Riga Neighbourhoods: Atgazene

 

Atgazene is the smallest neighbourhood in Riga. It became part of the city in 1924. Poets Rainis and Aspasia lived on Abolu Iela (Apple Street) from 1922 to 1926.

 

The school of business administration or TURIBA University is also located in Atgazene.

 

#riga #atgazene rainis #aspasia #turiba 

Today in History 31st May

Hello again Gentle Reader, lets clamber onto the choo choo  of change and see how history has affected today’s date.



1279 BC: Rameses II (The Great) becomes Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt

 





1927: The last Model "T" Ford rolls off the production line. Over 15 million were made.




1929: The first "Talkie" starring Mickey Mouse was released. 
Click on the link to watch it.

1930: Clint Eastwood, Hollywood Actor, producer, director and politician is born.

 

1948: The Loudest Drummer in the World, John Bonham of Led Zeppelin is born.

 


#ramessesii #modeltford #mickeymouse #thekarnivalkid #clinteastwood #johnbonham #ledzeppelin #may31st

10 Fun-filled facts about.....LATVIA

Hello again Gentle Reader, its time to start a new trend here on the blog.

My fun filled facts may surprise and dazzle you with their incandescence.

First up: my adopted home, Latvia.

 

1. Latvia has more supermodels per head of population than any other country in the world.

  

2. 50% of Latvia is covered by forest making it one of the most eco-friendly countries in the world.

 

3. Latvia is the world's smallest Colonial Power. In the 17th century parts of the Caribbean and Africa were ruled from Riga.

4. It's internet speed is the fastest in Europe and the 5th fastest in the world.

 

5. A Latvian invented Jeans.

6. The Latvian song and dance festival has over 40,000 participants making it the largest festival of its type in the world.

    

7. The Latvians not only repelled Viking invaders, but one group sailed to Sweden and burnt their capital city to the ground.

 

8. Every year at the Summer solstice or Jani, All Latvians still celebrate their Pagan heritage.

 

9. It is one of only three countries in the world where Ice Hockey is the most watched sport.

 

10. The Latvian language is one of the oldest in Europe that is still spoken, it uses words and phrases that can be traced back 5000 years to the root language of ALL European languages.

#latvia #tenfunfilledfacts #supermodels #vikings #jani #icehockey #latvianlanguage

Today in History 27th May

It's time Gentle Reader to take another wade through the mire of history.

1707: Peter the Great founds the city of St. Petersburg

 

1930: The Chrysler Building opens to the public in New York. When it was built it was the worlds tallest building.

1941: The German battleship Bismark is sunk killing 2100 men.

1957: Siouxsie Sioux, British singer is born.

1975: Jamie Oliver, TV chef and food campaigner is born.

 

#stpetersburg #chryslerbuilding #bismark #siouzsiesioux #jamieoliver

Wednesday Thought: Risk

Hey gentle reader, back on schedule after the 10,000 celebration. Lets check out the wisdom of the ages.

I like crazy people, especially those that don't see the risk.

 

 

John Lydon

 

 

Only those who will not risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.

 

T.S.Eliot

 

 

 

If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.

 

Jim Rohn

 

 

 

It is better to risk starving to death than surrender, If you give up on your dreams, what's left?

 

Jim Carey

 

 

 

#johnlydon #tseliot #jimrohn #jimcarey #risk

Gentle Reader



Hey Gentle Readers, thanks for taking my simple little blog to places I never dreamt of.

If you are new to the blog, you have over 650 posts to go back and explore so please go ahead and look.

I will continue to write new material for you to read and I really want you to comment, even if your comments are not so gentle.

Riga Neighbourhoods: Bolderaja

 

Located on the west of the Daugava, Bolderaja started out as a fishing village around the start of the 10th century,  In the early 1600's Polish immigrants built a series of wooden houses which are amongst the oldest in Riga.

