443: Berlin - Part 1

Enough about lockdown. Hopefully we're over the worst and a second wave isn't waiting to bite us on the bum.

Time for some history. Cast your mind back to 1986 (those of you who are old enough).

Here I am being presented with my Long Service & Good Conduct (LS&GC) medal by the Provost Marshal (Army) in the British Military Headquarters in Berlin. Normally this particular medal is presented after 15 years service, provided there has been 'good conduct' throughout. Unfortunately, in my younger days, I was a little bit of a 'Jack-the-lad' and there was at least one 'blemish' on my Regimental Conduct sheet. The Chief Clerk of 247 Provost Company, Royal Military Police, kindly helped me draft a plea of mitigation in which I apologized for my earlier wayward behaviour and pointed out that I had been a 'goody two shoes' ever since those 'tiny' youthful transgressions. As you can see the plea was successful.

What was I doing in Berlin?  

	Between 1984 and 1986 I had the privilege of serving as the senior Russian Interpreter, of a team of five, attached to 247 Provo Coy RMP, part of 2nd Regiment, Royal Military Police. We had duties on the Berlin Military Train and in and around Berlin, which, in those far-off days, was 'occupied' by British/US/French and Soviet Military.
Who taught me to speak Russian? To cut a long story short, I spent a year on an 18-month Russian course at the Defence School of Languages in Beaconsfield, just outside London. (That goes some way to explaining why I could only ever speak 2/3 of a sentence!).

In my next blog I'll tell you more about the British Berlin Military Train (including the tradition of Potsdamer Port), and a bit more about my duties in Berlin, including my tenuous connection to the guy in the video.

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442: ONLY FOR MY FRIENDS LIVING IN AND AROUND RAMSEY

I'm just over halfway through my two week mandatory period of self-isolation. I've been so lucky being able to arrange convenient Sainsburys/Tescos food deliveries to keep me topped up with comestibles. 

There are four major (major to me anyway!) tasks I'd very much like to be done for me. I wonder if any of my friends, who live locally,  know of, and could recommend, any reliable artisans or tradespersons (tradespeople?)  who could carry out these tasks for me - for suitable remuneration of course. 

To do any or all of them before the end of next week would indeed be the icing on the cake but even if you could just put me in touch with somebody so they could come round and give me a quote and we could arrange a mutually convenient time to do the work that would be great and I would be in your debt.

The tasks are:

1.   sanding down and painting the patio french doors

2.   artexing (or otherwise making good) the kitchen ceiling

3.   pruning or cutting down two of the trees in my garden

4.   acting as my eBay agent. I've got tons to sell and would happily pay a 50% commission

As for me, I'm keeping myself busy in the garden - in between the showers/storms. More than one trip to the tip once I'm allowed out again.

Stay safe and sane everyone.  

441:Lockdown week 13 - out of the frying pan into the fire

My apologies that this week's blog is 'several' days late. I've been 'in transit', so to speak. A month ago I decided I would take a gamble that the battle against corona virus would be almost won by mid-June and I booked a flight back to UK. To cut a long story short, I spent Monday night in a hotel in Viladecans (on the Southern outskirts of Barcelona) and on Tuesday I flew to London Heathrow.

My gamble didn't quite pay off. In Salou they are in Phase III of de-escalation but in UK they don't seem to know where they are along the curve.  Time spent in reconnaissance is never wasted. On Monday my bus from Salou dropped me off at Terminal 1 and I waited almost an hour for bus L99 to take me to Viladecans. When it finally arrived the area around the driver was taped off and they weren't selling bus tickets for cash. I needed a transport ticket and had no idea where to get one. Where does it say L99 here! To cut another long story short I took a metro and a train to the hotel and then found a Burger King for dinner - anything to avoid waiting until Spanish restaurants open at 8pm.

Had to wear a mask for most of Monday afternoon and much of Tuesday but hey, it's not the end of the world. The two airports were almost deserted, only 11 flights out of Barcelona all day, and I would say the British Airways plane was perhaps half full. (or was it half empty?). I had pre-completed my 3-page quarantine form and this was inspected at Heathrow. I'm now waiting for the occasional phone call while they check up on me to make sure I'm where I said I would  be for the next 2 weeks.

Not true: working in the garden whenever it stops raining.