Rijeka and Brighton – my home towns

Rijeka and Brighton – a brief comparison prompted by the opening day of Rijeka’s European Capital of Culture year in February 2020.

It was almost 20 years ago to the day that I first came to Croatia, more specifically to Cres, Opatija and Rijeka. I was here to write a travel piece for a Brighton based magazine for which I was the production assistant – when the editor called out across our office “who wants to go to Croatia for a week?” I stuck my hand into the air eagerly although not being 100% sure about where I’d be going. On that trip, I experienced a tiny piece of Croatian life and the Rijeka Carnival and was greatly impressed. In 2003, I left Brighton and Hove (the city’s full title) and moved to Rijeka.

Rijeka and Brighton

In the following years, I visited many parts of the country but I always thought that the city was different and even the Croats I met on those trips told me that Rijeka stood out as being alternative. From music to art to literature this city has proved this to me with the opening of the Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture (ECoC) this February and it made me realise that Brighton and Rijeka have several things in common so I put together a list:

  • They are both cities by the sea – south of their capitals – obvious I know. Brighton is the closest big city to London and a huge tourist destination. Rijeka is Croatia’s third-largest city, not, unfortunately, a big tourist destination, however, in the past it was a very important industrial and transport hub and with ECoC and all that this investment, opportunity and status will bring, it now has much more potential.
  • Theatres – both cities have theatres which came into popular use in the late-19th century. In Brighton the Theatre Royal and in Rijeka the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc. In each city, there is also an unused venue. Rijeka’s Opera hall was recently opened for the opening day of ECoC when several rock bands played well into the night and it has recently hosted a dance event, which will surely boost its rejuvenation. Whilst in Brighton the Hippodrome’s future is still in the balance. Both these venues have seen better days during their century-long lives.
Rijeka’s Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc and Brighton’s Theatre Royal
Rijeka’s Opera hall and Brighton’s Hippodrome
  • Both cities have old original cinema theatres. The Duke of Yorks picture house in Brighton is an art-house cinema. It was one of the first in the world and was opened in 1910. It has experienced many lows and highs over the years but has survived and today it is still the oldest working movie theatre in the UK. Rijeka has Art-kino, which under a different name was founded about 1928 and then went through many variations and premises over the decades. The movies were incredibly popular in Rijeka, with films being shown from all parts of Europe, America and the Soviet Union. In fact, at one point in time Rijeka county had more cinemas screens than any other town in Croatia (45) and in the first six months of 1950 more than 750,000 cinema tickets were sold in the city. A law was even in force at the time which meant that the sale of tickets by touts outside before a popular film was screened became a criminal offence – those found guilty were fined, imprisoned or even expelled from the county! During Rijeka 2020 ECoC there will several locations arranged for open-air film screenings around the city and even on the roofs of tower blocks. Brighton also has open-air cinema shows during the summer. Both cities also have multiplex cinema complexes, however, these two small independent art-house cinemas have survived where other theatres have disappeared or been repurposed, and they still draw in the crowds.
Rijeka’s Art-kino and Brighton’s Duke of Yorks picture house
  • Graffiti and murals. Both cities are adorned with murals and let’s say artistic graffiti. With tasteful and professional illustrations buildings, parks and other public spaces can be really brought to life, enhance the image and even become talking points and landmarks of towns and cities in place of drab, grey, depressing, crumbling structures. During Rijeka 2020 ECoC there will be an international festival of murals and street art will appear around the city painted by local and foreign artists.
Brighton’s Prince Albert pub mural and Rijeka’s IVEX building mural
  • Rijeka was and still is a centre of new music. In the 60s the first rock bands in the former Yugoslavia emerged here, in the 70s and 80s punk and new wave groups such as Paraf flourished. Later in the 90s and early 2000s, the club and dance scene was led by the Fun Academy and Quorum Colours. Brighton has always been an innovative place for new music. In the late 80s and 90s, it was a key place for the emerging dance and rave scene, which I really enjoyed. In the mid-90s I played bass in a rock band. My friends and I did it for the joy of music – we didn’t expect to be famous – we weren’t – but like so many others we did it for the fun of playing. 3-4 times a week we went to gigs, in pubs and clubs. This is similar to the feeling I have in Rijeka now – there is a varied musical scene, from flamenco to bluegrass and I have got to know several musicians by helping them with their English language as well as reminiscing about the heady 90s rave scene and concerts by bands that people here would have enjoyed seeing. Of course, all the musicians I’ve met here are much more proficient and professional than I was back then. One particular star from Brighton, Fatboy Slim has played in Croatia several times and Nick Cave, who is immensely popular in Croatia lived there for many years (bumped into him twice in Brighton’s shops).
