CHERNOBYL. PART 1

2nd - 4th June 2018

Chernobyl nuclear facility and cooling water canal.

Hope you've read the previous blog which explains the background to all that follows.

Our little group of eight met our new guide, Nicholai, at the hotel at 8.00am and set off on the 2 hour drive north to Chernobyl. Nicholai, a young man of about 35, has been conducting these tours for 8 years and is something of an authority on the place. He had great sense of humour and spoke faultless English. He carried a small pocket sized geiger-counter and explained in detail all about radiation levels.

To put things into perspective, he told us that you would be subjected to more gamma ray radiation on a high level transatlantic flight than you would in 2 days around the Chernobyl nuclear site. Heavens, he has been visiting the site almost non-stop for eight years and still looks perfectly normal! I suspect if there was any danger he would have given up long ago, or grown a second head.

The geiger-counter measures alpha, beta and gamma (ionising) radiation dose per hour, but is normally kept on the longer range gamma readout. Measured in Sieverts (Sv), there are 1000 Micro Sv (µSv) to a Milli Sv (mSv) and 1000 mSv to a full Sv. The normal reading in most places, as in Kiev, is about 0.9 µSv per hour. Most people accumulate about 2 mSv in year. An airline pilot flying long-haul will collect about 9 mSv per year. Damage to the human body is likely when accumulated radiation reaches 100 mSv per year. The 28 firemen who died within a month after the explosion had been subjected to a dose of  6,000 mSv. I hope my info is correct, but I'm sure you can look it up if that interested. I'm also sure some smart-arse pedant will correct me! (Bernie?)

We were warned that there are fierce mosquitos in the woods up there. So we made a pit-stop at a service station en-route to buy some repellant. I'm not sure that this brand of service station (left) would go down terribly well in the UK.

Anyway, they didn't have any repellant so I stocked up with tins of beer instead.

We stopped at the Dytyatky checkpoint, at the southern entry to the 30km exclusion zone (there are five others around the zone) manned by rather bolshy looking soldiers (bored more likely,; it is probably a punishment posting). Our names and passports were checked against a pre-registered list. There is a souvenir shop here selling T shirts, mugs, key-rings etc. and ice-cream, but not insect repellant. Then on to the 10km stricter zone check-point where we had to enter a scanner to check our radiation levels. All very formal.

Then on another 3km to the mostly deserted town of Chernobyl.

Several posed against the entry sign (right). I did too but I'm bored of looking at my photo.

It used to be the regional capital with a population, significantly Jewish, of 50,000. It still contains offices to administer the ex-nuclear site, and tourists, where, as I mentioned earlier, there are about 2000 people still working. They have barrack like accomodation in the town. There is also a small supermarket and the original fully operational fire station...maybe now issued with proper protective clothing! 

There is also a small hotel called 'Number 10' (never did ask why) where we were due to spend the night. 

Right: The monument in what was the town square to commemorate the victims of the disaster.

Left: One of the few remaining statues of Lenin at the edge of the square. Not sure why this one still stands when most of the others have been pulled down. Sorry, me again, but its the only pic I've got.

Right: A long pathway between the name signs of all the villages which have been permanently evacuated within the 30 km zone. When I say permanently, there is a handful of old residents who have stubbornly returned.

Left: The monument outside the fire station to honour the 28 heroic firemen who perished after containing the fire following the explosion.

Also outside the fire station was a display (right) of some of the remotely controlled machines which were used to clear the site. Apparently they didn't work very well due, I think, to the effects of radiation or maybe something else. Anyway. they were not a great success and the clearnace was done mainly by human hand, mostly military. At the outset teams of soldiers were taken in and worked in relays for no longer than a minute at a time on the building itself. There were also tunnels to be dug under the wrecked structure to enable a protective layer of material to be laid under the building to stop contamination downwards and into watercourses. This work, as you can imagine, was incredibly labour-intensive, and dangerous. 

We visited some of these deserted villages. Their roads and streets were overgrown with trees and weeds, rusting old car chassis lay about and anything of any possible value had been looted long ago. The buildings will, one day, completely collapse and disappear into the undergrowth.

Left. What was the village shop in one such village.

....and yes, we discovered that the mosquitos were indeed plentiful and ravenous. They were a big irritation in the wooded areas. One of our group had the foresight to bring some repellant which she generously shared.

