31

Last day of the month and I had the pleasure of teaching my scientists at Brno's technical university. And here they are- well, half of the younger group - looking like butter wouldn't melt  :-)

30

Time to finish off the last of the Christmas cookies (if that's the word for cukrový in English?). Perfect accompaniment to an interesting film and a cuppa.

29

In the Czech Republic it's customary to remove your shoes when you enter someone's (or your) house/flat. And today I found the perfect solution to the problem of my guests getting cold feet. A big slipper-holder, in the shape of a slipper, containing five pairs of slippers. Who'da thunk this kinda thing exists? Genius.

28

My view -
the view from the bedroom that greeted me this Friday morning.

27

Má milá Linda a Linda a Linda ......without whom shopping, teaching, going for coffee, and life in general, just wouldn't be the same :-) 

xxx

117

A fine idea to have a muffin sale in the courtyard outside my office :-)

26

The snow's back. As it falls and settles the electric wires and cables connecting Brno's public transport network look like a giant cob web entrapping the city.

25

 

In and out of the office today. I noticed this hanging on the back of a colleague's door. Quite funny I thought. 

24

Wonderfully awful.

23

It's that time of year when Christmas tree cemeteries, i.e. places where people dump their tree after Christmas, can be found all over Brno. Very sad :-(

22

Dear Czech Republic,

Imagine my surprise and delight this week to find a non-alcoholic pear drink named Cider lining the shelves of the local supermarket.  Apart from in a rather excellent Irish pub here in Brno, this is the only other time and place I have seen Cider (non-alcoholic or otherwise) on sale.  If you could also start importing the alcoholic apple variety, or even begin to produce it yourself, I would be not only thrilled,  but the food I cook where Cider is a key ingredient would taste considerably better.

Yours expectantly,

Thirsty from Brno.

21

     Today was just one long exam. I want to say that luckily I was the examiner, but to be honest I'm unsure whether it's less painful to be examined than to examine. The picture on the left is the computer lab where I spent the latter half of the afternoon. Freezing. 

The picture on the right is what I noticed hanging on the wall of the entrance to the University as I left. Goodness knows what's going on in the box on the right, but what's written in the left box is Přjď 5.2 přesně o půlnoci na toto místo - come to this spot at exactly midnight on February 5th.  Anyone know what this is all about?

I have 16 days to decide. Would you turn up?

20

Don't you just love it when friends/colleagues give you pink flowers :-) Thank you :-)

19

Being one of the few female British native English speakers living in Brno I get asked to do voice recordings from time to time. Today was one of those times.

18

Roomba from Nikola Fortova on Vimeo.

Meet Roomba. Roomba was a Christmas present that arrived today. Thank you xxx
She can be programmed to switch herself on when I'm not at home, hoover the flat, and then park herself back on the charger and switch herself off. Now you can be a domestic goddess and have a career :-) Wonder if I can program her to make coffee too :-)

17

First day back at work after the Christmas break and I had the pleasure of teaching a group I've known for four or so years. They have a new coffee machine so in honour of this excellent buy the coffee machine, and Mr Horsky making me a cup of coffee, get a mention on my blog :-)

16

Whilst on a healthy Sunday walk this piece of art caught my eye.

15

I spent the afternoon in a cafe. I noticed this odd machine sitting quietly in a corner. I contmeplated asking the staff what it was for but then decided aginast this in case it was very obvious and I was showing my ignorance. I've pondered since and am still non the wiser. Anyone have any idea what it's for?

14

I'm not the most observant person and sometimes worry that I might fall down holes in the pavement or the road - an irrational fear perhaps, but there are quite a few in Brno. I was observant enough to see this one though. Very Ghost busters and just a tad scary.

13

A new year and time for a new netbook :-)

12

There's nothing like a good friend, except a good friend who comes round bearing copious amounts of chocolate :-) Thank you xxx

11

I went to see a good friend of mine today. Whilst sipping tea in her kitchen one of the pictures on the wall made me giggle. So I took a photo.

10

My granny :-) Thank you for a lovely morning, a lovely lunch and the good advice, as usual :-)

9

Time for a walk and some fresh air today. Whilst on my walk I noticed this pretty kite stuck in the leafless tree. I hope the owner wasn't too upset.

8

Last day of the conference and time for a small wander around Greenwich. The picture for the day is of Greenwich market, which was small, quaint, and buzzing on a Saturday morning.

7

Day two of the conference and today's picture is of Jamie, a teacher and teacher trainer. We met at a conference last year and it was a nice surprise to see him again today.

6

Day one of the IH DoS conference in Greenwich. There's nothing like a spot of giant connect 4 with Jen and Pavla after a day of interesting sessions :-)

5

Day one in the UK and after a lovely morning spent with my grandma, we decided to go for a fish and chip lunch (scampi and chips in this case) in the local chippy. Not something you can easily find in Brno.

4

After a day of examining it was time to take the first flight of the year and head back to the UK :-)

3

So that's Christmas and New Year over and done with and it's back to work we go. At the end of the year some kind of nesting instinct kicked in and I decided to clean the office. It took me a whole weekend - an indicator of how bad it was. When I arrived at work this morning my desk was spotless. After only a couple of hours it's already looking a little cluttered. As the Czechs say, ach jo :-)

2

After a few days of melting snow, a fresh batch arrived today. However, not sure there's much call for shoe snow chains just yet. Still I know where to find them if I'm ever in need :-)

1

First picture of the new blog and of the New Year - me with my wriggling godson, who came to visit me for a few days with his lovely parents :-)