Hello from Russia!

[Sergo]

I was, but not about what you thought, it’s not important, the moment has gone I think!

OK. But it's too bad I still cannot fully understand your humor - I would have wanted to.

there are lots of specialist shops in the area you mention, Picadily Circus is close to Charing Cross road for example where there are a lot of book shops.

OK, thanks - I think when I am in London next time, I will spend more time just walking here and there, not taking any excursions. But maybe I should go to Kue Gardens (or something like that), somehow I failed to do that last year.

Well yes, Great Britain, Britain or GB for short, refers to the island containing England, Scotland and Wales. ‘The United Kingdom’ is England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Island and ‘The British Isles’ are all of those plus the Republic of Ireland.

Thanks for the interesting explanation - I will try to remember: it doesn't seem too intricate for me even... Really all you have mentioned meant England - or Britain - or the UK - for me... You know, the place where the English live...

BTW, ‘Great’ Britain is not so called in a boastful way, like calling a country ‘Fantastic Russia’, or ‘Marvellous Italy’ or ‘Sexually Athletic Iceland’. It means ‘Great’ as in larger; there is a lesser Britain, which is the region of Northern France called Brittany, which used to be under British control.

Of course, I wanted to get even with you by pointing out that there is not far enough to go in Great Britain...
Though I think that really could be explained by 1,50 dollars per litre rather than by anything else...

Many countries are like this, I sometimes think it is a way to save the police having to control speed limits!

An interesting idea and a good joke, but I think it's just that to steal money from a construction site is much easier, than from something else, even for an unskilled thief: who would know how many times had a road-roller went over a layer of sand - 5 times or just once, and that means not a small difference in costs. That's because of what we have many roads been build now, and some of them are looking good even.
And, really, as outdoor labor in winter costs more, than in summer, our minor construction firms, who I think take most of our road-building market, tend to work mostly in winters. Alas, asphalt is not too adhesive in the presence of water and cold, and next year the road needs repairs again. Which is naturally OK with the road-builders.

And as to the police - they mostly use artificial bumps on our streets. We have a Militia School not too far from our home, and several years ago they installed quite a large asphalt bumps on the road near it. As the school is situated in a natural depression, the road from both sides comes downhill to it, and uphill after it. So drivers not yet familiar with the terrain naturally tended to speed up downhill, and quite a lot wound up with serious breakdowns, as it was impossible to recognise the bumps at night or in winter... So they have demolished the bumps after several years of wrecks...

I saw some of them in the memorial park in Kiev…T-34s not Hummers.

Of course not, I am glad to confirm. But even better to deal with our roads and our police.

 

[Sergo]

Wow!
Sergo and Kenny - quite a conversation you have going!.. I feel quite guilty now about butting in,.. have just read the whole post which is something i perhaps should have done first off! Thanks for a great entertaining couple of hours
SO interesting Sergo what you were saying about Russia being a lot of small places, I suppose judging your country from the (albeit beautiful ) cities I have seen would be like judging Britain from merely experiencing London.
Will definitely check out Bulgakov's M+M, thank you
Will leave you two to it feel quite bad about sticking my neb in!

beth

Thanks Beth!
I hope that David here doesn't object to your taking part here, and I surely do not.
(By the way, I've just checked your "sticking my neb in", and failed to find it in my Webster Handy College I have in my office. The nearest to it there is "nebbish", so I imagine "neb" means something uninteresting or trivial?).

You know, I am a very talkative person (eh... I doubt that many people I know are aware of the fact...), and the only thing that doesn't allow me to spend more time here is my work... And my dacha, I spent almost all of yesterday mowing etc. there...

 

[Sergo]

Moscow... You graduated from Moscow State?

I am in America. I am from China. Vodka is for downing not really for taste.

Why do you ask? You mean our Moscow State University? No, I hadn't too high a forehead for it then... I graduated from Moscow Civil Enineering Institute, on Civil and Industrial Building... It's called the Moscow Engineering University or something like that now.

