Postman Pat

So yesterday we went to Kajmalinas parent’s house, to drop off her sister and to have dinner with her family. It was stunning, they live in a catholic village (generally catholic by tradition more than anything else I think) it’s just outside Prisren, the second biggest city in Kosova.
It’s up a little way into the mountains. With the rolling hills, dry stone walls, open fields and single track roads you could be forgiven for thinking you were in the Yorkshire dales, or down in Dartmoor. It’s the type of place you expect to Simeon Bayton walk round the corner with his walking stick in one hand and a rabbit he’s just snared in the other then Postman Pat in his little red van with his black and white cat, passing by with a happy wave and your post for the day. We had a little walk around and had the privilege of praying in an Old Catholic church with is barely used twice a week for some prayer. The village is mainly deserted for 9 or 10 months of the year as the inhabitants travel to Croatia for work.
However it seems in this county, tragedy is the norm, even in a place of such natural beauty, calm and peace we walked past the remains of a shop where Kyamalinas God father was killed by Albanian raiders from just over the border. The shop hasn’t been touched since!
So we eat homemade food, the crazy uncle turns up and for 3 hours talks about irrigation systems, water supplies, his experience of architecture in Germany, his view on cenial dementia and a few other topics. I’m leaning when to smile and laugh even though I didn’t know what has been said. But all in all it was super; the family are lovely and twas a real privilege to be there. On the way home the Berisha’s tell me bit of their story, how they meet got married and their hopes for the future. It was lovely