THE DOWNTURN CONTINUES - DOWNWARDS

Arriving back from work in UK this week I expected spring to be in full swing so it was a bit of a shock to see that it was still snowing. Topsy turvy weather this year to be sure. I also noticed near the airport that the buildings under construction for the new business park were now lying idle. They look like concrete half finished works of modern art. This is sad because I went to the RIXPORT opening only 6 months ago amid great fanfares, grand speeches, cocktails and free umbrellas.

On the tram Friday I noticed a few more shops had closed and for the first time in years there was a beggar trying to convince the hard hearted occupants to give a few centimes. He was out of luck. The bus to the countryside has also become affected by the crisis. The drivers now go so slowly to save money that you have plenty of time to admire the snow covered scenery and look for deer and foxes. The downside is that you have to listen to Latvia radio 2 for longer.

But all in all the population seems to be holding up well. The wit and humour written as comments on the Latvian Internet portals show that they are more robust than most. But any country that survived the Nazis and the horrors of Soviet occupation should be able to last through this crisis, even with a government that shows no sign whatsoever that it knows what to do.

PICKPOCKETS

Friday morning I caught the bus to Riga airport and a white faced drug charged man of about 22 years of age got in behind me. He brushed up against me and I realised immediately what he was up to. I gave him a hard stare and then watched him from the other side of the bus. About 3 stops later the woman next to him gave a shout that her purse was missing. Someone pointed at me because I was closest to her (thanks lady!) I pointed at the lad and said - its him! -he dropped the purse and tried to pretend he wasn't there. Lucky for him the bus stopped then and as he got off I gave him a real face to face earbending in my best pompous military fashion (years of training for that of course!).

What was amazing was that I was watching this pickpocket all the time and he still managed to unzip a large bag and take out the purse without me or anyone else seeing. Reminded me of a good party magician. Two things struck me, the first was that the conductress had stayed overlong at the other end of the bus. I think she knew he was there and was keeping safe. The second was that after he got off I was astounded to see that just two seats away from the woman was a Riga policeman. He had sat through it all and done nothing. What a bunch they are........