Recorded at the Czech Sea or Rybník Řeka, Vysočina. August 2013.
I suddenly started to notice them, the paintings, and reproductions, photos and drawings of seas, boats, and beaches. In bars and cafés, shops, living rooms, advertisements. Every village hospoda has at least one on the wall. “I would not like to live in a country without a seaside,” someone said. “But there is one here,” was the immediate answer. To send a proof, a recording was made, on a sunny afternoon, while the kids were digging holes in the sand, the mothers preparing a picnic, the fathers getting a beer or two. The canteen was serving fish and chips, and was painted in mediterranean blue, decorated with seaside images, fishing nets, and fake shells. There were pedalos and rowboats. People were swimming, laughing and running around. Out of nowhere fragments of all different languages were mingling together. After the environmental deluge, when all waters will rise again, Vysočina will stick out. Rybník Řeka will survive, we will always spend summer at the seaside!
(In memory of Luc Ferrari, Presque Rien.)
