Russia didn't allow me on the internet for the best part of 2 months, but I have all the blog entries from that time span, so now I can enjoy a typing marathon, and they all go up at once... Roughly mid-October, I think. Siberia, where winter is a myth made up to keep annoying foreigners away Nickles (even after this long, his hostess still can't pronounce Nicholas or even Nick) has run away from hospital. Even after a week, they still produced no diagnosis (w...

Well Rosy & co are back in Kras after two absolutely awful journeys in 3rd class railways carriages, and having also found it very difficult to get enough to eat while they were staying at Lake Baikal. "The msot comic holiday from hell ever" It was between seasons, so a lot of places and trips they had hoped to visit were shut, and service in restaurants was surly and slow everywhere. It sounds as though Rosy did all the talking and did a grand jo...

Rosy has asked me, her mother, to bring her blog up to date as she has been unable to get onto the internet for weeks so we've been having long talks on Skype to mobile.Mostly she seems quite happy, though has been a bit homesick when there wasn't enough to keep her busy; she has mostly been very well. All the members of the group continue to look after one-another which is lovely and very reassuring. Communications and casinosI'm not quite sure what the problem...

Russe, where tempation got the better of me Ok, so the purple coat happened. The one with purple sequins round the collar and cuffs, and arms ruched to look like a clipped poodle, and strange tassles in strange places. It has led to many interesting conversations with the Angliiskiye Rebyata (sorry, with the Angliiskimi Rebyatami - must remember to decline everything), with the teachers at the institute, and with Elena, who does not like the coat, and does not u...

Russland, where they are silly and give you ears for lunch The temperature is much the same as it was this time last week, but good old Elena insists that my nice English corduroy jacket is no longer warm enough. I said it's ok I have plenty of woolly jumpers and thermals (which I'm not using - not even overnight anymore as the heating has come on and it's boiling). But no, they're no good apparently. So I said it's ok I have my big пуховик (I purchased m...