A New Home...

[Nigel H-J]

Hi Garry

So a new chapter in your life gets underway, I am well chuffed for you mate and wish you and your wife? good lady? fiance? girl friend? (well, been away for that long I have to cover all angles) all the happiness for both of you.

You have been through so much in the past and are a great inspiration to all of us after what you went through.

I hope you don't mind me telling this but when I was on Skype speaking to Garry his sense of humour always shone through and when my wife walked in the room and I started to introduce her to Garry he put a brown paper bag over his head.....I then had to tell my wife he was a little bit shy!!!

All the very best Garry and wish you many years of happiness.

Kind regards
Nigel.

[Garry Russell]

Thanks Nigel

Nice to see you again

Aija and I have been together two years and got married on 13th August...make that the 12A th of August.

We have been in the process of moving since November.

Re the bag incident...you might remember it was a plastic carrier bag which you persuaded me to remove and when I did there was a paper bag underneath with a face drawn on it

Those were the days....One day , again soon I hope.

Cheers

[Nigel H-J]

Hi Garry,

So pleased to hear that you have married and wish you and your wife Aija many years of happiness.

Re the bag incident...you might remember it was a plastic carrier bag which you persuaded me to remove and when I did there was a paper bag underneath with a face drawn on it

Do you know I cannot recall that but must be my age as it was quite some time ago, but I do remember you walking me around your garden that was until the lead of your cam was at full stretch!!

All ther best Garry, speak soon

Kind regards
Nigel

[Tomliner]

Hi Garry.Sorry it's rather late,but I would also like to wish you both many happy years together in your new home. EricT

[VEGAS]

Hi Garry,

Hope your well and enjoying your new surroundings.

Certainly looks beautiful.

I visited Latvia in 2008. Spent three days in Riga on a stag do.

Can't remember too much about the place as I was tanked up for most of it.

Your new home certainly looks far more fetching than the commercialised capital that I remember.

Got some stick from the lads coming home, as I was gawping out of the airport terminal building looking at the aircraft.

I remember some old green/grey Mig 21's parked up in a part of the airfield and a couple of Antonov An-24 positioned up.

What a place!

Anyway, great to hear from you and wishing you and the good lady all the very best.

Eddie

[Garry Russell]

Thanks Eddie

Riga is quite nice and not like the heavily skyscrapered capitals that are so often the case nowadays.

It looks like you were looking at the Museum at Skulte airport which is right alongside the terminal. Contains a lot of rare types or marques as the Russians tended to give the occupied States older or not so sucessful types. The result is the rarity of some exhibits you see in musems throughout the former USSR countries. The Riga museum is run by the retired former Aeroflot Riga base manager.

I was in Kaunas, Lithuania recently passing though on my last run and there was an AN.24 there in the city aviation musem. It was in faded Lithuanian Air Force marks and upnderneath the Soviet Air Force marks were visible on top of the partly visible faded Aeroflot livery and SSSR- registration. Didn't really need to look up the history of that one

Just got back to Valmiera yesterday but will need to go to Riga before I finally, perhaps next week?...settle down.

At least no ice this week. 3 degrees when I got back at 16:00. In Helsinki it was about -3 but back here in Valmeira it was -8 so still ice in streams etc. Trouble is I still have my summer screenwash in so I had no windscreen washers until the temp got above zero. Already my fuel burn has increased from 42mpg to 38mpg because the diesel is now on winter mode and mixed with up to 50 per cent jet fuel...otherwise it would freeze.

[Garry Russell]

Sorry, not got arround to sort out Finland pics as , weel things are a big hectic as we have been running aroung getting paperwork sorted out

From tomorrow, although I got my card today, I amd an official Latvian resident and when the card is up for renewal in five years I can become a Latvian national.

I'll get some pics sorted although I didn't take many

In the meantime, this is Latvia now.

The Sun's been supposed to be out for three days now...but none yet









I had to store up a perfectly good car and buy a left hand drive vehicle



Temp -8 although now it's 22:00 it's -12

[nigelb]

Brrrrr! 21C here today but temps dropping fast overnight. "Wintry Mix" for morning. I must say those pictures are great and it looks like a beautiful area even if it does chill my old bones.

Nigel²

[Garry Russell]

The top pic is a lake

oddly enough it doesn't feel that cold...it doesn't penetrate. The snow here had been laying a couple of days. No wind