UN goes to Kremlin

I woke up to news that the UN General Secretary Antonio Gutierrez is in Moscow to see Putin and Lavrov. He's come in for some criticism for not visiting Ukraine first to see for himself the impact of the war, but he goes in full knowledge of the situation and the fact that Russia's action is condemned by the majority of member nations. His official role is to inform Putin that Russian actions in Ukraine violate  the UN Charter. It is proper to convey this formally in person and keep channels of communication open. At the moment, Putin's attitude is that Russia stands fast against a hostile world. And that's a very dangerous position when Russia has armaments that could destroy it completely.

The Russians are upping the rhetoric stating that NATO is conducting a proxy war in Ukraine, supplying weapons to strengthen resistance against aggression. Germany is sending fifty tanks to  the Ukrainian army, aircraft and missiles are also on the way. Some Ukrainian railway stations have been attacked by missiles, as if to show that importing war supplies will not go unopposed. Destroying rail infrastructure is not in the Russians military's best interests when gaining control would be more beneficial to them. Amazingly, the onslaught on the Donbas region isn't yet gathering full momentum. It seems that some of Ukraine's best forces are already embedded in defending the region.

America is also upping the rhetoric by stating the aim should be to degrade Russia's ability to act aggressively against any country. It's been said that the conflict so far has been more damaging to the Russian war machine than Putin anticipated, which could prolong the war beyond the target date of May 9th, associated with the Russian victory over the Nazis, and celebrated annually as such. Not being able to call his Ukraine exploit a swift success will be embarrassing as political and economic pressure starts to affect people more widely. But what impact will this have on the hold his regime has? 

After breakfast this morning, I stripped the bed linen for washing and re-made the bed. It's not such an easy task as the bed and mattress are very heavy, and in an awkward position. Joint pains in my hands make this an unpleasant exercise unfortunately.  Then I went out to do the weekly grocery shopping at the Co-op, and cooked lunch when I returned. Clare's back pain is easing slightly, and this afternoon she had an acupuncture treatment which seemed to help.

On my walk alongside the river Taff, I heard a warbler and a chaffinch, as well as the usual robins, tits, wrens and blackbirds. I saw a dipper speeding across from one river bank to another, with its distinctive flight pattern. It's the first one I've seen in the stretch between Western Avenue and Blackweir.

Another fascinating couple of programmes this evening on Sky Arts. The first was a documentary about the 16th century painter Raphael. The second was about the trafficking of archaeological artefacts looted from ancient Roman sites in Italy. 

A 60cm high group figure of three seated gods in marble was reported discovered in a clandestine excavation and taken illegally to Switzerland. The gods Jupiter, Juno and Minerva were the principal deities of Rome, depicted in a huge temple on the Capitol Hill, little of which remains today. Smaller scale versions of the original figures were thought to have existed and given pride of place in the homes of rich Roman citizens, but none had ever been found. 

The person reporting the discovery made an 'identikit' drawing of the figure, which gave the Carabinieri detectives some idea of what they were looking for, but nobody had ever seen it or anything like it. By a stroke of misfortune for the thieves, an arm from the figure broke off and was lost during excavation. The finder returned to the site secretly and discovered the missing piece among the rubble, and was then caught by the police who were monitoring his activity. The arm, lost and found, was physical evidence confirming the report of the find. A high risk press conference gave global publicity to the theft, making it impossible for art traffickers to sell the figure to any museum. This resulted in its clandestine recovery from the gang of traffickers, for whom the figure had become worthless. None were arrested, but the figure eventually found its home in the town museum at Montecelio, close to where it was discovered. 

Several times during the programme, mention was made of the true value of an artefact being not just in its original beauty, but the story it was part of. It reminded me of why programmes such as 'The Repair Shop' and 'Antiques Road Show' are so popular, because of the stories connected to objects shown.

Then, with nothing better to do, I watched the second episode of 'Life after Life', a faultless depiction of life in middle class Britain in the 1920s, and the story of a young girl's suffering as she grows up and gets married. This too is good story telling.

On the Danube - second leg

Niether of us woke up to glimpse the locks during the night. Around four I woke up to discover we were no longer moving. The ship was moored along the riverbank in central Bratislava, and by seven thirty we were up and breakfasting, then ashore and ascending to the old royal castle which overlooks a city just a bit bigger than Cardiff, at eight thirty, in a Noddy Train.

The castle was ancient but when occupied by Napoleonic forces in the early nineteenth century, it was accidentally burned down, and remained a ruin for 150 years. Oddly enough its restoration was a project undertaken in the latter years of the Communist era - one of the few good things they did, our guide quipped. Actually, to the casual visitor, it feels rather dull and soul-less. Perhaps it only comes to life when there's a big event there. Apparently there has been a trading settlement in this place since the Celts came from the east in pre-Roman times. The view from the terrace of this high promontory is remarkable. Across the Danube a few kilometres to the west is Austria, to the east lies Hungary. 

