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11/09/04: Leaving Friends For Pastures New

Today sees the end of our lessons in the Culture Centre here in Stropkov.On our rest day on Sunday we hope to visit Humenne by bus before Monday sees us move to Kasmarok for five days of study beginning with an introduction to Sewn Lace.

So far we have been taught nine skills by just three teachers, all of whom are exeptionally talented in their own fields.

Maria - Taught us Macrame

Maria 2 - Taught us crochet, embroidery and much more besides

and Anna - Taught us bobbin lace.

These ladies even entertained us in their own homes and their generosity seems to know no bounds.

Our thanks go to them all for their patience and understanding during our saty in Stropkov.

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09/09/04: Cathedrals, Castles, Cafes and Crafts

Janet Woodhead Writes:

We had some excellent 'R and R' this weekend when we took the bus to Kosice the beautiful second city of Slovakia with Its truly splendid Cathederal of Saint Elizabeth. We stayed overnight so that we could take in the lively cafe society that exists here and during the next day we were able to watch an international folk dancing festival with its colourful display of costumes.

Travelling on to Presov by train we were able to see even more of the countryside.Presov is a remarkable small town with some very attractive gothic style houses. Just the place to sit and sketch. In the afternoon we visited the dramatic Spis castle which is the largest castle in Europe and is set high on a hill overlooking the Tatras,with magnificent views of the surrounding countryside.Then it was back to Stropkov to prepare for another busy day being taught the skills of making traditional Slovak Bobbin Lace.

Sadly, I Still can't get any pictures from my camera so there are some postcard style shots of the places and sights I have mentioned: IN THE GALLERY HERE

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31/08/04: Fancy Crafts & Fancy Dress

Janet Woodhead Writes:

We have been in Stropkov for eight days now and are getting down to the "basic skills" part of our learning curve. It is said that "You cannot teach an old dog new tricks" but in my case it would seem that "You can always teach an old dog old tricks instead"

And so it is that we are learning a skill which is only known by three old women in Stropkov. It involes a hand made metal form shaped like a hair pin. Around this frame it is possible to crochet a pattern which, when pulled off the frame and worked into, makes a beautiful lacy circle.

The language remains a problem for me in a country where few people speak English but luckily for us, today our interpreter was Martin a young man with plenty of patience.

There is nothing new under the sun but what is left we are here learning and in doing so we are keeping a few traditions alive.

On the social side we had a great time at a fancy dress party put on by the "Archy" students. Now if we thought that we were the only ones with imagination, we were amazed at the ideas and ingenuity these students used in order to make fancy dress out of nothing.

Can you visualise a "Bullrush Fairy" or a bumble bee with antennae made from pan scrubbers? These students have adapted to their new surroundings with an energy and acceptance which we greatly admire.

On Sunday there was a queue of local boys waiting for one of them, Mark to play football with them. He has no problem with a language barrier and uses the international language of sport to leap right over it.

Still no way of delivering pictures to this site yet but I am working on it.

NEW: 'About Stropkov' section! CLICK HERE

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26/08/04 - A Macrame Marathon

Jan Woodhead Writes: As I mentioned yesterday we have been studying Macrame and after 3 days of work we now have a great hanging that is about 3 feet long!

I am hoping to provide some pictures soon, but at the moment I am having trouble locating a terminal where it will be convenient to hook my camera up..

In the meantime Michal Bujdos who is the artist who created the line drawing of Stropkov you can see on the left, is taking lots of shots and I hope to be able to get copies of those to display here soon.

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25/08/04 - The Ladies Have Landed!

Jan Woodhead Writes: Hello..... Here we are in Stropkov.

We arrived on Monday evening after two flights and a tour of Kosice with our host Miro. It was a case of quick wash and change then down to the local restraunt for a Slovac beer and a substantial meal.

We are sharing our accomodation with eleven archeologists, six girls and five boys, from all over the UK.
They are excavating a site nearby looking for remains of a thirteenth century settlement.
They are very friendly and invited us to join them at a lovely bar in the villiage.

Our working day began on Tuesday morning when Miro walked us two hundred yards to The Cultural Institute a smart building in the centre of Stropkov.Here we met Maria who is to be our teacher for three days, teaching us the traditional skills of Macrame. Maria does not speak English, so Miro is our interpreter. Should be fun, especially as we have glorious sunshine!

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