Czech cabinet ministers are asked to hand over their school report cards, Tom Cruise wows admiring fans in Prague and, Martina Sáblíková turns fashion model for a day! Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarová.
A Parliament session was disturbed by a most unusual sound last week – the sound of an alarm bell going off. Lubomír Zaorálek who was presiding the session stopped the speaker to inquire about the source of that “abominable noise”, while another MP called out “it’s a bomb everyone under their desks”. When all was quiet the session proceeded, only to be interrupted ten minutes later by the same alarm. It is not clear which MP wanted to be woken up or for what reason, but the incident made headlines and had people cracking jokes about deputies snoozing in the lower house.
Report card signed by Eliška Krásnohorská, photo: www.msmt.cz
The Prague museum devoted to Jan Amos Komenský –also known as Comenius, Teacher of Nations – is preparing an exhibit of report cards and school certificates as far back as it can acquire copies. The public has been asked to make contributions, especially if they have a report card that is in any way unusual. Among the exhibits will be school leaving certificates dating back to 1804 and report cards issued to President Masaryk and President Beneš, as will report cards signed by the famous Czech writer Eliška Krásnohorská who founded the first secondary school for girls in the mid 19th century when the lands of Bohemia were still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Surprisingly, the most challenging part will be getting more recent report cards. The museum has asked cabinet ministers –past and present – to contribute. None appear to be very eager to do so, understandably enough since many of them still have children at school and very likely used the phrase “when I was your age”. On the other hand it would be very encouraging for today’s youngsters to find Cs on the report cards of future cabinet ministers.
Campaigning in local elections has acquired new dimensions. In one unnamed town independent candidates handed out 755 melons for free as a symbol of the millions squandered by the present leadership. The Czech slang word for a million being melon. Elsewhere, someone added a new road sign pointing the way to the town of Gottwaldov – Gottwaldov being the communist name for the town of Zlín, abandoned soon after the fall of communism. Since the town of Zlín lies 160 km away this particular sign was meant to discredit a different town altogether –presumably for its left-wing leadership.
Choustník castle
Scouts still perform good deeds,believe it or not. Last week they saved a twenty-year-old man from starving to death in the dungeon of the Choustník castle ruins. In search of adventure the young man decided to explore the ruins and on seeing a glittering object through a small hole in the castle walls he decided to scale down with the help of a rope. After sliding down into the five- metre-deep former dungeon he found that he was unable to climb back up. A group of scouts who were camping out in the vicinity heard his calls for help and alerted the police. Hard to believe that someone nearly starved in a dungeon in 2010.
Tom Cruise in Prague, photo: CTK
Film star Tom Cruise is currently in Prague filming Mission Impossible 4 and dogged at every step by hundreds of admiring fans. People were able to watch the actor close up during filming at Vyšehrad and later during a brief stop at Prague Castle where some of the scenes are reportedly due to take place.
The actor, who is in Prague with his wife and daughter, delighted fans by stopping to chat, posing for photographs with them and even signing autographs. The tabloids are eager for any news of the star they can get their hands on – reporting that after 12 hours of filming the actor waved away the waiting limousine and set out on foot from Four Seasons Hotel across Charles Bridge to the Lesser Town. The walk which normally takes ten minutes took him half an hour as tourists and locals stopped to greet him.
The tabloids are making the best of the actor’s presence in Prague getting pictures of him carrying Suri through the streets of the city, reporting on the toys he chose for his daughter from a Prague toy shop and telling readers exactly what he and his wife Katie ordered at a famous Prague restaurant where they had dinner.
Martina Sáblíková, coach Petr Novák, photo: CTK
Meanwhile, Czech speed skater Martina Sáblíková was clearly uncomfortable in her new role of fashion model last week. The country’s golden girl, as she was dubbed after winning a gold medal at the Vancouver Olympics this year, was at the centre of attention as she posed for photographers in a new collection of outdoor wear by a firm that is one of her main sponsors. “I was terribly shy – it was really an ordeal,” the famous Czech sportswoman admitted later. Although clearly camera shy Martina has been making an effort – earlier this year she appeared in a TV ad for Danone where she was shown opening the fridge, choosing a yogurt and having breakfast. “You have no idea how hard it is to look like you are really having breakfast when you are not” she said after a hard day’s work.
