BLOGGER FODDER

BUYING A BOOK

It sounds like a fairly simple process. You walk in, browse and choose and pay and leave. Not in Russia!

First, I browsed. I found a book about the lives of the last Tsars. Super. I go to the counter with the book. The young lady tells me I can`t buy it there but that she will write a chit with the price and I will take the chit to the far side of the shop, pay, then return to her at the other end of the shop and she will check the receipt and give me the book. I did all of this happily and a little amused. She nearly had a fit when I put my receipt into my purse and not in the bag containing my purchase. `no! no!` it MUST go in there with the book!` I suppose this may be the preferred place for my receipt to prove I had not stolen the book, however, I was the only customer in the shop and the only people who would see me leave without paying would be her and the cashier and they had taken my money from me! They were hardly likely to chase me into the street to check if I had paid! I suppose old habits die hard.

IN THE STREET

There are some very unfortunate people on the streets begging for money. This is not unusual in any big City but they are amongst the more desperate I have seen, and that includes in India.

There is one lovely old lady who looks at least 100 years old. She is clean and she wears traditional peasant type clothes. She has a face full of character and as wrinkled as a very old prune. I imagine she has had a really tough life, WW2, the siege of Leningrad, communism etc. and there she is, day in and day out, hoping for some kindness from the passers by.

It seems dreadful that this generation who have suffered so much and have been thrown into this capitalist society of the modern world, who don`t stand a chance of being able to pay for themselves (any savings they had were completely and totally worthless after the fall of communism, through no fault of their own) are not looked after.

A WALK TO THE OFFICE

Mike suggested I walked with him to his office and he would show me another market and a shopping area. He actually has quite a long walk, more than I had realised across to Vasilyevskiy Island, however he likes it and it is good exercise. It won`t be possible during the long winter months so he is making the most of it now.

A BIGGER CHICKEN BREAST PLEASE

Deciding to use my `market Russian` I thought I had asked for the biggest saddle (the two breasts with the bone intact) of chicken. I realised later that what I actually asked for was a bigger saddle. Just a small difference, bigger - biggest, but enough to make her look at me as if to say, `how big would you expect the breast of a chicken to be?`

THEY MUST BE KIDDING!

The tomatoes looked good. Very large and juicy so I asked for two. They asked me for 200 roubles. That is about two pounds per tomato. I left without them. All the fruit and vegetables are expensive but sometimes I get the feeling I am being taken for an idiot. It is going to be expensive to eat healthily here but you cannot put a price on health. Why did I not get those tomatoes after all?

I have noticed that the fresh food markets are very quiet. The locals cannot afford them. There are a lot of cosseted foreigners with interpreters and drivers and people who are sent by the more wealthy local residents to do the shopping for them but not many people like me! I could use interpreters and drivers but what would I write about?!

CRUISE SHIPS

It is a wonderful walk back from Mike`s office, along the embankment of the Neva. The big cruise ships park down that end of St.Petersburg. They could not come up any further because although the bridges lift at night for an hour or so, the ships are too big and there is nowhere for them to park. I think this is a blessing. It is quite interesting to see them when there are as many as four huge ones in town. I know some of our friends will be arriving in St.Petersburg by ship! It is certainly an interesting way to arrive and you get a 48 hour pass without the need of a visa which saves a lot of hassle.

Walking around the City it is really easy to spot the ones who have come off a ship. So beware, the pickpockets can tell too!

THE PASTRY SHOP

Around the corner from our service flat is the most famous pastry house in St. Petersburg. Fortunately, I am not big on pastry but they look wonderful. You can buy a Salmon Pie I discovered today. Guess what we are having for dinner tomorrow.