Vinovat Sudarynya

If you are reading this, it means that you were very kind in subscribing to my blog while I was living and travelling in Ukraine. As you may know, I left Kyiv in 2010 and am now working in London - which, to my great sadness, makes travel impossible. I have had to give up travel writing, but recently started a new blog, called A Brush With Russian, for my friends at the language agency Russian Linguistic Services. It will be all about Russian and other Eurasian languages and culture: you can subscribe to it to learn more about the countries of Eurasia, and share my cultural discoveries from all over the Former Soviet Union. It would be lovely to hear what you think of A Brush With Russian, and your ideas about which countries and ... read more

A role in Balamory, a BBC children’s programme about a small Scottish community, has seen Tobermory become a popular choice for visitors to Scotland. The real Tobermory, on the north-east tip of Mull, is a lovely place to spend a day or two; it is a small town of friendly people, brightly-coloured craft shops, and cafes that whip locally-caught seafood into delicious meals. It has been my favourite Scottish town since I was a child. While my family stocked up on food in the Co-op supermarket I used to meander from shop to shop, where the gifts were as unmistakeably Scottish as the sea spray blowing across the street outside. This year I took a walk along Main Street with my camera, and tried to capture the harbour’s colour and charm. Tobermory is as unique and ... read more

The murmur at the train station; £4 baguettes; commuters smiling on their way home; the sea breeze; Brighton and Hove Albion; gastro pubs with enormous sofas; the Laines; shops with naughty names; flip-flops in April; double-decker buses; pretentious delicatessens; Chinese people; personal space; Wai Kika Moo Kau; graffiti and art; seagulls and pigeons; shopkeepers who call you mate. Headscarves worn by women from Palestine; Palestinian scarves worn by maths students from Lewes; smokers; the new library; Seven Dials; fashion consciousness; the beach; recruitment agencies; incense; postcard stands; freedom; brand shops where independent ones used to be; Indian restaurants; "An' I woz like, wh-aaa'?"; feisty tramps; tea houses; Alice Russell and Jehst; Starbucks; Polish people. A couple of familiar faces?; Ugg boots; people speaking central European languages; concert poste... read more

Getting registered to work legally in Ukraine is an infuriating process. Once dozens of documents are filled in, forms are translated and visas are bought, foreigners have to take a series of blood tests. With all the talk of ZhEK, TOV, SPID and OVIR making me irritable, I wondered if one of the tests would reveal an allergy to acronyms. My first appointment was at a poliklinika (clinic) in Lukyanivska. It is a typical Ukrainian public building: brown, sparse and run-down. On the ground floor there is a newspaper stall and a cloakroom, but no reception. I go up to one of the chemists' kiosks and ask a woman in a white coat: "Could you tell me where I need to go for a blood test?" She replies frumpily: "What type of blood test?" - I ... read more

My morning began on one of the platforms at Haywards Heath train station, my head bopping to the Romanian pop music I had downloaded especially the night before and my hands cradling an enormous cup of coffee from the railway café. This year adrenaline has often felt like a hand around my throat, but before a trip to London it sits comfortably in my chest. I was going to London to meet an old friend. I met Cat at university; we both studied in the modern languages department at Exeter but our paths only crossed at the beginning of our fourth year, after we returned from studying abroad. We were asked to talk at a lecture for sixth form students at one of the university's open days: Cat talked enthusiastically about her year in Cordoba, Spain; ... read more