"GeoffQRF leaving..." Topic

Well only for a little while.

The factory will close down for our summer break from 10th August to 26th August. This gives Chas and Sarah a well-earned break, enables them to have a tidy up and move some office furniture without having orders in the way, and enables us to catch up with a few bits of master making and moulding.

I will also not be about, as I fly out to Ukraine tomorrow and get back on 26th August. Internet service can be a little… patchy… out there so I may or may not be about.

Please be aware that the website will not be shut down, so it will still take your orders. Due to the way it works, that means it will still accept payment by Paypal at the point of order, but there will be a slight delay in despatch as they will cast up and process orders once they get back.

Geoff,
Enjoy your vacation and be safe.
Also thank you for the last order that I placed. I have always been very happy with QRF.
Dennis

Geoff. Keep your situational awareness about you over there. Be safe and come back to tell us all about the trip!

Tom

I'm landing in Kiev and heading west. Galina's friend was shot in the back with a rubber bullet back in February and still not able to drive, so his driver is taking me to Rivne.

I will try and take plenty of photos and, assuming they don't confiscate my green stuff, bring back some new toys.

What?!?!…you going on holiday!?!?…

That's crazy talk!!!!

be safe

Stay safe and enjoy the time away.

Have a great time, and don't get shot!

Have a good holiday, and hope all goes well. Safe journey.

Have a safe and happy holiday!!!

What Sgt. Paper said!

I must admit, not getting shot was part of the plan

Have you considered taking the bus instead of the plane?

;)

Is it one of those mercenary holidays where you go shoot at people?

Keep it cool, dude.

Have a wonderful trip!!

Have you considered taking the bus instead of the plane?

Actually, yes, but it's a 2 day bus journey and it only goes every 2 weeks. It's cheaper, but the timing didn't fit.

Hell I was only kidding about the "Lets start a hate Geoff QRF campaign".

I once took the bus from London to Lisbon,saved me a fortune convinced me NEVER again! ;-P

Have a good holiday Geoff hope your family is safe.

Fatman

I've taken te bus from London to Ukraine a couple of times. It's an epic road trip…

Be safe!

RebelMike
Rebelminis.com

Ah, Gatwick airport…

That's a proper holiday.

So what's it like in Ukraine?

Well, to be honest if I wasn't so aware of what was happening elsewhere I probably wouldn't have known any different. We were told there was increased security at the airport, so I told the kids to look out for policemen with automatic rifles… (British policemen are armed with a 6" stick)… not a sausage. Only thing we had was the chap meeting us had to go through security to get into the terminal (which was amusing to watch as he always carries a whole bunch of keys, coins and other stuff, while being extremely larger than life and vocal about getting through to meet us) but they have been doing that for years.

The 200km drive to the west was… pretty uneventful. No convoys of armed vehicles, no roadblocks, no banners, no bands of roving bandera bandits… slightly disappointing in a way.

I walking into the market today. Plenty of food, not a red and black or nazi flag in sight. Sorry guys, no Right Sector anywhere for me to get photos with, despite being just over a stones throw from that SS heartland, Lviv.

To be honest, it's life pretty much as normal here. A few small Ukrainian flags, but not n much else. Not seen anything remotely nationalistic. The mood here is more of concern, but is directed against the armed bandits rather than the people of Donbass. Russia is generally seen as behind it, mainly for a failure to be seen as overtly stepping away from it, and seems to be viewed as antagonising a situation and supporting a small group of mafiosa style warlords than anything approaching a serious movement towards separatism.

If anything there seems to be Ukrainian determination reminiscent of the British during the Blitz. A determination to take the hits now in the knowledge that it will get better in the future, a sort of 'whatever it takes to bring this to an end'.

I live with that Ukrainian determination on a daily basis. God help anyone who tries to go up against it…

Any news about the 'imminent Russian invasion'?

link

Or is that just sensationalist press copy fuelled by Polish self-interest?

Enjoy the vacation, and stay safe.

Few worries about Russian invasion.

Story that a mashrutka (small bus) was attacked killing 19 in the east near Poltava. Lawless bandits seem to be blamed.

Fascinating having someone with no agenda on the ground reporting and comparing with the professional copy coming out. How close are you to the conflict zone?

Well… same country but the opposite side, so actually about 400-500km (200-300 miles) away from the real fighting.

I think Russian media, in particular, will tell you how western Ukraine is being run by socialist nationalist groups, but I'm just seeing any evidence of it here.

I am here for the next couple of weeks, so I will go and take photos of the general countryside, town streets, etc and put them up in Photobucket link somewhere. I will try and take some on the road back to Kiev when we return.

Meanwhile, this was the road just as we got to Rivne:

Forgot how damn big the place is, sorry for being parochial!

Been into the centre of town this evening. Nothing really any different, except a large tent in Independence Square. Didn't go over to it, but I am told it is for army recruitment. There was nobody about, although admittedly it was getting late. Might wander down there mid morning tomorrow and take a gander… (I'm safe, I'm 51 so too old to get drafted) :-)

(British policemen are armed with a 6" stick)… not a sausage.

Thanks for clearing that up – I always thought they were just pleased to see me.

(I recall there was a bit of a joke when the old 18" baton was replaced with a tiny little thing.

I believe these days many British forces use either the PR-24 side stick or a collapsible baton.)

YouTube link