If I had a day job I’d want that to be restoring old cars. In Georgia, I got my heart’s full of seeing old cars, restored cars, abandoned cars, vintage cars, car museum, car junk yard and I was in the country for barely a week.
Chrysler, standing by the side of the road next to a restaurant. The colour was already wayyyy too attractive. It’s body appears from an era when trains and steamers were migrating to industrial era post Art Deco which is called Streamline Art Deco. An absolute beaut!Very large front – must have accommodated an engine with significant horsepower. What would it be driving this monstrosity and I mean in a kind way. What kind of songs would be playing on the radio then? And how many stations would there be?Those green jewelled lock buttons – I don’t know if this was restored. Even if it was, done really well. Moscovich in dual colours – would have been a heartthrob once. This was parked nonchalantly in a monastery near Georgia-Russia border with its doors unlocked. I was torn between feeling at peace in the monastery and my heart racing seeing this beauty. Green steering wheel. See, they don’t make cars like this anymore. Sigh!Even the floorboard was unique. I think the seats would have been leather which may have been changed. Imagine the dual colour seats. My my!Dual colour interiors of a different car to show how the leather seats would have been once. The full impact of the dual colour – the duality of colours and also the choice of colours are now lost to us. What a shame! This was eclectic – with a qvery on top and too much happening but behind the colours and too much of too muchness, there is a Gaz car dying to come out and say – treat me kindly. Mustang Sally! A swashbuckling new car that too in red. How do you not stop by and take a photo and acknowledge its attractiveness. I am still drawn to the old cars but ok, I give it to you – yes, you got me.I see a sad face like it was a cheeky Herbie – a Lada car Now this is sacred. You can’t walk past something like this and ignore it. A 1936 Buick made of hard steel with a body I could polish until it shone like a mirror. Callously abandoned at a car junk yard. Once restored it would cost millions. All I bought was a jar of strawberry honey from the vendor to remember it by. Still trying to find the model. Any guesses? It would have been a beauty once. It still is. Yep, Gaz Pobeda. There is a story about Pobeda being named Mother to which Stalin said: if you sell your mother, how much would she sell for? Hmm. Not a good idea to name it thus and it was named Pobeda meaning victory. Lada oh dear Lada – you still see them in former Soviet countries. Saw many in Georgia. People use them as people carriers, to ferry furniture or crop.Some come in red and look kinda nice like this one.This was a Gaz van. Haven’t seen a Gaz van before. Backstory would be nice to know though I have none except it was abandoned and uncared 😢What do you call a Lada on a hill? A miracle 😊. Ladas are treated quite poorly and the butt of all jokes. Most Georgians are selling their Ladas for Hondas but for me, Lada wins.Case in point – Ladas used as a carrier vehicle. It’s the other car a family owns that can look battered and it is ok because hey, my first car is a Honda (meh!)A mint green Volga. We don’t poke fun at Volga. That’s it. That’s the story. Surely not for a car that comes in mint green. I wonder what the original colour was. No don’t ask me about this. Car junk yards always make me sadAn odd one here of a different kind of people carrier. King Vakhtang Gorgasali whose remarkable campaign against Persians and Ossetians won back lands for Georgia. He overlooks Tbilisi from Metekhi Cathedral.A green Moscovich – the whole purpose of my life was preordained to keep this devil shining except I was born in a different country. I stood there for one whole minute, shared some terms of endearment and heaved a heavy sigh before moving on. Be mine, Volga.This car was bought at an auction and after looking into the papers it turned out the car was used in the film, Bonnie & ClydeGaz Chaika meaning seagull used by Russian nomenklatura and the police You don’t mess with this car or those inside. Coz it was used by the KGB. The form and colour was borrowed from Ford so you can see similarities in logo too. See, black and white colour cars were unsellable in the past as they were only used by KGB, police or the Russian elites. So the roads would be filled with candy coloured cars. And now we have lost all colour from our lives. Case in point – all these cars were used by the police and the nomenklatura- the Russian elites. Can we talk about the space or shall we keep mum and just amazed by it. Shall I give you a clue? Yep – nomenklatura. The gowns must have been voluminous to accommodate in the spaceThe car that once ferried the man himself – Stalin – in the Red Square. I can imagine him waving to crowds. Would it be in terror or in awe? Red interiors in velvet – very plush, very regal (but what if it was raining on that day? We would never know, would we?)A Pobeda what else – V for victory (now H for history)
From your previous posts I wouldn’t have picked you as a car person but I stand corrected! I work in the car industry, been around it all my life in the family business. Some of these are beauties, but I do prefer more modern sports cars! Nice pics! Hope to see more from Georgia too…. I really want to visit! X
Annaaaaa you didn’t tell me you work in the car industry. But then again, I didn’t ask. I like cars but don’t know much about them like era, engine, make, versions etc. I bet you would. Do a post on cars please. Others posts from Georgia in the making. The country is magical. Thank you always for reading and your encouraging comments.