Right: Children's beds in the nursery school at the ex-village of Kopachi. Nicholai told us that over the years many photo-journalists had visited the area and re-arranged various items to obtain a better 'shot', vis the dolls and things on the beds. This was true in most of the villages and especially in Pripyat.

In this area there are several radiation 'hotspots'. They were mainly off the roads where rain had washed earth and dust to accumulate in puddles, and especially in moss which, we were told, absorbs radio activity. Nicholai used his trusty geiger-counter to demonstrate. The readings sometimes went up from an ambient  0.9 µSv to about 20 µSv. Not dangerous for short periods but significant. There were some metal items which, for some reason, were much more radio active, and some areas deeper into the forest were much more 'active'. We were told, and witnessed, that the local flora and fauna was unaffected. Deer, wild boar, horses and other wildlife existed quiet happily and normally in the area. There were lots of birds, big fish in the river and, especially, feral dogs. I suspect these were the descendants of the pets left behind by the evacuees. The dogs do actually present a problem if they gang up in packs and efforts are being made to reduce numbers by 'sterilisation'. Can't think why they don't just shoot them (they probably do) but this idea does not go down well with tourists. One of our number bought dog food with her to feed the mangy mutts. Not a good idea in my opinion. Actually most of these mongrels of indeterminate breed seemed to be of larger size and very healthy and tend to follow you round in, perhaps, an expectation of getting food.


Onwards to the power station itself. Left: A general view to the right of the destroyed reactor #4. The sculpture on the wall is supposedly of a dove.

Right: The monument outside the covered #4 reactor. It is devoted to those 'liquidators' who risked a lot clearing the place up. The shiny steel carapace which incorporates much ventilation technology was actualy built about 500 yds away and slid on rails over the reactor. It is a magnificent feat of engineering and cost a few billion Euros. Donations to help finance this were provided by many international sources. They have a vested interest to contain future contamination. This construction is planned to last 100 years.

Lunch was taken in the workers' canteen on site. Not a memorable meal of rather stodgy noodles and some unidentifiable meat. Before going up the stairs to the canteen we all had to pass through another scanner.

Left: Nicholai demonstrating the correct method of being self-scanned. You couldn't get out until you got it right. A bit like Tesco's impossible to work self-help scanners. These scanners were the same as used at the zone check-points.

Right: The site canteen. Not exactly the Ritz but clean and functional. The workers work a period of 2 weeks followed by a month away from the zone. The radiation levels are not particularly high, but higher in some places than normal and, as explained earlier, prolonged exposure to increased levels accumulates.  

After lunch we went to a railway bridge over the river where, we were told, enormous catfish lived. We had been told to take bread from the canteen to feed them. There were indeed large shoals of some sort of trout-like fish which greedily fought over our bready offerings. Sadly no sign of the enormous catfish. It's not surprising that these fish get big considering that they are probably fed every day with copious amounts of bread and perhaps 'unidentifiable meat' by passing tourists. 

Left: Another monument at the site. I was told what it represented but failed to make a note. A naked man juggling fish? Not a clue. My loyal Corrector-in Chief, Bernie, will undoubtedly let me know.

He has done! Apparently it is of the legendary Greek figure Prometheus who was subjected to an eagle plucking out his liver on a regular basis. Look hm up if you are that interested.
Thanks Bernie.

We visited a large unfinished cooling tower  for reactor #5 which was to be part of the expansion programme. As mentioned earlier, the site was eventually to contain another six reactors. 

Inside the cooling tower there was lots of moss on the floor which gave off much stronger radiation. We were advised not to stand on it. Incidentally, the routine before getting back on our mini-bus was to stamp your feet on the ground to remove any possible radio active material you might have stood on.

The cooling tower has a fascinating echo inside. A shout or bang reverberated around and around in impressive fashion. Yes, we all had to have a go.

On a wall inside (right) there is a mural of a doctor. This was painted by Australian artist Guido van Helton to mark the 30th Anniversary of the disaster and as a reminder of nuclear dangers. It is also to commemorate the work of the photo-journalist Igor Kostyn (he who flew over the #4 reactor the morning after the explosion) and his single-handed campaign to investigate the truth of what happened and its aftermath.

We set off for an initial look around the ghost town of Pripyat. I will leave all that for the next edition, because we also spent most of the next day there.

Then back to Chernobyl town to the Number 10 Hotel, via the shop where I at last managed to buy some insect repellant. By the cringe there are some vicious mosquitos around this area.

