Grey Skies, Good Friends and Getting Ready for Guests

25 Oct

An autumn weekend in Bosnia, a house full of preparations, and a few thoughts from the windowsill.

Last Sunday, if you remember, I was crashed out on the couch in my office, looking through the window at those beautiful Bosnian blue skies. It was still warm, the sun was shining, and autumn seemed to be taking its time arriving.

Well, what a difference a week makes.

This time I’m not on the couch. I’m kneeling up with my elbows on the windowsill, looking out at a rather bleak scene.

Grey skies, damp ground, and leaves falling everywhere.

The temperature has really dropped now. We’re nowhere near freezing, but that lovely warmth we’ve been enjoying has pretty much disappeared. And as for the autumn colours, or leaf peeping as I believe it’s called, I don’t think we’ve got much longer to enjoy them.

The leaves are coming down like anything.

Luckily, I managed to get the lawnmower out before the rain arrived. I cut the upper lawn and what’s left of the lower one, and the mower did a rather good job of collecting all the fallen leaves as well.

For about five minutes everything looked quite respectable.

Now the leaves are back.

Such is life.

Those Grey Days

I have noticed something about myself in recent years.

When the skies turn grey and the weather becomes, well, very British, I start feeling a bit down. Not depressed exactly, just a bit flat. I’ve wondered whether it’s something to do with seasonal affective disorder, although I’ve never been diagnosed with anything like that. It’s just something I’ve noticed as I’ve got older.

Give me a bright, cold Bosnian winter’s day with blue skies and I’m quite happy. But this endless grey stuff?

Yuck.

Maybe it’s because I’ve become so used to the sunshine here. Or maybe it’s just another little thing that happens as you get older.

Who knows.

Anyway, there’s no time to sit around feeling sorry for myself because we’ve got visitors coming.

Getting Ready for Our Friends from Zenica

This weekend we’re welcoming some of our friends from Zenica.

They’re coming up on Saturday, staying overnight in our holiday apartment upstairs, and then we’ll spend Sunday together before they head back home.

So, as you can imagine, there’s been quite a bit of activity around the house.

You know what it’s like when you’ve got guests coming.

Suddenly you notice dust in places you’ve never noticed before. Cobwebs appear from nowhere. Things that have been sitting quite happily in one place for months suddenly need moving.

And of course, everything has to be just right.

Tamara has been particularly busy.

We’re planning a barbecue on the balcony upstairs, weather permitting, and because our friends are Bosniaks, she’s been making absolutely sure that everything we serve is suitable for them.

Here in our part of Bosnia, where the population is predominantly Serb, pork is very common, especially at barbecues.

But our guests don’t eat pork, so that’s something we’re very mindful of.

Last Sunday, Tamara went to the piazza and visited a mobile food shop run by Beganović, who come from Zenica.

You know those vans where the side opens up and suddenly there’s a little shop inside? Well, we’ve now got some lovely smoked cheese from Zenica, Zenica-style ćevapi, and some very nice beef.

And there’s going to be čorba as well.

I do like a good bowl of čorba, especially when the weather turns cold.

Then, of course, there are the cakes.

Because you simply cannot have guests in the Western Balkans without enough cakes to feed half the village.

Tamara has made her wonderful signature cheesecake, some bajadera, and kuglice, those lovely little chocolate and vanilla balls.

I suspect nobody will be going home hungry.

Actually, I know they won’t.

Will the Weather Behave?

The original plan was for everyone to arrive on Friday evening, but that’s changed to Saturday.

Which gives us a little less time together, but we’ll make the most of it.

We’ve got a few ideas for places to visit, depending on the weather.

One possibility is a walk up to Kameni Most, the stone bridge above Krupa na Vrbasu, roughly 26 kilometres south of Banja Luka, along the beautiful Vrbas canyon.

It’s a lovely place, especially at this time of year when the trees are changing colour.

But the forecast isn’t looking particularly encouraging. At the moment there’s a 75% chance of rain on Saturday. So we might have to forget the walk and settle for something a little less adventurous.

Perhaps Sunday will be better.

And if everything goes completely tits up, weather-wise, we’ve always got a fallback plan. Shopping. You see, there’s a rather interesting difference between the two entities here in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the Federation, where Zenica is, most shops are closed on Sundays under the newer Sunday trading rules.

Here in Republika Srpska, shops can generally open on Sundays.

So if the weather really is dreadful, at least the ladies can go shopping. I’m sure we’ll find something to occupy ourselves. To be honest, sometimes the nicest part of having friends around isn’t actually going anywhere.

It’s sitting together, drinking coffee, eating something nice, and just talking. And we’re quite good at that here in Bosnia.

A Little Surprise

We’ve also got something rather special planned for our visitors.

But I’m not going to tell you what it is.

Not yet anyway.

You never know who’s reading these Sunday Editions.

I don’t think any of our friends from Zenica follow me here on Substack. I’ve had a look through the email addresses, but you can never be completely sure, can you? So I’m keeping quiet. Hopefully I’ll remember to take a photograph and share it with you next Sunday.

Assuming there isn’t another hole appearing in my old brain between now and then.

A Small Change to the Sunday Edition

Now, before I go, there’s something new I’m trying this week.

You may have noticed an audio player at the top of this newsletter. I’ve decided to experiment with recording the Sunday Edition as well as writing it.

Nothing fancy. Just me reading what I’ve written.

So if you’d rather listen than read, perhaps while you’re having your Sunday morning coffee or tea, you can simply press play. Whether you’re in Britain, somewhere else in Europe, or picking this up later in the day across the Atlantic, the choice is yours.

It’s not another podcast episode, and it won’t appear in my regular podcast feed. It’s simply an audio version of this little weekly letter from Bosnia.

Sometimes hearing someone’s voice makes a story feel a little more personal, doesn’t it?

Anyway, we’ll see how it goes.

Until Next Sunday

So that’s about it from our little corner of Bosnia this week.

By the time you’re reading or listening to this, we’ll hopefully be enjoying the company of some very good friends. And really, when you think about it, that’s far more important than whether the sun decides to shine.

Thank you, as always, for spending a little bit of your Sunday with me.

If you’ve enjoyed this edition, do leave a little heart or a comment. I genuinely enjoy hearing from you, and it’s lovely to know who’s out there reading, or now perhaps listening.