Four Fáklya EC meetings, Zsófi, the caching on Saturday and a few meals out

Apologies for the late post, but life is running away with me. To carry on from where I last left it, the lead-off on contact work has gone off quite well. There are many pressures and conflicts within Fáklya, most of which I can easily handle, but things are coming to a head, methinks. Zsófi somehow had taken violently against me, AGAIN, and this is now not only boring and frustrating, but getting on my nerves. Apparently, I have abandoned her by disappearing a couple of weeks ago.

The castle ruins of Ónód, my first find of the day

A military memorial

 

What a concept! As if everything is about her. One can only abandon people one is responsible for. At least that is how I look at life. She is an independent and adult person, and while I happily give advice in all manner of things, when I am asked, it does not entitle people to own me and/or demand consideration 24/7. I squared things with Adriam quite successfully, so now he understands why I had to take off then, and he finally understood why the stresses in my life created the move I made then.

A glorious blossom of a horse chestnut tree

Ancient fossils from a long disappeared sea

 

Zsófi, on the other hand, is playing a dangerous game. She refuses to return to the leadership, but her strident opinions and demands project a persona with leadership rights and expectations, even from the actual leadership. This is unsustainable and will have to stop, or I will have to reconsider my position in the organisation. Last week we had FOUR leadership meetings. My work load is exploding and I am needed in the country. So, I am taking not a sabbatical, but a lessening of expectations on me.

The view from a hill top in the Bükk

Green tunnel on an ancient lane

 

Adriam has actually asked if I want to be away for the whole of the summer for a rest and a break in my persistent need to be in BP every Wednesday. He has taken on to find places to meet and find someone to do the moderating when I am not available. I have no idea how this is going to work, but to be honest, I do not care. I deserve this slight improvement in my own personal private life and decided to take it.

Viktor and Edit at the celebration

Another lovely view from another hill in the Bükk

 

This Wednesday was the last branch meeting in the flat and from now on 7th district branch meets elsewhere and Baltazár will do the moderation when I am not available. This, of course, does not lessen any of my background and lead-off work, just the personal appearance and provision of the venue. Still, it is very refreshing and I have already had a lovely time in Bér in the last 24 hours.

View no. 3 with lovely old tree

Edit and Viktor chatting to the forrester

 

But let us return to the star event of last week, which was my geocaching trip with Viktor and Edit to the North East of the country. Unfortunately Erika could not come due to some health issues, so the three of us took off together, after I travelled from BP by train and the other two picked me up outside Hatvan railway station. The idea for the trip came from the appearance of the GCWWED moving cache in that region, which neither Viktor or Edit has ever found before. As it happens, that cache was the last one of the day, long after the wedding finished, but we could still log it, which made those two very happy.

Muggins trying to stamp a logbook

The toast to Viktor's 1000th find

 

That area in the country represents the part of the Carpathian Basin where the Hungarian tribes first settled over 1000 years ago. They came from the East, crossed the mountains, which are currently in Romania over a pass and started building villages, churches and engage in agriculture. The oldest document written in Hungarian was found in this area and many other cultural sites are also surrounded by dramatic countryside and geological features too.

That box is too high even for me

Viktor, the hero of the peak

 

The list is long, but I would highlight a few. We did some drive-in caches in places of old, but also did little, but very steep hikes in the Bükk Mountains as well. The terrain is breath taking in places and while all three of us huffed and puffed up 45 degree gradients, the views were often more than enough payment for our efforts.

Returning on the rails to the car

The church where the wedding we missed was

 

We also followed the tracks of a narrow gauge railway and met with some lovely foresters doing some strimming in and around a picnic site around a spring. One of the highlights of the day was after finding a cache near an ancient geological feature, which was amazing. The Pannon Sea has covered the whole of current day Hungary in the flatlands some many thousands of years ago, and proof of that can be found in places, where you can find fossilized marine shells and other remains. 

Viktor with his 1000th find

However, the real surprise came when Viktor got a bottle of champagne out of his rucksack, accompanied by three engraved glasses, so that we could toast his 1000th geocache find. That was such a lovely surprise, but very typical of him, as he is a fun and very considerate chap who thinks of these things.

The amber nectar in his hand

The day was very long, I got up at 6 am to catch a 7 am train and got home at almost midnight, missing my return train by only 3 minutes. Still, it was a lovely day and we will have something similar in two weeks' time, when Roy and I will go away for 4 days/3 nights geocaching, and the first day we should meet Viktor and Edit, at the Festival and Competition in Alsónána near Szekszárd. That time we will travel separately and Viktor will do the driving in a full car. The planned party will consist of Viktor, Edit, Erika and Judit, so he will have a lovely, giggly day with three girls, while I will have a grumpy Roy, who hates geocaching, but at least he is willing to drive me around.

Our sweets in the Snail

Roy, before attacking the desert course in the Snail

 

Last week, before returning to BP on Wednesday, we mowed the entire garden, which looked a million dollars, and when we got back the grass has grown about 10 cm, so mowing was the main program yesterday, almost immediately after our return. We spent 9 days in BP, during which, other than all the activities around Fáklya, we had some of our fun stuff too. As poor Renee managed to catch Covid on her cruise en route to Europe, including a visit to us, she had to cut it short and return home from Spain, thus missing the meet up with us. To remember her and wishing her a quick recovery, we went to have lunch in the little cafe we were planning to take her and toasted her health.

Bozsa and Roy in the Sushi Wan

Close up of the roast duck

 

Talking of eating out, we have also managed to put together a lunch with Bozsa, this time in the Japanese restaurant we discovered with Stephen and the kids earlier in the spring, and had a lovely sushi filled meal (for me) and duck with rice for Roy and Bozsa. She is such a lovely person, I enjoy her company tremendously, and to be honest, I think she likes being with us too, as we are discreet and sympathetic, when it comes to her problems. I love her dearly and hope all things will settle down around her.

Bozsa, my best friend

We looked very pleased with all that food

 

This week's branch meeting, the last one in our flat for a while, went extremely well. We had two contacts attending, both being very nice and approachable. The lead-off was interesting too, and the atmosphere was friendly, lively and comradely all round. And then we went to Tesco en route home to Bér to stock up for the long weekend. It is Whitsunday and we are having Laci and Márti coming for a couple of days. 

My lovely dark red rose in its full glory

View from the Farmhouse to the Bunkhouse

 

Just to report on the garden, the roses have started blooming really nicely and some of the fruit trees are promising. Unfortunately, there is not one Morello cherry on any of our Morello trees, but the early cherry tree, planted by us a good few years ago has produced its first real crop. I had a good handful straight off the tree and they were delicious. The pear tree looks good too, the plums are about average and the apple trees are reasonable too.

The first cherry crop

Muggins on her beloved tractor

 

Today we are preparing food, tidying and cleaning the house and looking after our lodgers in the Bunkhouse, who have arrived last night for Lili and Dani's wedding. Life is hectic as usual, but we wouldn't have it any other way, would we? 

Next post next week, hopefully on Wednesday.