Gonio, Adjara, Georgia, August 2010

Yes, it's time for a few more motion-blurred dancer shots, in my opinion the best way to capture dance in a still image. Take a Gravol if they make you dizzy

Becho/Mulakhi, Svaneti, Georgia, late July 2010

A very convenient and nice group with which Lali & I traveled from Etseri to K'ala for the Kvirikoba festival, then back to Etseri, and down to the lowlands the next day. Bottom is a view of the south peak of Ushba from Becho as we were going up, in the morning. Top 2 - the same mountain, behind the group.

Introductions via Blog, Batumi, Georgia, 15/8/2010

This is Bie (pronounced "bee"), from Belgium/Canada, in Georgia for the TLG programme. She came up to me recently in Tbilisi, said, "Tony?", heard my affirmative, then asked, "Geosynchronicity?" This stunned me, until she explained that she has been a faithful visitor to my blog for a long time now, from Toronto, Canada! She is the first person I have met as a result of the blog, which rates an introduction to the rest of you. Now, as I reach 20 followers and 20000 visits from 126 countries, is a fitting time to have met such a person - makes it all feel even more worthwhile.

Meeting the President of Georgia

Yesterday, all current TLG people in Georgia were invited to Batumi, on the Black Sea coast, to meet with President Mikheil Saakashvili. 2 from Mestia couldn't make the journey due to very bad roads after heavy rains, though they certainly tried, setting off at 0300!

More than 100 of us did meet the man, though. I was ready with a gift from home - one of my photographs of Tbilisi from the year 2000 (see it below); many thanks for the print from some years ago, NWB!

He talked about our coming to Georgia via the TLG programme, his own initiative, and what he hopes it to mean for the country - a chance for the entire country's population of schoolchildren to learn English, an ambitious undertaking which is gradually taking shape. By the beginning of September 2011, there should be more than 2000 TLG volunteers here, one per school, helping to teach English to all grades...