unexpected

Well that was a bit of a surprise. Been struggling a bit with my health these last few months, but then it was back to Moscow and suddenly wham-bam, acute appendicitis, rushed into hospital (well, we will get back to that 'rushed' thing) and here I am appendix-free, and with a new 2-inch long trophy scar.

State hospital with almost no English spoken anywhere but medical care has been very good, sometimes brusque but also often caring.  Deliveries of chicken soup etc. almost every day from my kind colleagues (and a fridge to put it in) as well as fellow patients pointing out the breakfast trolley when they think I am missing it.

 In fact the weirdest thing has been watching so much Russian daytime TV. I have managed to spend over a year in Moscow without watching the television at all; so now pinned to my bed, with nothing to do and capable of very little, I have literally been lying here with my mouth open watching one dire 'copy' of US or UK reality show after another. And I mean dire. A medical and health programme that spent twenty minutes on the fact that hats make your hair static. Interior design make-over shows which show how to make things (clay bowls, painted furniture) by presenters who clearly don't know how to actually make anything. A style programme where the women look worse in their new outfits.

Now I realise that most people living here already know this, but it really has been a considerable (additional) shock to the system.

At the doctors

That cold and cough has been pretty persistent, so finally found myself at a medical clinic for what seemed like several hours with a doctor who has to be called - at minimum - 'a character'. The diagnosis? "A viral infection in my nozzle". And his recommendations? An enjoyable mixture of medical and folk remedies: a nose x-ray, hot red wine with nuts, honey and cinnamon, a steroid-based nasal spray, keeping out of draughts, cough tablets and salt water rinsing (the actions required to do this demonstrated at some length by a minion ear, nose and throat expert especially brought in to show me.)

Interspersed throughout with digressions on, for example: why nobody understands women, why women eat more than men and live longer (followed by a pause, and the comment that there were other things he would say but not in front of an Englishwoman); the differences in types of tea drinking by nationality, his attitude to instant coffee; how the deep, bright snow at his dacha led to snow-blindness; and problems with space at the clinic, that meant they don't have room for a separate resuscitation unit (they don't have a separate unit?!)

We were talking afterwards about his behaviour and trying to pin down the type - is it particularly Russian? - of a man who, with the confidence of his authority and age, acts like a cross between a circus ringmaster and a clown (as long as you don't laugh at him) thereby managing to be both friendly and intimidating. And of course, we (two women, one russian, one english) thought he was hilarious!

More on a beautiful city

We have had several days here of beautiful bright weather, clear skies, and crisp cold air. So, I will take the opportunity to wax lyrical again about what a lovely city this is, and use it as an excuse to show another picture illustrating the rich range of colours it offers - ochres, oranges, salmon pinks, mint greens and strong pale blues.

Of course, this is partly because I have been stuck indoors with a cough and have spent those days gazing out of the window and sighing (which means I haven't actually been out so see just how freezing it is!)

Vladimir likes to say that the weather represents the problems of Russia; then you can never have everything - it is either very bright but too cold, or warmer but overcast. I think that means I must be an optimist. On days like today, I just fall in love with the place all over again.

Handy Hints for travellers 4: Cures for a cold?

Been off work for a week with a head cold, which is expected I think, as I work my way through the Russian virus variations. Everyone thinks of this as the cold and flu season; actually of many illnesses - the people I work with consider that Russians are a sickly lot. This is not just with the flu/грипп (gripp), or headcold/насморк (nasmork) or chill/простуда(prostida) but also with all sorts of minor headaches and tiredness; unusually put down to barometric pressure or electro-magnetic forces.

As to remedies - well I used vitamin C, but the main recommendation was a product based on (so I was told) chicken blood called оциллококцинум. Yes, I know, and I haven't tried it. Well, not yet.