Visit to Georgia (5): Sighnaghi
September 16th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Our third day in Georgia was full of more new experiences. Most of our group took a day trip east of Tbilisi out to the Kakheti region which is the wine-growing district of the country. It was another day of 33F/91F. Our guide was Lasha who had studied at King’s College in London and sported a beard and a long pony-tail.
First stop was a place called Badiauri where we saw how bread is made in traditional round, wood-fired ovens and tasted local bread, cheese and grapes. Next stop was Bodhe where we visited the Monastery of St Nino. This was originally constructed in the 4th century AD on the tomb of St Nino who introduced Christianity to Georgia. We were told a story about a Georgian Jew who was present at the crucifixion of Jesus and brought the Messiah’s shirt back to Georgia (but this might have been an example of “fake news”).
Most of our day was spent in Sighnaghi which is known as ‘The city of love’. Founded in the 17th century during the reign of King Heraclitus II of Georgia, the town has fully preserved fortress walls crowned with 28 watch towers presenting wonderful views of the Alazani valley. At this point, we were so close to Azerbaijan that my mobile phone company sent me a text welcoming me to that country.
The group made camp at a winery-cum-restaurant called “Okro”. Here we were given the opportunity to taste a variety of fine Georgian wines (apparently Georgia is known as one of the very first wine-making localities in world history). Four wines later, some of the group – I will spare their blushes by not naming them- burst into songs, while others fell into enthusiastic dancing (no, dear reader, I did not partake in either activity).
We were really in no state to go searching for a place to have lunch and anyway time had passed, so we remained at “Okro” for some traditional Georgian food and cold drinks. Suitably refreshed, we then walked the short distance to the town’s museum which features 15 paintings by Niko Pirosmanashvili (1862-1918) – known simply as Nikala – Georgia’s self-taught, primitivist painter.
We had left the hotel at 9 am and returned at 7.30 pm, so it was a long day but a very enjoyable one. At 8.30 pm, we were out again for dinner, but chose a place just five minutes walk from the hotel with great terrace views of the illuminated city. “Saamo” would not score highly for speed of service, but the food was good and more wine was consumed.
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Visit to Georgia (4): Gori
September 15th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Another day in Georgia and another set of fascinating experiences.
Five of us – Silvia and I plus Jim, Leslie and David – hired a car to take us to Gori. This is about 80 km (50 miles) north-west of Tbilisi and around an hour’s drive if (as proved to be the case) your driver is crazy in terms of both speed and manoeuvrability. Gori is known for one thing: it was the birthplace in 1879 of one Josef Djugashvili, better known as Stalin (Man of Steel), and his 17 metre tall stature dominated the main square until as recently as 2010.
In 1957 (note: a year after Khrushchev’s denunciation of Stalin), a large museum was opened in Gori in his honour and, in spite of a minor update in 1979 and an attempt to close it in 1989, it remains open, essentially unchanged in its displays and messages. It must be unique in the world.
We spent an hour and half there, tagging on to first one, and then another, fast-talking English-speaking guide who acknowledged that the place needs a make-over to tell more of the reality of Stalin’s life and crimes – but nobody knows when this will happen.
Meanwhile the museum is a large Italianate building – plus his birth place and his wartime railway carriage – which, as well as being utterly selective in its messaging, is very selective in its slices of history, focussing especially on Stalin’s early years, wartime conferences, and 70th birthday. It is full of photographs, paintings, statues, busts and other iconography commemorating – indeed venerating – this brutal dictator and mass murderer, so visiting is a memorable, if surreal, experience.
Back in Tbilisi, we had a light lunch at a French cafe. All of us except David ordered from the menu but David wanted the lunch special. In an act that reminded us that this was recently a communist country, the waitress (who was too young to remember communism) told him that he was too late for the lunch special. David pointed out that it was a mere two minutes past the deadline and used all his Israeli charm to persuade her to change her mind.
For Jews, it was Shabbat and several of our party went to the Tbilisi Great Synagogue where the women had to go behind a screen. Silvia and I went along for the experience – and to cleanse ourselves from the stains of Stalinism – but we didn’t understand a thing. The evening meal with all the group involved a succession of toasts in the best Georgian tradition.
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Visit to Georgia (3): Tbilisi
September 14th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Our first day in Georgia was very enjoyable indeed. We are all staying at the Mirabelle Hotel, a small place of just 14 rooms located very centrally on the north side of the river and very close to the imposing, new Sameba Cathedral (built 1995-2004). The group – all friends of Eric and Cindy – have travelled over from Britain, France, Spain, Switzerland, Israel and the United States with the common purpose of attending the launch of Eric’s latest book and seeing a little of this largely unknown country .
