Alpha by the River: December 2006

2006 - a year of hard work, victory and reflection...

It was a quite a year- it may have made me come face to face with blessings and lessons, but it was certainly a rich and meaningful one. Here are a few of the woo hoos !! and boo hoos... pictures not previously posted.

Woo hoo - Danijel gets the most interesting horse! (boo hoo - later regrets it)

Woo hoo - Nigel's ambitious whimsy becomes reality ... we have a fish barbeque by the river on a sunny day in March.

Woo hoo - I have a great day with friends in Blagaj. and visit "my" riverfront land now vigorously sprouting potatoes - and no one has bought it yet.

Woo hoo - In the spring three schools were brought together for a week of intense singing workshops to produce an evening of 'world' music program in Sarajevo.

Of course, there were the competent backup singers from all over the world: Japan, Scotland, UK, Thailand and others!

Woo hoo - spring means house and garden clean-up. The entire team gets their fingernails dirty - well, almost everyone.

Woo hoo - I got to visit a bit of old-style England in London at the end of April and stayed with my friend Ruth.

Woo hoo - My new 'guy'... imported from Italy to London a long time ago. Boo hoo - he's a cat?

Woo hoo - on May 3rd I was in Windsor presenting at the national conference and looking across another river to... Detroit.USA. A bit like Mostar, come to think of it.

Woo hoo - view!

Boo hoo - a very stressful period put us in an intensive retreat to frame our action plan.There were few moments to rest and the weather was quite foully cold.

Woo Hoo - we made it!!

and woo hoo - there were some rewards as well!

Boo hoo ...vandalism exists everywhere - even to universal heros. Bruce Lee, the epitome of heroic values, was 'planted' in Mostar in the fall and disappeared in bits and pieces until the city removed him completely in the spring.

Woo hoo - for natural wonders and beauty of Vancouver area - and beautiful B.C. AND the fact that I got to return to this spectacular place for a holiday in August!!

Sretan Bozic.

A most joyous season to you whether or not you celebrate the tradition of Christmas, Ramedan, Hannekah or other spiritual traditions. It is a time of year when many of us are celebrating something - for me it is honoring the winter solstice. Today the tilt of the earths axis away from the sun reaches its furthest point. But in the short, cold windy days ahead, the earth continues in its swing around the sun and the days get longer.

Whatever your tradition is - or isnt - enjoy this season. It brings us an opportunity to reflect, regroup and rebuild while waiting for the warmth of spring.

TRAIN TO SARAJEVO ...

The train trip to Sarajevo is a quietly beautiful one.The train is utilitarian but the views captivate the imagination, and the dark, grey scenes with mist settling around the valleys and lakes offer mystery and richness to inspire the most reluctant writer.

between long dark tunnels,the scenes change from grey misty vistas to high risky plateaus in mountain tops...

...but very quickly the scenery and weather changes as we leave herceogovina, eventually emerging into lush pastoral hills ... land that seems ageless with people doing what they have done for centuries here; and the sun reflecting off the wet grasslands and fence posts through the mist adds the eloquent mystery that shrouds the Balkans...