Left: A social supper amongst other tourists in the Number 10 Hotel that evening. It was a comfortable enough place with a decent bar which opens between 7.00pm and 10.00pm. If you're interested and happen to be passing.

CHERNOBYL DISASTER. THE BACKGROUND STORY

3rd - 4th June 2018

The ex-Number 4 reactor under its shiny new steel carapace.

Chernobyl (or Чернобыль, or often transcribed as Chornobyl) is a small town about 80 miles north of Kiev situated in flat densely forested countryside near the river Pripyat, a tributary of the river Dnipro (Dneiper). There was a large nuclear power facility 5 miles to the north of the town next to the river.

Why go there? Well lets get the old joke out of the way "don't go there or Chernobyl fall off". I went, as many tourists do, out of curiosity.

A reminder of what happened. At 1.26am on 26th April 1986 the #4 reactor at the nuclear facility blew up. (lots of 6's there....666, the sign of the devil)

Four reactors were operating at the time with two more under construction and a further four planned. It was to be an enormous source of electric power. The Soviets had constructed a 'model town', Pripyat, about a couple of miles north of the facility, by the river, to house all the scientists, engineers, technicians and labour force, and their families, who worked at the site. It had a population of 48,000 and boasted facilities which were considered very luxurious by Soviet standards. An ideal situation for all concerned. The Soviet government insisted, to allay public concern, that these nuclear reactors were 100% safe. So safe, the Minister for Industry declared, that he would be happy to have one built on Red Square. So safe that it was considered unnecessary to issue any special (nuclear) emergency equipment or protective clothing to anyone in the area, including the local fire service based in the town of Chernobyl. Indeed, if they had issued such equipment it would imply that the facility was not 100% safe. Good Soviet logic.

On the evening of 25th April 1986, when the #4 reactor was being shut down for routine maintenance, it was decided to do some tests on the ability of the grid to power the reactor core cooling systems, and the emergency cooling system was shut off. This was not a good decision. Due in part to human error and in part to design flaws and not following procedures, this caused a power surge, a steam explosion followed by a full blown nuclear explosion. Oh dear! The reactor blew off its 500 tonne top and spewed tonnes of radio-active material over the surrounding area and a vast radio-active cloud which eventually covered most of Europe and Scandinavia. For two days the Soviets denied that there had been a serious incident....just a small fire which would be dealt with quickly. It was only when the nuclear cloud wafted over Sweden that their scientists alerted the world.

Strangely enough only one person was killed in the initial explosion. His remains were never found. Another technician died the next day in hospital from severe radiation burns. 28 firemen were deployed from Chernobyl to fight the fire and stop it spreading to the rest of the site. As mentioned, they had no special protective clothing or equipment and must have known the danger into which they were placing themselves. They succeeded in containing the blaze. Within a month all 28 had died of radiation poisoning. They were brave men. So, a total of 30 were acknowledged killed as a direct result of the explosion. 

In the follow up containment and clearance operation of the site it was estimated that about 600,000 personnel were involved, mostly military, working in very short (1 minute) periods at the reactor itself to clear away contaminated debris. There is no record of how many suffered or died as a result. The personnel involved in the clear-up operation were termed (in official guidese) as 'liquidators'; an unfortunate term I feel.

Its a strange thing, I have gathered, being exposed to severe nuclear radiation. It has unpredictable consequences. There is a factual account of a Japanese man working for the Mitsubishi company in Hiroshima in 1945. On his way to work he was caught in the open a mile from where the atomic bomb exploded. He was blown to the ground, knocked unconscious and suffered severe radiation burns. On regaining consciousness he managed to stagger home. He and his wife (unharmed) were thoughtfully evacuated to a family home in Nagasaki. Three days later, still very injured and ill, possibly while sipping a recuperative cup of tea in the garden, the second atomic bomb fell on Nagasaki. He was caught in the open again, resulting in further radiation injuries. What a bummer! 'Out of the frying pan into the fire' you might say. To cut a long story short, he recovered, went on to father two perfectly normal daughters and died of old age at 89. I am told it is all to do with the effect radiation has on your DNA and cells, and DNA can repair itself.
However, long term exposure to radiation does not, presumably, allow the DNA to regenerate. Or, perhaps, if you ingest radio-active material this will cause long term problems.
Another example; a young photo-journalist called Igor Costyn flew over the site in a helicopter on the morning of the explosion. It was still burning and spewing out radio-active gases. He got some great photos which were mostly wrecked by exposure to radiation. He, seemingly, totally unprotected, did not suffer any residual effects. He died in a car crash in his 70s. I do not profess to being very knowledgeable about nuclear radiation, but am much more so now than before this visit. I now know my Sieverts!

