Metro Races

We've invented a new pastime, it's called Metro Races.
This is how it works. You pick a start station and an end station and then race some of your friends from start to finish but pick a different route to go by. We tried this the other night on our way home and managed to arrive back on exactly the same train.
If your home has a metro I strongly advise you to try this as it's remarkably good fun.

Metro Collapse

You may have heard of the collapse of a metro tunnel and crushing of a metro car at the weekend. Firstly I would like to assure people that I'm still alive in fact no one was killed. The cause of the accident was some workmen driving concrete pillars into the ground to support a billboard. Apparently after they realised what they had done they tried to flee the scene but were arrested before they could escape.
Moscow continues to surprise me with these bizarre kind of news stories and I guess I'll never get used to them.

Back in St Pete

For you Summer Project people and anyone else who wants to see here are some pictures from my recent trip to St Pete.

You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two

Firstly I'd like to say that I haven't changed my idea of quoting Simon and Garfunkel songs to songs from the musicals. Good, I wouldn't want to confuse anyone.

The reason for the title is much more sinister than the goings on in the Dickens novel Oliver Twist mainly because the characters in that book are fictional and I'm not. Yes it's finally happened. After just over six months in Russia I've finally had something nicked. My wallet in fact (or billfold for those American readers). I was trying to work out what is the most annoying thing about this fact because there are many very annoying things about it.
You're probably thinking that the loss of my money and debit card are probably at the top of the list but you'd be wrong. What I miss most is the piece of paper with an email address on it.
The night before my loss I'd met a student at St Petersburg State who went to the same school as me back in Sheffield and I'd got his contact details so we could meet up when we both returned to England in the summer. Fortunately I should be able to get his details through some other contacts in St Pete, but the loss still hurts and I wish that thieves would be a bit more discriminating when they rob me in future.