Margarita Borisovna

More of the archaeology department for me...

I worked on getting my outline drawing exact before going to pen.

Margarita Borisovna

And I moved to Gorkovskaya, to the home of Margarita Borisovna. Her name is brilliant. I am actually on Margarita terms with her, but can't get enough of saying the patronymic name too whenever else possible. Perhaps it's because it's one of the few things I can say and sound remotely Russian. Anyway, the apartment is in the oldest part of St P, Petrogradskaya. It's warm and so homely. Although I rediscovered my allergy to feathers, took me a week to realise and to remove the offending pillow (see proud orange and brown item sitting on couch).

This is the view from my window and you'll see passing within the trees is a tram.

On wednesday I got to go on an introductory tour of the Hermitage and to see an exhibition that is opening in May about Russian archaeological finds from Siberian steppes, from Koban and Colchaian barrow (burial sites), the silk route and others finds from the Altaic Region kind of between the Caspian and Black seas.

I met an ex-volunteer, well two, Jose who is Swiss in his 50s and Lena who invited me to her theatre production. She is theatre director for Theatre Poema. Despite the name, nothing really to do with poetry, although the play/dance did feature lines of poetry by Osip Mandelstam (I obviously was clueless). It was like a modern dance performance; the title 'Dreams in Ultramarine'. The volunteer service people had warned me that it could go on for hours and was likely to be nude. So, I went expecting blue naked theatre. It was only half and hour, clothed and black and white and I really enjoyed it. I asked where their inspiration came from, apparently they had found the suitcase that featured in the performance by the side of a road and had gone from there. After I sat and talked to a group of painters, one was called Aron Zinshtein and he had a remarkable face with big gaps between all his front teeth.

Lena said the guy on the right used to be a lead dancer for the Mariinsky.

On Saturday, I went to the Hermitage and then headed to St Isaacs cathedral for Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil. Evgenia, who had told me about the free concert, didn't appear, but Tati joined me. It was an amazing place, marble everywhere. When we left it was -25. Tea and cakes are key components in my cold survival plan.

St Isaac's Cathedral

Hmm, so I have gone out of sync a bit with this blog, but everything's here.

On Sunday 21st, I went on a tour with Tati and John of Dostoevsky Crime and Punishment sites and visited his final home which is now a museum. Tati had worked out the route for us, great effort.

The house where Dostoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment

Then Raskolnikov's home

The nasty old woman's home and surrounds

We didn't see the place where he supposedly hid the items from the woman's house or the police station, but I'm not sure we could have.

We then went to Idiot restaurant where I had great pelmeni or dumplings and took silly pics.

And last but certainly not least

—hound highlight—

in my local 24 hour producti

ahhh

spakanye noche!