Category: Journal

part 15

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Our hosts tonight are Rabfail’s elder brother and his wife. He was wounded in the war and retired. She is beautiful even in old age with steel caps on her teeth. Breakfast included ponchiki (a sort of hot fresh bun) – delicious with butter and honey. The others all went off to fetch water or feed animals but I was

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This is the beginning of a section that is too long for one part as it covers several days in the Tatar republic with Rabfail’s family, starting with the journey there. FRIDAY Today we took it easy.. While I slept and breakfasted peacefully Rabfail went to return our tickets, send telegrams and buy tickets to go to his brother’s place.

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Here is part 12. Hopefully no typos. THURSDAY We got up, had a quick breakfast and left in no panic. We stood at the bus stop for quite some time and then on a crowded bus for over an hour. It stopped for ages with some problem. At five to eight I asked Rabfail when we were supposed to be

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part 11 TUESDAY For once we ‘отдыхали спокойно а не активно’ (rested peacefully and not actively). I partly packed another suitcase with carefully stowed ill-gotten gains. I shall have to go through the red zone at Harwich and declare my vodka but I’ve managed so far to restrain Rabfail from giving me too many things the export of which is

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A bit more and  will try not to let any mistaked ellude me. MONDAY A word about buses. Bus and trolley fares are either 5 or 6 kopeks however far you travel. Trolleybus tickets are bought from kiosks and general shops and also from the drivers. One boards the trolleybus and slides th ticket into a punch attached to the

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Part 9. I tried to add to part 8 a recipe as requested but it has appeared in an unrecognisable state and I can’t get rid of it. Had better not try that again. Sorry. SUNDAY Today, Sunday, was a working day. This seems to be because the 8th of March went on for three days. On the 8th men

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Thisis part 8. I have duly amended part 7 which is now there as such and not a repeat. After a really good sleep we got up and all dressed up in warm layers of clothes. I was told to wear valenki instead of my wellies. Rosa and Rabfail both had rucksacks full of provisions, his camera and mine and

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When the major powers of the world will become buddies, when all the neighboring countries will become best of friends, when the divided worlds will celebrate their togetherness by unconditionally helping to heal each other’s wounds, when soldiers of the world will fight only against the natural calamities, when my world would have finally acquired the know-how to survive without

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next part  a visit for March 8th Women’s Day THURSDAY Rabfail and I went to the woods to look for the bears. The woods, still in the town, are lovely, utterly quiet but the bears are sad, sitting together in a small cage. They, being rather lazy creatures did not seem too badly treated but two badgers, also confined, were

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