from my travels, when ill whilst on my PGCE from hassle (lab) I left and went to St Petersburg, where friends, ten hours sleep and yellow flower tea gathered in the nearby forest from walks (no tea to buy at that time) returned me to total health. Returning, I found the craze for shopping had got worse- we don't visit friends anymore as in the England we came to, people go shopping constantly. - I just had to snap this, wonder what our shoppers would think to this for their shopping trip! Over there, people still visit each other, ancient aunties and uncles, grannies and grandads, who run out to buy a slice of cheese for the occasion, chat about old and new times, (better than any history lesson- even I learnt new stuff!)laugh constantly at politicians- we'd be imprisoned for saying some of what they see as mere gossip- (the level of general knowledge is amazingly high in comparison to here! but we knew that anyway) play accordian, sing, hum, dance round the room, which have no plush settees only chairs, sit on benches outside flats chatting to neighbours as everyone knits, -everywhere- when not working- It made me wonder on my return whether we are as clever as we think we are! On my return, I set off to teach at Newham Colleges, totally healthy, no doctors or medicine, from life in the Soviet Union-
I darkened the shadows a bit to give more contrast--