Wedding pictures, 1

The weather was beautiful, not too hot, no rain (until we were safely in our hotel that evening).  The bride had had a back tooth out the day before, though, as it had been bothering her a lot up to then - my idea, but thank God she didn't blame me!  So she had a swollen jaw and quite a lot of post-extraction pain, but rallied amazingly and enjoyed herself immensely, as did I.

All pics by Nino Narozauli, see

www.udabno.blogspot.com  for her blog (and don't worry if you can't read or display Georgian)

From the top:

She waiting to enter the church

Witnesses carrying the crowns and rings

The minister's son, Esaia (Isaiah), in traditional Tbilisi costume, leading me to the altar

Lali's father leading her to me...

More pics to follow daily!

Getting Married Today...

... Photos to follow eventually.

Tbilisi, Georgia

Greetings to you in country number 105, Zimbabwe!  I know who you are...

She & I (top) near where we plan to have our wedding photos taken on Saturday, she middle with flowers, & bottom, a detail of spring blossoms

Tbilisi, Georgia

Some more stencilled, sprayed on items of graffiti on Tbilisi walls.  An art form which intrigues me as it develops

Mestia, Svaneti, Georgia

The new Museum in Mestia, so much better than the old one, for the fabulous collection of regional history and art.  Icons more than 1000 years old painted or in chased gold or silver, and many other marvellous things

2 more views of towers

Mestia, Svaneti, Georgia

Views of the town from one of its bridges

Spring has sprung

Mestia, Svaneti, Georgia

Top 2:  The search is over - I've found the car to use for our wedding day.  Problems - 1) it's in Mestia & 2) it's a fixer-upper... Oh, & 3) I need to run it by the lady

Bottom:  The town's beautiful new Orthodox church, background, reportedly financed by a... very... rich... Svan in Moscow in thankful response to his wife's giving birth to a son after many years of trying

Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia

Well, Nodar's aunt didn't win the Best Portrait category, but at least she was nominated for it.  See all entries for Kolga 2009 at www.kolga.ge by going to 2008-9 pages

Squeezed out a final 3 images from Ushguli.

Top:  2 local guys roasting teenage pigs in a clay oven for a 40-day after-death memorial feast

Middle:  a frog which obviously survived the cold winter in a warm place underground or somewhere, emerging on the last day of April

Jgurag (St George's) Church facade, nice & "primitive"

Tbilisi, Georgia

I know, blog posting a bit erratic lately.  But hey, I've got 9 days to go before my wedding, so I think that's a reasonable excuse, what with all the organising going on.

Top:  She

Middle:  the 100 kolga.ge photos on 3 floors at Karvasla Museum for a few days - tonight's the night of decision at their 3rd location, TBC Banks main branch, which 5 will win 1000 lari each?

Bottom:  scene from the Museum stairway which caught her eye as we walked around

Mtatsminda Park, Tbilisi, Georgia

2 shots by N H Paik of me and my kolga print blowup on Friday May 8.  Nice job!  The 100 winners were a real treat to see together.

Etseri, Svaneti, Georgia

A photo of mine which has just been chosen for kolga.ge 's anuual best 100 photos of the year, 2009.  This is Nodar's aunt Lyuba in Etseri a few years ago - she passed away January 2008. I submitted the photo in colour, but here's a quick b/w version for comparison - more than 1/2 of the winners were in b/w.  Final best 5 winners, with cash prizes, to be announced in Tbilisi on the evening of May 14 - hoping!  There was an initial evening's show of the 100 on Mtatsminda (Holy Mountain) overlooking the city - each photo printed about 1 m wide, with its own tripod and umbrella (fortunately the rain never came), orchestra on a stage, hobnobbing with all sorts, &c &c.  Time my photos started getting some money in, I think - I have enough of them from over the decades.

Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia

One more for the road... I left Ushguli for big, noisy, warm, chaotic Tbilisi a week ago, so I suppose I should stop posting photos from that wintry mountainous location.  Soon as I run out of good ones, I will move on.

Ratianis' Day feast at Jgurag (St George's) Church

Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia

At the risk of seeming repetitive, here are 3 more alternate images from the door of Jgurag (St George's) Church in Ushguli, same theme, different versions, just to show you what I was playing with at the time

Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia

The open door of Jgurag (St George's) Church, candles on the outside wall and a pan of smoking coals in the doorway, along with cash offerings - nice mix of pagan and Orthodox

Rooster and barn

Strange set of reflections including, lower, Lamaria Church and tower

Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia

More from the day for the Ratianis and another local family. Here are 3 representatives of those 2 failies (top) with Jgurag (St George's) Church through the window at right

The Church, top middle, and Ushguli's highest of its 7 churches, Lamaria (St Mary's) Church at right

A wonderfully local door to a barn - good folk art

Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia

(Why do my recent posts from south of Ushguli have labels of "spring", while those later ones from Ushguli, like today, still have"winter" labels?!  Well, because it IS still winter in Usguli.)

The first foreign guest to Ushguli, a week or so ago, a Canadian.  He had walked from Mestia to Ipari and spent the night there with friends of mine, who put him in touch with me and sent him on.  He was ready to camp and feed himself, as he usually does, but my host family took him in in pity.  The 2nd photo is of him backfipping rather irreverently from a location which I'll not name, onto snow - good fun!

Bottom 2 - prayer day for 2 local familes at Jgurag (St George's) Church, including that of my hosts, the Ratianis.  Calf sacrifice, stew in the cauldron, lots of moonshine toasts to various family members

Mestia, Svaneti, Georgia

On my way back from Etseri to Ushguli a week ago.

Mikho, Ushguli's public minivan driver, showing me the engine between his and my seats

Walnuts in a stocking

Sled, all-important Svan vehicle