The Good, the Bad and the downright Scandalous

First the Good - As regular readers of this blog will know, due to an article published in a local rag, the Rietumu Bank has unfortunately decided not to come forth with the balance of LS3,500.00 needed to finish off the kitchen at Zvannieki children's home. Well a few days ago I bumped into J.... (Scottish and with a fetish for peat) and explained our problem, and without a moments hesitation he said that he would transfer some cash into our account. And within a few days he did indeed transfer a not an insignificant sum into the Zvannieki account at the Rietumu Bank. So to J..... can I say on behalf of all at Zvannieki MANY THANKS ! - and with a bit of luck and some additional fund raising we should see the kitchen finished in time for Christmas.

And the bad - well what a weekend for sport it was, but despite our best hopes, it was not to be, England lost the World Cup, and Mr Hamilton failed to win the World Formula One title. For the former a motly crew gathered at my apartment to watch the game, as the thought of watching it at the village lounge, along with zillions of others was not an option which appealed.

To prepare ourselves for the match we indulged in an Indian takeaway as we watched courtesy of S......(Welsh teller of rugby tales) The 2003 World Cup Final - You may remember England won !

- Also joining our little gathering was
B.... (English owner of multiple pairs of shoes)
J.....(Irish with a dazzling selection of foot attire)
S.....(Irish with kind spirit)
V....(Australian/Latvian with a never say never attitude to building work)
P.....(English with a passion for my chocolates)
P.....(Irish - Latvian Language student)

The wine and beer flowed throughout the game, and whilst it will not go down as one of the greatest games ever a good night was had by all, apart from the result of course. To add a little financial interest a small wager was laid by all as to forecasting the result. S..... (Irish) was declared the winner and he kindly donated the winnings to the Smiley fund.

No prizes for guessing who these feet belong to !

And now for the Scandalous !! - as I mentioned in the beginning of this blog thanks to the generosity of J....(Scottish peat baron) we are now in a position to restart the Zvannieki kitchen, but thanks to Rietumu Bank over Ls100.00 have been lost to there new account charging system, whereby unless you keep a minimum balance, your account will be charged €50.00 per month, so guess what they did when the money hit the account - they deducted three months charges !! Now in the past I have had nothing but praise for the way the bank has supported the Smiley fund and Zvannieki, and even with the recent hiccup caused by an article pertaining to the conduct at the home, albeit it was a load of c..p, and their subsequent decision not to provide the previously assured funding for completion of the kitchen, presumably as they did not want the bank associated with a potential scandal.

I suspect that there system does not differentiate a charitable account from any other type, and it is therefore unfortunate that such charges be applied to the Zvannieki account. So Rietumu Bank whilst I say thanks for all your assistance in the past, but for the future I think we will have to move the account to another establishment,as the monies donated is meant for the benefit of the children at Zvannieki, and not the banks.

Now it has to be said that the attendees at the village lounge is gradually growing, in part as there is now where else to go and in part to the decision of the management to introduce Indian food as part of their menu. From all accounts it is going down a treat, as can be seen from below


Not sure why the Welsh type person in front collapsed at this time, either from starvation or alcoholic ingestion, or a combination of both ?

Now a sad note I have advised that one of long standing village members is leaving our shore, young Mr J...(Irish - ex tobacco baron and would be property magnate) is leaving us to return to his homeland, but has assured us he will be back from time to time. This will be great relief to his many adoring female fans and of course the hostelries where he has plied his centimes in the search for the elixir of youth.

All in all not a bad week for those of us here in Riga, and it is with great anticipation that we look forward to welcoming the Bristolian cretins when Ryan Air start there Bristol - Riga flights ! - Oh the joys of winter