I go on beach holiday by myself. When I used to go with friends, they were complaining that I don’t talk to them. Normally, I never shut up, but in this instant they were right. On the beach or by the pool, I read, swim, sometimes listen to audiobooks. No talking. I used to talk to friends at dinner, that was nice. But now I … Continue reading Being antisocial in Marbella
My publisher is starting the media marketing campaign. It is only in the UK, but the book will soon be available in other countries too. I had my picture taken for the publisher, and when I talked to the men in the photo shop, and when I told them what the book is about, we realised we were all refugees. One from Eritrea, one from, … Continue reading Thinking about immigration
This is the worst day ever- Magda can’t go to school anymore This is the worst day ever, Magda Stein sobbed as she walked home. She walked past the renaissance palaces of Mala Strana, and across the bridge over the River Vltava. Normally she would look at the beautiful view of the Prague castle from the bridge. Today, she didn’t notice where she was going. It started raining, … Continue reading Now the book is slowly possible to pre-order, here is a taster – the first chapter. Hopefully you will want to read the rest.
I had to do the proofreading on my typeset book. One of my American friends, a writer, read the book for me, too, she said “ I want to read it anyway so might as well help with the proofreading. ” Very kind. That is where I realised that grammatically, there are more differences between British and American English than I thought! Fascinating. She also … Continue reading Only slightly more than 2 months till the book comes out!
I read this article https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/may/28/number-of-eu-citizens-refused-entry-to-uk-soars-despite-covid-crisis?utm_term=8e419d2f10ab0b9b3dd8189472363797&utm_campaign=MorningBriefingUK&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=morningbriefinguk_email Unfortunately, it reminded me of my relative, cousin of my grandfather, an esteemed Jewish musicology University professor from Prague who was refused entry to Britain twice in 1939. He was travelling with his family. He returned to Czechoslovakia, and after correspondence, got authorisation for a settlement visa in the UK. They travelled back and were again refused by the border … Continue reading I am not happy about the UK attitude to arrivals from abroad.
I just read an article. https://www.heyalma.com/there-are-still-people-who-want-jews-dead/?utm_source=alma_marapost&utm_campaign=alma&utm_medium=email&mpweb=1161-30494-580662&fbclid=IwAR0zGN10T9Hm5cHfklwbZ4b2p_OIk9SC2jX00UoO3HEWYg5Naghxruf4RzE I don’t have this experience, but I understand, and it feels bad. It should not be about Israeli/Palestinian situation. not all Jewish people feel Israel is their country. I don’t. In fact, when people presume that being Jewish, I must be pro-Israeli politics, it annoys me, and I take it as a sign of their antisemitism.: I am completely … Continue reading I am a Jewish Czech rather than a Czech Jew . I am interested in Israeli/Palestinian politics and wish them all a better, peaceful life but Israel is not my country.
My non-Jewish relatives in Slovakia did a lot to help Jewish people from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia- the German occupied Czech part of former Czechoslovakia. My husband’s great grandfather was working in railroads. Slovakia proclaimed independence in March 1939 when the Czech part of state was occupied by Nazi Germany. Slovakia was not occupied by the Germans but had its own fascist state with … Continue reading A nice story, and I am sure there are many.
I just read this article in The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/16/first-hand-stories-nazi-death-marches-wiener-holocaust-library One of my aunts, my mother’s cousin was only 18 when she was on one of these death marches. She run away, burnt her forearm to destroy the number and pretended to be a German escaping from the Russians. Some local Germans gave her money for train tickets. My aunt got back to Prague and worked … Continue reading Death marches and a taster of my novel.
Originally posted on bluejayblog:
“No well-informed person has declared a change of opinion to be inconstancy.”–Marcus Tullius Cicero One of my history teachers said something to the effect that people who choose not to evaluate their opinions may simply be pigheaded. He also admitted that what he said was just his opinion and that he was open to changing it. I don’t remember the context… Continue reading Opinion Revision
It is Mother’s Day in the USA. Not here, but my family never celebrated it anyway. However, all those entries on FB made me think about my mum. A Holocaust survivor, she was 18 when the war finished, and found out that her father and brother, as well as many other relatives have been killed. She managed remarkably to jump 5 grades to graduate with … Continue reading I loved my mother, although I didn’t know it.
Eva Hnizdo 