Mark Thomas - The editor and big chief of The Dubrovnik Times. Born in the UK he has been living and working in Dubrovnik since 1998, yes he is one of the rare “old hands.” A unique insight into both British and Croatian life and culture, Mark is often known as just “Englez” or Englishman. He is a traveller, a current affairs freak and a huge AFC Wimbledon fan.
Email: mark.thomas@dubrovnik-times.com
Sanation of the plane tree (Platanus orientalis) started today at Pile, just few steps away from the entrance of the Old City. It's interesting to know that this impressive tree is a protected individual monument of park architecture.
Oriental plane tree Platanus orientalis is an Asian plane tree that dates from the 18th century. Assembly of Dubrovnik-Neretva County declared this symbol of Pile a protected individual monument of park architecture seven years ago. Consequently, in the vicinity of the plane tree, all works that would endanger the conditions for growth and development of the tree, as well as contamination and the abandonment of the protected area, are forbidden.
Because of this sanation, locals and their guests are asked not to park around the plane tree until tomorrow, November 17th.
According to the latest survey, Croatian bloggers live quite well from their online job.
Most of Croatian bloggers earn between 3,500 and 5,500 Kunas a month (around 500 to 700 Euros). Even though most of them consider blogging as a hobby, the survey showed that, in comparison to last year, there is an increase in the number of bloggers who actually live from blogging.
Among bloggers, women account for 90 percent i.e. out of ten bloggers nine of them are women. They have written blogs for three or five years and have two to three posts a month.
The most common categories on blogs are beauty, gastronomy and fashion.
A few days ago Telegraph travel writers joined together and wrote about their trips from hell. Even though most of the people find the job of a travel journalist a dream job, these stories reveal a different side of traveling around (and writing about it).
Croatia has been featured on numerous lists by the Telegraph and sadly it found its place on the list of the worst holidays of all time too. Peter Hardy describes his Croatian experience with the title ' An unwanted houseguest in Croatia'.
- It was the stink of fried goat and onions at breakfast time, wafting up to our sun terrace, that first alerted us – it's rather an interesting intro of the Hardy's text.
He continues to describe his experience on the island of Brac in a rather humorous, saying that his 11-old daughter discovered that someone was living in the garage beneath their holiday villa – the owner plus five members of his family.
- When he wasn't not cooking pungent food, he sat outside in his dirty string vest and shorts watching our every move with a scowl of suspicion. It seemed he'd not taken the "vacant possession" clause - and several others - far too literally in his contract with a long-established British villa company – says Hardy and adds that family's clothes were still in the bedrom cupboards and other belogings were scattered everywhere. There was even a dresser drawer full of sex aids and porno films – quite interesting for his children!
- Whenever we left the villa, the owner would leg it up from the garage and return to his home upstairs. He decided we were using too much air conditioning in August heat, so he removed the remote control and refused to return it. Washing facilities in his sweatbox of a garage were presumably non-existent, so we always knew when he'd been snooping – Hardy writes about his horror holiday.
To make things even worse, the location was described wrongly in the brochure, the water was polluted and his 14-year-old son developed a serious skin infection.
- At the end of our fortnight, home never felt so welcoming – concludes Hardy. After reading this, who could blame him?
See the full text here.
According to information from the Dubrovnik – Neretva Police Department there were eight road traffic accidents in the county last week, of which four involved injured drivers and passengers.
Last week the Dubrovnik Police took 506 measures against drivers for traffic offenses. From this total 181 were due to speeding, 54 due to improper parking, 59 drivers for not wearing a seat belt, 25 for improper overtaking, 18 for drivers who didn’t have their headlights on and 29 for drivers under the influence of alcohol.
Another indication of the social situation in Croatia is the dramatic increase in the number of employees and owners of small businesses. In 2007 there were 267,842 people employed by small businesses in Croatia, just ten years later and in 2017 that number has fallen to 198,699. Over the past ten years the number of employees has been constantly falling in Croatia.
This trend started in the early 2000’s and doesn’t look like slowing up. Compared to ten years ago just under 70,000 fewer people and employed in small businesses. These very businesses should be one of the cogs that creates new enterprises, export opportunities, financial benefits and more importantly offer new employment.
Over the past five years over 200,000 Croatians have left the country looking for employment in other European Union countries, with Ireland and Sweden high on the wish list.
On the occasion of Remembrance for the victims of Vukovar in 1991 on Friday, November 17th candles will be lit in front of the Church of Saint Blaise and along Vukovar Street.
The candles are lit in the memory of suffering of the hero city 26 years ago. Students from primary and secondary schools and their teachers, as well as fellow citizens will be part of this event. They will light up candles from 5:30 to 6:15 pm.
In Dubrovnik Cathedral there will be a mass for all deceased and missing Croatian soldiers and civilians in the Serbian aggression on Vukovar at 6 pm.
Dubrovnik is slowy, but surely starting to get ready for fourth edition of Dubrovnik Winter Festival. The decorations are being placed in the Old City and it can be seen that they are different than in last couple of years.
However, decorating has just started so we can expect many more surprises. The plan is to spread the Christmas spirit all over the city and to add that special bling to places that weren't included before.
With rainy weather, lower temperatures and no crowds, Dubrovnik is really getting that winter feeling. It's easy to believe that Christmas is just around the corner.
Even though it is not unusual to find picture books about national anthems, we have to admit that it is quite unusual to see a picture book about Croatia’s national anthem designed by a non-Croat.
At the recently held 40th International Book Fair Interliber in Zagreb, a Mexican Cynthia Martinez presented a wonderful picture book about Croatia’s national anthem. It is interesting to note that Martinez is a daughter-in-law of the popular Croatian sociologist and a university professor Slaven Letica.
The story about Cynthia’s picture book is very educational. As Mexico has had a picture book about the national anthem and her daughter learned to sing the Mexican anthem, Cynthia discovered that there is no such thing in Croatia.
Last summer, Martinez addressed to the president and the owner of Školska knjiga Ante Žužul with her idea about a picture book that would be titled ‘’Lijepa naša domovino’’, as is the title of Croatia’s national anthem. After a few months and thanks to Cynthia, the book editor Emica Calogjera-Rogic and the book illustrator Marsela Hajdinak, a picture book about Croatia’s anthem saw the light of day.
The picture book contains a music recording, a translation of verses into five world languages (English, German, French, Italian and Spanish), a short note about the creation of the verses and the setting of the anthem to music, as well as a useful explanation intended for small children about illustration symbolism.
This beautifully illustrated picture book is intended for children in Croatia and abroad in order for them to learn to accept other nations, to learn from other cultures and at the same time to promote their own identity and their values.
‘’With this book the Croatian anthem will travel around the world and gather together all our children wherever they are’’, commented Žužul.