During the  Soviet era a great many blocks of flats were built ranging from 5-9 floors in height. Bolderaja is mostly inhabited by Russian speakers. The people have a reputation for hard work and being courageous.

Soviet era housing

The neighbourhood is surrounded by water, the Daugava, the Locu canal and the Bullupe (Bull River). It also has two islands, Love Island, named for the large number of children concieved there and Russian Island.

 

Love Island








Wooden Houses

Half the man I used to be

I went to the doctors yesterday Gentle Reader. Nothing serious, just getting some info.

My doctor was exceptionally happy that I had lost a bit of weight and asked me if I knew how much. I said I didnt have a set of scales at home because, lets face it, scales are scary things. Though not as scary as clowns or tax bills.

So up I popped onto the scales and she and I were very surprised to see that I weighed 113kg. Thats 17 and a half stone to you non metric people out there. In August 2014 I weighed 21 stone.

Also by blood pressure is that of a man 8 years younger than me.

It goes to show. Fancy diets are just that. Eating healthy food and exercise do wonders.

#happy #scales #clowns #thinandfabulous

My blog and the reasoning behind it.

As the blog quickly approaches 10,000 views gentle reader, I am suddenly overwhelmed by the generosity all of you have shown me over the last 4 months.

All of you who have taken the time to look me up and read my mixed bag of writings will know by now that my blog isnt like any others.

Most blogs I have looked at seem to have a single theme and the writer or writers stick to that one thing.

My blog is just about life and the way I Choose to share it with you.

My life is great. I live in a beautiful city, have a wonderful fiance and have a fantastic job. Writing my blog is a new passion and one I am proud and priveledged to share.

Got a Cheburashka problem? We can help.

Hey gentle reader, someone out there needs a hug.

 
This plane looks a bit like Cheburashka


Cheburashka from the original book.

My post about the cute little Soviet animal Cheburashka, which I published in March is by far the most read post on the blog. http://ascotsmaninriga.blogspot.com/2015/03/cheburashka.html

So far it has had 214 views. Amazing. Below is the Cheburashka Wikipedia page.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheburashka

I think there must be a lot of love in the world for this cute little guy,

Awww......isn't he Cute?

#cheburashka

Today in History 22nd May

Once again Gentle Reader, its time to dip in our toe

and check the temperature of the bath of time.

 

 

 

334: Alexander the Great defeats Darius III

in the battle of Granicus.

 

 

1455: The War of the Roses between the English

houses of York and Lancaster begins.

 

 

1762: The Trevi Fountain in Rome is inaugurated

by Pope Clement XII.

 

 

 

1813: Richard Wagner, is born. He lived in Riga for a while. 

 

1946: Footballer, Drunk and womaniser George Best is born in Northern Ireland

 

 

1987: The first Rugby World Cup started.

The first match was NZ v France,

 

 

 

 

2013: UK soldier Lee Rigby is brutally murdered in a

 London street by Islamic extremists.

 

 

 

 

#georgebest #leerigby #alexanderthegreat #dariusiii #granicus #waroftheroses #trevifountain #rugbyworldcup #richardwagner

Coming out of both ends

I hate being sick gentle reader.

Not just because I hate feeling hot then cold and then hot again. Its all the other stuff that goes with it.

Headache, feeling useless, pain in places that dont normally hurt and worst of all is sitting by myself with no one to talk to.

This morning I felt really bad. Stomach flu is a pain in the arse....literally.

Its nice to know however that you are out there reading my sickness driven ravings. Maybe when I am feeling better I will be writing more clearly.

Now where did i put the stomach medicine?

Neil's Chunky Coleslaw

Back so soon Gentle Reader, people will start to talk.

Anyway, Lena wanted salad with the burgers and I decided to make my own instead of buying Rimi's overpriced salad bar.

I decided to do something new and make my own coleslaw.
I love my food processor.

Ingredients

1 carrot

quarter of a white cabbage

half a green pepper

1 red onion

200ml of 20% krejums (sour cream)

Black Pepper

Method

Use the grating attachment of your food processor and chop the grate the cabbage, carrot, onion and pepper.

