Lens-Artists PC: Path to glory

They say that nobody has walked the path from your direction and in your shoes yet. Make the most of it.

First the thought that comes courtesy of Frank Reynolds who is a fictional character, while I am real and you ain’t seen nothing yet. 😉

And now, before I take you to a night above the town, I wish to repeat what Tina says in her post for this week’s Lens-Artists photo challenge: “I was fortunate to have been born into a supportive family in a stable country during a time of peace and prosperity.” Seriously, isn’t this the most we, the fortunate ones, can say?

I was also fortunate to be able to accompany my poet friend to Celje, the third biggest Slovenian city, more precisely to the old Castle above the city last month. It hosted the award ceremony where the major national poetry award “Veronika Award” was presented to the poet with the best collection of poetry in the past year. My friend was one of the five nominated poets.

Four of them plus their dedicated drivers had a drink together before the event. We took our time because we knew that they wouldn’t start without us.

I won’t say that the path that led there was twisted, complicated or full of dangers, actually it was a lovely evening, but it did include some peculiar scenes. See it for yourselves, read the story in the captions and view the event from the front row. It pays off to mingle with the poets, and I mean the sparkle transfer most of all.

Celje. We needed a pit stop to ask for directions. Among other things.

Is this such a young ladybird that she doesn’t have a single spot yet? Or is it a legend that each spot means one added year in its life? (Hm…)

The view from the Celje castle. Slovenia is pretty.

No worry and no hurry, lady, it won’t start without us.

The murder of poets. Are they dressed in black in every country?

This scene had my undivided attention: another man in black but as if from another planet.

Back to the castle.

The path is steep.

Here come three poets and a driver. I love their nonchalance.

This well-placed bar crossed out path for a reason.

A castle nook.

This driver had the tea called Castle brew and it was glorious. Check out the three timers, depending on how long the path of your tea is. My father will be impressed again. He needs this!

And what is that? Chess?

Yes, black and white pieces against black sunbeds and white walls.

Here we are, not a minute too late. Watch the light change on the sunflowers.

The Evening of Poetry.

Aleš Mustar read his Requiem for Ajlan Kurdi, the boy whose body was washed ashore the Mediterranean sea. The President of the Jury – whom we later gave a lift back to Ljubljana – admitted that he was most impressed with this poem. Alas, my friend Aleš was not the winner.

Another favourite: Ana Pepelnik writes about postnatal depression, among other things.

But the winner? Tone Škrjanec. He paid for our drinks, as if he knew. (Hint, hint: He did.) His surname translates as “lark”. Congratulations!

Life is full of paths that cross, run parallel for a while and then separate.

For Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, hosted by Tina of travelsandtrifles.wordpress.com: Path