DARKNESS AND LIGHTS

SHORT DAYS AND LONG NIGHTS

The daylight hours are now between 10.00 am to around 3.30, but what I hadn't realised is how dull it would be between the daylight hours, making it very difficult to get enough light inside. I think we need to pick up some stronger light bulbs! It's quite hard not to turn over and go back to sleep in the mornings and very easy to hang around in one's pyjamas until at least 10.30! However, it does make lots of lovely hours to indulge in all my indoor hobbies (don't ask!) and a lot of time to socialise amongst all the great people I have met here.

PETER' VISIT

How good it was to have our son here last week. I really enjoyed hitting the bricks with him and showing him around town, even plucked up the courage to go on the metro! Of course, this wasn't too difficult because he would certainly not get lost even if I did. I am finding myself a lot more confident using the public transport around town these days.

We walked around the summer gardens to find all the statues boxed up for the winter and around Mars Field to find tramps laying on the ground around the Eternal Flame for the Lost Soldiers, just to keep warm. I can't see how anyone can object to this as they surely need the warmth but we did see the police moving them on.

The market people are really struggling to sell things and it is possible to knock down the price considerably. However, I feel so mean doing this as I know they find it really hard to make any money. I never realised before how bad it feels to get a real bargain. I try to be really fair so they feel happy and I feel happy (I am a silly sucker really, I am sure they feel happier than me with the final deal!)

Whilst buying Peter a hat for his ski trip it was important to keep in mind that his trip was going to be in Western Europe as the choice of fur was ranging from fox to raccoon and in between some pretty outrageous choices! Having tried several Davy Crockett styles with tails etc. he finally settled for a black rabbit which could be taken for faux!

THE SCOTTISH BALL!

The night after Peter left we went to a Scottish ball. It's amazing, everywhere I have ever lived there is always a Scottish ball and a large number of locals seem to have kilts ready for the occasion. It was really fun to dance with lots of Russians in kilts who really knew how to 'Strip the Willow'. Rather a lot of fine whiskey was consumed that night (not by me, I hasten to add!)

THE INCIDENT IN THE 24 HOUR SHOP

Well, this isn't a huge incident to mention but a typical example of what one has to deal with regularly here.

I was having a luncheon party and needed to nip out very early in the morning, whilst still dark, to buy bread and a couple of other things. It was cold so I put on my big coat and hat and looked pretty unrecognisable as a foreigner.

When I came to pay I handed a note to the girl on the till and she looked away from me and rudely slapped the plastic counter in front of her to indicate that is where I was to put the note and not hand it to her. Being annoyed, I persisted in trying to hand it to her whilst muttering expletives under my breathe. She tapped the counter again! I was in half a mind to tell her to stuff the goods 'where the sun don't shine' but I needed those items and had to swallow my pride and put the money on the counter. She made me feel like some sort of 'down and out' and I struggled not to allow that incident to really get to me. Then I realised that she will probably always be miserable and work in that nasty little shop and I felt a whole lot better!

007 JAMES BOND PARTY

What a fun night we had at the British Consulate. Although I did feel slightly idiotic to start with. I had decided to dress as a spy, wearing one of Mike's suit jackets and bow ties with a huge spy glass in my pocket. Walking into the room to find all the other women who were nearly all Russian at that point, dressed absolutely beautifully as 'bond girls' was a bit mortifying to say the least. However, a couple of glasses of red put that problem to rest and the remainder of the evening was enjoyed immensely, not least sitting on the Harley Davidson and enjoying the dancing with men and also some women who seemed to find my outfit attractive! What an experience!

LEAVING FOR CHRISTMAS

Well, it doesn't seem long since my last trip out of Russia but I am really looking forward to Christmas and New Year and I will be returning to the blog in February! Bye for now!

DINNER AT CATHERINE PALACE!

WHAT A NIGHT

We were delighted to be invited to a private dinner at the Catherine Palace during Peter's visit and were able to take him too! This was a most magical evening. Unfortunately, it decided to snow extremely heavily as we made our way out of town that evening. However, Mike had decided to drive himself and borrowed the company Land rover and we arrived intact, about half an hour early.