Everything seems to be from China these days... You know, the goods I deliver to Russia from all over the world are 80% made in China... Too bad they have too intricate a system for finding the vendors you need - we tryed for several month to find a Chinese company Hen Long, which makes toy tanks, and it proved to be impossible... Otherwise there would be much better percentage I think - 90 or 95%...

I see you surely have known some Russians, as that's our attitude... Maybe that's because I never got to like vodka too much - I like things to be tasty...

 

[Kenny Shovel]

… maybe I should go to Kew Gardens (or something like that), somehow I failed to do that last year.

Unfortunately you will definitely miss the Chelsea Flower show which is just about to start here, and may have been of interest to you as it has many ‘show gardens’ :

http://www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea/2005/index.asp

Also there is the Eden project, but this may be further out of London than you would want to travel:

http://www.edenproject.com/

and perhaps a bit too ‘hippy’. But Kew is, I think, open all year and perhaps the gardens at Windsor castle as well.

Really all you have mentioned meant England - or Britain - or the UK - for me... You know, the place where the English live...

The mixing up and transposing of Britain and England happens a lot, it doesn’t bother me but it’s not quite so popular with the Scots and Welsh! It’s a bit like calling people in Kiev Russians, some won’t mind, some will.

Of course, I wanted to get even with you by pointing out that there is not far enough to go in Great Britain...
Though I think that really could be explained by 15 dollars per litre rather than by anything else...

You’ve lost me again I’m afraid!

And, really, as outdoor labor in winter costs more, than in summer, our minor construction firms, who I think take most of our road-building market, tend to work mostly in winters. Alas, asphalt is not too adhesive in the presence of water and cold, and next year the road needs repairs again. Which is naturally OK with the road-builders.

Does your government actually quality-control anything?

And as to the police - they mostly use artificial bumps on our streets.

We have these too, in Britain they are called ‘sleeping policemen’, and are actually quite controversial. They do tend to work in slowing traffic, there are some in a street near me, but also can cause damage to cars as you mention. They are also unpopular with firemen who have to get down these roads quickly, as well as ambulance drivers who sometimes have to get over them whilst they have a patient in the back who has head or neck injuries that require minimal movement.

 

[Kenny Shovel]

Wow!
Sergo and Kenny - quite a conversation you have going!.. I feel quite guilty now about butting in,.. have just read the whole post which is something i perhaps should have done first off! …
Will leave you two to it feel quite bad about sticking my neb in!

Beth,

If this was a private conversation we’d be conducting it via email, feel free to join in as much as you want.

Will definitely check out Bulgakov's M+M, thank you

I personally found that ‘Heart of a dog’ was a good place to start with Bulgakov’s work, shorter and funnier than M&M.

KS

 

[Kenny Shovel]

I hope that David here doesn't object to your taking part here

Nope, not at all.

By the way, I've just checked your "sticking my neb in", and failed to find it in my Webster Handy College I have in my office

neb is slang for nose, if you have further problems with slang try this site:

http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/n.htm

Some of it’s quite rude, but I’ve seen some of the Russian ‘mat’ slang, so I’m sure you’ll be able to cope.

 

[ebolamonkey]

Perhaps Sergo you are into Dom Perignon?

 

[bethm]

Thanks, Kenny, will read them both, am a Russian literature junkie!

In reference to your descriptive street names of London, I think it was Bill Bryson who mentioned a Gropec**t Lane - try and find that in your Websters Handy College, Sergo!!

Thanks for letting me join in by the way, all of you! Sergo, could I ask, do most urban Russians hava a dacha?
The nearest we poverty-stricken have is access to roaming on common land - I'm lucky in that the town I live in has four areas of common land within easy reach so I can take my dog and relax in beautiful peaceful surroundings, nothing but birdsong and bluebells and away from traffic noise and light pollution, but not a patch on the Russian forests I'm sure - would you mind telling us more about the geographuy of your country?
I am saving up to go on the Trans-Siberian Express, do you know anyone who has been on it?

Kind Regards,

Beth

 

[ebolamonkey]

bethm, try cyka its a good vodka and it suits you.

