tales of the unexpected 5

Quite unnecessary and a bit unnerving. So don't know what he is doing at the entrance to the Dendi cafe which is otherwise another of those nice places to go for weekend breakfast, with  reasonable prices and a typical russian traditional/shabby chic interior.

And, yes, it is Sid James on his apron.

tales of the unexpected 4

Whilst we are on an animal theme, I should mention that these stuffed rabbits seem to have popped up in a lot of (arty) places here recently. The point? Who knows, although given that large painted cows have been appearing all over London - and for all I know other major cities - for a while, maybe it is just because they can.

One offs: number one

This is the only set of re-cycling bins I have seen anywhere in Moscow - when I walked past them with a Russian colleague he laughed out loud. I know it is not a popular pastime here, but there must be more.....

meeting the leaders

Caught Lenin and a mate having lunch together yesterday. They were in an appropriate place, the Russian Stolovaya/столовая in GUM (top floor), one of many contemporary examples of a Soviet-style cheap canteen in Moscow.

Interestingly, Lenin didn't talk to the other guy at all throughout their meal, he was too busy texting on his mobile phone.

And I feel really foolish. Lenin is a pretty good match but who on earth is the other one meant to be? Definitely not Stalin, and can't believe they would do Trotsky even now (certainly not in uniform - and I don't even know what period the uniform is). Help me here....

Note: If you want to know, read the comment below which just increases my embarrassment; he was, after all, a cousin of our own George V. 

tales of the unexpected 3

I know. An elephant and a teddy bear with poles up their bottoms. What is that for exactly?

Tales of the unexpected 2

I think tales of the unexpected is going to become not so much an occasional series as a horribly frequent one. But I have to ask, just what is this full sized plastic zebra doing here (with matching cow) - in the yard of a florist in a relatively poor part of town? It is a bling thing to have one in your garden/living room/balcony? Or is it just to attract us to buy more flowers?

Tales of the unexpected 1

Travelling always means you find stuff that just doesn't quite make sense; and Russia has a reputation, of course, for being full of peculiarities and everyday weirdness compared to the rest of 'ordinary' Western Europe.

Without wanting to perpetuate that belief, here is the first of another occasional series. The photograph shows one of inner Moscow's popular hanging out areas, Chistye Prudy/чистые пруды - part of the Boulevard Ring promenade - which has a pond. And a gondola. With a gondolier.

Chistye Prudy means Clean Pond, a renaming of Dirty Pond in (I think) the 18th century when, the story goes, it was used by the local butchers as a dumping ground for spare offal. It is about the size of 5 London bendy-buses, placed side by side. So not much of a boat trip.

I have yet to see someone take the ride, but am looking forward to it very much. May even have to do it myself, if only to get a better picture.