Women.

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There wasn't much to do today.

I was in my scarf and overcoat ready to go out at 7, fighting with another useless flimsy Russian key and chasing escaping cats down flights of stairs. They seem as desperate to break out of the flat as I do. At 7.02 I got a message from Katya to say she couldn't come bowling, so I also had to send charmingly grumpy texts at the same time. It wasn't how I'd planned my sunday night. Knowing that if I left the flat with only one thick iron door locked I would get back to find my bags packed again I had to stay indoors for two more hours, perched in the big chair in the narrow hall with the lights off.

When Marina Ivanovna finally got home I went for a walk. The night was cold and clear and there was almost no-one on the streets. I decided to walk to the river to take some photos. It was the first time in ages I had been somewhere quiet and relaxing; the only things I could hear were the waves from the river Volga lapping against the shore and some faint jazz music coming from a hotel further down the road. Feeling less stressed and wide awake I walked all the way to Glavnyi Vokzal to meet my friends from their train from Moscow.

We walked as far as ulitsa Nekrasova together then I walked home. Russia appreciates loners like myself.

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