The residents of nearby Pripyat, mostly asleep at the time I presume, were not informed of anything (didn't they hear the bang?) until later that day when they were told there had been a fire at the site. Two days later they were told that the town was to be evacuated as a precaution, but only for a few days after which they would return. A thousand buses were assembled and the Pripyat folk were told to leave everything behind, including pets, other than overnight essentials. They would soon be back. They never returned. It is now a ghost town, of which much more later.

Interestingly, the other reactors went on working after the explosion. The power had to come from somewhere. The #3 reactor, which was next door, abutting the wrecked #4, was the last to be decommissioned and went on operating until the year 2000!

There is now a 30km outer exclusion zone, containing many long-deserted villages, around the site, with a stricter inner 10km one. Having said that, there are still about 2000 personnel working at the site carrying out decommissioning work and goodness knows what else. They have barrack-like accommodation in Chernobyl town.

Well, thats the background info folks, which should put my visit, and the following photos in the next blog, into context.

Left: The #4 reactor soon after the explosion. Numbers 1, 2, and 3 to the left of it.

Right: #4 reactor after the initial carapace was put over it. #3 to the left of it was still working until 2000.

More to come, I'm afraid, when I get around to it.

KIEV. PART 2

3rd - 6th June 2018

A Samovar Mk 2 Brodibygbangskaya Soviet missile parked outside the War Museum

 .

Following on, we visited the Museum of the Great Patriotic War; on top of which is situated the 'Iron Lady' monument (see previous). Initially this museum was dedicated to the Great Patriotic Fight by Kiev's gallant Soviet defenders against the German invasion in 1941. It has encompassed more recent events since.

.....such as this car, containing a group of five ex-Ukranian soldiers, which failed to stop at a check-point politely manned by the 'little green men' during the civil war in the east after 2014. All five occupants were killed.

....and an ambulance given similar attention.

Left: Town and street signs from Eastern Ukraine recovered from the attentions of their allegedly 'Russian supporters' who had 'liberated' them.

Most of the rest of the museum is dedicated to the Nazi German invasion during WW2 with lots of weaponry, photos of famous Soviet generals and even a shot down Soviet fighter plane. A pair of withered white gloves was displayed which were made from human skin previously belonging to a Ukrainian victim of a Nazi concentration camp.
The guillotine (right) was on display but I failed to understand who used it or when. Trouble was most of the descriptions are in

Cyrillic writing and our lady guide was moving too quickly. She had to get away early and I failed to keep up with

her.

Left: A vast array of photos in memory of those killed or missing in action against the Germans  in 1941 lines a 50yd long wall.

......and (right) a photo of some of their loved ones left behind. Looking at some of them I would not be surprised if many of the 'missing in action' found a better offer and had simply done a  runner.

Left: Our lady guide pointing out the 'Angel of Peace' statue at the exit, made from old rifles and

ammunition.

For the benefit of any Cold War military equipment nerds, I show below various pics of old Soviet weaponry. This is a small portion of a large display in a park behind the museum. I had to sneak in over a small fence, not very well guarded, because the museum had closed. The one that interested me was the 'push me pull you' rail mounted gun with barrels at both ends. Never seen one of those before. Useful in fluid advance and retreat situations perhaps. See what you can recognise.

Left: Maydan Nezalezhnosti Square (known thankfully as 'Maydan') in the city centre. This was the place where 'government' snipers shot and killed over a hundred protesters during the demonstrations in the winter of 2014. You can read up on the events I'm sure, but the place at the time became a defended camp for the protesters with lots of barricades and defended camp-sites.

As you can see, it is (and was) a most pleasant square with lots of fountains surrounded by impressive buildings and shops.

At the eastern end, behind previous pic, is the Independence Column with a winged figure on top; known locally as 'Stella'. This is where the protests started

.....and nearby is an impressive bronze statue which represents something I have now completely forgotten. No idea. But impressive nevertheless.

Right: There were lots of 'friendly' young men around the square encouraging you to perch a bird on your wrist (owls, pigeons, falcons, vultures, ostriches, albatrosses, dodos...sorry, getting a bit carried away here) and then demand money for the privilege. They were very persistent and, frankly, a pain in the arse. Avoid them.