  • Brighton is one of the key centres for the publication of The Big Issue magazine which was established in 1991 to help homeless people get back on their feet and make a small living from writing and selling the magazine. The Big Issue was one inspiration for Rijeka’s own magazine called Ulične svjetiljke which is now sold throughout Croatia.
The Big Issue was the inspiration for Rijeka’s Ulične Svjetiljke
  • Universities – both cities have renowned universities and big student populations. Several campuses and faculties are spread around each city. The students’ energy and enthusiasm are a constant drive in both communities. And of course, with large numbers of students come festivals and events to cater for them. Rijeka has the multi-day Student Day Festival – the largest in the region, which has just celebrated its 10th anniversary. It features cultural, educational, sports, humanitarian, entertainment and scientific events for up to 40,000 students from Rijeka, all over Croatia as well as nearby countries. The highlight being the weekend of free concerts in the very centre of the city featuring famous local names – something that made me reminisce of student gigs back in the early 90s in Brighton.
  • In Brighton the culture of recycling is firmly established. It is the only city in the UK which has a Green Party Member of Parliament. In the city, every household has separate bins for each kind of waste that is then collected by the council and dealt with. The City of Rijeka is trying – with separate containers for waste plastic, paper and glass for each neighbourhood, and it regularly distributes leaflets about how to cut down on unnecessary waste and raise awareness of recycling. Recently the city received more money from the government for the expansion of its recycling facilities. There is also one excellent initiative in the city called Riperaj, which is Croatia’s first repair café. It was opened in late 2019 and offers its citizens a free repair service (excluding any necessary spare parts) for their household electrical items and furniture and anything that would otherwise be thrown into the rubbish and end up in a landfill. It also offers a programme of workshops for everyone who wants to learn more about recycling and repairing household equipment. Repair cafés are a rapidly worldwide growing concept. Brighton also has its own Repair Café which was opened in 2012. During ECoC there are several green initiatives, such as Zeleni Val, beginning in Rijeka including the conversion of previously unused roofs of tower blocks into gardens and the greening of deserted areas owned by the city. Something that the local communities are invited to get involved with.
Rijeka’s Riperaj repair cafe opened in 2019 – the first in Croatia.
  • There are many other ways which Rijeka could also benefit from sustainable and renewable energy. Off the coast of Brighton, there is a massive wind farm with more than 100 windmills. Imagine the electricity which could be generated when the fierce “bura” wind blows!! Solar power too when considering the number of sunshine hours which the Adriatic Sea enjoys – in fact, a solar power plant on the nearby island of Cres is due to be constructed. Recently the Port of Rijeka was given a waste collection device – the Seabin – the first in Croatian waters. This simple, inexpensive bin for collecting surface waste is a global initiative that aims to clean up the water around harbours and ports.
  • Brighton has a very big gay community. The Brighton Pride Festival is the largest and proudest LGBT event in the UK with an average of 450,000 attendees every year. Although Rijeka does not come close to this kind of event, it is important to note that in 2013 the people of Rijeka voted against the proposed Article 61 of the Croatian Constitution which was upheld nationally as proclaiming that “Marriage is a living union between a woman and a man” – effectively meaning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. Croatia’s first lesbian organisation – LORI – was established in 2000 in Rijeka and it supports the rights of the LGBT community in society. During ECoC there will be the annual Smoqua festival of LGBT culture which will feature performances, a concert, an exhibition, artist and activist interventions in public spaces, workshops, panel discussions and other activities in order to introduce visitors to the importance of queer and feminist history and it will be attended by participants from around the world. Just recently, in 2019 a new website, aimed at gay travellers and tourists was launched by a woman from Rijeka – gaytravelcroatia.net. Since living in Rijeka I have met many friendly, open-minded people of all generations from school children and pensioners, artists, writers, musicians and professors with whom I share the same passions, opinions and positive outlooks as those I know back in Brighton. Although the two cities do not share similar histories, I think that Rijeka’s past has only added to its diversity and tolerance for others as well as the desire for change and improvement.
  • Both Rijeka and Brighton like to feel as though they are different and independent. People visit Brighton for a weekend away, for the arts, nightlife and shopping. The community feeling is very close. In the 2016 Brexit referendum 68% of Brighton’s residents voted to remain in the EU. For me, Rijeka too has a similar feeling – immediately after the ECoC opening ceremony on the blackboard of a popular bar in Rijeka – Caffe la Guardia – whose daily pearls of wisdom over the years have been highly amusing and succinct, stirred up some reactions – read into this what you will.…..