On the thought of russian literature.. its depressing. Like Onegin.

 

[Sergo]

Unfortunately you will definitely miss the Chelsea Flower show which is just about to start here, and may have been of interest to you as it has many ‘show gardens’ :

http://www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea/2005/index.asp

Also there is the Eden project, but this may be further out of London than you would want to travel:

http://www.edenproject.com/

and perhaps a bit too ‘hippy’. But Kew is, I think, open all year and perhaps the gardens at Windsor castle as well.

Thanks a lot. BTW, I had been to Windsor last year and liked it much.

The mixing up and transposing of Britain and England happens a lot, it doesn’t bother me but it’s not quite so popular with the Scots and Welsh! It’s a bit like calling people in Kiev Russians, some won’t mind, some will.

OK - I will surely try to remember. Such aspects are easily mixed by the foreigners, and your example with Kiev shows incongruity of such mistakes.

You’ve lost me again I’m afraid!

Err... It was another try at pulling legs on my part, when I wanted to get even with you for your having me explain with a serious face that it's not wise to have children bring weapons to school. I pretended that there is not space enough in Great Britain to go large distances by car.
Though I thought that might be because fuel in the UK is too expensive ($1,5 per litre - I have edited my mistake at $15).
I have always imagined how difficult it could be to decipher my tryes at explaining myself in English sometimes...

Does your government actually quality-control anything?

Maybe it is good they do not try to control too much, as that would lead to the same results with much more problems for all. By the way, road building goes here like this: some party (that could be some city administration, private company, ordinary citizen etc.) hires a road-building company (sometimes as a result of a tender). So the govt. really has not much to do here, I think.

And, you know, our people trying to cheat on the government have at least one good reason: it is our government who cheats on us now and again. Maybe you know that our people like to have their savings in dollars concealed somewhere, not in the banks. I want to tell you a story about that: back in 1991, I think, when almost all of our money were saved in the Sberbank of Russia - the only bank we had then, owned by the State, the rumors were started about a drastic money reform. Naturally, the Minister of Finances made a speach on TV and told us that if such a thing were to happen - he would have both his hands cut off. The reform happened a week or so after that speach, and went as follows: all the 50 & 100 Roubles banknotes in circulation were to be exchanged in three days time into new ones, and one person could change not more than a thousand or so, and large sums in the bank were freezed. Then during several years we had our money inflated by 1000 times or so, so all the savings in the bank were turned into trash. And then we had another money reform like that one. So very many of our people think that the State had robbed them.
By the way, that minister is a well-known figure, popular in the West, and last time I checked he had both hands intact. His name is Gerashenko.

We have these too, in Britain they are called ‘sleeping policemen’, and are actually quite controversial. ....

Wow... We call them ‘sleeping policemen’ too...

 

[Sergo]

neb is slang for nose, if you have further problems with slang try this site:

http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/n.htm

Some of it’s quite rude, but I’ve seen some of the Russian ‘mat’ slang, so I’m sure you’ll be able to cope.

Wow, thanks. It seems you know all the useful places in the net...

As to our mat... I've seen guys who could speak for minutes, not using other words but mat...

 

[Sergo]

In reference to your descriptive street names of London, I think it was Bill Bryson who mentioned a Gropec**t Lane - try and find that in your Websters Handy College, Sergo!!

Err... I couldn't get closer to it then "grope"...

Thanks for letting me join in by the way, all of you! Sergo, could I ask, do most urban Russians hava a dacha?
The nearest we poverty-stricken have is access to roaming on common land - I'm lucky in that the town I live in has four areas of common land within easy reach so I can take my dog and relax in beautiful peaceful surroundings, nothing but birdsong and bluebells and away from traffic noise and light pollution, but not a patch on the Russian forests I'm sure - would you mind telling us more about the geographuy of your country?

