On 6 February 2002, I returned from a day-trip to Kraków with the children to our brand new house. We had just moved in that day, some two and half years after buying the land and having the house built. It was not yet ready - for the first few weeks, the builders were still living downstairs finishing the kitchen and bathroom.
Twenty years... the longest under one roof ever. Here's where I have lived - with the exception of my student days at Warwick University (and off-campus in Coventry), I have lived around ten miles (16km) from the centre of a European capital city.
- Croft Gardens, Hanwell - 12 years 7 months
- Cleveland Road, West Ealing - 6 years 5 months
- [Warwick University, on campus and off - 3 years 9 months]
- Cleveland Road, West Ealing - 2 years 4 months
- Ribchester Avenue, Perivale - 14 years 9 months
- ul. Gajdy, Pyry - 4 years 6 months
- ul. Trombity, Jeziorki - 20 years today [including three summers in Jakubowizna]
This milestone is spiritually significant; for me, it shows the depths of roots, and my attachment to place. Five-eighths of my life in the UK, three-eighths of it in Poland. In my dreams, the two become blended; Pitshanger Park with Warsaw's skyline beyond, the other night, or taking a bus from Ealing to Jeziorki with my dad, via Acton and Shepherd's Bush. I'm from here and I like it here.
Below: photos from above - spring 2011, summer 2021. Note photovoltaic panels on the roof, one car less.
This time last year:
Winter walk around Jakubowizna
This time five years ago:
15 years under one roof
This time seven years ago:
Białystok: Ipswich of the East
This time eight years ago:
Sadness at the death of Tadeusz Mosz
This time nine years ago:
Interpreting vs. translating vs. explaining
This time ten years ago:
More than just an Iluzjon
This time 11 years ago:
Oldschool photochallenge
This time 12 years ago:
Warsaw's wonderful nooks and crannies
This time 14 years ago:
Viaduct to the airport at ul. Poleczki almost ready
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