DRESS DOWN FRIDAY

Well after forty years of donning a suit and tie to the office, Mike is now in an office where it is dress down Friday every day. He only brought about 60 ties and 20 suits (thereabouts) so no big deal. He is compromising and wearing a suit without a tie which for him is a big relaxation. I think he goes to meetings wearing a tie all the same. Well I only really mention this because I liked the title for this blog, so, onto more interesting things.

FRIENDS

Went to a St. Pete`s Tea yesterday afternoon. It actually turned out to be in an Atelier selling Bohemiem crystal, which I am very familiar with but not at these very expensive prices! At least I met some people and experienced my first Russian Champagne (shampanskayeh). Not too bad but this one was a bit sweet for me. Can`t take up afternoon drinking as a hobby anyway. Everyone I met seemed friendly and I made plans to go to the food market with a couple of women on Friday.

On the subject of friends, I have made friends with a very nice old man who lives somewhere in the labyrinth of our present apartment block. He is so charming and speaks English perfectly. His name is Leonard and his dog is Thomas, a lovely collie. He looks very poor and very dignified, is clearly local and I cannot understand where such a man learns such good english. I am determined to ask him. Not everybody in our apartment blocks have renovated apartments and one can only imagine....

There is an elderly couple who appear to live in an equally elderly car within our courtyard. They are not there all the time but seem to sleep there some nights. Another mystery to solve.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

To get to the St. Pete`s tea we rode on a local bus, very civilized almost to the point of being disappointing. It`s probable that buses will be my preferred mode of public transport as the metro is so, so deep down under the ground that the whole journey takes longer than walking for a relatively short distance. I enjoyed the ride on the number one bus to the other side of the river. Nevsky Prospect which is the road similar to Oxford Street but about 10 times longer would be difficult to walk so I will have to do the buses.

There are also small mini buses that you can flag down anywhere and just shout when you want to get off and they screech to a halt (that`s the theory). I must find out what you have to shout. Obviously, they have a set route so you just have to find out the routes. The trams look incredibly tatty compared to other eastern european countries and the tramlines are full of potholes as soon as you are out of the main town centre.

MARKET

Went to a fresh food market this morning. It was a hellova way to walk just for fresh veg. When I move to the permanent apartment I must find something closer. Did take some nice pictures of the river though and saw some very brave people actually swimming in the river, ooooh. The veg. guy wrote my name down on a post along with some other western names so he remembers me next time which I thought was a very nice gesture. Although I suppose you could say it`s good business! Nice opportunity for me to use my few Russian phrases and he seems very tolerant!

The meat looks pretty good so long as you can ignore the flies and the hygiene. I think I will have to do just that because that is just the way it is here. Other people survive (mostly). The fish also looks quite good. A lot of caviar, mainly the orange type. Unfortunately, the price of caviar has rocketted since the fall of communism, one of the downsides.

The pickles are like none other anywhere in the world and I look forward to showing you a photo one day, so colourful and varied.

RECYCLING

There is absolutely no point whatsoever in wearing one`s recycling hat. Nobody is interested. Everything is dumped together. Will keep you posted of any further developments there! It is amazing how weird it feels to throw away thoughtlessly after the short run of training we have had in the UK recently. In fact it shows just how people can be turned around to a more responsible attitude in a really short time. I am going to have to find out more about this issue here.

FRIDAY NIGHT IS MUSIC NIGHT

Must go to get ready for tonight. We are going on a river cruise down the Neva to the Gulf of Finland (sounds a long way but really, it`s not). Invitation says food, drink, networking and dancing. I really wanted to look at the scenery but that might look a tad anti-social? Hope it is a sunny night like last night. It was amazing to experience going to bed at 11.30 with the sky blue and the sun shining!