Yep, I believe every family living in Moscow has at least one dacha, sometimes up to three - four. In the sixties the government gave to ministries large pieces of land, to be given to employes in order people could have 600 square metres of land to plant vegetables, fruit trees etc., as the situation with the foodstuffs had been very difficult then - our family, for example, afforded to buy fruits several times a year - two or three really. So people mostly used the dachas to feed themselves, bulding small huts on the land to sleep and keep things there.
Then after the Communism went with the wind, it became possible to buy as much land as you culd afford, and to do with the land you bought almost anything you wished. We bought 1500 sq.m. not more than 25 km from the Moscow borderline in 1998 for $4500 or 5000. (The piece of land near our was bought last year for $30000). Now with the new road they built we spend about half an hour to get to our dacha from our city flat.
This is not however the case with all of our dachas - some have them as far as 80 km. from Moscow, others - even nearer SPb than Moscow... Sometimes a dacha could cost $1000, sometimes - $10 000 000, depending on region, size, distance from Moscow, electricity, gas etc., lakes, rivers & forests nearby...
As to other cities - I think the situation is alike.

As far as I know, all of our forests are public, except those bought for private dachas, government recreation areas, military bases etc.
The forest we have just several meters away from our dacha's fence is not natural - they planted it 30 or 40 years ago, it's mostly firs and pines, with some oaks, maples, birches and larches... We have two small springs in the forest, one of them - drying completely in Summer, a small river Desna and a small lake nearby - just 5 - 10 minutes to walk. There are several old "derevnyas" near us - some of them just 10 or so old huts, but some - with churches and new houses...

I am saving up to go on the Trans-Siberian Express, do you know anyone who has been on it?
Beth

No, I do not. I've never been further than Cheliabinsk myself. My wife is from Zlatoust: I liked it there, the landscape is very irregular, forests are strong, lakes seem to be pure... But that's the Urals, and half of Russia lies further to the East...

 

[Sergo]

Perhaps Sergo you are into Dom Perignon?

No, I do not like it much.
I prefer Georgian (Georgian Georgian, not American Georgian) semi-sweet wines.

 

[Kenny Shovel]

BTW, I had been to Windsor last year and liked it much.

My mother likes Winsor too; it’s more interesting than Buckingham Palace, which is just a large, rather unspectacular building.

Err... It was another try at pulling legs on my part, when I wanted to get even with you for your having me explain with a serious face that it's not wise to have children bring weapons to school.

Oh, I see.

I pretended that there is not space enough in Great Britain to go large distances by car.

Well some people do walk from the top North East corner of Scotland (called John o’Groats) to the bottom South West part of England (called Land’s End), usually to raise money for charity.

Maybe it is good they do not try to control too much

I wouldn’t necessarily argue with that, just that some control might be an idea!

By the way, road building goes here like this: some party (that could be some city administration, private company, ordinary citizen etc.) hires a road-building company (sometimes as a result of a tender). So the govt. really has not much to do here, I think.

From a western point of view I would say the Government has a duty to ensure all road building meets a set level of quality to ensure safety. I guess this is another example of ‘Russia is different’!

Maybe you know that our people like to have their savings in dollars concealed somewhere, not in the banks. I want to tell you a story about that: back in 1991, I think, when almost all of our money were saved in the Sberbank of Russia - the only bank we had then, owned by the State, the rumours were started about a drastic money reform. Naturally, the Minister of Finances made a speech on TV and told us that if such a thing were to happen - he would have both his hands cut off. The reform happened a week or so after that speech, and went as follows: all the 50 & 100 Roubles banknotes in circulation were to be exchanged in three days time into new ones, and one person could change not more than a thousand or so, and large sums in the bank were frozen. Then during several years we had our money inflated by 1000 times or so, so all the savings in the bank were turned into trash. And then we had another money reform like that one. So very many of our people think that the State had robbed them.

Yeah I knew about this story, and about the distrust there is in many people towards banks in Russia/Ukraine. My friends had the money for their business in a Ukrainian bank which got into financial problems about six years ago and they lost some money. I remember the mother of the family, who runs the business, was even more annoyed as she knew somebody who worked for that bank, but the person did not warn her. To be fair this person may not of known what was about to happen, but I didn’t make that point when she was telling me this story; I find it’s best not to try and slow down a Russian woman when her annoyance is building up speed!