This was a frontier town of some significance during the Cold War, and during the second world war when it was under Nazi rule. The names of Kyril and Methodius, apostles to the Slavs, are honoured here, as this was one of their early evangelisation successes and the language is Slavic, quite different from Hungarian, which is of Turcic linguistic origin, I believe. Orthodoxy represented the first chapter of Christian life and faith here, and this is still reflected in the Byzantine type cross in the red white and blue flag of Slovakia. The Papacy however, keen to extend its sphere of influence, both political and spiritual, eastward after the 1084 Great Schism, made disreputable efforts to proselytise and suppress Orthodoxy religion in favour of its own brand. It's only really in the twentieth century, with the movement of peoples in Europe, that Orthodoxy has established a minority presence again in a region, which to all intents and purposes, is strongly western facing.

Anyway, we rode back down to the edge of the old town in the Noddy train, but decided not to go on the guided walking tour, but to explore at our own pace and on our own terms an area with a rich and varied architectural history, reflecting its mercantile history. We visited the elegant 14th century Cathedral of St Martin, in which thirteen royal coronations had taken place over the centuries of Hapsburg imperial rule. It was crowded with tourists, who were all quite and quite well behaved, perhaps in awe of the beauty of the place illuminated with tall brightly coloured stained glass windows which caught the morning sun.

We found ourselves a very stylish Kaffehaus in the characteristic fashion we've seen in other european cities, with dark wooden panels, paintings and even mosaics on the wall, so atmospheric, that we sat and drank inside, rather than out of the street, savouring the occasion. From there it was just ten minutes to walk back to the ship in good time for lunch, and another departure as we were eating for a long haul journey across to the other side of Austria, along the canal which runs right through Vienna, with a major lock before sunset, and others to follow.

The river banks along its entire length are forested and lined with walls constructed of large rocks, like coastal sea defences. The Danube along its entire 3,000km length is flood prone as it runs across extensive plains in each country it passes through, so preventative measures are an essential form of international co-operation. The canalisation of the Vienna urban area has been vital for the development of the city over the past two centuries. On the northern and western side of the canal the various buildings of the United Nations commissions house in Vienna are located in their own special urban area, and a number of these show some quite innovative examples of contemporary architecture, a bit like the city of London. It was supper when we passed through, and I had to content myself with the knowledge that there'd be a return journey for another photo opportunity. I just hope it's not dark when we arrive and the way back to Budapest.

 

Post Cordoba reflections

Sunday morning, Bible Sunday, was my last visit to Calahonda to celebrate the Eucharist. Having gone to bed early, to optimise the advantage of the clocks going back an hour, I woke up well before the alarm, and even left the house twenty minutes early. Once I'd parked the car outside the church I realised that I had enough time to take a stroll down to the sea shore. It means crossing the N340 road bridge and heading through a street with a series of beach front exclusive residences, until I found a narrow lane alongside a stream which took me down to the water's edge. I was rewarded with a fleeting glimpse of a yellow wagtail, and a view of the sun over the waters, a little higher than usual at this time of morning. 

After a moment of quiet and a little Chi Gung exercise on the sand, I returned to the church, and entered at the usual time, to get ready for the service with a congregation of just over thirty. After taking my leave of those unlikely to come to next Sunday's 'bring 'n share' lunch at St Andrews, I drove back to Los Boliches where there was a congregation of forty five surrounded by the flower festival exhibits from the previous two days, still looking good. It was a successful venture, attracting around seventy visitors and receiving nearly four hundred euros in donations.

Apart from food shopping, and a brief visit to the church office in the afternoon the only thing I did all day was write up the Cordoba trip, which involved researching historical detail I'd deliberately avoided looking up before I went. As with other sacred sites in Spain, if not across Europe, a Roman temple site had been built over in the fifth century by Christians, in this case Visigothic invaders from Germany, then taken over by muslims, then re-taken by Christians. Such sites were strategic places in the power politics of each age, and religion a major dimension of this. But what of now?

Cordoba's mosque/cathedral is a UN World Heritage Site, in a European Community country, a venue for international tourism, a manifestation of 20th century globalisation of culture and its consumption. World trade has become an accepted if sometimes contentious feature of human existence. The work of the United Nations and all its specialised agencies, just like the European Community can be regarded as an interim step on a long agonising journey towards unified world governance. This goal is resisted by many who remain stuck with their ethnocentric political and economic self interest. If globalising impulses really did bring peace, prosperity, justice and security to all earth's citizens, it would signal an evolutionary step change for humankind. As long as the world remains so deeply divided between rich and poor, the powerful and the powerless, however, such reconciling enterprises are no more than glimpses of a distant utopia beyond reach.

I wonder if threats to places and things accorded World Heritage status from climate change, pollution, environmental damage, population explosion, or war will be enough of an extra stimulus to world citizens to make a difference in the challenge facing this generation to deal with so many critical issues facing our future?