Eurovision 2016

So, how was Eurovision 2016 for you? A fun-filled evening of cheesy pop (evenings, if you also caught the semi-finals). Here, for one half of the household, specifically the white-blue-red striped half, it was too much too bear...

source

BBC Panorama; "Putin's Secret Riches"

I caught up with the recent edition of BBC's Panorama called "Putin's Secret Riches" (available on i-player until Jan 2017).

It left me with mixed feelings...

Food sanctions

A recent episode of The Keiser Report described a new trend for locavore cuisine in Moscow and presented this interest in locally-sourced ingredients as an unintended positive from Russian sanctions on some western nations' food (the Russian response to western-imposed sanctions).

Lavka Lavka restaurant. Image

Thinking back to our recent trip, were the sanctions clearly evident? .....

A spoonful of sugar...

New Year was spent visiting relatives in Russia. Lily's parents are likely to move from her hometown this coming year and, with it being a few years since we were last there for the biggest celebration of the year, a trip for family, festivities and nostalgia seemed too good to miss.

As you expect at that time of year, food and drink were in abundance.

New Year Meal

Far removed from my usual diet (low fat, low sugar, low meat); if it was in front of me, I consumed it with great pleasure... Russian sausage, pelmeniy, cheese, salads swimming in soured cream, khachapuri [see below], pizzas, sweets (and one or two drinks).

Khachapuri...

The result was dramatic...

New Year Tree

Where did you get your tree from this year?

Perhaps an artificial one from shop or from the attic, like us. Maybe you decorated a real one, from a street seller or the forest (if you were naughty... no presents from Santa for you then).

In the Russian village of Spasskoe, they went one better...