Approximately 35 years of my life related to Ráday utca - we went there to the Student, Student Union because we undertook student work. Then, our office has been there since 1991, and now even the Golden Duck gallery is situated there. But I don't just like this street because I'm used to it.
Ráday utca somehow retained the atmosphere of old Budapest, where people knew their neighbors, familiar shop assistants worked in the shops, and you couldn't walk down the street without meeting a lot of acquaintances.
On Friday, April 1st, we took part in a very touching and unusual event. There is a flower shop in Ráday utca, whose name is simply Jutka Flowers. Because this shop has been run by the same lady for exactly 50 years.
Not many people know her family name, but when I mention Flowery Jutka, everyone knows who it is. Everyone bought flowers from her there - for the birth of a child, for school teachers, dates, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, funerals... Even Viktor Orbán stopped by her once for an Advent bouquet. We always bought fresher flowers from her, but more importantly, lots of love and joy, of which there was never a shortage.
As of April 1st, that shop was closed because Jutka retired and invited all her lovely customers to a farewell party. We couldn't all fit in, so we stood outside in the street, got to know each other, and talked. There were notaries, shop owners, entrepreneurs, past, present, and future employees and managers of the municipality, with children and grandchildren.
We laughed a lot and remembered the good old days. Together, in a community. Boys and girls from Ráday Street were of different ages, and nothing mattered - who was where and how much they earned, what they do in life. The only thing that mattered was that we were all here, at the flowery Jutka, on Ráday Street, together, in love and peace.
I don't know what life will be like now without Jutka Flowers. I don't even know of an event that is similar to this.
But I know what I want: for our Golden Duck Gallery to be just as nice, full of love, and an interesting place where the people of Ráday utca and the artists of the whole world can meet. As a community, with joy and peace.
By the way, if you've been around Ráday 37, take a look, there's a plaque on the wall of the former flower shop that says there was a flower shop there from 1956 to 2023...
Dear Jutka!
Very happy retirement to you!!! And visit us sometimes in Ráday Street. We are always happy to see you!