Pour contents into a large bowl and pour in the sour cream. 

Add the pepper and mix thoroughly with your hands.

 

Neil's Superduper Chilli Burger

Hey Gentle Reader, great to see you back again, where have you been? I missed you.
Everyone loves a burger, so when Lena told me she wanted something quick and tasty for dinner tonight, I immediately though mmmm burgers.

I have never made a burger before so instead of chickening out and buying one pre-made I threw myself into the process and made a tasty burger and now I am going to share it with you.

Ingredients (Makes 4)

300g Minced Beef
1 small onion
1 red chilli
1 large tomato
Edam cheese
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Black Pepper
4 ciabatta rolls.

Method

Chop the chilli and onion finely and mix through the beef with your hands.
Add a teaspoon of olive oil and black pepper and shape with your hands into a log.
Cut the log in half and then half again and flatten the four pieces into patties.
Place in hot olive oil and cook on both sides turning regularly.
Warm the ciabatta in the oven for a few minutes.
Cut the tomato into slices and put two slices on either side of the burger.
Cut the cheese and put a few bits on each burger.
Serve with my Dreamy Chunky Coleslaw. (See next recipe)

The Global 2000



 

Every year, Gentle Reader, the American Magazine Forbes, presents a comprehensive list of the world's biggest 2000 companies. The list is based on four variables:

- revenue

- profits

-assets

-market value

 

A composite score is given that weighs each of the measures equally because by only focusing on one of the variables would give us a biased account.

 



61 countries appear on this years "Global 2000", sorry Latvia you are not one of them. The companies on the list have combined.

revenue worth $39 trillion

profits of $3 trillion

assets worth $62 trillion

market value of $48 trillion

Chinese banks dominate the top 4 spots on the list with Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, the largest US company on the list.

The US has 579 companies in the top 2000 making it the country with the most, China has 232 and for the first time ever has more companies in the Global 2000 than Japan.

The top 25 are:

 

25. Microsoft. USA

24. Sinopec. China

23. Bank of America.USA

22. Verizon.USA

21. Allianz.Germany

20. China Mobile.China

19. Citigroup. USA

18. Samsung. South Korea

17. Wal-Mart. USA

16. Chevron. USA

15. HSBC. UK

14. Volkswagen. Germany

13. Royal Dutch Shell. Holland

12. Apple. USA

11. Toyota. Japan

10. Wells Fargo. USA

9. GEC. USA

8. Petrochina. China

7. Exxon Mobil. USA

6. J.P Morgan Chase. USA

5. Berkshire Hathaway. USA

4. Bank of China. China

3. AB China. China

2. CC Bank. China

1. ICBC. China 

 

 #forbes #icbc #ccb #abc #bankofchina #berkshirehathaway #jpmorganchase #ExxonMobil #Petrochina #gec #wellsfargo #Toyota #apple #royaldutchshell #Microsoft #Sinopec #global2000 #bankofamerica #Verizon #Allianz #chinamobile #citigroup #Samsung #Wal-Mart #chevron #HSBC #Volkswagen

 

 

Wednesday Thought 16: Africa

Hey Gentle Reader, with African problems permanently in the newspapers and on our TV screens, I wanted to use the blog to highlight some positive thoughts about the Cradle of Life.

You can't hate the roots of a tree and not hate the tree.

You can't hate Africa and not hate yourself.

 

Malcolm X

 

I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leader combine their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of the deserts, forests and all our great wilderness.

Nelson Mandela

Look to Africa, for there a king will be crowned.

 

Marcus Garvey

 

For Africa to me...is more than a glamorous fact. It is a historical truth. No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place.

Maya Angelou

 

 

 

The first light of human consciousness and the world's first civilizations were in Africa.

 

John Henrik Clarke

 

#johnhenrikclarke #mayaangelou #nelsonmandela #malcolmx #marcusgarvey #Africa