I wasn't terribly happy, having carefully dressed in my 'glad rags' for this grand occasion, to have to don walking socks and boots and a heavy coat topped with a rather ugly hat and big gloves, however, the walk from the gates and up the drive to the castle was about 10 minutes in the deep snow and it was absolutely freezing. We were sure that it would have been possible to drive up to the entrance and drop off, leaving only the unfortunate driver to walk the walk but we didn't really know how to ask the security about this and all in all it seemed easier to walk.
On the first attempt to enter the grand gates, we were rebuffed and told we had to wait half an hour, so... back to the car, already covered in snow. This was when Mike took leave of his feet on black ice which was completely hidden under snow. It was so sudden, he landed flat on his back leaving Peter and I in utter shock as we looked at him prostrate in the snow, when we realised he wasn't hurt it was very hard not to laugh, so we did.

Our second attempt to enter the gates was successful and we were welcomed through with a full trumpet fanfare! The walk up to the palace was pure magic, with huge snowflakes falling and burning torches lining the walkway. In the distance, the palace was glowing with warm light and promises of a wonderful evening ahead!


THE AMBER ROOM

The beauty of this famous room is evident from the picture above. It was wonderful to see it without the usual crowds of tourists.


PLEASE NOTE!
I accidentally uploaded an image of Ambleside Church in the English Lake District, looks as cold as Russia doesn't it?!

MORE BLOG FODDER

WINTER IS COMING!

Not a leaf on the trees. Grey, sunless skies. Lots of rain but it still isn't cold! I believe there has been snow in England already but not here in Russia! The sight of the icebreakers having returned to the Neva River assures me that it won't be long before we experience some serious winter weather.

NO TOURISTS!

A great time to visit as the bulk of tourists have disappeared leaving the streets of the City for the hardy. It's going to be far more fun visiting the museums during this season. Apparently, even the airport is bearable now.

RAIN AND BRIDES

I can't help feeling a little sorry for the brides of the season, actually, I feel sorry for them most of the time as the prospects of a long and happy marriage are pretty unlikely here. Most modern women seem to bring up their children alone. In fact, the brides don't usually look all that happy at their weddings and quite often they seem to be having their photographs taken alone whilst the groom is happily drinking with his buddies in the background. Very strange. This is not always the case, but I have to say that mostly, it is.

ON THE SUBJECT OF BOOZE

I heard an amazing comment on Russia Today. A Siberian supermarket chain manager was saying that although the bad economic situation is hitting sales of food, it is not really affecting the sales of alcohol at all. In fact he expects, from previous experience, for sales to actually increase as people have more financial difficulties! Unbelievable! Perhaps it's the same in other countries but it's hard to think of that as a good thing!

MICKY D's

To see that there were crowds of people queueing up for their burgers in MacDonald's on Saturday was quite surprising. You would have thought it was the first day of opening. It still seems to be somewhat of a thrill to people here. They all seem to have the right money in their hands whilst in the queue so have planned exactly what to order and how much it will be, sweet!

THE METRO

Mike has given up trying to get home during 'rush hour'. The metro is horrible! The pushing was so intense that he lost the back from his mobile phone in the squeeze the other day. Deloittes have flexi hours so most people come in after 9.30 in the morning and leave around 7.00pm. It's quite inconvenient for Mike as often his support staff aren't there when he needs them!

UMBRELLAS

People take no care to control their umbrellas here and you really have to watch out for your eyes when walking down a busy street in the rain. No kidding, it really is bad!

ROADWORKS

Not sure why but the workmen seem to go around the city digging up holes and filling them up again. If it happens to be on your street, you are probably going to lose your water for the day. Looking down these holes, it would appear that they could use a few jobs doing down there at the same time, so not really sure what happens there, however, it seems to keep an awful lot of men busy seven days a week.