.......plus several people dressed up in costumes with the same purpose in mind i.e. to get you to pose with them....and pay for it. Good luck to them. There were Zebras, Monkeys, Lions and other creatures including this wazzock (left). Apart from anything else it was a very warm day and I suspect the people inside these things must have got very hot indeed. They deserve all the money they can get.

I wanted to post some postcards. Yes, I am one of the few remaining old-fashioned people in the world who actually do this. I love to receive postcards (although rarely get any), so maybe I naively assume that other folks like to get them also. Anyway, the post office on the Maydan (right) is a glorious building inside. Many countries do have magnificent main post offices (not UK, I hasten to add) and seem to take pride in them. Mexico City, Saigon, Istanbul to name just three notable ones. This one was so elegant, clean, lots of helpful staff, no long queues and, believe it or not, all my postcards arrived in UK within a week....and stamps cost 80p equivalent. Good service and reasonable price. Bravo for the Kiev PO!

Adjacent to my hotel was the 'Olympic Park' stadium (left). I believe there was an important 'footer' match there the week before I arrived. Liverpool v Real Madrid if memory serves. The hotels, airlines, TV companies and bars won.

I tried, and failed, to get inside. I walked all around it and found all gates and doorways locked. Not wishing to push my luck I resisted the temptation to climb over things to get in. I looked in of course, and there was a football pitch inside a running track so hardly worth the risk of being caught trespassing.

Right: The much daubed plinth which previously had a statue of Mr Lenin on it at the bottom of Tarasa Shevchenka St. The statue was pulled down and smashed by protesters in 2013.

On my last afternoon in Kiev I decided to take the Metro underground to the nearest station to the WW2 museum (visited previously) as I hoped to get up the top of the 'Iron Lady' monument to take some good photos of the city. On exiting at the Dnipro station near the river, it was a long walk which took me through the large and picturesque Pechersky Landshaftny Park (these Ukrainian names are a pest to spell, let alone remember). Here I found an open-air song and dance concert in action. It was absolutely brilliant, the weather was sunny, so I decided to stay and watch. Great acrobatic Cossack style dancing, plus jolly folksy music and dance from other countries, excellently performed by both adults and children. There seemed to be an endless stream of different acts taking to the stage. I couldn't tear myself away and have some videos but poor photos because the performers jumped around a lot. Anyway, I left before the end of the show and scrambled cross-country up steep hills and over several fences to the museum, only to find the entrance to the statue was now closed. On balance I'm glad I stayed to watch the show which, incidentally, was still going on on my return through the park.

A long walk back to the Metro, which is an excellent and cheap system, and back to the city proper. I stopped to buy a very colourful Ukrainian  style shirt. I was quite knackered when I got back to the hotel.

That's enough about Kiev. A great city from what I saw, with interesting sights, good, reasonably priced, restaurants and bars and, of course, the many 'gentleman's clubs' which, I discovered, have a somewhat different theme to the Cavalry & Guards Club in London. The locals I met on the streets and staff in shops and restaurants were happy, helpful, polite and really very charming. My only minor complaint is that the streets seldom have any street signs on them (even in cyrillic..which I can just about manage) so even with a map, navigation was difficult. I must write to the Mayor who, I believe, is a certain Vitali Klitscho, a well known ex-heavyweight boxer.

Off next to the charming little town of Chernobyl to recharge my batteries. 

KIEV. PART 1

1st - 2nd June 2018

Rodina Mat, or Defence of the Motherland Monument, or The Iron Lady.  Overlooking Kiev.

I had only two days to look around Kiev (Kyiv). The first being a guided tour by our excellent guide Vladimir and the second just a solo wander. So a fairly cursory glimpse. 

It is, in all respects, a lovely city with a very picturesque Old Town area. It suffered enormous damage during WW2 inflicted by both the Germans on their invasion in 1941 and by the Soviets when they re-took the city, with many ancient and beautiful churches and public buildings being destroyed. Amazingly most of the destroyed old buildings, especially the churches and cathedrals, have been painstakingly and accurately rebuilt to their original specifications. Must have cost a lot of money. As you may appreciate, the present day western Ukrainians are not particularly fond of the Russians and are comparatively westernised in their outlook.

