Diary 2nd And 3rd Of April 2019

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Diary Tuesday 2nd April 2019 Having been put on a low carb diet to help me lose weight and combat my hypertension (High Blood Pressure), much of the food I had bought in during March is no longer suitable for me, so I took it (mostly pasta) to the local food bank, (a church based service to provide food for the unemployed). I was able to swap the foods I can’t eat for foods I can have. The rest of the day was spent preparing promotional material for my book launch in just over two weeks. I set up a Facebook event page to promote the launch. Diary Wednesday 3rd April 2019 My blood pressure medication was running low but I have a repeat prescription arrangement so I called to the doctors and the chemists next door to it to replenish my supply. I now have enough to take me to the end of May. In the afternoon I attended the last of the brilliant Spring season Russian language and literature talks running at the University Of Central Lancashire, organised by the Vladimir Vysotsky Centre for Russian Studies, and promoted by Lancashire Arts A scheduled event on the theme of translating Shakespeare into Russian was postponed. The audience was notified in plenty of time about the change of subject and speaker. We were delighted to welcome Professor Vera Zabotkina, from Moscow. she is a pro-vice-chancellor of the Russian State University for the Humanities, a highly elite Russian institution. Her topic was “How to get to grips with the changes in the conceptual worldviews of Russian and British cultures.” The talk noted the similarities between Russian and British peoples, culture and history. The Pre-Revolution Russian Tzars were cousins to the British Royals. The cross on the Scottish flag is also the emblem of the Russian navy. Much of the talk centred on language and semantics. Various philosophers were cited, drawing to a conclusion that words are not ideas in their own right, but contained in our ideas. To use my own example, to write a story, we start with the idea and then put it into words to present and articulate the concepts and the drama. Professor Zabotkina, a prolific author of studies in linguistics and cultural concerns, noted that in the cyber-age many Western expressions have been assimilated into the Russian language, including ‘couch potato’, ‘Yuppie’, ‘Yippie’, and ‘spam’. There was much emphasis on Otherness, where we learn from and appropriate from others, so strangers become more alike in culture, language and outlook on life. Our language veers from the universal (we all call a table a table, even if our languages have different labels for it), while our references to celebrities, sport stars and local politics, are more culture-specific to us. When we meet the others, the boundaries between the universal and specific blur and draw in on one another. I asked about the impact of the fall of the Iron Curtain, and Professor Zabotkina largely agreed that many new expressions, life styles and changes have swept into Russia, not only good things. Before the fall of the Soviet regime, drug addiction was barely known in Russia, but now it is a major social problem. A fascinating summary of complex issues that could undoubtedly continue over many more talks. Many students attended this presentation as well as the general public and a lovely buffet was provided afterwards too. A regional newspaper has run a major two page feature on me and my pub sign projects, and I bought some copies of the issue so I can share them with others. A massive thank you to Professor Zabotkina, the various other illustrious guests who have provided talks these last few months, and especially to Olga Tabachnikova, Director of the Vladimir Vysotsky Centre For Russian Studies, and tireless organizer of these lovely presentations at UCLan. . Youtube – Sting – Russians Arthur Chappell