Dog story 1.

A few years ago while staying with my friend and his wife,there was a pollution problem with the main water supplies to Kiev. Citizens had to collect water from deep wells in various city locations. The weather was very cold with lots of snow and ice about. As we were down to the last,former soft drink bottle, of water Anatoli asked me to help replenish the water in the apartment. Walking in the bitterly cold but bright day carrying an assortment of empty plastic containers,we joined a long queue of water collectors, pensioners, children,disabled people,workers, all filling various types of container's from the communal well in one of the many parks. I wondered how such a scene would look back in the UK. Eventually we reached the well and filled our containers with water uncontaminated by chemicals, unlike the main water supplies.
The weather had improved since we set off on our water quest, and the sun shone through the clouds, I was however proceeding carefully,as laden down with two bags full of bottles of water I did not want to slip and sprain or even break my ankle in the icy conditions.
I was walking down a steep slope,watching a pack of dogs running about, there are many packs of stray dogs around the city suburbs. I watched as a large black pregnant dog ran in our direction passing behind me, I tried to look round but nearly lost my footing. Suddenly I felt a pain my left calf muscle as the pregnant dog gripped my leg in its massive jaws, I managed to swing one of my bags of water at the dog,as did my friend and the dog released its grip. Anatoli warned some mothers walking their children about the attack dog. When we got back to the apartment, I was very worried about Rabies as feral dogs can carry this potentially fatal virus. However although my skin had indentations, the surface was unbroken,the heavy denims I was wearing had protected me. I resolved there and then to get a course of anti Rabies injections when I returned to Scotland.

School visit part 2

When I recovered from the realisation that I was "the School Event " I was taken on a tour of the School which was very interesting. There are 1200 pupils and gaining educational qualifications are a high priority for the pupils as they progress through their school years. The School has a lot of old worn out facilities,despite this the pupils are proud of their School and respect the teaching staff. At the end of their final year their is a Graduation Ball with all the young ladies in long gowns and the young men in suits.
I was taken to see a permanent exhibition in the School Museum dedicated to a young girl called Nina Shoshena and her family. Nina was a pupil at the School, pictures of village and School life hang on the Museum walls, the girls who showed me round explained in English that Nina was a local Heroine. In 1942 during World War 2 during the German occupation of Ukrainian Territory Nina Shoshena who was a member of the local area resistance refused to give information about the resistance to the German Army. As she sheltered in a house with friends and family surrounded by troops,she bravely continued to oppose requests to surrender. Machine gun fire and Mortars pounded the house and most of the resistance members including the schoolgirl Nina Shoshena were killed. When I heard this story and looked at the faded black and white photographs It was like being transported back through time.
Just at that moment the lights in the Museum went out! but two of the girls went to fetch a couple of torches to carry on. Why did the lights fail when they did? Who should know.