Magazine

Dominik Duka, photo: www.dominikduka.cz The British prime minister, David Cameron, won a good deal of attention while in opposition for addressing voters in an informal style via an internet video blog cleverly/cheesily entitled the Webcameron. The head of the Czech Roman Catholic church Archbishop Dominik Duka may not be regularly speaking to the public from his home as Mr Cameron did, but he can be seen in a series of videos on his own website introducing the public to his rather grand residence, Prague’s Archbishop’s Palace. In 11 short films, the evidently media savvy prelate shows viewers all around the building, from his study to the chapel where he prays of a morning. The address is www.dominikduka.cz

Nicole Vaidišová, Radek Štěpánek, photo: CTK A few minutes’ walk from the Archbishop’s Palace, Prague Castle’s St Vitus’ Cathedral was the venue last Saturday for one of the most glamorous weddings of the summer, when leading Czech men’s tennis player Radek Štěpánek exchanged vows with Nicole Vaidišová, the country’s former women’s number one who at only 21 has already retired. Among the guests were two of the Czech Republic’s other biggest sports stars, soccer goalkeeper Petr Čech and ice hockey great Jaromír Jágr. Štěpánek and Vaidišová are of course not the only Czech sportspeople to tie the knot: athletes Tomáš Janků and Kateřina Baďurová are due to say “ano” in September; gymnast Věra Čáslavská and runner Josef Odložil made international headlines when the two Olympic champions got hitched in the late 1960s; and the nation’s best known sporting couple ever are probably running legend Emil Zátopek and javelin champion Dana Zátopková.

Czechs are slacking less at the office, suggests a survey released this week and quoted by the news website novinky.cz. The company truconneXion says the average time employees spend on non-work related activities on the internet fell by half an hour a day in the last year. That is based on twice-annual statistics generated by the 700,000 computers in the Czech Republic fitted with software called AuditPro which tracks computer use. A representative of truconneXion said despite the reduction the average worker is still spending one hour daily using their PC for something other than what they are supposed to be doing. As for why workers are working more, many have modified their behaviour due to simple fear of getting the chop in these uncertain times. What’s more, this kind of computer monitoring has increased and with it an awareness that Big Brother, or at least Big Boss, is watching.

Václav Havel, photo: CTK Former Czech president Václav Havel has been talking about his latest project, directing his first movie at the age of 73. Mr Havel is currently filming a version of his most recent play Leaving in the town of Česká Skalice in east Bohemia and told reporters this week that the experience had increased his respect for film directors. Mr Havel pointed out that he came from a filmmaking background, given that his uncle had been one of the founders of Czechoslovakia’s film industry. He said he had actually wanted to study directing as a young man, but the atmosphere of the 1950s and ‘60s – when his family were considered class enemies – had meant there was no way he could get into Prague’s FAMU film school. Comparing his previous and current roles, Václav Havel said his crew listened to him more than the Czech state had when he was its head, adding that both jobs required diplomatic skills.

The pop singer Dara Rolins has been the focus of a great deal of media attention recently after a motorcyclist of 63 died a few hours after a collision with the car she was driving. The Czech Republic’s best-selling tabloid Blesk reported that the priest who officiated at the victim’s funeral had blamed the singer for his death, while – wrote Blesk – some mourners also cursed the Slovak one-time child star, previously known as Darinka Rolincová. For her part the blonde celebrity says she has been having nightmares about the crash, the cause of which has not yet been established. Rolins is now in Bulgaria on holiday, saying she needs to protect her daughter from the stress of the situation back home.

John Lennon's jacket, photo: Martin Musil, www.beatlemanie.cz Fans of the Beatles in Prague are in for a treat following the unveiling this week of items that belonged to John Lennon at an exhibition entitled Beatlemanie! at the city’s Museum of Music. The most valuable exhibit is the suede jacket that Lennon wore on the cover of the classic 1965 album Rubber Soul (and a lot more often, judging by how scuffed it is). The show also features other fab gear, including a hair brush and comb set with which the mop-top managed his…mop, and private photos of John and Yoko Ono from 1969. Beatlemanie! runs until next January, pop pickers.