Russians are noted for being a bit frosty at first meeting them. It was certainly the case with a Russian woman on our plane, but after a while she melted and was very friendly. Some of us are inclined to rush into accepting people. This lady seemed to assess what myself and my companion were like before accepting us. Our guides each day were professional and approachable. The receptionists on the boat were quite shy and retiring but not frosty. The least frosty, because they already knew me online were some women who visited me on the boat. I had known them for over a year and they suggested we meet in Moscow. I was a little dubious about this. I wanted to meet them but I also wanted to be safe. After all the pleasant lady of the photograph might turn out to be someone from the Russian mafia. I am so glad I went ahead with meeting them. By asking them to come to the boat I felt that was safer than trying to find someone in the middle of Moscow. Life can't be totally safe, you have to take a risk now and again, without being totally stupid. We laughed at how last year Anna had said to me that if ever I was in Moscow she would like to meet me and I had said that I had never been abroad and it was most unlikely I would ever visit Moscow. It still amazes me that I have indeed been there. Now I want to go again and meet Danil Pluzhnikov the fourteen year old singer who is 98cms high. You can hear him on Youtube. Don't miss the chance he is a phenomenon. It is he who brought me and my Russian friends together as we are all great fans of Danil.
I have written in previous posts about disasters. In the case of Concorde, decisions by people, plus other factors were directly to blame for the event. In the case of the Penlee disaster it may have been avoided if someone had made a better choice in the time beforehand and as a consequence brave men and the ship's crew and the captain and his family died. 9/11 was certainly the result of wicked men committing a terrorist act, but even in this there was heroism notably by another Cornish man, Rick Rescorla who helped many to safety and left it too late to help himself. In situations like this we see what the human spirit is capable of both good and evil. What of disasters that come on people because of the earth restless movement of tectonic plates. Often people live near volcanoes because the land is rich and fertile and they have the chance of a better life there when the volcano is resting. We cannot blame them for that but sometimes people become complacent...
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