The Eastern Evolution

Growing up in the UK, the East had a strange fascination. For my growing worldwide audience I talk in this respect about those countries, previously led (quite literally by the ear) by the USSR - which lurked behind what was known as the Iron Curtain (it actually looked more like a elaborate deer fence for most of its length buts that's another story).

Anyway, I lived in West Berlin for a few years and can remember staring over the wall into a world which appeared, to my young eyes, devoid of both colours and joy, we all knew that at anytime the Russian Bear would come crashing through the flimsy western front to shatter our ideas and playfulness with a combination of hard steel and technology.

To me growing up, the T-64 Tank was every bit as scary as the bogey man and twice as hard. This part of world was of great fascination to me and I often wondered about the lives behind the grumpy guards on the gates as I tried desperately to get a glimpse of Nikita.

Then, quite suddenly, as everybody was bored, it was all over. Within months Eastern Europe had replaced Scandinavia in every young boys fantasy as the erotic epicenter of the world, the newly free 'peasants' who had up until now appeared as black and white hags morbidly picking potatoes, proved themselves to be a people of vibrant beauty and the longest legs in the world. One of the sparklyest evolutions ever as the pictures below prove!

From this, a lick of paint and a quick re-render to this................

And from this rather dated look, a new wardrobe, a new way of looking at things and most of all a new pair of 'western jeans' to this.....

This has been an evolution to savour, and I intend to this enjoy it this weekend with a trip to one of the unsung places of Eastern Europe, Lithuania's capital city - Vilnius, hailed as the new Prague (or is Prague the old Vilnius) , I hope to bring back evidence for the reader of its glory.

And the most impressive, after a little touch of sun and work in the gym and good diet control, we move from this to this....................