Another New Year begins in Russia - this is my fourth year living in Moscow (this time around - I was here in the USSR era too). We have so many holidays and parties this time of year, you almost get fed-up with them. First there is 25th Dec - which is Christmas for you, but not here! Then Jan 1st, which is the biggest party of the year. Then we have Russian Christmas - on Jan 7th, because of the way the Orthodox Church calculates the year. And finally, we have the Old New Year - on Jan 14th. That's when they used to celebrate the New Year before the Calendar-changes brought in by the Communists... Russia used to be two weeks behind the rest of Europe, saying the Catholic Church had got its sums wrong.
My Christmas - well, the one on 25th Dec, anyhow! - was spent leading a Beetroot Bus Christmas Trip. I like to lead trips myself sometimes... you get a waaay better idea what people thought about the trip from their faces and reactions, than they will ever tell you on a Questionnaire afterwards. The later hours of 25th Dec saw quite a few people who weren't exactly "in showroom condition" after a few vodkas...
I managed to catch 'flu later in January. The weather in Moscow's been vile - down to -33C one day, then up to nearly 0C so the snow and ice melts... then back down to -22C so it all freezes and turns to an ice-rink....
Russia Experience got shown on ITV's "Wish You Were Here"... something that took months of planning last year. When it was finally shown, there were some behind-the-scenes problems no-one would have anticipated, and they've been a headache we could have done without!! However, it seems to have smoothed-over now, and Part II is going to be broadcast as scheduled on 21st Jan... Fingers crossed!
More in the Diary later....
