Tonight I went to the opening of a shop in the main shopping precinct in Skopje. Not the new Nike shop, but a small second-hand clothes shop run by some people from the church. There were loads of people there, drinking whisky or fanta, eating crisps and cakes, talking (of course, this is Macedonia) and sometimes looking at the clothes. It's great when a new enterprise like this starts here as jobs are so scarce and especially when it involves good friends.

I was also introduced to another Macedonian tradition tonight - while rummaging through the clothes I heard someone drop lots of coins on the floor. But it wasn't an accident, or some clumsy person paying for their shopping, as I was told, they do it whenever someone starts a new enterprise like this. When I looked around I discovered there was actually quite alot of money all over the floor! I realise that this probably started from a superstition, but even so, what a great way to bless a new business starting out, by physically throwing money at it!