Winter has finally arrived...

We keep being told that this winter has been relatively mild, so far, but we know that February is usually the coldest month in Ukraine. Several inches of the finest, powder-like snow fell overnight and continued to fall, periodically, throughout the day.

We had arranged to collect some  warm clothes, donated by a friend in the city, first thing this morning. We had to dig the van out of the snow (thank you Mum, for, the recommendation to always carry a snow shovel in the car) and three passers-by gave it a push to get us going. It was a slippery journey and the trams were struggling; some appeared to grind to a halt.
Later in the day we, unexpectedly, collected some more aid, thanks to a contact made by Franklin, the cake maker. Unbeknownst to us, just a few doors down, in the basement of a kebab shop, a Ukrainian couple collect humanitarian aid from all kinds of sources. They let us take energy bars and instant meals for soldiers, amongst other things. And, of course, there is a cake from Franklin.

We will add to this aid tomorrow when we meet up with Shaun, UK4UA, in Ternopil. He has kindly brought, from the UK, 3 generators that were donated by listeners of BBC Radio Lancashire. We then plan to drive down to Odesa and ask our friends there to take the aid to where it's needed.

I read an article today by a Ukrainian novelist, Andrey Kurov, in the Guardian Opinion pages, about the impact of constant periods of darkness due to electricity blackouts, creating feelings of fatigue and helplessness. Taking Vitamin D is advised as the lack of this vitamin exacerbates depression: "a key danger for people who regularly find themselves in complete darkness."

But he also writes about the optimism of knowing that nature will come to the rescue, as the days get longer and the nights shorter; for now Ukrainians are "...holding on to their belief that Ukraine will win and restore everything that Russia destroys, including energy facilities, including the light."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/04/ukrainians-2023-putin-russia

There is always humour to come to the rescue, too. Whatever the weather, the people in our apartment block always hang out their washing!!
 And the sight of children and adults, sledging in the park, was also a sight for sore eyes.

Life goes on, given the slightest chance.


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