Work stops on Warsaw's southern bypass

Earlier this year, I was full of optimism that at last some roadbuilding could take place at a cracking tempo. Within three months, swathes of southern Warsaw have been cleared for some much-needed urban transport infrastructure.

Oh dear. It was all going so well - but now it's ground to a halt. The preparatory works clearing the way for the S79 from ul. Sasanki to the southern perimeter of the airport and the S2 Warsaw southern bypass from the airport to ul. Puławska have finished. Thousands of trees are cleared, houses and summer houses pulled down, the ground readied for road building. The Kruszer teams with their distinctive yellow trucks, have left the site.

But there's a problem or two. One is that the S2 stretch towards Puławska still has houses on it, and these houses are still inhabited.

Above: Looking west towards the airport junction (Węzeł Lotnisko). Below: Looking east towards ul. Puławska (Węzeł Puławska). In both views, some houses are still there.

The road should run parallel to the tracks, then a viaduct will take it over Puławska, there will be a junction here. But there's still six houses in place, at least two are still inhabited. When will they be cleared? Poland's legal system is still, according to the World Bank, one of the slowest on earth. A challenge to a compulsory purchase order could hold this up for years.

Above: Looking north across where the S2 Warsaw southern bypass will one day run. I was told some weeks ago that the last residents would move out by 31 March; this is clearly not the case. Another 31 March deadline that has not been met is for the national roads authority (GDDKiA) to issue a public tender for the construction of the road, a project estimated to cost about 1.4 billion zlotys (over €300m). This has been put back until 15 April. I can see this slipping back into the middle distance (the construction companies have beleaguered the road authority with technical questions).

Knowing the way things slip in Polish roadbuilding, I fear that a new forest of self-sown trees will have grown on the newly cleared 'L'-shaped swathe (Sasanki-Węzeł Lotnisko-Węzeł Puławska, hence the nickname 'Elka') and this 9.2 km stretch will need to be cleared once again before all the administrative and legal issues are finally sorted.

By the way - the weather has been gorgeous. Just eight days ago there was snow on the ground with an overnight frost of -8C. Today was the first day that I could venture out of the house without a coat. Daytime high: +19C.

Swans get happy with humans

When they arrived a few days ago, the swans kept themselves at the far end of the reedy marshes, away from the street. With each passing day, they've become more tame and are happy to paddle up to approaching humans. Maybe in the expectation of bread. The RSPB suggests not feeding wild birds with dry bread, as this is 'empty calories', rather, they should be fed nuts, seeds or dried fruit, which they will need especially during the moulting season.

The male (cob) is ever so slightly larger, had a larger protrusion on the top of his beak. He will also invariably be the one closer to the camera.

The female swan will lay her eggs in June, deep within the reed bed, the male will fend off intruders. For most of April and May, they will be visible, a welcome addition to Jeziorki's wildlife.

This time last year:
Third anniversary of death of Pope John Paul II

This time two years ago:
Agriculture on ul. Trombity
An introduction to the wetlands at the end of ul. Trombity (II)
Inbound to land: On the flightpath to Warsaw Okęcie airport

We are two

A happy second birthday to my blog, launched (significantly) during the penultimate week of Lent 2007. As you can see from the Google Analytics stats, traffic has taken off over the last month, with over 100 visits a day. Not a bad result, given that this time last year it was less than half that. Visitors tend to come from the north west part of the globe, though clustered heavily on Warsaw. London's next, then a fair cross section of towns and cities across Poland, the UK, the US, Germany and Canada.

Click on image for full-size view of my key blog stats.

This time last year:

We are one

Crushed velvet dusk in my City of Dreams

This time two years ago:

An introduction to the wetlands at the end of ul. Trombity (I)

An introduction to Jeziorki

Five weeks into Lent

Still doing well, with one major difference from last year - I'm not longing for Lent to end. What will I return to? Well, red meat and processed meat will be eaten only as a necessity (read article from New Scientist here). I can also see the sense of twice-daily exercise. My stomach circumference has been trimmed from 40 and a quarter inches to 38 and half inches - I'm one and three quarter inches (4.4cm) slimmer round the middle. Again, the New Scientist confirms that this is the right thing to do to maintain good health and extend lifespan.

For the record, 130 sit-ups today (60 morning, 70 evening) and 40 press-ups (20+20). I've not missed a session since the start of Lent. No proscribed foods or beverages, plenty of fresh fruit and veg, plenty of fish.

I can't say I miss meat much, cheese I do miss, the smell of coffee makes me yearn for a cup, and alcohol - in social situations it certainly does act as a lubricant.

In terms of spiritul life, I have been much taken by an article my mother cut out for me from The Times by Roger Scruton about beauty and truth. [Read that article and its follow-up here.] It has caused me to contemplate deeply on Keat's famous equation and ponder the finer feelings that Mankind can experience and express; these are not just flows of seratonin and dopamine and other feel-good hormones, but something metaphysical and God-given.

Forward go the clocks

A month too late, I reckon. Why is it that we set the clocks back on the last weekend of October - less than two months before the winter solstice, and set them forward again on the last weekend of March - more than three months after the winter solstice?

Does anyone else agree that the changes from summer to winter time and back again should be symmetrical? By mid-March, the sun is rising very early (half past five on the spring equinox on 20 March), but we could really all do with that extra hour of evening daylight.

Plus - in this day of climate change worry - surely if the Northern Hemisphere were to use one hour less of electric lighting for four whole weeks, that would make an immense difference to carbon dioxide emissions. Not to mention the money everyone would save.

Having the clocks go forward on the last weekend of February would make March in the northern hemisphere brighter and happier.

This time last year:
Griping about the same thing

Life returns to Jeziorki

To think that just two days ago there had been a hard frost and snow lay on the ground. All of a sudden - and this is an incredible transformation - nature kicks in, as it does each year, and life returns. I walk to the far end of the road, where I meet this fellow, dozing on the warm asphalt. This spring's first frog. After having its portrait taken, the amphibian is gently removed from the thoroughfare to prevent it becoming roadkill.

They're back! A most welcome sight. Arriving back in Jeziorki almost a year to the day since their first arrival, a pair of mute swans. I wonder whether their young will also return to their birthplace. It's really good to see the swans again; they must have been happy here last summer.

Above: a noisier and more numerous visitor to Jeziorki's reedbeds is the black-headed gull (rybitwa in Polish). Within weeks the skies above the marshes will be alive with the sound of their chatter, the frogs' chorus here being audible a kilometre away. Below: first flowers, by the pond on ul. Pozytywki.

Christ's Passion at the Dominican abbey

The spiritual highlight of Lent for me so far this year was going with Eddie to the Męka Chrystusa (the Passion) at the Dominican abbey in Służew. I was expecting a mass, but this format I found more uplifting, allowing one more time for deep contemplation.

The procession, led by the Dominican friars around the 14 Stations of the Cross, was accompanied by Gregorian chant, Latin prayers and candlelight (to which my Nokia N95's camera has given a purple cast). As I've mentioned before, the abbey's accoustics are excellent, and the vox humana fades beautifully into the dark vastness.

This time last year
Last snow of the winter

Winter in spring: last of the snow?

A glorious morning follows a clear night. There's a sharp frost and a cloudless start to the day.

Right: The view from my study at 6.12 am. The sun now rises before half past five, the day's 12 and half hours long, spring should be with us, but it's not. Still, such sublime winter beauty is to be welcomed. Below: The front garden at 8 am as I'm getting ready to depart for work.

POSTSCRIPT: Indeed, this was the last snow of the winter.