Most of us spent most of today looking around Tbilisi. The weather was glorious – clear blue skies and a temperature of 33C/91F. The capital of Georgia is located along the River Mtkvari and there are mountains on three sides. The name of the city comes from the Georgian word for ‘warm’, a reference to the 30 hot springs nearby. The population is 1.4 million – over a quarter of the country’s total populace.
The Old Town (the Kala) is located on crowded slopes and has been occupied at various times by Persians, Tartars, Jews and Armenians which presents an array of architectural styles.
Our main destination was the Georgian National Museum which reopened after refurbishment in 2011. The star attraction of the museum is the treasury of largely pre-Christian gold and silver, but we spent our time in the new Hall of the Soviet Occupation, a grim display explaining the suffering of the Georgian people during the the period 1921-1991.
In the afternoon, many of us took a cable car from the north bank to the south bank of the river and, from the hill, we had excellent views of the city and saw the huge stature of Mother Georgia.
The evening started with the launch of Eric’s book “The Experiment: Georgia’s Forgotten Revolution” which was hosted by Prospero Books. The event was introduced by co-owner of the book shop-cum-cafe Peter Nasmyth who declared that this is “a book whose time has come”. Eric’s mentor Dan Gallin, a former trade union leader now In his late 80s, highlighted some of the themes of the work and insisted “This is a very important book”.
The main speech came from Eric who told the crowded room that “We live in an age of fake history”. He declared that what happened in Georgia between 1918-1921 – a radical experiment in social democracy – was “nothing short of remarkable” and needed to be understood by Georgians and others today. You can read the full speech here.
Before and after the launch, he signed books and gave interviews.
Eric and Cindy’s group then repaired to a place called “Betsy’s Hotel” with great views of the city by night, delicious Georgian food, and splendid Georgian wine. We all toasted Eric’s success.
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Visit to Georgia (2): the journey out
September 13th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
The journey from London to Tblisi took all day, partly because there are almost no direct flights between the two capitals and partly because there is a three hour time difference between them. So we left home at 7.30 am London time and arrived at our hotel in Tbilisi at 1 am local time.
The journey involved a cab to the underground, a tube to the railway station, a train to Gatwick airport, a first flight from London to Istanbul, a second flight from Istanbul to Tblisi, and another car to the hotel. The first flight was almost an hour and three quarters late because of winds and the second flight was – thank goodness – an hour and a half late because of the late arrival of the first flight. But we made it.
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Visit to Georgia (1): the country
September 12th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Top of my bucket list is the wish, so long as I have sufficient health and wealth, to have visited as many countries as my age. I am now 69 and I am about to experience my 71st country thanks to the invitation to attend the launch of a book by my good friend Eric Lee. I will be accompanied by my sister Silvia and there will be 16 of us in Eric’s group.
The book, entitled “The Experiment: Georgia’s Forgotten Revolution”, is about a short period of Georgian history (1918-1921) when the county was politically a social democracy before the Russians occupied the nation and imposed communism.
Present day Georgia obtained its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991 but has lost control over two secessionists areas Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It is a little country, slightly smaller than Austria or Ireland, and less than half the size of the American state of Georgia. It is boarded by Russia to the north and by Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan to the south. Is Georgia in Europe or in Asia? It competes in the Eurovision Song Contest but it has an Asian telephone code.
The population is only 5 million. Three of its most famous sons are Josef Stalin and Lavrenti Beria, two of the most barbarous architects of the Soviet Union, and Eduard Shevardnadze, Soviet Foreign Minister and first President of independent Georgia. One of its most famous daughters is the singer Katie Melua.
It should be a fascinating, if short, trip.
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How much and what sort of television do you watch?
September 11th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Over the past 15 years, I’ve written a regular column on IT issues for a trade union and my latest piece (the 95th) looks at television viewing habits in the UK. Do you watch more or less television than the average Briton and do you watch the channels most popular with UK viewers in real time?
You can compare your viewing habits with the national picture by reading my column here.
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What are the links between climate change and all these devastating hurricanes?
September 10th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
“Climate change cannot be blamed for the hurricane count in any single season, nor for the occurrence of any single storm, but there are three ways in which it is making the consequences worse.
First, although the intensity of a hurricane depends on many factors, warmer seawater tends to promote stronger storms. Average sea surface temperatures have been rising, and some parts of the North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico are warmer than average at the moment, which is a key reason why both Harvey and Irma became so strong so quickly.
