Belarus Day 6

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Day 6:

Again a broken nights sleep this time from the throbbing pain in my leg. I eventually woke properly at 9.30 and was ushered into the kitchen for a waiting cup of coffee. The breeze blowing through the window was cool and refreshing, and I felt more human than other mornings, the daily chore of coping with a hangover was luckily missing.

Yuliya insisted on redressing my cut and produced a small bottle which she said had antiseptic properties. She then proceeded to, what can only be described as, painted my stitched leg bright green. It now looked gangrenous and showing the first sign of a zombie apocalypse shadowing our house. We are going to town after lunch to buy some bandages which are more supportive than the ones I have on now( which feel as if they are going to fall off anytime I stand up).

Yuliya set out on her first run without me, and I sat and ate pancakes. I contemplate ways to stay fit and at least maintain my current weight without resorting to a diet and cutting back on the vodka which would be a travesty. I feel that once I can secure the wound so that it doesn’t stretch too much (every time I walk it feels like the stitches are being pulled very tight) I will start walking. If I can manage 10kms a day I should be going in the right direction.

As I mentioned earlier we are heading to town on a walk later to do a bit of shopping and to purchase our tickets to Minsk. On Sunday we are leaving the kids and heading out for 3 kid free days in Belarus’ capital city. Whilst here we will be seeing our good friends Anya ginger and her husband Tolik. I look forward to this part of the trip, for not only the obvious kid free aspect, but also because I love spending time with Anya and Tolik. Anya and Yuliya have been friends from childhood who grew up in Beryoza, and Tolik her husband of 5-6 years a thoroughly decent bloke who can speak some English.

We set out into town just before noon and walked the 3km to the train station. The roads around the village aren’t paved and we kicked up clouds of dust behind us as we ambled along. Arriving at the train station we are met with a queue of 5 people. Here the tedious process begins. Each passenger takes 10 minutes to purchase their tickets. They arrive with questions, incorrect payment and a general sense of tardiness. After 30 or so minutes it was our turn. We purchased first class tickets in a private carriage for Yuliya, myself and young Dasha (who was returning to Minsk to spend a couple of days with friends) and the return tickets on Tuesday. The journey is the equivalent distance to London….. it costs us £15 for the three of us. Amazing!! Just remember that when you are stood in “cattle class for a three hour journey and paying £150 one way…….

Off to the shops to purchase some essentials- beer, vodka, cognac and tonic water. Again only spending £20 quid. If we had bought the same stuff at Sainsburys it would have cost £100. It was nice to get out of the house for a couple of hours with Yuliya. These kid free moments happen very infrequently back at home and it is lovely to not have to pre-arrange babysitters and just ask one of the family members to look after the kids. Obviously this goes both ways and I have been looking after all three of Sergey and Natasha’s kids for periods. We walked, and we talked, we held hands, we talked about the past, talked about the future and bought a bag of crisps to enjoy without having to share with the throng. I really do love this woman. She finds these trips to Belarus quite challenging as she is my interpreter for most of trip. I know she doesn’t mind but it always feels like such a imposition for her when I ask her to translate anything.

We got back and had a small bite to eat with a couple of beers. The boys then proceeded to chop logs with a chainsaw. There was no way on earth that I would be allowed to control this without full head to toe protective gear. Victor wearing nothing more than a pair of speedos set to work, the rules obviously not applying to him and in a cruel way I wish he’d cut his bellend off just to show people that “it could happen to anyone”. I’m only joking of course….. really .

I started feeling a bit down. The weather was glorious again and we took the kids to the lake. Everyone looked thoroughly refreshed and all I could do was sit on the bank in the shade. I sat in my phone typing up some do this blog. The kids were loving it though and that is all that counts really.

That’s it bollocks to it. I can’t swim or run but I could and bloody well would walk. I packed a rucksack with some water and a beer. Kissed Yuliya and told her I would be back in a couple of hours (what I actually said was “smoke me a kipper I’ll be back for breakfast” which she didn’t get! And I suspect only a couple of you readers will. The walk was great. I put my earphones in and settled into a good pace with my favourite podcasts keeping me company. The miles went by as I walked in no particular direction. As each turn in the path or road approached I chose at a whim and just went for it, I wasn’t surprised to find some lovely and probably very little seen (by a tourist) sights. I ended up walking along a canal through fields being harvested by machine (and some by hand), over to the brick work factory, crossing railway tracks which have helped form the infrastructural heart of the area here, over to a man made lake that Victor had shown us several years ago. It was here that I sat for a short while and enjoyed my now lukewarm beer. I started heading back passing through small villages with curious residents staring at me as I passed. I got back after 2 hours after completing a total of 10.5kms. I shall try and do as much walking as I can now for as long as Yuliya lets me. I doubt I will get to go on a long walk tomorrow as Natasha’s parents are visiting for the day. My leg although slightly painful hadn’t deteriorated at all with the exertion.

When I got back Yuliya returned from her second run of the day (rubbing salt into the wounds) and asked me to accompany her and the kids down to the lake for a swim. I sat again feeling slightly deflated and watched everyone cooling off and frolicking in the waters. Oh well my own bloody fault, I have found some water proof dressings and may risk a swim at the end of next week if the dressings do as they promise.

Back in the farm, the boys are still hard at work chainsawing wood, Tania is frying fish for tonight’s tea, the kids are swimming in the pool, Yuliya is cooking the kids tea. After catching up with friends on Social media I head down to the outdoor shower. As I enjoy the refreshing water (whilst avoiding getting my leg wet) I reflect on what I had just read. Rockingham, my old place of work, was closing down. For those who don’t know it is an oval race track in Northamptonshire and was my and Yuliya’s home for several years. I loved my life there and the friends I made we are still very close to. It is a crying shame that a venue with so much potential, and a workforce so passionate to make it a success, was destroyed by companies who didn’t appreciate what they owned and were more interested in acquiring the site for industrial and residential potential. It was here that I worked with my father and we formed a strong friendship away from that which transcended that of father and son. We still reminisce with great fondness about our adventures there every time we meet for a few beers. We have to sort out a meet with the old employees before it closes. I would like to walk the track one last time.

The evening went the usual direction of bathing the kids then at 9pm we sat outside and had our meal. Tonight was fresh fish which victor caught, and fried by Tania. The brandy, beer and gin were consumed in modest amounts and the night drew to a close at 11.30.

I am again lay here in bed with a little time before midnight to finish my blog and post it. I’m not sure if anyone is still reading but I shall keep this up for the next week. Life in the farm is quite repetitive so if anyone wants me to write about anything I am happy to facilitate. I have been overwhelmed with the encouragement so far. And the stories via social media have been a constant stream of comfort. So sad to hear about Aretha Franklin today… such a beautiful singer and her message of womanhood and black equality has helped lay the foundation for a change in American society (until that fuckwit Trump got into power).
My cousin Sian has been in India and has gone through various operations which have been not only interesting but also pretty disgusting. And finally the “chilli challenge” has been making ground as well. A few weeks ago there was a video posted on YouTube which my sister Emma said would be a good challenge for me and Tristan. I, of course being me, said it would be “no fucking bother” and all the people who were vomiting and crying on these videos were weak and little bastards. My cousin Tristan has now purchased the ingredients for a replica challenge for me and him to participate in. When I get back to the U.K. a date will be set and I shall post a link to the video. For fucks sake what do I get myself into?? I. Luke always bring an axe along and make it a truly unique video lol

Night for now

Steve xx

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