To Russia with love

Looking backwards, as I'm doing in this blog, allows you the opportunity to reflect on times in your life that were significant. And there was one such time that I can share with you, and in sharing marvel at the difference between then and now. It was November 9th 1985. Up until this point I had been working very hard at trying to run a business, with some success. We had also been providing for our son's education, with even greater success. At this point he had reached the stage where he had qualified for University and was about to embark on studying for a law degree. The first person in our family to had reached that pinnacle. Clearly we were proud and offered him a gift. He didn't want a gift, as such, he wanted to go to Russia. Delighted with the thought, I went with him too. Naturally I couldn't let the occasion slip by without writing about our experience and what follows is the first part of:

 

A Russian journey of myself and my son Dominic.

 

Started well. On time and grey November weather, enough to want to escape. Nearly didn't. Bomb scare at Gatwick. Checking-in area cleared. But we still managed to leave on time - good old British efficiency. Russia is 3 hours ahead of us. We approached it at around 2.30pm our time and the sky started to go black. From bright sunshine we seemed to be entering the start of a bottomless pit. It got worse. I said to Dominic, jokingly, we are approaching the end of the world. I now look out of the window and it is pitch dark. We haven't landed yet!

 

Touched down at Moscow without problems. So much for our dark entry. First impression, the bare trunks of silver birch stretching out of the earth, tightly packed. In the dark they looked like boney fingers from the old men of the earth.

 

Walking down the steps of the aircraft we see the first visible signs of well known Russia - the fur hats worn by the soldiers. They look so smart!

 

Weather quite tolerable. Dry and rather cold - but no snow. All the early warning signs we were given prepared us for a long haul in the customs area, but not so. After some nifty footwork we managed to get through customs in almost jig time. Then, whilst waiting to transfer to the bus, we could observe our new found surroundings. Generally everything is very clean. People go about their business in an orderly fashion, but the one thing that strikes you is the preponderance of military personnel. They are everywhere. Not that that should worry you, in many respects it is very comforting. Perhaps it's just that it is different!

 

Journey to the hotel was uneventful with less than welcome propaganda talk by the Russian courier. Still, it is interesting to know that Russia is the third most populated country in the world with 270m people, it is called the Soviet Union, not Russia, as it is the Union of 15 separate states of which Russia is but one, and that no one owns a house in Moscow, they all rent from the State.

 

So we started a 7 day trip to Moscow & Leningrad (as it then was) and a diary of that special time which captures every moment of our journey. Here follows some pictures to give you a flavour of Russia in the 1980s.

 

My life, on return, was about to enter another stage. From successful businessman to the dole, from no writing to a resurgence. I even started a play which, on reflection, was probably symptomatic of what was going on in my head. Here's the introduction to it:

 

A play where the characters never touch the floor. Netting, or mesh 'floors', at different levels, make-up the set.

 

The play should try to leave the audience with the feeling of 'unease', or questioning. They may even think the play never existed. Certainly the 'meaning' of the production will be difficult to understand, indeed it is better if it is not understood, ever.

 

The characters speak through voice-boxes, so we never know who they are. This small group of actors should change clothes between each other as often as possible, and similarly swop make-up and props, to confuse identity. Three females, three male make-up the cast. Because they will merge together, they, by definition become ageless.

 

The set is lit with shafts of light that change throughout the play, like Venetian blinds casting light and shade. The positioning and movement of the characters is key to the success of the play, rather like ballet or chess. The characters are nameless, but numbered.

 

This may seem like a meaningless mosaic but out of this I was to climb to new heights, namely the 33rd floor of Milbank Tower in London. More of that next time my life takes another turn.

 

"Terry, what are you doing here ..."