Second, a warmer atmosphere can hold more water vapour, which can result in heavier rainfall. That is true not only for hurricanes but also for weaker storms across the world. Even relatively mild tropical storms can cause great damage by dropping huge volumes of rain over one area.
Third, apart from strong winds and heavy rainfall, hurricanes cause damage through storm surges as their winds push seawater ahead of them. Storm surges can inundate extensive low-lying coastal areas, sweeping away everything in their path. Sea levels have been gradually rising globally, making storm surges bigger and deadlier.”
This is an extract from an article in today’s “Observer” newspaper by Bob Ward who is policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
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A review of the recent Holocaust film “Denial”
September 9th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
When British history writer David Irving sued for libel the American historian and academic Deborah Lipstadt, because she had accused him of being a Holocaust denier, I assumed that he had no chance of winning and that, having been defeated in a court of law, the cause of Holocaust denial would be irredeemably damaged. I was wrong on both scores which is why, 17 years after the trial, it is so important that this big name film about the case has been made.
As the film makes clear, Irving’s defeat was far from certain because, in an English libel case, the defendant has to prove the veracity of the offending material and an important part of the price paid by the defence was that neither Lipstadt nor Holocaust survivors were called to testify so that Irving, who conducted his own case, could not exploit them. The film is released at a time when social media online and Trump in the White House are giving extraordinary prominence to falsehoods in an era which has been dubbed “post-truth”.
The Holocaust happened and, if this film helps to remind people of this incontrovertible fact, it will make a valuable contribution to evidence-based discourse. The main problem for such a cinematic work of less than two hours is that the case was so prolonged and complex. It ran for five years (2000-2005) and, when it came to trial, it went on for 32 days and ended with a judgement of 355 pages. A further problem is that the viewer always knows the outcome, which inevitably diminishes the tension of the narrative, although director Mick Jackson and writer David Hare do their best to build up a sense of uncertainty. So, as a film, this is never going to be a crowd-pleaser.
But it tells an important story about an issue of huge historical significance and it does it with a roster of fine British actors. Rachel Weisz (herself Jewish) is the feisty Lipstadt and Timothy Spalling is convincing in the unsympathetic role of Irving, while Tom Wilkinson is formidable barrister Richard Rampton and Andrew Scott is cerebral solicitor Anthony Julius. Some of my Jewish friends feel that the film is unfair to the British Jewish community, but a good deal of research went into this work and every word that Irving utters during the screen version of the trial is taken verbatim from the court records.
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A new vision for the British economy: the Interim Report of the IPPR Commission on Social Justice
September 8th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
This week, I attended the launch of the Interim Report of the Commission on Social Justice convened by the Left of Centre think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). At the event in London’s Church House, we heard especially from the Chair of the Commission, IPPR Director Tom Kibasi, and Director of the Commission, Michael Jacobs.
The Interim Report highlights four key findings supported by some fascinating data:
1) The British economy today is not generating rising prosperity for a majority of the population. Economic growth no longer leads to higher pay: the period from 2008 to 2021 will be the longest period of earnings stagnation for around 150 years. Young people today are poorer than previous generations at the same age. For too many people and parts of the country, the ‘economic promise’ of rising living standards has been broken.
2) The British economy suffers from deep structural problems. We have less a ‘British economic model’ than an ‘economic muddle’– a mixture of powerful strengths and profound weaknesses. Many of these problems go back a quarter of a century or more. Many are the product of deliberate policy choices. Together they have generated an economy in which too much power is concentrated in too few hands.
3) These structural problems argue for a new approach to economic policy. The case is made stronger by the challenges and opportunities confronting us as we enter the 2020s. Britain faces a ‘decade of disruption’, for which we are as yet largely unprepared as a result of Brexit, deeper globalisation, demographic change, technological change, and environmental degradation.
4) To respond to these challenges and opportunities of the future, and address the economy’s structural weaknesses inherited from the past, the economy will need fundamental reform. Reform of this kind has happened twice before in the last century, following similar periods of economic crisis. The established economic order broke down first after the Great Depression of the 1930s and then again after the oil shocks and ‘stagflation’ (simultaneous high unemployment and inflation) of the 1970s. In both cases, economic crisis led to a major shift in economic understanding, policies and institutions.
You can read a summary of the report and the full text here.
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Word of the day: synesthesia
September 7th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Synesthesia is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. Synesthetic associations can occur in any combination and any number of senses or cognitive pathways.
In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme-colour synesthesia, numbers are perceived as inherently coloured. In spatial-sequence or number form synesthesia, numbers, months of the year, or days of the week elicit precise locations in space.
You can learn more about this condition here.
I recently came across the term while watching a fascinating television series about the brain described here.
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