Category: Uncategorized

Shuttle trading, my brother John and socialism without a human face

09/01/2026

By the end of January 1991 I was getting accustomed to the cold, the odd fall in the ice, the daily change at work from boots to the normal shoes kept under my desk, washing clothes in the bath with soap, dealing with the beady eyes and endless scuttling in the flat and embarking on…
The order system and the communist elite, the importance of a bottle, alcohol and the head-splitting hedgehog

08/31/2026

Admittedly, there was a third option. Instead of queuing for hours and hoping against hope that the butcher might look kindly on you, exchanging a high-demand ticket for a good cut of meat, or paying far more than state-regulated prices at open-air markets, some people were able to benefit from the so-called Zakaz system. The…
Passports and permits a necessity at all times, moonlighting and a barter economy

08/30/2026

It was already 8:50 AM and I had to get there by 9. No zebra crossing and no traffic lights. To cross the road to APN, I had to walk down a number of steps, along a corridor of underground kiosks and then up the other side. As well as the kiosks, you would pass…
Cold as ice for a foreigner night and day, but friends at hand

08/29/2026

Funny how the mind work sometimes. Now I recall that my new pal Paul had told a story or two about his sorties with Vadim in London and Moscow and had recommended that I buy a small bottle of whiskey for him, preferably Johnnie Walker. And that was the first thing I handed over to him…
From West to East: a reverse revolution

08/28/2026

While I was keen to make a change in my life, I must confess that back in 1990 I had no real idea about what I actually wanted to do. So I credit the artist and subsequent good friend Pavel Ouporov and his future wife and co-creator Suzanne Scherer for triggering my move to the…
Gorbachev, times of change and arts for art’s sake

08/27/2026

Mea culpa again, as I have to turn the page back to some point in summer 1989. The details are blurry as time passes by inexorably. I wanted to show Robin the Soviet Union while it still existed at a time when the country was already opening up to the West thanks to the efforts of…
Navigating office politics, working from home for the first time and preparing for change

08/26/2026

So the World of Learning and IWW tests had been passed. Now I was ready to work on the top title put out by Europa Publications. However, there was a small issue of my position. I had been told by management that they had been impressed by my performance at World of Learning, but more…
A new beginning, typing terror, the benefits of Yuppie Flu and adding George Michael

08/25/2026

It was now July 1988, I was beginning to despair of a future surrounded by anguished and aggressive customers at a book store whose boss Christina Foyle treated employees alike with disdain and not an iota of compassion. However, a top single that month The Only Way Is Up by Yazz and the Plastic Population…
Kafka for everyone or the Soviet Union on steroids

08/24/2026

So back to that short and succinct job ad in the Evening Standard. “Wanted: sales assistants at book store. Graduates preferred, Saturday work mandatory.” I seemed to meet the requirements. The employer: Foyles. I applied and was offered an interview slot at the end of the week. I actually had the “good” fortune to be…
Job centre, bricks, hotel, cabling, psychosis and a mix of emotions

08/23/2026

So that was it. One stage of my life was over for good. It had been the most enjoyable to date and even now, almost 40 years on, a period that I still remember fondly. Admittedly, nostalgia may well be leading me to portray those halcyon days in too positive a light. For truth be…

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Category: Uncategorized