Today has been one of the best days. Janis arrived just before 10am. We walked and talked non-stop to the lake. Janis is a strong walker and a very competent navigator - he will be a formidable rogaining competitor. I hope he can persuade Ilze to join our team for the World Champs.
Janis' grandfather and Anita's father were brothers. We talked about the family history and many of the stories I had heard from Anita and Janis had heard from Vaidelotis. Vaidelotis had studied in Grenoble, France; later, as a student, he had shown the King of Albania around Riga; he was conscripted into the German army near the end of the war; he was Chief Architect of Riga until the fact that his brother was in the West was given as the reason for removing him.
Mark spent a lot of time with his second cousins, Janis and Matiss, and their girlfriends, Ilze and Oksana and there is now a very close bond.
Janis works with Anita's cousin, Marcis, in the architectural side of his business which also includes building and plumbing supplies.
Janis studied for the IB; in English with Latvian as his language subject. He also completed the Latvian requirements for university entry. After a year as a scholarship student at an American college (in Ohio), he was admitted to the architecture course at the university in Riga. Last Christmas he completed the design and construction of a (huge) new showroom for the plumbing supples business.
The house at Zebrus is about 150 years old. It is an old farmhouse. Its walls are stone, rendered with clay and calcium and are over half a metre thick. It is like a museum inside - like stepping back in time to when Nita's great great grandfather farmed the surrounding land.
When the Soviets occupied Latvia at the end of the war, Nita's grandparents were sent to Siberia. The property only returned to the family after Latvia's independence. Nita's brother, Andris and his partner, Barbara have assumed the responsibility for restoring the house. Andris is one of Latvia's best architects and Barbara teaches at the Art Academy. They have done tremendous work at Zebrus.
Nita and Anita drove down this afternoon to see that I was properly fed and otherwise looked after. I have just eaten enough to see me through at least two more days. They have already left to return to Riga, leaving supplies for breakfast and lunch tomorrow. Liels paldies visiem, Nitina.
Nita also brought down about 10 more 1:50,000 scale maps to take me through to the end of the trip. It has helped me plan a better route for tomorrow. Rather than walking for 30km along the busy Liepaja road, I will take a parallel road to the north through Jurgi and Remte. It will be about 6km longer but it will be infinitely safer and more pleasant. I must walk about 44kms tomorrow although I will break the walking at Saldus and have a meal before completing the last 5 or 6km.
Anita and I have sorted out how the last couple of days will happen and Anna has booked the last of the accommodation. She is in Finland visiting Jukka's new grandchild. If Jana sends me the promised photo of my latest grandson, Dougal (Hamish's and Phelia's new son), I will let you all see him.
From Jana's latest comment on the blog, you will see the task she has to complete by next Friday - 'Media plays a major role in how we view victims of crime, often to the detriment of the victim. Critically discuss in relation to either gender, age, race, or class'.
Now, let's have your ideas please so that Jana is not prejudiced by her parents' long absence overseas.
I think Juris is going to post a link to a site where the Zemgales Zinas article is reproduced. There are already 24 comments. It is in Latvian of course. Thank you Linda for your interest.
Thanks also to the other recent commentators. Linda, I would appreciate some cabaret acts to entertain me along the way. Juris sent me a list of songs I could sing or hum along the way - Nancy Sinatra features of course. Which song?
Viktorija and Andrejs and Andis and Rudite lived through the preparations at Mezaparks and I am pleased your interest has been maintained. And it was a real pleasure to hear from Litsa and Christina, my work colleagues. I did look at the Writers' Festival programme with considerable regret that I would not see Kate Atkinson, Paul Keating and the other big names this year. Christina, Tassie sounds great - not much vehicular traffic on the Overland Track.
What is Jana's essay topic driving at? It should be a piece of cake for you, Christina. Does the media show victims to their detriment? The reference to gender, etc. would seem to suggest that we are talking about females, old or young, African, middle eastern or Asian and people from lower socio-economic groups. Are female victims of sex offences portrayed in a way that is to their detriment? Victims can't be identified, but I suppose in the sense that the media reflects the trauma that female complainants must go through, this might discourage complaints and therefore be to their general detriment? This is hard. Jana and I need some help on this one.
Janis has just told me that the sauna has heated up, so I had better finish now.
More Latvian media links:
www.zz.lv/portals/vietejas/raksts.html?xml_id=9674
Zemgales zinas (regional daily) interview at Billites
www.delfi.lv/news/national/novadi/article.php?id=21670310
One of Latvia's leading portals; more than a few comments posted
www.bauskasdzive.lv/archive/photos.html?xml_id=55625
Bauskas dzive (regional daily) interview at Billites
2 comments:
I trust readers noticed the enhanced cultural flavour of today's blog - it was downloaded, 'edited' & uploaded during the second interval of an outdoor performance of Tosca, the final event of the Cesis Arts Festival.
Regarding Jana's research.
Perhaps media reflects vicims at a "bad" - "negative" light because victims often feel,deep down and unreasonably, that they are somewhat to blame. They perhaps, without realising it, reflect this in their retelling of the events. The shame and humiliation are hard to describe and victims, perhaps, skim over details - perhaps even minimise the attacker's actions and motives.
Anita Apele - for what it's worth
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