My dad owns a smash repair business, so we fix up smashed cars for insurance companies. I’ve seen all sorts of cars over the years, and while we don’t do restorations (too busy for it!) in the past we have done some cool paint jobs.
A post on cars? Lol. Boring! I think because I work in the industry for me cars are just cars… nothing exciting! Lol. Maybe one day I’ll post something for you!
So you were recently in Georgia? This country intrigues me and is high in my list! I’d love to see more impressions from you!!!! X
Oh Anna – ya think yer pa can offer me a job? That is the job I was made for but have go and work for a company to earn my holidays. Sigh!
I am struggling writing about Georgia. Typically I would find a hook, an insight or a common thread that will give me the inspiration to write my posts. For Georgia, the country and my experiences were varied. It has wines, its food is unique, architecture has Orthodox Christianity + Art Nouveau + Soviet era; it’s blessed with nature that makes its scenery so beautiful – there may have to be many posts to do justice to it as I can’t find one single way to tie all stories. You will love it Anna. Plus you write so well so it will inspire you in many ways.
Cheers Anna. Your note has encouraged me to put my pen to the paper.
Lol you don’t want to work on cars trust me… might seem glamorous but it’s hard dirty work! I just work in the office and do the business side of things!!!
Georgia does look so varied and interesting, that’s the allure I guess. I’m not sure if you’re a reading type, but if so get “The Eighth Life – for Brilka” by Nino Haratschwili. Set in Georgia and such a story!!!!
World Without Compass 
From your previous posts I wouldn’t have picked you as a car person but I stand corrected! I work in the car industry, been around it all my life in the family business. Some of these are beauties, but I do prefer more modern sports cars! Nice pics! Hope to see more from Georgia too…. I really want to visit! X
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Annaaaaa you didn’t tell me you work in the car industry. But then again, I didn’t ask. I like cars but don’t know much about them like era, engine, make, versions etc. I bet you would. Do a post on cars please. Others posts from Georgia in the making. The country is magical. Thank you always for reading and your encouraging comments.
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My dad owns a smash repair business, so we fix up smashed cars for insurance companies. I’ve seen all sorts of cars over the years, and while we don’t do restorations (too busy for it!) in the past we have done some cool paint jobs.
A post on cars? Lol. Boring! I think because I work in the industry for me cars are just cars… nothing exciting! Lol. Maybe one day I’ll post something for you!
So you were recently in Georgia? This country intrigues me and is high in my list! I’d love to see more impressions from you!!!! X
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Oh Anna – ya think yer pa can offer me a job? That is the job I was made for but have go and work for a company to earn my holidays. Sigh!
I am struggling writing about Georgia. Typically I would find a hook, an insight or a common thread that will give me the inspiration to write my posts. For Georgia, the country and my experiences were varied. It has wines, its food is unique, architecture has Orthodox Christianity + Art Nouveau + Soviet era; it’s blessed with nature that makes its scenery so beautiful – there may have to be many posts to do justice to it as I can’t find one single way to tie all stories. You will love it Anna. Plus you write so well so it will inspire you in many ways.
Cheers Anna. Your note has encouraged me to put my pen to the paper.
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Lol you don’t want to work on cars trust me… might seem glamorous but it’s hard dirty work! I just work in the office and do the business side of things!!!
Georgia does look so varied and interesting, that’s the allure I guess. I’m not sure if you’re a reading type, but if so get “The Eighth Life – for Brilka” by Nino Haratschwili. Set in Georgia and such a story!!!!
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Ah Anna. Thank you. Always searching for a good book. Didn’t know of this. Will definitely give it a read.
I couldn’t tag you but here is a post dedicated to you: https://worldwithoutcompass.com/2022/08/28/niaz-diasamidze/
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