Last week, a mounteneering rescue course took place in Orebic.

The course was organized by HGSS-Hrvatska Gorska Sluzba Spasavanja (Croatia Mounteneering Rescue Service) from Dubrovnik and local mounteneering club PD Sveti Ilija from Orebic.

The intention of this course was to prepare and train a good and strong team of rescue volunteers that will be employed in case that mountain rescue operation is needed around Sveti Ilija hills at Peljesac.

Sveti Ilija Mountain is becoming popular walking and hiking destination among locals as well as visitors, so need for such a team has become essential.

The first part of the course was compleated and additional training and excersises will be held in future too.

Everyone is welcome to join this rescue group, so if you are interested to be part in this valuable team, please get in touch with PD Sveti Ilija via their blog page: http://svilija98.blog.hr

Note: In case of emergency call 112 . Webpage: http://www.gss.hr/

So, last night that was it!
After 5 years of hard work I am glad everyting is finished now so I can have long, lazy summer
I am leaving for Korcula next week

Photos from last night:

Me and my work

Still from my film ” Time to go home (Final Hour)”

Crowd at the exhibition

Crowd in front of uni ( note me at the right ) - click here to see larger photo

My artist statement:

My work explores the banal, repetitive experiences of my daily journey through London and its continuous peripheral changes. I record and track the details of these journeys through video images and map-paintings, adopting them as personal souvenirs.

My film ?time to go home (final hour)? presents a narrative of places designed only for waiting , each appearing for a few seconds, as the doors open and close like camera shutters. I have selected certain clips of empty bus stops, some sheltered, some signposted, emphasising the loneliness of such non-places. I try to bring out the sense of entrapment and alienation as the bus stops mechanically even when there are no passengers to get on or off. I also imagine the opening doors as an exit to freedom from feeling trapped on a bus journey after entering the wrong bus on the wrong route.

I use the London A-Z and bus journey maps as reference points and symbols of communication to paint in acrylic on canvas. I aim to create these maps as records of common experience, which appreciate the humorous and the poetic in an otherwise anonymous environment.

Some additional links:
my home page
pages with some of my artwork
my essay about non-place of travel

Work is going on on new “janjetina place” ( lamb BBQ) in Korcula, above Strecica bay.

Rumours says that this konoba restaurant is going to have the best lamb BBQ on the whole island.

Adding to that the location of the place with great views over Peljesac Channel, I have a feeling I am going to be one of the regulars there

Looking forward for opening night…

Click for large photo of this new restaurant

A friend of mine, Nadja Lucic, is working in Dubrovnik for Restauratorski Zavod of Croatia (an art restoration institution of Croatia). She sent other day this photo of Jacopo Tintoretto’s painting from Korcula’s Sveti Marko cathedral, taken at workshop of HRZ, which shows the work by famous artist getting ready for photo shoot after 4 years of research and restoration process through which it is confirmed by Katarina Kusijanovic, project coordinator, that this magnificent work of art is indeed made by Tintoretto and commisioned in 16th century by Korcula’s local authorities

The painting will be displayed to public at exhibition ” Painting by Jacopo Tintoretto from Korcula in light of new research” which will be hold in Dubrovnik from 07.07 - 28.07.06 in Knezev Dvor. Day after, on 29.07.06, at Korcula’s patrons day of Sveti Todor, this valuable painting is traveling back home to Korcula, at main altar of Sveti Marko cathedral.

Nadja Lucic, originally from Korcula, currently working in Dubrovnik, is a member of restoration team that was restoring this painting for last few years. She is also one who makes sure all other artefacts and paintings in Korcula’s churches gets their regular ” face lift” too.

Read about restoration of Tintoretto’s painting

Despite to all complains about location of ugly new mobile phone mast on Forteca hill, engineers are continuing with work on new mast on the top of Forteca.

According to the recent comment by member of local authority, current legislation is not offering any oportunity for local authorities to have their say about location of this or similar monsters as aparently, people who are in charge are actualy central government bodies

As these “untouchible bodies” are in Zagreb, we have to put up with this mast for time beeing and I guess we should also be happy that they didn’t errect it on more “convenient location” as not so long ago, they actually tried to put it up on the very top of Tower Revelin in Korcula Old Town but, luckily, some completely “unconventional” methods were used to prevent this idea

On 01.06.06 Korcula’s local authorities announced their final decision (at least for Summer 2006) about new traffic regulations for Korcula Town. After a lot of lively discussions, 9 pages long document is accepted and white smoke came out of Opcina chimeny

Following is the list of main points:
1/ No parking in Sveti Nikola street.
2/ Oportunity opened for local authority to ban/ restrict all traffic ( if needed) between 7am and midnight in Korcula Town for period 01.06-31.08
3/ No heavy vehicles ( vans and lorries over 5 tonns) in Ulica Korculanskih Domobrana in period 01.06-30.09.
4/ Some dedicated parking places allocated to town’s local residents.
5/ Traffic ban in streets Hrvatske Bradske Zajednice, Fosa, Zakrjan and Setaliste Petra Kanavelica.
6/ No parking or stopping at Plokata, Korcula’s main square.
7/ Traffic banned on Plokata in the evenings.
8/ Removal of vehicles that are parked illegaly (clamping units) - 500 kuna fine

So, if you don’t live in centre of Korcula Town, the only free parking place you can use is one near the cemetary and one in Pelavin Mir. All other parking places in the town are to be charged for.

Finaly, I am looking forward for the day when total traffic ban will be introduced in Korcula (at least for summers) and instead of this current summer chaos, we will have public transport that is well run and organised, with dedicated cycle lanes, frequent buses to Lumbada, Zrnovo and Racisce etc…

It doesn’t seems too complicated to execute, if only our mentality is different and if only we can find, instead of cars, some other status symbols to show off by…

A couple days ago, newly refurbished Hotel Marco Polo is reopened again for it’s first group of German tourists visiting Korcula.

Hotel Marco Polo now has 94 luxury 4 star rooms, most of them vith sea views and views over Korcula Old Town.

Hotel Marco Polo, located on prestigeous location on the hill above Old Town, was built in early 70’s and first opened back in 12.06.1972.

Since was in was hardly updated so this recent refurbishment was desperately needed.

The Hotel will continue with it’s updates later in the year.

To check Hotel Marco Polo’s homepage - click here…