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The storm which lasted about 2 hours last night had finally come to an end! The day arrived and it was overcast! The evidence of the violence of the storm was all around, branches had been ripped off trees, and swathes of the village were waterlogged. Evidenced by the paddling pool about 15 cms of rain had fallen in the 2 hour period.
Today we are to go and meet Yuliyas old school friends Ira and Dima and their eldest boy! The day starts as usual with breakfast for the kids. Victor, Sergey and me walk out to the lake to see whether any fish had been caught in the nets over night! A couple of nice fish were caught and duly fried in the outhouse! The morning is spent relaxing and catching up on e-mails and the news, the kids have been playing and watching cartoons. At lunchtime Sergey and myself head off to do a spot of fishing. Just float fishing with bread! I have quite a successful start catching 3 fish in the space of 30 minutes and Sergey having to settle for his one! During one strike at a bite, my line becomes tangled in the tree. Being me and not very sporting anymore I call Sergey for some assistance! He surveys the damage and begins to climb the tree, one snap and then two as both the branches he is climbing on come crashing down with him still holding them! He plunges 15 feet down and backwards into the lake! I don't know whether to laugh at him or plunge in to help him! I choose to stand there laughing as it is evident that he is not hurt! We decide to leave the float still attach to the tree and retreat back to the farm house for lunch. Upon hearing this Victor heads out with saw in hand determined to retrieve his float. Poor tree 3 limbs missing just because I can't strike at a bit properly! It was bloody funny though.
After lunch and Jamie had had a sleep it was time to depart and catch up with Ira and Dima. An hours journey outside of Beryoza was a massive lake surrounded by forest! Here there were to be found various parties of teenage friends or families camping out (they were swimming, fishing, drinking and generally having fun). We followed Dima in his Audi A4 in our little Lada! Not a chance as he pulled away and overtook and Victor attempted the scariest overtakes known to man! It all looked rather ominous as we passed through a huge industrial factory (think Sellafield and the Sheffield works combined). We followed a dirt track down a couple of miles and the lake appeared in front of us! We parked up in a forest clearing and made our greetings. Ira still the tall blonde and Dima, oh thank god, Dima had put on weight, I was the slimmest at the party at last. Soon arrived Dima's old school friend (and Yuliyas old flame it turn out) and his family of girlfriend and 2 kids. There were also 4 kids who were relatives of his girlfriends who had been moved from the Ukraine to avoid the hostilities! It brought everything into focus and brought their world a lot closer to ours! I know the Ukraine is next door but it seemed a lot further away until just now!
The boys set out to make the BBQ and also started to pour the first shots of vodka, I was still slightly green around the gills but I partook as it was customary, and I knew my limits today! Dima had bought a new present for himself last year and he had it with him today! A top of the range jetski capable of 60 miles an hour! He took Maia and myself for a spin, this he said was a gentle spin as he set off around the lake at such a rate that I thought we would surely capsize, as it felt very unstable! As we approached the shore he didn't slow down and I was convinced we would be hitting the beach and a catastrophe at any moment. Instead he steered up a river and tore off at what I believed was full throttle! Fishermen scrambled to lift lines,raised fists and shouted obscenities at us as we disturbed their tranquility! Maia loved it and as we eventually returned to the shore, and our party, she wanted to know when we could go out again! The rest of the day was a relaxed affair, the kids played and fought with the other kids, Yuliya caught up with her old school friends, and I drank vodka and ate BBQ whilst looking after the kids with Yuliya. Just as we were about to leave Dima asked me if I wanted to drive the jetski, this was an opportunity I wasn't going to turn down! He gave me the ground rules (no nearer than 200ft from the shore and no nearer than 100 feet from the other boats) and off we went with me driving! He built me up to full speed quite quickly and then asked me to return to the docking spot! He then informed me that the best way to experience the jetski is to go and do it by yourself! He then jumped off, unfortunately for me I wasn't expecting it and I turned the jetski upside down! The kill switch brought the jetski to a standstill and we laughed about this mishap! He then helped me back on and said to go, follow the rules and be free! The feeling you get is pure exhilaration, there is a definite edge of death feel as one branch in the water, or one steer to sharp would plummet you over the bike into the water! What there is though when you put the accelerator to full power is the most amazing sense of thrill. To be skimming across a lake at 60 odd miles an hour is such a pure feeling! Breathtaking! I had about 10 minutes out by myself and it was amazing!
When I got back Victor and Sergey were back from their days fishing and the car was already packed! We said our goodbyes and said we would be back to see them tomorrow! The kids were both tired and were fighting the urge to sleep all the way back! The kids played out whilst Yuliya prepared a bath for Jamie and he was soon tucked in bed and asleep! Maia stayed up and watched a film on her laptop. Yuliya and myself went out for a swim under the beautiful full moon, very romantic apart from a drunk Russian asking if the water was warm whilst laughing like a psycho, and me fearing he was going to masterbate all over my towel! A perfect day, the kids, Yuliya and myself really enjoyed it! And don't forget dear reader before he fell in the lake I managed to catch more fish than Sergey!!
- comments
dmitry punko Hello, Steve! I am very happy to read you blog...it was nice days to spent time with you and your family...but i have audi a6 allroad, not a4 )))