I am delighted to say that I have accepted a teaching position in Ljubljana for next year. It begins in September, so I am thinking of asking BNA for a new blog about that; no retro stuff, then, and there will be more pictures. But I am also hoping (as usual) to keep this blog alive until after I come back from Greece this summer.

Ljubljana is a very desirable destination, because Slovenia and the city itself are both very well-kept secrets, and the Slovenians have a reputation for being warm people. Slovenia (as I will possibly explain in my next, new blog, BNA willing) to those who don't know, is not Slovakia! It was part of the former Yugoslavia, and has a narrow strip of land along the Adriatic coast, making it a Mediterranean country. People go there because of the beauty of the countryside, its mountains, lakes, and its historic capital.
I feel bold enough now to say why I am leaving Bydgoszcz, and it has nothing to do with politics. However, I can't say that I approve of the 'evil twins' Kaczynski who are running the country at the moment, especially since they are supported by the likes of Lepper, a dangerous xenophobe bumpkin with a populist appeal, and Fr. Rydzyk, the priest-tycoon who even the old Pope didn't approve of because of his 'individual' approach to Catholicism and anti-semitism.
But Poland seems much the same whoever is running the show; I don't sense in the cities a rising tide of xenophobia, though in the countryside and in Eastern parts of Poland it might be different; and it is true that though many parts of Poland are well off, a lot of it is still dirt-poor, especially the South East corner around Sanok and Rzeszow. Horse-and-cart lifestyles and villages where the parish priest is the recipient of all gossip still exist.
The truth is I love this country and its people deeply, but there comes a point when it is time to go, and this is the point for me. Aga and I split up last year; seeing her again for the first time in ages a few weeks ago only emphasised the point that I was never going to settle here. If Poland as a whole is a little bit confused at the moment, its legendary women are also. Part of the overall charm of this country - its poor roads, its not-very-good-service, its bad drivers-eventually becomes what annoys you, a little like a bad marriage.
For the traveller/tourist, Poland has much to offer, and not all of it in the SouthWest. I recommend Torun, Gdansk, Elblag, Kazimerz, Poznan, Rzeszow as well as the more obviously appealing Krakow, Wroclaw and Zakopane. And there are loads of other places worth visiting.