As to our mat... I've seen guys who could speak for minutes, not using other words but mat...

Well, that's priests for you...

 

[Sergo]

My mother likes Winsor too; it’s more interesting than Buckingham Palace, which is just a large, rather unspectacular building.

And they wouldn't let me see it - the Queen had stayed there at the time...

Well some people do walk from the top North East corner of Scotland (called John o’Groats) to the bottom South West part of England (called Land’s End), usually to raise money for charity.

Ha. We have people walking or bycicling from one frontier of Russia to another too. Of course it takes months or years, and sometimes lives.

I wouldn’t necessarily argue with that, just that some control might be an idea!

Maybe. But that should be an honest control, otherwise it would be just another way for the govt people to feed themselves. And honesty is rare everywhere...

From a western point of view I would say the Government has a duty to ensure all road building meets a set level of quality to ensure safety. I guess this is another example of ‘Russia is different’!

Yep. Our Ministry for Internal Affairs, who manages traffic problems, even taxes all the car owners with the "road tax". Supposedly it gets spent on the road repairs. But the Ministry is not responsible for the state the roads are in.

Yeah I knew about this story, and about the distrust there is in many people towards banks in Russia/Ukraine. My friends had the money for their business in a Ukrainian bank which got into financial problems about six years ago and they lost some money.

That's when we had our private banks. And my story had been about the State Bank - so the state is ultimately responsible for its actions. To understand why the State is not responsible for a bank failure, if the State granted that bank license for banking activities, is also beyond me, but that is somewhat easier not to be angry about. At least when you had not had any money at that bank...

I remember the mother of the family, who runs the business, was even more annoyed as she knew somebody who worked for that bank, but the person did not warn her. To be fair this person may not of known what was about to happen, but I didn’t make that point when she was telling me this story; I find it’s best not to try and slow down a Russian woman when her annoyance is building up speed!

Yes, you know what to do in crisis situations, that's for sure. Not to try to stop an annoyed Russian woman is surely a wise thing to do...
(By the way, I cannot imagine the bank people calling all their friends & relatives and SECRETLY telling them to come and get their money UNTIL IT IS NOT TOO LATE!!! Rare bank would have remained safe because of such unusual behaviour...)

 

[Kenny Shovel]

And they wouldn't let me see it - the Queen had stayed there at the time...

Sorry, you mean you couldn’t go inside Windsor or Buckingham Palace?

Ha. We have people walking or bicycling from one frontier of Russia to another too. Of course it takes months or years, and sometimes lives.

I can’t see the point in doing that, but whatever blows your skirt up I guess.

But that should be an honest control, otherwise it would be just another way for the govt people to feed themselves.

Well yes, we are back to the problem of how can you expect people to be law-abiding when their Government acts like a bandit.

Yep. Our Ministry for Internal Affairs, who manages traffic problems, even taxes all the car owners with the "road tax". Supposedly it gets spent on the road repairs. But the Ministry is not responsible for the state the roads are in.

We also have a road tax (something like £170 or more a year I think) which is supposed to go towards the building and maintaining of roads. In Britain there is a continuing debate about the building of new roads as some are against, for environmental reasons, and some are for, as they believe our road network needs improving. I know from my own experience that the new by-pass built around my mothers’ home town has improved the quality of life there very quickly, and may mean my uncle can move his Engineering factory to a more advantageous position.

… my story had been about the State Bank - so the state is ultimately responsible for its actions. To understand why the State is not responsible for a bank failure, if the State granted that bank license for banking activities, is also beyond me…

I’m not sure your Government likes to take responsibility for anything!

Yes, you know what to do in crisis situations, that's for sure. Not to try to stop an annoyed Russian woman is surely a wise thing to do...

I’ve learnt my lesson, I made the mistake once of standing in the wrong place and watched as I was ran over (metaphorically), the car put in reverse and I was ran over again. Russian women are like fireworks, once the blue touch paper has been lit, retire to a safe distance and don’t return until there has been an explosion.

