Archives

(Image source) It has just emerged that the Lyme disease diagnosis given to the much-loved actor, Serban Ionescu, may have been erroneous. Mr Ionescu was diagnosed three weeks ago, after having presented with debilitating symptoms, perhaps following a tick bite last summer. Doctors at the Cantacuzino Institute are looking into the possibility of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as another hypothesis. I am surprised. Firstly, tests carried out at Fundeni (which tests, no one has said, but the two that specifically diagnose Lyme are... [Lire la suite]

To all of you in Bucharest wondering what to do this Sunday evening to round off your weekend, here's a recommendation! Take yourself off to True Club, Splaiul Independentei, corner of Selari (str. Franceza 52, sector 3) at 20h30 for a night of live music with Alter Status in concert. With Radu Popescu (lead singer and guitarist), Razvan Dumitrache (lead guitarist and vocals), George Petcu on bass and Alex Petcu on drums, you'll regret missing what promises to be a great night of well-known pop/rock covers and perhaps some originals... [Lire la suite]

(Image source) On this day, 21st May, those of the Orthodox faith remember Saints Constantine and Helena, and those bearing their names celebrate their feast day. According to Wikipedia, Saint Helena was mother of St Constantine the Great, and probably born at Drepanum (her son later changed the name to Helenopolis) in Asia Minor to parents of humble origins. She either married or was the concubine of Constantius Chlorus, bearing their son Flavius Valerius Constantinus in 274. It is said that on their first meeting, they were... [Lire la suite]

("Intense realism": A scene from "The Death of Mr Lazarescu" Photograph: Tartan Films) Romania is a gold mine of outstanding films. Cristi Puiu's The Death of Mr Lazarescu, Catalin Mitulescu's The Way I Spent The End of The World, Corneliu Porumboiu's 12.08 East of Bucharest, Radu Muntean's The Paper Will Be Blue, Ruxandra Zenide's Ryna, Cristian Nemescu's California Dreamin', and of course Cristian Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days come immediately to mind in terms of "Romania's new wave" films. If you haven't explored them... [Lire la suite]

(Image source) The recent news concerning actor Serban Ionescu who contracted Lyme disease after a tick bite last summer, Romanian medics' questionable understanding regarding the disease and the misguiding and sometimes completely inaccurate articles found in the Romanian press such as THIS just lately, all prompt this post. It is IMPERATIVE that Lyme disease is understood if it is to be avoided and/or treated correctly and efficiently. Rumours that it can be transmitted from person to person for example and that 80% of the Romanian... [Lire la suite]

(Please click on source HERE) Just this evening, I noticed a message on Facebook that was doing the rounds, complete with photograph of the actor Serban Ionescu, today very seriously ill from Lyme disease. A little background for those who do not know the plight of this man: due to the tardiness of his diagnosis, Mr Ionescu and his family are now seriously considering the possibility of his transfer to a clinic in Vienna for treatment - the doctors in Romania have no idea how to treat him themselves (Lyme is apparently a new concept... [Lire la suite]

(Photo source) Perfect for a Sunday morning, this lovely Romanian foxtrot (also performed as a tango), 'Trurli, trurli, draga' was written in 1934 by Stroe and Vasilache. Vasile Vasilache met a tragic and untimely death in the bombing of Bucharest on 4th April, 1944, leaving Nicolae Stroe to continue the radio programme, "Ora Vesela" they had begun together for Radio Bucharest in 1929, alone. There have been many versions of 'Trurli, trurli, draga' over the years with a variety of styles and all of them marvellous: Titi Botez (an... [Lire la suite]

(Image source) I wasn't going to add to the already multiple articles on the controversial statue of Emperor Traian and the She-Wolf on the steps of Bucharest's National History Museum inaugurated last week by Sorin Oprescu, but... I just can't help myself and anyway, it's a rather amusing (if not hideous) diversion from what's happening in government right now. Dear, oh dear, oh dear... The capital has been 'adorned' with so many eye-sores these last few years that it begs comprehension - Charles de Gaulle in Herastrau (the General... [Lire la suite]

Anyone passing through the Schei Gate of Brasov can stop to admire the impressive synagogue on Str Poarta Schei, 29, but only a few know about a gem - Sinagoga Albastra - hidden in a courtyard at str Castelului, 64 built by the orthodox jews of the city early on in the 20th century. Today, it stands alone and horribly neglected, window panes broken, paint chipped and washed away by years of inattention, rusted fencing and rotting woodwork - and only those who love history enough to bother, I'm told, pass through the heavy wooden door... [Lire la suite]

(Image: Povesti cu plimbari- November, 2011) The willful neglect of beauty and the determination to destroy Bucharest's patrimony never seems to let up... This once-gorgeous house stands close to Hala Matache in sector 1 and was built at the end of XIXc./ beginning of XXc. in architectural ecclectic style by an unknown architect. Those I have spoken to cannot remember it ever being anything but a ruin, growing progressively more dilapidated as years have passed. Certainly, nobody but gypsies have lived in it for at least the last... [Lire la suite]