Of course, this is just a quick list of things that immediately came to my mind after enjoying the opening ceremony of Rijeka’s year of holding the title of European City of Culture – many people I spoke to in the days following that day agreed that Rijeka should have a similar, although more modest, event every year. The year-long programme and the lasting effects after 2020 could be the initiator for a new annual Rijeka festival – RiStartFest (?) which would bring extra energy and interest to the city just like Brighton’s world-famous Festival

Late February saw the annual Rijeka Carnival Parade through the city centre. An extra special event this year to celebrate the European Capital of Culture, and something that I experienced 20 years ago on my first visit to Croatia. Every year I am always impressed by the effort, ingenuity and joy that its people can create and in doing so make it unique – just like my previous home of Brighton.

So Rijeka, in the words of your own annual carnival slogan may you always “be what you want to be.”

I was on Croatian National Television’s HTV1 chatting about Rijeka and Brighton with ‘Romano Bolković – 1 na 1’

Novi List interview

This is a reproduction of my interview for Rijeka’s Novi List daily newspaper with Marinko Glavan published on 15.03.2020.

Životna želja! Prevesti Kamovljevu Isušenu kaljužu na engleski

Martin Mayhew, pisac, prevoditelj i novinar, Britanac je koji već 17 godina živi u Rijeci. U međuvremenu je stekao hrvatsko državljanstvo, a uz svakodnevne poslove prevođenja s hrvatskog na engleski te proofreadinga, posla u kojemu »dotjerava« već prevedene tekstove, bilo da je riječ o poslovnoj komunikaciji ili tekstovima pjesama domaćih bendova koji pjevaju na engleskom, kako bi bili posve u duhu engleskog jezika, započeo je s prevođenjem djela Janka Polić Kamova na engleski jezik. Već je preveo zbirku Kamovljevih pjesama Psovka, a velika mu je želja na engleski prevesti Isušenu kaljužu, vjerojatno najznačajnije djelo riječkog pisca, kako bi, ističe, ovaj čudesni roman predstavio čitateljskoj publici s engleskog govornog područja.

Da Hrvati sele u Veliku Britaniju nije ni najmanje neuobičajeno, no suprotnih primjera, poput njegovog, vrlo je malo, u stvari u čitavoj Hrvatskoj trajno živi svega šačica Britanaca pa na pitanje kako je uopće došlo do toga da se iz Brightona preseli u Rijeku, odgovara da je ispočetka sve bila čista slučajnost. U Rijeku i na Kvarner prvi je put stigao prije točno dvadeset godina, radeći kao novinar turističku reportažu s Kvarnera.

“Došao sam u zemlju o kojoj nisam znao puno. Radio sam za jedan časopis, a naš urednik imao je ponude turističkih zajednica iz gotovo cijelog svijeta da dođemo i pišemo reportaže o različitim destinacijama. Tog dana, kada se odlučivalo tko će u Hrvatsku, nitko od kolega novinara nije bio slobodan pa je urednik šetao po redakciji, pitajući „Tko želi ići u Hrvatsku?“. Kako u tom trenutku nisam imao puno nekog drugog posla, rekao sam „OK, ja ću to napraviti“. lako nisam imao pojma gdje idem niti što mogu očekivati. Kad sam rekao svojim prijateljima i poznanicima da idem u Hrvatsku, bilo je svakakvih reakcija, poput one da uzmem sa sobom pancirku, jer je tamo bio rat“, kaže Mayhew.

Niša na tržištu

Po dolasku, proveo je tjedan dana putujući po Primorju i otocima, s grupom od još pet turista i kako naglašava – fantastično se proveo.

„Na Cresu smo bili u Eko centru Beli, gdje zbrinjavaju ozlijeđene bjeloglave supove. Upoznao sam a zaljubio sam se ovu zemlju, i ovaj kraj. U iduće dvije godine promijenio sam posao, vratio sam se u tisak, kao menadžer za proizvodnju u velikoj tiskarskoj tvrtki, ali sam i još nekoliko puta posjetio Hrvatsku. Posao menadžera bio je vrlo stresan i jednom sam trenutku odlučio sve promijeniti, doslovce promijeniti svoj život. Odlučio sam preseliti se iz Brightona u Rijeku. Počeo sam učiti hrvatski i nakon godinu-dvije sam krenuo s prevođenjem i proofreadingom, tada uglavnom za lokalne ljude i tvrtke, ništa pretjerano znanstveno ili na razini prevođenja književnosti“, kaže Britanac.

