My Time in The Ukraine...
Foreword
'Lucy' Povaliy, Active member of 'Art-Talkers' club..
Believe me or not, at first I had no idea why Mike Bedwell asked me to write a foreword for his diary. Probably, because we met at Toastmasters Club in Kyiv a few years ago, and he knew that I had been working for a British newspaper. Or perhaps I adored Great Britain since my childhood, and I was in love with this country after studying journalism in Wales in 2002. When we got acquainted in one of the Toastmasters Clubs in Kyiv, I was in the seventh heaven — having a chance to communicate with the Englishman who was wise, knowledge-based, sometimes naïve for his age but with typically English sense of humour.
One day sitting in a café Mike — during our friendly conversation — told me about his idea to publish the diary he had been writing in Ukraine. As he was interested in the reflections of a journalist who exceptionally managed to work in the UK, he asked me to read his memoirs and write a foreword. To encourage my interest, Mike gave me several articles…
The more I read those small pieces about special days or events in Ukraine, the deeper I understood Mike Bedwell’s desire to share his thoughts among the readers by means of words. I can’t say that his diary has a fascinating plot. His stories are not about something fantastic, unusual but about visions and conclusions of the man who tries to understand people in the Slavonic country, its culture, customs and traditions, Euromaidan and not only. He writes using his own style — with rueful feelings, personal thoughts and arguments. He describes his own (sometimes unexpected) emotions in the country he was not familiar with before. Each article differs from another one. And it makes his tell-all book more than the diary.
I don’t think that Mike Bedwell is looking for some recognition of the audience. His book is not a historic novel or poetry. But I’m sure this diary may be read by any foreigner who wants to come to Ukraine, or even to know this country from Mike’s perspective. Those readers who try to understand Mike’s emotions will find helpful his knowledge about Ukraine and its people.
In these short stories one gains a unique and deeply personal insight into the mind of a man who shared his vision on some special days of his life.
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Some of them are are merely my thoughts as recorded at the time. Others are letters sent to the local English language press, in particular the Kyiv Post.