THE MAN ON THE STAIRS

A couple of floors below us lives a man who likes to smoke on the landing. He has a chair set up and makes himself comfortable whilst filling up the building with the stench of fags. He doesn't use an ashtray but that is besides the point.

When Mike came back from the supermarket the other night with a tonne of water, I couldn't fit in the lift with him and the water and volunteered to walk up the stairs instead. As I approached the steps to the aforementioned landing, I could see 'the man' and to my utmost embarrassment, and to his mortification, he was dressed solely in his underpants! It was too late to turn around and it would almost have been more embarrassing to turn and flee so I continued up. The poor guy slightly turned away and I said 'good evening' behaving like I always walk past men on the corridor in their underwear. It was actually cringe worthy! The landing is not wide so I was really close to him!

A FEW POINTS OF NOTE

Never throw food away thoughtlessly as someone in the area will find it and eat it. I always try to put it where it is obvious and nicely packed. Problem is, if something is a 'bit off'' I worry that a poor soul will get sick.

The light bulb that Mike put in the lift a few weeks ago is still going strong!

I have really enjoyed all my adventures in Russia over the last few weeks and there are so many visual delights it's sometimes quite an overload. I am getting to find my way around town quite well now and building up confidence. Having said this, I am really looking forward to my trip to Spain now for my November break!

Back in December when we have the pleasure of a visit from Peter!

A DIFFERENT KIND OF BARGAIN

MY FABULOUS CHILDREN

I was unable to take pictures today of the topic of this blog so I thought I would post some pictures of my fabulous family (just in case they feel left out that I never mention them!) This blog is strictly about life in Russia, so sorry to all of you but you know I love you! Sorry David, it looks like a very old photo but we know it was this September. Sorry Ali, I don't have a more recent photo of you on this computer. Sorry Peter but who is that attached to the side of your head?

BACK TO THE SUBJECT

I had an opportunity today to go with Robyn, who lives in the same block as me, to a sale of religious paraphernalia (I hope that doesn't sound too irreverent?) Unfortunately, it would have been difficult to walk around inconspicuously taking photos.

This is a sale that takes place every year and the end of the tourist season (coincidence?) where all the churches take all their stuff that they normally sell at their church and pitch it all in for a cheaper price.

This was really interesting because the Russian Orthodox Church is very colourful and it uses a lot of symbolism, icons and images. I simply could not believe what was on sale. The hall was huge and absolutely packed with ordinary Russian people buying these things as though it was the first day of the Harrods sale.

It was possible to buy the full dress, robes and headdress for a priest! My friend informs me that the more wealthy may buy these for their priest. I couldn't imagine what other use they would have.

There were even a few onion domes for sale!

There were priests with queues of people lining up to buy a cheap, plastic replica of their favourite icon and the priest would bless them, kiss the plastic icon and hold it up to the real icon, kiss it and then take the money.

There was one stand where it was possible to pay a priest to say a prayer for you. I can't understand why that would work better. Surely the priest should do that for free?

Several things struck me today. The ordinary people there, mainly woman, really did represent the average Russian, not rich, not poor or homeless but the type of which there are several million. They are so very simple, making do with the very cheapest, simplest clothing, some poor souls in slippers, all of them wearing headscarves because they are so in awe of anything to do with the Church. How hard things really have been for the ordinary, peaceful people of Russia. Putin's Russia has had no impact on their lack of wealth whatsoever. Although there are so many things available in the shops now, I doubt that these women even look at those things and carry on managing how they always did. It's no wonder they turn to God, they really need all the help they can get.

Another thing that struck me is, just where was all this religion during the communist time? How on earth did they manage to hide their really deeply held beliefs for so many years?

As always in a crowd of people here, I can't help noticing how many people live their lives with some sort of disfiguring which could be so easy to fix in our modern world. There is no social justice in this country.

VYBORG

A FINNISH, RUSSIAN TOWN

Another early Saturday morning rising but it was a good day out and an alternative to spending the day look at the rain from the apartment window.

