Dasvidaniya Saint Petersburg

Blip has taken a bit of a back seat today.  I will try to catch up with journals and comments over the weekend.

We woke up at 6am UK time to hear the results of the British election and were as surprised as everyone else seems to have been at the way the British political map seems to have been rewritten in a single night.  

Having packed and had a last coffee with daughter Jess, and said our farewells for now, it was time to head for the airport and the journey home.  

We had been blessed with really good weather in St Petersburg - it did not rain at all,  until today, when it poured.  The journey to the airport was as a result , "interesting" to say the least.  Russian driving is very different from driving in the UK (search for Russian driving on You Tube, it is scary stuff).  It certainly wasn't helped by the pouring rain.  The roads may also have been busier because of the impending Russian holiday weekend, for the Victory Day celebrations which take place tomorrow, who knows.  We arrived safely, but felt quite a bit older by the time we got to the airport - and that was with the supposedly sedate driver supplied by the hotel.

Which brings me to the shot of the Moscow Gate in St Petersburg, it was originally erected in memory of the Russio Turkish war in 1828.  As you can see, along with everything else in St Petersburg it has been decorated in honour of tomorrow's Victory Day the 70th anniversary of the end of the "Great Patriotic War", or World War II as it is called in West.  

So from a wet Russia on the eve of Victory Day, we have finally arrived safely back to the UK and a "victory day" of a different sort for some politicians, and a less  than victorious day for others.  Where on earth its all going now, who knows.  What I do feel very strongly, is that if we are not to end up relearning the painful lessons of the past, then the UK needs to retain close ties with its European neighbours.

Finally, this is my 8th shot in a row with the iPhone.  My Nikon is due to back to Nikon now that I am back from Russia, so I guess I will be continuing with the iPhone for a while yet....