Writing here is in Cyrillic alphabet, so Anglisised spelling is a phonetic equivalent.....as per Kyiv/Kiev. The enormous main river which divides the city is pronounced and spelt from Cyrillic as the 'Dnipro', but we know it as the Dnieper. I will, for simplicity's sake, stick to the Anglicised versions of spelling.

One of the most striking features, albeit of no historic relevance, is the appearance of the young ladies about town. The proportion of Pretty Slim Stylishly-Dressed Girls (PSG) to Ugly Fat Kangarillapigs (UFK) is about 50 PSG : 1 UFK. Nearly all girls/ladies ander the age of 35 are seriously attractive. In several towns and cities in UK (ie Newbury, Swindon, Reading with which I am currently familiar) the proportion is almost the reverse 1 PSG : 50 UFK. I can't be sure of the reason for this. Maybe genetics, or just the fact that they take infinitely more care about their diet and their looks. Just thought I would mention it.

Right: The Rus Hotel, our base in Kiev. It looks rather 'Soviet Grim', but was in fact comfortable, the lifts worked and it had a good bar and terrace restaurant with very pleasant and efficient staff. OK, the lights in my bathroom fused when I switched them on, there was no plug in the handbasin and the bedroom curtains collapsed when pulled together, but apart from that, no problem.



Our gang of 8 set off from the Rus hotel in a mini-bus for a conducted tour by Vladimir at 8.00am. We passed the entrance to Kiev University (left).

......and (right) on to the 'Golden Gates' (Zoloti Vorota) which was the original main entrance to the old city. Not golden at all but got the name from the 'gold' visitors had to pay to get in. You can go in and go up but we didn't get the chance. The statue outside is of Yaroslav the Wise, the former ruler, but is christened 'The Monument to the Kiev Cake' which you will understand when looking at it. What a poseur! I can't work out what he is trying to pose as.
Nearby is the Opera House which is internationally renowned and stages some spectacular performances (I am told). 

Sophia Square features one of many elaborately decorated and domed cathedrals, St Sophia's (left).

....and at the top of the square (right) was a stage on which a group of children were putting on a musical performance. Very jolly singing. This sort of thing just doesn't happen in British cities.

On north up from the square you pass this set of statues (left). The one on the left is of St Andrew. St Andrew who, legend has it, was St Peter's brother and features widely in the Greek Orthodox religion and is something to do with Constantinople. I really didn't work out his significance in Ukraine, but there is a story, of course, and a cathedral is named after him. He is also the Patron Saint of Scotland. I'm afraid I am left permanently baffled by all these religious connections and as far as I can see it is pure gobbledegook.

At the top, approaching St Michael's Monastery, you pass this monument (right). It is dedicated to the millions who starved during the 1932/33 period when the Soviets, under Mr Joe Stalin, introduced 'collective' farming in Ukraine which was, and is, renowned for it's wheat production. There was going to be an uprising by Ukrainian farmers, but the Soviets brutally purged any objectors and lots (millions) died either from military action or starvation. This suited the Soviet regime admirably. Cossacks, who inhabited Ukraine, came in for particular attention (they originally supported the 'White' Russian side). The Stalin Soviet regime was, by any standards, viciously, murderously, inhumane.

Next to this is a plaque dedicated to the 100+ people who died at the hands of 'government' snipers in and around the main Maydan Nezalezhnosti (Maydan) Square during the public uprising in 2014. You can read the story for yourselves, but it accounts for present day western Ukrainian dislike of Russians and the spark for the civil war in the east.

On to St Michael's Monastery at the top of the hill (right). This spectacular edifice was originally built in 1108, but destroyed by the Soviets in 1937. It was painstakingly rebuilt and completed in 2001. Apparently St Michael is Kiev's Patron Saint but please forgive me for taking no further interest in Saints, Patron or otherwise.  







Left: The pleasantly decorated doorway in.

Right. Inside, as with all these Orthodox cathedrals/churches, the decoration is incredibly elaborate. Women have to wear head-coverings, supplied if they don't have any, lots of candle lighting rigmarole plus praying and kissing of icons and no photography allowed. Well bollocks to that.

Left: The nearby (St Michael's is just to the right) Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A gloriously (Soviet) construction.

Also nearby is the British Embassy (right). A particularly unimpressive building. It may be more impressive inside, hopefully. To advertise its presence was a droopy little Union flag and a Range Rover parked outside. What have we become?!

