply are there for us and they are doing their jobs with passion… like the greengrocer that I wrote about and the glass decorator that I encountered while travelling through Wales… There are more people that I admire… a young Sardenian man that I knew as a waiter that decided to open his own little restaurant, a Cypriot mum that has been forever dedicated to bring up her sons and daughter, a picture frame maker that I meet in my local park, a professor who’s turning his knowledge into jazz music, and a young and beautiful woman who’s fighting with the not-so-uncommon mentality among young people that it’s not worth to do things for free… this woman is all about volunteering… about being society-oriented about not forgetting, about others that are less fortunate than we are. These are people that I admire. These are my celebrities and I want to write about them.

All too often the stories in the media tear people up. The Roman Colosseum in print. We are forced to be spectators of those cruel games. I refuse to sit there and watch. I had enough. Because humanity is precious and the human spirit should not be slain. We are too good for that. You are too good for that.

The truth is that on a daily basis we are also charmed and inspired… we are challenged and made curious… by events and occurrences, by our friends, family members and acquaintances, why not to pass these feelings forward… why not to write about them?

What are your reasons to write, photograph and share? How do you feel about blogging?

 

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Reassured

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Today I walked into my old working environment and I was truly taken by the way my colleagues greeted me… with broad smiles, open arms and tears in some eyes. I’ve been truly missing these beautiful minds… people of similar values and various persuasions, people of similar dreams and common interests and ambitions, people who saw me at my highest and my lowest and have been always a pleasure to work with.

It’s been a while since I’ve emptied my desk, became a mum and opened myself to lonely pursuits. I am on my own now in my professional and creative life and these routes of one are not always easy… there’s no one to banter with… there’s no one to bounce ideas against… no one who can fill knowledge voids, dispel doubts and no one but myself to debate with – how boring and unsatisfying it is at times… to be just on your own at your piece of paper. And so I travelled today down memory lane and we shared and exchanged as many feelings and experiences as the time allowed us to, we shared laughs and we shared suffering and I felt that we all missed each others’ company…

I’ve never been quick to call someone a friend. I believe it takes time and a few overcome-together challenges to create true friendship… but today when I was going back home and staring at the changing landscape behind the train window, I felt this warming and reassuring feeling that…

… I had friends…

… loving, intelligent and courageous friends.

Postcards from Poland

 

I’m visiting my family in Poland at the moment so I’ll be taking a short break from blogging. I hope to be back to writing in May.  Above are a few shots from my lovely village in Poland. Speak to you soon. Alicja x

Cyprus: Bread-Sharing After The Mass in The Maronite Church

Two baskets filled with large and generous pieces of sesame bread sit at the front of the church. Soon, when Sunday Mass finishes they will be shared among those who attended the service. This is a beautiful custom shared in Cyprus that I was able to witness and photograph in the Maronite Church. The bread is bought by the people who asked for special prayers to be said for their loved-ones or departed relatives. Bread is a symbol of life and community. It represents spiritual and physical nourishment.

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The Life of a Market: At the Greengrocer’s

Boxes, crates and bags full of fresh fruit and vegetables are flying before my eyes. It’s early Saturday morning in the Market Hall in Derby and Rob Corden, a well-known greengrocer in the Midlands, is setting up his stall for a busy trading day. I learn from him later that he woke up that morning at 2:50am to go to the regional wholesale market to select the freshest foods for his customers. This made me realise how little I know of his trade and so I decided to find out more…

I learn that he is one of the few greengrocers who gets fully involved in the selection process of his products. Many others just phone their order through without examining the food. Rob doesn’t want to compromise the quality and freshness of his fruit and vegetables. It’s too important for him.

Rob comes from a family of greengrocers. His grandfather was a greengrocer and his father is too. Despite being educated to be an engineer, in his early thirties he decided to take over his father’s business. He’d been observing his dad since he was 5 so in his thirties he was more than well-prepared for the trade. Now he is also introducing his son to the art. It’s a family business and the warmth and family-like atmosphere is easily felt. I take my little boy there every week and he loves to observe the hustle and bustle of the market.

Those people in the market in the middle of Derby are great teachers to our children because they love what they are doing, because they are happy about their products and passionate about their work and that means that they live their lives well.

When I talk to Rob he tells me that he loves what he’s doing. You sense it from him: he knows his stuff, he’s informed. He says it’s because over the years he’s never stopped learning. There is always something to discover about food and there is always something to discover about people. Their tastes and preferences change. There are different trends and fads in the food business. There are new laws and new regulations. There are weather fluctuations that affect the quality and prices. There’s a lot to think of. There’s a lot to plan for.

When we visit the market Rob advises us what to try and how to cook it. He also tells us stories of the past and present and eagerly listens to ours because he believes that this is what buying in the market is about… about following each other’s trials and tribulations, about creating bonds within the same city, about sharing and exchanging slices of life within its community. It’s about having a very wholesome conversation face to face with different people… and talking over fruit and vegetables is just so easy… there’s no ice to break… no conventions to follow… just a banana to peel or a crispy apple to bite into.