Have Tefl will Travel

 It took 2 days and 5 train tickets but I finally made it to Poznan in the Christmas holidays to see the amazing interactive Van Gough exhibition. I had mossed it in the UK so was so pleased to see it in Poland.  My journey lasted for 2 days as there was snow on the tracks!! and i thought that was just a British problem!!  On Wednesday I waited for 2.5 hrs for the Warsaw to Berlin train but gave up when the waiting time was still 120 mins On Thursday, the same thing happened - I met fellow travellers from the day before!! so I changed my outward bound ticket to a local train which took an extra hour but I finally arrived and had a wonderful time viewing  the exhibition of Van Goughs paintings. I got very excited when I thought they were originals but google translate told me they were accurate reproductions of van Goughs techniques and textures. I can see how some might be tempted to have a sneaky touch of the paintings surfaces - it was very tempting! The main part ...

 I had fun today in class. It was my business class at Pessa the tram/ train factory. I teach two delightful gentlemen. today was a revision lesson as they have opted for a test next week. We started with a version of block busters where each contestant has to get from one side of the board to another. to to this one  student had to draw some food and the other had to identify it. They are really competitive! one is stronger in English but the other was a superb artist and better strategist - he blocked off his home area so the other couldn't get to it - hilarious!!  I resorted to erasing random boxes if he didn't get the correct vocabulary. After that they revised   morning routines, articles ( a/an/the/ some) and simple verbs. They made an itinerary for King Charles 🤣😂🤣

6th of January  is a big day in Poland - 2 days holiday, all the shops shut and the annual Three kings parade here in Bydgoszcz. It was a massive event. The parade started with  Mass in the Basilica of St Vincent De Paul (just up the street form where I work). As soon as I got off the bus, I joined a river of people flowing into the church where was barley any standing room in the Basilica it was so full. Just visible at the front  of the church were the headdresses of the three kings; three men dressed in the colour assigned to their continent ; Blue for  Africa, Green for Asia and  red for Europe. There was also a full retenue  for each king, pages carrying their gifts, flag carriers - and  pages. The parade seems to be set some where in the middle ages judging by the costumes. .  I was standing at the back with a few of the English speaking parishioners from St Andrews; Euphrasia, and Chris the wife of John who was playing the part of the king ...

St. Martin and St. Nicholas Cathedral is wonderfully decorative and colourful,  in a city which is mostly post  war  brutalist in design it is  like a Quality Street box of colour - with all the purple ones!!  The cathedral is in   the middle of Bydgoszcz, just off the old town square. Quite small for a cathedral  and really reminiscent  of the gothic revival  styled Alton Castle in Staffordshire  by Pugin. I think it is both gothic and gothic revival from what I've read. It was made a Cathedral by saint Pope JPII and there are wonderful  metal(iron??) relief plaques on the main doors showing this.  The ceiling is purple and the walls are orange  -  and there is gleaming silver everywhere.  I looked up the practice of painting architectural features in multiple colours  and it's  called ' polycrome',  the Egyptians did it. The wall paintings and decorations a...