How I Spent a Late December Weekend

At Zanovo, one definitely gets an avant-garde feel, not least of all from the old factory offices with high ceilings and hodgepodge furniture, all in a makeshift style.Well, and so our oldest daughter starred in the play, which was a New Year comedy based on the adventures of a ride down a highway on New Year&Eve. At one point, an old woman pretends to get hit by their car and then pulls out a gun and demands they take her to a cafe where she pledged to meet her lover after 50 years on this very night. The meeting at the cafe was hilarious, as the real miracle was that they could still walk, albeit with a cane. I definitely enjoyed the performance, and the group acting here is becoming hardened actors who sometimes go on tour. They recently played in Chelyabinsk.And acting part-time is a surprise for our eldest daughter, as she, of course, was overlooked in school and very self-conscious as a teenager. She played her role with confidence and pleasure.In the morning, I got up before dawn, which is a great time to photograph a near-empty city. I love the deep dark December mornings when the city is still ablaze with lights but also empty.Nippy too, as I had to curtail my walking tour to just the area around the Salamander Art Gallery and the Omsk Fortress. The city has been decked out as never before, as this year Omsk will be the Cultural Capital of Russia.