Albina has said yes! I have now made my contract with Authorhouse about the possibility of commiting to print some of the comments in my "private" blog, while galivanting around the world. I shall be keeping my blog in English, as it is the language I am most comfortable with. Much to the disappointment of Regina from the Union of Polish Writers, I should add. She was hoping to include my texts in a coming edition of the Union of Writers biannual book sized periodical. It is true that I have written over 400 articles in Polish, many of them published in book form. However, writing in that language, the language of my parents and my pre-school childhood, is still a struggle. I have to surround myself with dictionaries and check and recheck my vocabulary. Even then I still make grammatical errors which friends occasionally can put right before publication, but often there is no time for that correction to be made. I then have to rely on my magazine editors or book publishers to do that for me. 3 years ago Regina recommended me for a book prize on my last Polish book, but the jury turned my nomination down because the publication had allowed too many grammatical errors and spelling mistakes to remain. Thank you for that, Oficyna Kucharski in Torun. But it is not just a question of grammatical errors. It is also a question of my Byzantine style of sentence construction and my lack of awareness of new Polish colloquialisms. Hardly surprising really, as I have never lived in Poland, except for occasional tourist outings or academic visits, and have no point of reference to Polish television or films, or day to day idioms. My metaphors would be based on my English environment and on prewar Polish themes and language which we imbibed in Polish Saturday schools or in scout camps. The Polish texts I wrote would be perfectly understandable to others born in the UK, but would sound oddly stilted and anachronistic to a true native of Poland, especially from Communist Poland. And the strangest thing of all was that we would be drilled as children into avoiding English words and phrases, and now we find that the modern Polish language is littered with English phrases and idioms that we would have been ashamed to use. So English it is for my blog.
Godd for Albina. She recently showed off her technical skill when she repaired the top drawer in my desk after the front panel was disconnected, and she constructed the new metal clothes valet stand that I had ordered for the bedroom to replace the one which got broken. In our marriage, my job is to do all the reading and writing, including even writing Christmas cards and reading product manuals, and Albina is in charge of any technical or aesthetic endeavour. She will fix a loose floorboard as long as her arthritic hands can hold the nail and the hammer, she will rearrange our flower pots every week or smooth out the wrinkles of the throw on our settee, and I will look after the internet. Albina does not even have an email address and all her financial issues are sent to my email, not hers. The Labour Party even complained that we have quoted the same email for my Party membership and Albina's Unite membership and demanded we have separate emails (which I ignored). On the other hand the only email she could quote in order to have access to any information on her cell phone is mine, as she has none of her own. Consequently, she has constant access to all my emails, but luckily she can never be bothered to read them. She might just occasionally spot the odd heading especially if it concerns some Polish organization or female person she disapproves of, so I have to have my explanations ready. Not much opportunity there for any strange or questionable outside interests. Perhaps just as well.
Albina also helped me out financially in ordering a new pair of glasses after my visit to Specsavers this morning. My post-operation test confirmed the dramatic improvement in my eyesight, but it will still need to be enhanced by a new pair of glasses which should be ready now by February 1st. Still in time for our voyage then. All this in tat for tat for my purchasing her expensive hearing aid.
Another potential worry was the possible loss of a strategic top tooth in the centre of my mouth that had taken the full weight of my fall outside the office in Ashford some months ago, when I had to wear that wrist brace, and was otherwise heavily bruised. I was sensitive to any added pressure on that tooth and it had become increasingly wobbly in the last couple of weeks. Would I possibly lose it? And be found walking round embassy receptions or tropical excursions with a gaping hole amidst my molars? It would make, even someone with my thick sin, feel self conscious and vulnerable. Yet if I had the tooth removed now, then would the dentist find time to replace with a new bridge encompassing all my upper teeth? Or would I have to consider acquiring a whole row of new impants? All within the space of the next five weeks! Again, Albina offered to cover any costs. So, after Specsavers, I popped over to the dentist. Lord be praised! He thought the tooth would hold for quite a few months yet, unless I was involved in another accident. The tooth can stay. So no need for all that worry. I am ship shape and all systems go for the big adventure, after all.
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