445: The Highland Clearances

I'm in the far North of Scotland and today my friend Alisdair and I went for a leisurely walk along the Queen's Drive, allegedly visited by Queen Victoria. A lovely walk, and the weather was mostly kind to us.

 

Tucked away in the trees, and a complete surprise to me, was a category B listed building which is a memorial to James Loch. The inscription on the plaque was too faded to read so I read up about it when I got home. James Loch was the Commissioner of Sutherland Estates from 1816 until his death in 1855. This was during a dark period of Scotland's history known as 'the clearances' where people were forcibly evicted from their homes in the Highlands to make way for sheep to graze. Sheep were more profitable than the peppercorn rents the greedy landlords got from their subsistence tenants so the tenants were forced out, either to the coast or further afield: America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc.

Some nice views along the walk

A video clip to finish. A cover version of the Proclaimers' hit "I would walk 500 miles" 

444: Berlin - Part 2

In the last blog (Berlin - Part 1), I explained that I was in Berlin from 1984-1986 working as a Russian Interpreter. Much of my time was spent on board the British Military train. 

The train ran, every day except Christmas Day, between West Berlin and West Germany, travelling through what was then Soviet controlled East Germany. There were always Britsh armed guards on board and, just as the train was leaving Charlottenburg station in the morning, the doors were secured by chain on the inside. This was to stop any East Germans climbing on board and trying to defect to the West.  
The train stopped just inside the border between East and West Germany at a small station called Marienborn. The Train Conducting Warrant Officer (TCWO) , OC Train,  and Russian Interpreter disembarked and marched smartly down the platform, coming to a halt, and saluting, in front of the waiting Soviet Officer. We were shown into a small office and made small talk while the Berlin Travel Documents were checked. It was of paramount importance that every 't' was crossed and 'i' was dotted on these documents. Why? Because the primary purpose of the train was to reinforce our right of access to Berlin as one of the four occupying powers in Berlin. If the train had been sent back because of incorrect documentation the situation would have quickly escalated into an international incident.   

This is an example of a Berlin Travel Document (путевка). Details of every passenger on the train had to appear on such a document. This particular one was for my very last train duty - I think I travelled 150 times on the train during my 2 years in Berlin. It was signed by every Soviet officer in Marienborn as a farewell souvenir for me. Conspiracy theorists might suggest that they used secret disappearing ink. I think it much more likely that Soviet ink was not of the highest quality.

 There are many cultural differences between Russians and Brits, one of which concerns the shaking of hands (there was no coronavirus in those days). For Russians it is a no-no to shake hands with gloves on. Even if it is -40 degrees the gloves are taken off to shake hands. Many's the time I had to suggest to the OC train that he/she remove his/her gloves to shake hands, to avoid giving offence. Sometimes either the TCWO or the OC train would try to catch out a new interpreter by saying something like "would you ask the Soviet officer if he was aware you can get digitalis from the common foxglove?". Most interpreters had no idea how to render that into Russian but were usually quick enough to say something like "did you know it was cold outside today?". The Soviet officer would nod, or say Da, allowing the interpreter to reply to say that yes, he did know. Once I was even asked to quote Monty Python and translate "my hovercraft is full of eels!"
On the way back into Berlin, in the late afternoon, sometimes 3 or 4 cans of beer from the train might end up in TCWO's briefcase. These would be consumed in the office while the documents were being checked. The wheels of bureaucracy often turn better with a little lubrication.
Food on the train was always of a high standard. Travelling out and back on the same day we had breakfast, lunch and dinner on board. There was a set of 6 different menus, which rotated daily. Dinner was always being served while the train was standing at Magdeburg, quite close to Potsdam, and we would often imbibe a glass or "two" of port after dinner. This quickly became known as Potsdammer port. Luckily the duty interpreter in Berlin was always waiting at Charlottenburg station to drive me home. 
This last picture refers to the road corridor through East Germany. British military personnel were extensively briefed on when and where to turn but occasionally missed a turn and a duty interpreter was required to drive to Checkpoint Bravo and explain that the soldier, often with his family, had no intention of invading Poland (which was also part of the Soviet sphere of influence at that time)

That's probably enough - I don't want to bore you with too many stories from a very old, and sometimes very bold, cold war warrior.