IS IT ALL AN ILLUSION?

I have been working on some Telecoms stuff for Ukraine all this week. I suspect the chances of turning it into folding money are slim but the opportunity is too good to waste. But whilst doing my research on Ukraine I read a comment that despite the terrible troubles with the Government and the growing poverty, the outdoor street cafes and downtown life of Kiev are going on as if all was rosy.

I had the same feeling yesterday afternoon as I walked through Old Riga. The sun was shining, the outdoor cafes were full, young boys on roller blades were being annoying and very tall Latvian girls (6 foot 3 or more) were walking around with short skirts and high heels talking 10 to the dozen and totally unnoticed by all except us foreigners. There was simply no sign of crisis at all. But at lunchtime I was celebrating a Names Day with my friend Visvaldis and he said that his company could last no more than three months. I know the feeling! My publishing client from last week is not going to last a month I suspect, and has still not paid me, and whats worse, one serious client company emailed me this week to say that I would have to wait another month for payment. All my book learning and cash flow projections go out of the window at times like this. So thank you Matthew in Athletics Weekly for your speedy contribution for my writing.

But if this normality that we have been seeing these past months is really an illusion and not real then why are the government apparently doing so little. The plans that are coming out show no urgency, or desire to make serious changes. I went to a Latvian school recently to a friends daughters parents day and the headmistress said that she had had to make no cuts at all. She was totally unconcerned about it all and it showed. There is much political talk of reform on television every day but if anything is happening, nothing is evident. The police still patrol in threes and fours carrying briefcases and bags, wearing inappropriate shoes and talking to each other as if the world around them is not there.

Perhaps I have got it wrong and I am an illusion and not really there? No that's not true, the tram and bus inspectors keep checking me - so they can see me all right.