Kroz godine provedene u Rijeku uspio je stvoriti vlastitu nišu na tržištu, u kojoj se bavi isključivo prijevodima s hrvatskog na engleski, ne i obrnuto, jer iako je, prema onome što smo čuli tijekom razgovora, hrvatski jezik savladao vrlo dobro, kao izvorni govornik engleskog jezika i pisac, smatra kako puno više može postići prevodeći hrvatske tekstove na engleski.

„Najviše se, zapravo, bavim takozvanim proofreadingom, provjerom ispravljanjem tekstova na engleskom koji su pisali Hrvati, kako bi taj tekst bio posve, ne samo gramatički i pravopisno ispravan, nego i u duhu engleskog jezika. Kroz sve ove godine zapravo sam sam stvarao svoj današnji posao. Bio sam uporan, učio sam hrvatski koji je za nas Engleze vrlo zahtjevan jezik. Sintaksa. gramatika, padeži, rodovi, sve je vrlo drugačije. Hrvatski, po svom sudu, ne .govorim baš najbolje, ali ga odlično razumijem, a to je najvažnije kada je riječ o prijevodima s hrvatskog na engleski“, kaže Mayhew.

Zaljubljen u Kamova

Posao mu je vrlo specifičan, posebno kada je riječ o proofreadingu. Radi se o, da tako kažemo, finom tuningu prijevoda s hrvatskog na engleski, u čemu je već stekao popriličnu reputaciju i broj klijenata.

„Dakle, ne govorimo o klasičnom prevođenju, nego o finim nijansama prevođenja. Ljudi mi pošalju tekst na engleskom i ono što ih zanima je zvuči li to zaista dobro. Zvuči li zaista onako kako bi to napisao ili rekao izvorni govornik. Na tom području surađujem I s nekim bendovima koji pjevaju na engleskom, poput Sarah & The Romans čije tekstove provjeravam. Stvorio sam mrežu poznanika i suradnika koji me dalje preporučuju drugim ljudima i tako to funkcionira“, kaže Mayhew.

Što se tiče prevođenja, „zaljubio“ se u Kamova. Do sad je preveo zbirku pjesama Psovka, a prijevod je objavio u vlastitom izdanju, specifičnom po tome što je uvez i grafički dizajn identičan izvornom, prvom izdanju Kamovljeve zbirke pjesama.

‘Psovka’ original edition and ‘The Curse’ in English – available on Amazon as ebook and paperback here

Kad sam prvi put čitao Kamova, za mene je to bilo otkriće. Bio sam oduševljen. Krenuo sam u prevođenje njegove poezije, trudeći sa da to bude zaista najbolji mogući prijevod. Čitajući njegova djela i prevodeći ih, odlučio sam napraviti i cijeli rječnik prijevoda njegovih izraza na engleski, što mi je pomoglo u daljnjem prevođenju, a na taj sam način i bolje upoznao hrvatski jezik, jer je on u svom pisanju koristio izraze i arhaična glagolska vremena kakva se u suvremenom hrvatskom više ne koriste. Želja mi je da napravim kvalitetan prijevod Isušene kaljuže na engleski i tražim izdavača koji bi bio spreman u tome sudjelovati. Riječ je o vrhunskom književnom djelu koje zaslužuje biti prevedeno na engleski kako bi došlo do šireg kruga čitatelja u svijetu. 1tažio sam potporu hrvatskog Ministarstva kulture, kao i britanske ambasade, ali potpora je uvjetovana nalaženjem izdavača Vjerujem da ću uspjeti naći izdavača zainteresiranog za ovaj projekt“, kaže Mayhew.

Modern and original editions of ‘Isušena kaljuža’
My collection of Kamov’s ‘Farces and Novellas’ is also available on Amazon. More details here.

Otvorene luke

Kao novinar proputovao je većinu europskih zemalja, ali kaže kako mu nigdje nije bilo tako lijepo, niti je igdje bilo tako mirno kao u Hrvatskoj, posebno u Rijeci i okolici, iako nije riječ o turističkom gradu. Rijeku je, ističe, izabrao zato jer je cijeli život živio kraj mora, iako je Brighton po pitanju turizma, kao jedno od najpopularnijih odredišta u Engleskoj, posve suprotan Rijeci.

