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Month: June 2022

Neighbourhood Cam: Lilac Bushes

The photo was taken a week ago when it was overcast. Today is sizzling hot, so this gentle reminder of a summer breeze is precisely what I need.

I’m doing my first proper excursion this Tuesday in the district I treasure and love. I came there in September 1997 as a History student, and I keep coming here as a poet, a writer, a researcher, and a Muscovite. I “served” as a Moscow expert for a student TV report back in May, and at the end of June I’m about to repeat it.

After a short siesta today I’m going to carry on with my tasks for the day. One of them is to take the books back to the library. I’m revisiting some topics I read in at the university.

Oh, and I also had my first public lecture last week. It was on the subject of the Crusades, and, being read at 10:30 on Sunday, attracted a lot of people.

Literary News: The City of Optimists

The City of Optimists is an account of Julia Shuvalova’s life and travels in England between 2002 and 2013.

The City of Optimists was the name of a small article I wrote for a Russian magazine in 2003. Years after I had started writing essays about my life in England I finally began to publish these accounts in Russian in a draft electronic version of the book under the mentoned title.

I’m in the process of uploading different chapters, so there’re some chapters on Manchester, Liverpool, Blackpool, and London.

Manchester’s Urbis is on the cover; I took this photo in 2008.

The link to the draft copy. The full English title reads The City of Optimists and the rest of England, to say nothing of London. I don’t think I need to say what book title inspired it. Wales is not included, as I’m writing a separate book on it.

Other posts in Julia Shuvalova: Poetry and Prose

Neighbourhood Cam: International Children’s Day Blossoms

June 1st is celebrated as the International Children’s Day. In Russia, we traditionally pay much attention to this festival, as children are believed to be the future.

June 1st is celebrated as the International Children’s Day. In Russia, we traditionally pay much attention to this festival, as children are believed to be the future.

Volunteers in my district today handed out small chocolates to kids and organised an event for all children who were outside at around 4pm. I was sitting in the park reading some Art History books and listening to happy cries and music. On my way back I took some photos of the lavishly blossoming trees.

June Blossoms in Moscow

As for me, in 2016 I organised a special drawing competition among the children in my district. We asked them to illustrate the poems by the famous Soviet poet, Agniya Barto. See the gallery below; it is always touching to see how children see the characters of their favourite poems. Back in 2016, this competition marked both Barto’s 110th anniversary and the International Children’s Day.

Today I look at these images (and I’ve got many more) from a different angle. We must ensure that children, wherever they live, have the right to their basic freedoms. At its heart, the world is not as multifaceted as today’s political agenda proclaims. All children still need two parents of different genders, they need a family, they need access to education and medicine. Above all, they need security and peace to grow and later discover their potential.

More on Russia.

Other posts in Neighbourhood Cam.

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