a colour on a map

Tonight my evening meal was cooked by my young Polish guests. It was an Hungarian dish using eggs, peppers, onion and I'm not quite sure what else. It was both flavoursome and delicate, wholesome and light. But when it comes to flavour... the Polish ham that they shared with me at lunch time was a real delicacy! What a treat! (Apologies to the vegetarians out there, but... YUM!)

I am enjoying learning a lot about Poland; it is a country I know very little about other than how much it was devastated and then divided by WWII. Many, many Polish visitors come to Cassino, and one thousand of them lie forever on the slopes of Monte Cassino. But a love of peace, sharing and learning is what is motivating the two who arrived here this morning.

No painting today, but lots of talking, planning and thinking. Often the most telling words slip out almost unnoticed. When we were talking about the post-war changes to the Polish borders (when families were divided by a line that didn't exist before the war) the young man, pointing out former boundaries, said "a 'country' is just a colour on a map". I guess, if you live with family split by an artificial divide, that is so true.

Today I am grateful for gentle visitors.