This was a two hour train ride from Finlandskaya Railway Station where they have a brilliant Lenin statue to the boarder of Finland where Vyborg sits. It was Finland until relatively recently.

We went to a beautiful natural park which was on a huge lake and really enjoyed the walk in the rain. This was a little bit like walking around Tarn Howes in the Lake District but without the surrounding mountains. Peaceful and beautiful and I felt it to be a real gift which was definitely the highlight for me.

Mike took some pictures of the port which some client is looking to invest in. It certainly looked as though it could use some investment.

The picture, in which you can see the port in the background, was taken from the top of the round tower of a tenth century castle. I couldn't photograph the castle because it was under renovation. Renovations everywhere!

FACTORY VISITS!

THE PORCELAIN FACTORY

It was wonderful for me to see the girls at work. Some of these plates and vases take weeks or months to complete. I think someone was working on a special commission for Mr. Putin although we didn't get to see the actual work in progress, note the photo on the desk! Unless he presented her with the photo as a thank you for services rendered. Would you have a picture of your President on your desk otherwise? They do a lot of special commissions for those who can afford it.

I was interested to see that they take a lot of the images directly from art books.

THE DOLL WORKSHOP

This was also an interesting visit and although they make a lot of the touristy dolls you can see everywhere they also make a lot of one off dolls which are real works of art. I was delighted to see the affectionate humour with which they portray the Russian going about his daily life.

FRIEND OF THE HERMITAGE

A GOOD BIRTHDAY GIFT!

As it was Mike's birthday a couple of weeks ago and I was struggling to think of anything to surprise him with so I thought membership of the Hermitage Friends Club would be a great idea, especially as I have all the time in the world to go there myself and the membership is for two people!

He was actually very pleased with the idea and the Sunday after his birthday we set off for the Hermitage armed with our Membership Card which entitles us to free entrance from a special side door so we don't have to queue with the crowds. All very nice, but that particular Sunday was free! No queues, no cost! Typical!

This membership also gives us twenty percent off any purchases and they have a beautiful book shop and gift shop. So friends, don't visit Hermitage without me, you get free entrance AND twenty percent off NOR do you have to queue with the hoards of tourists.

BURSTING FOR THE LOO

The following morning I was out for an exercise walk with a couple of women and two of us decided we needed a loo. We were passing the Hermitage at the time and in the courtyard they have one of those nasty portable loo affairs on stilts. They were charging 15 rubles for the privilege, so I flashed my Hermitage friends card and the attendant called over to the main office to see if we had to pay! She then came out of her cubby hole and opened the door for me to enter for free! This was hilarious, the phone call and the time was more costly than letting me in in the first place for free.

MORE CULTURAL MATTERS

It is going to take a lot of commitment to see all that the Hermitage has to offer and needs to be 'knocked off' in an organised manner.

On that particular 'free' Sunday we visited the Royal Apartments. We were quite surprised at how dusty all the decor was. We were looking more at the rooms that day but a couple of days later I went back to the Royal Apartments to look at the works of art and that is a different matter. Wonderful!

I was amused to find a painting by John Hoppner of George John 2nd Earl Spencer. Great, great grandfather of Lady Diana? I wonder if Charles Spencer knows it's there?

A VERY CULTURAL WEEK ALTOGETHER!

We went to see a new blockbuster of a movie just out here in Russia. It's called Admiral and it's all about Admiral Kolchak, he was in charge of the Whites fighting the Reds in the Bolshevik Revolution. It was a fantastic movie and it is a pity that it probably won't get shown outside of Russia. I didn't understand the dialogue very much at all but I still enjoyed it and pretty much knew where the plot was having read up on Kolchak beforehand. There is a very good trailer on U-Tube.

This made me realise that it is possible to enjoy a foreign movie provided the visual side is interesting enough and your imagination is good enough!

However, this was followed up by a trip to see the musical CHICAGO! I was looking forward to it based on my experience of ADMIRAL. It was awful. The price of the tickets were West End prices for an amateur dramatics production.