Happy midsommer - Szczęśliwej nocy swiętojańskej

Midsummer is upon us, so celebrate with flowers and fun. Traditionally the women would make wianki (floral wreaths) from wild flowers. Other traditions include bonfires, which you dance around and jump over to give wishes. For the unmarried womenfolk their wreaths would be floated on a river, often with a candle in the centre. If the wreaths went quickly it meant you would be married soon if they bumped into another wreath this was also a positive sign.

Barszcz with the family.

then wreath making

The flowers were collected from our own łąka (meadow) which is normally harvested for hay for the animals.

some local pixies

all the inhabitants were interested

I do love the colours of Polish wildflowers, and the best thing is that they even pop up in town.

everyone gets involved

Bacchus visited

I declare, wreaths for all.

Then it is always important to round off any celebrations with a firm drink. A mixture of ginger ale, lemon balm, mint, lime and dark rum hit the spot.

I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff. No.IV

So as the day was wrapping up, and we had had our fill of international tunes, food, and sights, we decided we should quickly take a stroll to Koneser. On the way there was funnily enough a sausage stand there.

Even with all this international flair and excitement, this old Baba Yaga still couldn't get into the spirit of things.

On the way to Koneser, we heard some interesting tunes and popped into the Indian section which wasn't in a courtyard but more a small car park.

They were cranking out the tunes, it was a really nice vibe actually to stand around with a sitar a harmonium and some tabla action in the background combining with a slightly more Western violin, or was it an Afghani Rabab I can't remember, either way it was pleasant.
I swear the bloke on the Sitar looks like a beatnik version of yours truly.

Also in the corner Ganesh and Buddha were enjoying the tunes.
There some questions asked though. Like "Will this match our credenza, Dear?" To which no doubt the Polish males reply would either be "I'm listening" and followed by "Yes of course dear" without really listening and hence not knowing what he was agreeing to. Where as the Australian male would instead say "What the bloody hell is a Credenza?!". Ahhh culture you will never bore me.

As we came out of the Indian enclosure, sounds like some place to put illegal immigrants, we heard some more music with a bit more rhythm coming from our left. We strolled down to find it was the end of day parade. It started with the the Brazilian contingent.
I love the massive brick wall and the tiny head poking out of the window to watch.
They were shaking it like a Polaroid picture.
You have to love a massive headdress.
I wanted some blur, but I would be lying if I said I wanted it this blurry. Oh well it is still colourful.
After the thrill of the party, we saw what I think has to be the scariest clown ever!
So we popped into Konoser as they had a photo exhibition of the Praga world through the 50's and 60's and some slightly earlier photos. It was really great.
After that it was time to call it a day in old Praga town. The street was still closed to traffic and the folks were still flowing in and around.
But as beautiful as the buildings are we knew that the left bank was calling us.
So until another day workingman's town, keep shining brightly.
Lets get on that tram and see what the other world or Warsaw has for us......

I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff. No. III

So after seeing the soft jazz and then the belly dancing ladies, we really craved more live music. Whilst the swirls, the smooth moves, and the clickety click of camera shutters was a nice start to the musical world, we really needed more. What else could this multicultural festival offer us?

Some were looking a little vague.
But it was good that the beauty and the beast both made an appearance.
When I think world music, I do tend to think percussion. There is no real reason why, apart from the fact hearts beat all over the world and to made a beat is probably the simplest, yet possibly the most warming of sounds. It certainly is nice to see some well polished knobs about the place.
Then a young lady to wack them delicately with a stick.
Hey, they even let red heads play! Who ever would have thought?! But the Chinese community had a great place, there was plenty going on.
So after that we really did hear something that sounded totally tribal. Walking off down Brzeska and found a big red camel. What on earth could that signify?
Of course it means white people playing tribal African drums. It is scarily infective, too. It seems really therapuetic and I would love to give it a crack one day, but I don't think the neighbours would love it too much. Then again it might make up for the screaming baby on one side and the 1990's nightclub upstairs.... a thought I shall ponder in the future, no doubt.
But everyone seemed to love it. Except maybe the host and lead drummer for the day.
You can even check out a video here of the people getting their groove on.