Near which is the funicular railway (left) which takes you north down the hill through the old Podil district. A district full of cobbledy streets, street vendors and artists' roadside displays.

....an example of which (right). Lovely area.

......including this amusing bronze (left) which depicts the strange story of a complete peasant charlatan who dressed himself up in 'posh' clothes to seduce an aristocratic lady. It worked. For a time. Anyway he gained fame and notoriety. All these bronzes, as in many other countries, have shiny bits where passers-by have rubbed them for good luck. I have one somewhere of a well endowed young man with his nether regions almost shinily rubbed through. Can't find it right now.

The lady in this pic was not one of our party....more's the pity.

Right: St Andrew's Church at the top of the Podil district. Another example of a spectacularly ornate 'five domed' Kiev church. It was built in 1754 by the same Italian architect who also designed the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. Well, you can't say I am totally uninformed (courtesy of our guide, Vladimir).

We went on to the Chernobyl Museum (left) at the northern lower end of Podil. This is housed in an ex-fire station. More about that, and Chernobyl in particular, later.

Right: Then to lunch in a very pleasant restaurant called 'Pervak'. Guide Vladimir at the front. There are lots of good restaurants and bars in Kiev, as well as many 'Gentleman's Clubs'. I meant to check if any of these were affiliated to  the Cavalry and Guards Club in Piccadilly, London.

Pervak had a most original bar. Bar stools with horses' bums as seats. Nothing if not imaginative.

Onwards to the Kyevo-Pecherska Lavra, a monastery. This covers a large area to the east of the city featuring several churches, a bell tower, a cathedral, monk's quarters and, most intriguingly, underground catacombs filled with open coffins containing dead monks.

Right: The only original part, dating from the early 12th century but reconstructed in the 18th, is the Trinity Gate Church at the main entrance. Inside it is filled with religious icons, frescoes, a lavish gilded altar and paintings which our 'specialist' guide tried to explain. He was an expert who knew what he was talking about, but it all got too complicated for me and I left more baffled than when I arrived.

Amongst many ostentatious bell towers and other churches was the 7 gold domed Dormitron Cathedral (left). The original had been blown up by either the Soviet partisans or the Nazis in WW2 (some doubt as to who was responsible), but reconstruction was completed in 2000.

Under  the central dome is the place where the monks congregated, and maybe still do, to do their chanting (no band). At the opposite end is a long banqueting hall which containes, as in many other areas of serious Orthodox worship, a large gift/souvenir shop. 

Left: A view south down the river Dnieper.

All this was at the Upper Lavra.

Down below at the Lower Lavra are the catacombs. On entry you are encouraged to buy a candle (they came in different sizes). I couldn't resist it and, wishing to be generous, demanded 'four candles'. The joke was rather lost on the lady selling them ('fork handles' for those not familiar with the Ronnie Barker sketch). I bought the largest ones and gave the other three to members of our group. Down steep steps into these catacombs, in alcoves, are the bodies of 123 ex-monks contained in open topped coffins. They are covered by embroidered cloth with the odd shrivelled finger or toe poking out. It was dark down there (hence the need fork handles) and jam-packed in shuffling single file with slow moving tourists, some fighting through from the opposite direction. The passageways are very narrow with uneven floors and it was stinking hot and quite claustrophobic. The women all had to wear (borrowed) and quite voluminous veil-like head coverings. Pressed nose to tail, holding one's candle (mine was a particularly big one.....the deluxe version, which painfully dribbled molten wax down my hand) it was a miracle that noone caught fire. One trip on a flagstone and the lady in front would have gone up in flames. I didn't notice any fire extinguishers. No photography was allowed down there and, in any event, it would have been difficult due to having to hold one's candle in very poor lighting conditions. 

A further note on the Rodina Mat (Nation's Mother, or Defence of the Motherland Monument, or The Iron Lady). It is 62 metres high standing on a 40 metre podium on top of the national War Museum. It is made of shiny welded steel sections and was inaugurated by Leonid Brezhnev in 1981 (there's another in Volgograd). It became a feature of ridicule when the communist authorities reduced the length of the sword so that it didn't rise above the cupolas on the upper Lavra. The sword and shield alone weigh in at 12 tonnes.

It is possible to take a lift and further steps up to the top of the shield. I wanted to do this, it would have been a great viewing point, but got there too late. The lift had closed for the day. Bugger.

Much more to come from this fascinating country/city. Hope I'm not boring you.