By the way, I cannot imagine the bank people calling all their friends & relatives and SECRETLY telling them to come and get their money UNTIL IT IS NOT TOO LATE!!! Rare bank would have remained safe because of such unusual behaviour...

You know that, I know that, but an angry women whose company is in trouble may have a different view!

 

[Sergo]

Sorry, you mean you couldn’t go inside Windsor or Buckingham Palace?

Oh, I thought that wasn't clear enough... I believe tourists are allowed to visit the Bickingham Palace only after the Queen has moved to Windsor or any other place for summer, and we had to leave one or two days before that. So we have seen insides of Windsor, and have not seen these of BP.

 

[Sergo]

I can’t see the point in doing that, but whatever blows your skirt up I guess.

Well, I imagine that could be interesting - to walk throw countryside, to meet people, to see places... And to have other people pay you for it could not be too bad either...
You know, we have a BASEr in our office - he deals with INWIN and CHIEFTEC PC cases and ALTEC LANCING PC speakers. He is a rare bird here, as he spends most of his time jumping from high buildings all over the world. Another guy here is a Niva Driver - Niva is our Russian low-budget and quite ugly looking and hard-driving four-wheeled jeep. He spends a lot of time driving through udrivable places with bands of guys like him. He has a big beard and looks like a hippy or a "black angel" without leather and a bike...
So, people use any ways available for them to get the adrenaline they need.
I do not need it, as I have all the adrenaline I need from my work. Really, much more than I need, as today, for example, I think for the hundred's time in this year of how marvellous it could have been to sell this business of mine, and go to my dacha to start carving, reading, maybe writing... It is really too much a burden for me sometimes.

Well yes, we are back to the problem of how can you expect people to be law-abiding when their Government acts like a bandit.

So that examples of how scrupulous your people of powers are expected to be (and supposedly succeed at that) are very good for your country.

We also have a road tax (something like £170 or more a year I think) which is supposed to go towards the building and maintaining of roads. In Britain there is a continuing debate about the building of new roads as some are against, for environmental reasons, and some are for, as they believe our road network needs improving. I know from my own experience that the new by-pass built around my mothers’ home town has improved the quality of life there very quickly, and may mean my uncle can move his Engineering factory to a more advantageous position.

You know, by-passes are mostly associated with Artur Dent for me...

I’m not sure your Government likes to take responsibility for anything!

That's good. Now our Ministry for Foreign Affairs seems to be starting to look after our State Commitee for Customs deeds - so my work is partly paralized as of yesterday. My boss has already told me that it is nearly enough for him, and he starts checking if he should not terminate his business in Russia.

I’ve learnt my lesson, I made the mistake once of standing in the wrong place and watched as I was ran over (metaphorically), the car put in reverse and I was ran over again. Russian women are like fireworks, once the blue touch paper has been lit, retire to a safe distance and don’t return until there has been an explosion. You know that, I know that, but an angry women whose company is in trouble may have a different view!

Yep, the women are wonderful. Sometimes one wonders if they are not aliens from Deep Space...

 

[Kenny Shovel]

Oh, I thought that wasn't clear enough... I believe tourists are allowed to visit the Buckingham Palace only after the Queen has moved to Windsor or any other place for summer, and we had to leave one or two days before that. So we have seen insides of Windsor, and have not seen these of BP

Ok, I get you know. I think Buckingham Palace is only open for a couple of months a year during summer, and even then it is only a small part of the building that can be visited. I’m not sure how interesting that would be to be honest; you may not have missed much and I would imagine that Windsor Castle would have more to see.

Well, I imagine that could be interesting - to walk through countryside, to meet people, to see places...

When I was younger I went on a few walking holidays with a couple of people I went to school with. We would hike across the hills in the North of England called the Pennies and stay each night at youth hostels. But walking from one end of Russia to the other seems a bit pointless to me, just doing it to say you have done it.

You know, we have a BASEr in our office …. He is a rare bird here, as he spends most of his time jumping from high buildings all over the world.