„Brighton je vrlo orijentiran na turizam i vrlo popularan u Britaniji. Proputovao sam i dobar dio Hrvatske, ali sam odlučio da mi dom bude u Rijeci. Volim atmosferu ovog grada, volim, da tako kažem, onaj idealistički dio socijalizma koji se zadržao u ovom gradu. Rijeka i Hrvatska su, osim toga, vrlo sigurni. Možete se šetati sami, bilo kojim dijelom grada, u bilo koje doba noći, bez straha da će vam se dogoditi nešto loše. U nekim dijelovima Londona ili Brightona to nije moguće, ako šetate sami u neko doba noći, postajete meta pljačkaša I sam sam bio opljačkan na ulici u svom rodnom gradu, Brightonu. Osim toga, ljudi u Velikoj Britaniji su prestrašeni od terorističkih napada, a ovdje toga nema“, kaže Mayhew.

Rijeku je odabrao, što je i naglasio u svom nedavno objavljenom tekstu, zbog sličnosti s Brightonom. U oba slučaja riječ je o lučkim gradovima, otvorenima za ljude koji dolaze iz svih krajeva svijeta kroz dugi period povijesti.

„U Rijeci sam upoznao mnogo ljudi, ali nikad se nisam susreo s predrasudama Ovo je, kao i Brighton, vrlo otvoren grad. Doduše, nisam živio nigdje drugdje u Hrvatskoj parni je teško reći je li Rijeka drugačija od ostatka zemlje, ali uspoređujem je s onim što najbolje poznajem, a to je Brighton, koji je također vrlo otvoren, u kojemu se ljudi iz bilo kojeg dijela zemlje ili svijeta osjećaju dobrodošlo. Mislim da je mentalitet Rijeke drugačiji nego ostatka Hrvatske, jer je riječ o luci i industrijskom gradu u koji su oduvijek dolazili brodovi, pomorci, radnici, poslovni ljudi iz raznih krajeva, različitih nacionalnosti, što je stvorilo drugačiji mentalitet. Brighton je turističko središte i također imamo ljude koji dolaze izraznih krajeva. U Brightonu, kao i u Rijeci, prevladava mišljenje kako je grad drugačiji Od ostatka zemlje. Primjerice, iz Brightona je jedini zastupnik zelenih u parlamentu, dok je u ostatku zemlje izbor samo između laburista i konzervativaca. Mislim i da ovdje u Rijeci ima puno prilika, ako želite nešto učiniti, možete. Bit će prepreka, prvenstveno administrativnih, na koje se zbilja teško naviknuti, ali prilika ima Inače, birokracija u Hrvatskoj je zaista problem. Upoznao sam mnoge strance koji su ovdje došli s namjerom da ulažu, ali kad su vidjeli s kolikom birokracijom i papirologijom su suočeni, na kraju su odustali od svojih namjera Na kraju radije kupe kuću ili apartman, nego pokreću biznis, što je velika šteta“, kaže riječki Britanac.

Riječki EPK

Rijeka je, ističe, drugačija od ostalih hrvatskih krajeva uz obalu i po tome što nije turističko odredište, barem ne u segmentu masovnog turizma. Isprva ga je čudilo što u gradu, tijekom vrhunca turističke sezone, u srpnju i kolovozu, ne samo da nema turista u velikom broju, nego ni Riječana.

„Pitao sam zašto ljudi odlaze ljeti. što to Rijeka nema, a svi ostali gradovi uz obalu imaju. Ali s vremenom sam zaključio da je možda i bolje tako. Je li to dobro za Rijeku, ili loše, jer dolazi manje novca od turizma, ne znam. Nadam se da će projekt Europske prijestolnice kulture ipak dovesti više ljudi, iako je teško bilo što prognozirati, s obzirom na epidemiju koronavirusa“, kaže Mayhew.

Kao prevoditelj i sam je uključen u projekt Rijeka EPK 2020. Do sad je preveo cjelokupan katalog svih događanja tijekom riječkog prijestolovanja europskom kulturom, u dva navrata, što je rezultiralo pozamašnim izdanjem na engleskom jeziku u kojemu su predstavljena sva događanja planirana tijekom ove godine.

