CucosBlog

Birthdays are the perfect opportunity for a wander down memory lane. What a great expression. There are roads and lanes aren’t there - well trodden superhighways, massive distances connected by lightning modes of travel - and then quiet little paths that take some effort even to be found.

Birthday number 21 happened in St Petersburg, Russia. Snowing all day. Went for lunch and drinks at the Grand Hotel Europe, our little oasis of Western Europe in Russia whence our mail would be forwarded and where we could change our currency into roubles. Increasingly, it also became a place to eat luxury burgers and drink cocktails on our student credit cards, which is exactly what a few of us did that lunchtime. “Charge it” became our drunken rallying cry (and I’m still paying for it heh heh). The party broke up in the afternoon and, armed with a cigarette packet full of pre-rolled spliffs, I wandered alone and sentimental onto what now looks like it’s called the Mikhailovsky Park,although I was sure it was called the equivalent of Champs Elysee, next to the Millionaires Row. Anyway, I got wasted there in the middle of a snowstorm. Yes, here it was the Champs Elysee - aka Field of Mars. That’s where it was, with the eternal flame still going under snowfall. The sound of a lot of snow falling around you is incredible. Cool, amazing to see it again.

My memory fades after that. I believe we met again at the hotel or some other haunt and blasted on through the evening.