We call that ‘base jumping’ in Britain. One of my friends in Odessa is a skydiver; she used to say that base jumping was stupid, but I think she does this too now.

Another guy here is a Niva Driver - Niva is our Russian low-budget and quite ugly looking and hard-driving four-wheeled jeep. He spends a lot of time driving through undriveable places with bands of guys like him. He has a big beard and looks like a hippy or a "black angel" without leather and a bike...

In Britain this is called ‘off-roading’, personally I prefer fast cars.

I think for the hundred's time in this year of how marvellous it could have been to sell this business of mine, and go to my dacha to start carving, reading, maybe writing... It is really too much a burden for me sometimes.

Well we all have to balance the need to earn money against the need to improve the quality of life.

So that examples of how scrupulous your people of powers are expected to be (and supposedly succeed at that) are very good for your country.

Lost me again I’m afraid.

You know, by-passes are mostly associated with Artur Dent for me...

I assume you haven’t seen the film yet.

Yep, the women are wonderful. Sometimes one wonders if they are not aliens from Deep Space...

It would be a boring world if we could understand them better…

 

[Sergo]

Ok, I get you know. I think Buckingham Palace is only open for a couple of months a year during summer, and even then it is only a small part of the building that can be visited. I’m not sure how interesting that would be to be honest; you may not have missed much and I would imagine that Windsor Castle would have more to see.

Of course. And the small garden with a brook in Windsor was almost as wonderful as all the precious things stored in the castle... (I was even shown a bullet there which had killed admiral Nelson... How much you English must love him to place that thing near crowns of kings...)

When I was younger I went on a few walking holidays with a couple of people I went to school with. We would hike across the hills in the North of England called the Pennies and stay each night at youth hostels. But walking from one end of Russia to the other seems a bit pointless to me, just doing it to say you have done it.

Maybe - as too much walking leads to sore feet. I have done my walking too - mostly it made sense when some girl was with me. (Or when I wanted to be left alone and walked for several days all alone). But at nights we stayed in tents - I still own several of them, enough to house up to 15 people.(Especially if they are willing to lie really close to each other). We walked near Moscow, in Crimea, on Caucasus... Sometimes we tryed kayaking (or is it called canoeing?) I still have that thing made of resin and with an aluminum carcass (it took about 30 minutes to assemble and slightly less to break it down), in which three persons with some baggage could paddle for many kilometers sometimes through river rapids... Wow... That was cool... I've done that twice on the Volga river near the Kaspian sea... The fishing there had been fabulous...

We call that ‘base jumping’ in Britain. One of my friends in Odessa is a skydiver; she used to say that base jumping was stupid, but I think she does this too now.

I do not believe I would have done that myself, unless other alternative was death.

In Britain this is called ‘off-roading’, personally I prefer fast cars.

Fast Cars... I believe the Nazareth had a song with that name...
It is said that every Russian likes fast rides. Errr... I wonder if I am not Russian after all... I like the cars that could supposedly go fast, but I prefer not to drive faster than 120 - 140 km per hour... On our roads that is too close to suicide for my liking...

Lost me again I’m afraid.

That's about what you've told me before:

One of our leading politicians was accused of ‘corruption’ last year. The crime he was accused of committing was to give a couple of Government paid train tickets to a woman he was having an affair with, these tickets are only supposed to be for his wife (he is not married, although she was). Also she had a maid working for her who needed her visa extending, as this was work done in his department he was accused of asking for its processing to be speeded up. Not for it to be granted, just for a Yes or No to be given more quickly.

I assume you haven’t seen the film yet.

Yep. It is expected here only for the middle of next month. I imagine it could be bought even now at our pirate dealers - but so soon after European premiere that wouldn't be of good quality...

It would be a boring world if we could understand them better…

But sometimes that could be useful though...

Yesterday we had the biggest ever electricity blackout in Moscow and Moscow region - we even had to go to dacha, as there were no electricity or water in our Moscow flat. All happened almost exacly along the lines predicted by Arthur Heiley in "Overload"...