From left to right: MEP Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová, helicopters, Lenka Jandušíková. (source: Instagram/Facebook/SME)
Every week The Slovak Spectator brings you a selection of three short stories from across Slovakia in which pessimism and negativity are absent.
1) A folk group with its own language
Papradno, a village in the Trenčín Region, lived with folk music for many years before its local group nearly declined. Lenka Jandušíková saved it.
She has supervised Podžiaran, the name of the folk group, for about a decade now. The group even appeared on a popular TV program devoted to folk music, Zem Spieva (The Land Sings).
Today, the group is quite extraordinary for its own dialect in the songs. For example, "logac" means to drink, "skočica" is a female with long legs, and "očapek" means an ear slap. In addition, during a local food event, they often sing well-known songs but change their lyrics. For example, they altered Queen's We Will Rock You "Patrik Patrí Na Hrad" (Patrik Belongs to the Castle).
Now the group has around 30 members, from the youngest, 11 years old, to the oldest, 80 years old. Children's folklore group Podžiaranček has 50 members.
Read more in Slovak.
2) Good morning, Slovakia
Peter Hámor, also known as OM7LW in the world, with his ham radio equipment. (source: SME)
His 22-metre tower draws the attention of all his neighbours. Peter Hámor, an electrical engineer from Fiľakovo, south-central Slovakia, does not climb it. Instead, this ham radio operator, who goes by the name of OM7LW, uses it to communicate with the world.
"As a young boy, my father didn't listen to regular radio stations. Instead, we always picked up broadcasts from far-flung places like New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, and Brazil," Hámor said about the origin of his fascination with ham radio.
The registered ham radio operator often travels abroad to compete against other amateur radio operators. For example, he has been to Madeira in the Atlantic 15 times. Last year, his teams won first place there. If you are wondering if he swam in the ocean, the answer is yes.
"I lasted about five minutes in the ocean," he laughed. "It was so cold."
Read more in Slovak.
3) Klára is retiring
Klára the helicopter. (source: Facebook/Air - Transport Europe)
Having completed her rescue missions last year, an Agusta A109K2 helicopter has recently retired from aviation duty, rightfully earning her rest.
The last landing happened in March of this year.
Klára, as the helicopter was called in Slovakia, was produced in Italy. She had flown around Switzerland for 16 years before she began to operate in Slovakia, in 2010, taking off from different locations.
Do you know how many landings Klára performed before retirement? 36,140 landings. She spent more than 6,000 hours up in the air.
Read more in Slovak.
Here's more good news published by The Slovak Spectator:
Michael’s Tower with regained Baroque look will reopen soon.
The only cable car in Slovak Paradise is back in operation.
Discover animal tracks on a new adventure trail in central Slovakia.
A rare gate was on display once and for only two hours. People may see it again soon.
FUNNY MEME FOR THIS WEEK
Five percent of happiness
Translation of the meme: "When you are looking for 5 percent in the elections for Demokrati." (source: zomri.online)
Ahead of the elections, the Demokrati party currently enjoys the support of only 2.6 percent of Slovak voters. In order to enter the next parliament, Demokrati needs to gain at least 5 percent on September 30.
Demokrati, led by ex-PM Eduard Heger, is not the only party struggling to jump over the 5-percent threshold, but one of its candidates, MEP Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová, has been poked fun at by people in recent days.
The notable MEP, who runs the Jablko party (its members, including her, appear on Demokrati's slate), posted a photo on Instagram, in which she is doing some outdoor work with a pickaxe so that she can later plant lavender in her garden.
She has recently told the Sme daily that she does not know why Demokrati has not been engaging Jablko members in the campaign more, nor why the party does not invite the MEP to its press conferences to potentially increase its popularity.
But one thing is clear: No matter how hard and deep MEP Ďuriš Nicholsonová is digging, 2.4 percent can hardly be found in the soil before September.
You can send me your tips on positive news stories about Slovakia or funny memes at: yehor.zhukov@spectator.sk. Thank you!