Prvo izdanje

„To je bio prilično velik posao. Prvo izdanje na engleskom bilo je otprilike upola kraće od drugog, a sada pripremam treće, koje će biti još opsežnije, kaže nam, pokazujući nam podeblju knjigu, katalog zbivanja Rijeka EPK.“

Drugo izdanje

„Zahvaljujući tom prijevodu dobro sam upoznat s programom događanja i zapravo sam zahvalan što sam imao priliku u tome sudjelovati. To mi je i prilika da pokažem što radim, ali i da engleskim medijima približim Rijeka EPK projekt. Do sad nisu pokazali neki golemi interes, ali ipak ga ima. Imam i dalje kontakte u Engleskoj, u medijima, ali oni su uglavnom zainteresirani za Dalmaciju ili Istru, kao najpopularnije turističke destinacije. Ne znam zašto ova regija nije toliko prepoznata, iako je geografski savršeno smještena, a ima i puno toga što vrijedi vidjeti i posjetiti. Možda biste vi meni to trebali objasniti“, kaže Mayhew.

Dvostruko državljanstvo

Uz Britansko, odlučio je uzeti i hrvatsko državljanstvo, što je, smatra, bio ispravan potez, nakon Brexita, jer ostaje građanin Europske unije. Snažno se protivi izlasku Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva iz Europske unije, što smatra potpuno pogrešnom politikom.

“Nisam siguran da su Britanci, glasajući o Brexitu, sasvim razumjeli za što glasaju. Nevjerojatno je da su za Brexit glasali birači laburista. Mislim da će Brexit naštetiti svima. Neki dijelovi Velike Britanije izgubit će mnogo, posebno zbog izostanka sufinanciranja projekata iz EU, poput Walesa, u kojemu je velik dio javnih projekata bio sufinanciran europskim sredstvima. Škotska će, vrlo vjerojatno, izglasati neovisnost od Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva, ne vidim kako se to može spriječiti. Ali tu su i druge stvari, poput razmjene studenata, razmjene znanja, kulture, mislim da će svi na kraju biti na gubitku. Na primjer, čak i glazbenici iz Europe trebati će radnu vizu za nastup u Engleskoj. Glazba je važan dio mog života, a posebno me vesele nastupi britanskih izvođača u Hrvatskoj na koje redovito odlazim, no s vizama, tko zna hoće li i koliko tih nastupa ubuduće biti, hoće li im biti preskupo i prekomplicirano da nastupaju u Hrvatskoj. štete će nastati i po pitanju slobode kretanja, studentske razmjene, znanosti, industrije, svega“, kaže Englez.

O životu i radu u Hrvatskoj i Rijeci kaže kako je drugačiji nego u Brightonu.

„Život u Engleskoj puno je skuplji. Za stan koji ovdje plaćam tristo eura mjesečno u Brightonu bih plaćao barem tisuću. Izlasci, restorani i kafići ovdje su puno jeftiniji. Lako treba uzeti u obzir i da su plaće u Engleskoj znatno veće. U Hrvatskoj su plaće nedovoljne, a to utječe na čitavu kulturu življenja. Ovdje mladi ljudi ostaju živjeti s roditeljima znatno duže nego u Engleskoj, na primjer, jer nemaju dovoljno sredstava da žive sami. To stvara drugačiju sliku društva U Engleskoj, čim završiš školovanje, odlaziš od kuće i očekuje se da skrbiš sam za sebe. To u Hrvatskoj ne vidim i nisam na to navikao, jer sam i sam napustio roditeljski dom kad mi je bilo osamnaest“, kaže Mayhew.

Unatoč razlikama, kaže kako nema namjeru napuštati Hrvatsku. „Kada prestanem raditi i odem i mirovinu, mislim da ću ostati ovdje. Barem za sad, nemam namjeru seliti negdje drugdje. Ovdje sam si stvorio život, našao prijatelje, želim ostati u Rijeci“, zaključuje Mayhew.

Thanks to Marinko Glavan and Marko Gracin @ Novi List.
Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić i Janko Polić Kamov pod kontrolom – ja i Sabina Gvozdić. Ogulin – Rijeka 🙂

Romano Bolković – 1 na 1: HTV1 interview

I was recently interviewed by Romano Bolković for his ‘1 na 1’ talk show programme for Croatian National Television HTV1. It was broadcast on 02.03.2020.

At the same I wrote an article for the Total Croatia News portal about the similarity between the city of Rijeka and the city of Brighton in England where I come from after the opening day of the Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture year-long celebration. You can read it here.