M O S C O W Interview with Leonid Shishkin - Passport magazine

BBC monthly meeting –
Renaissance Monarch
The British Business Club faced a fresh
challenge at their monthly get together:
how to fill the cavernous ballroom
of the paint-still-wet new Renaissance
Monarch Hotel, at Dynamo. It was ‘job
done’ with the help of a good turnout
and a record number of business ideas
and presentations. Being St George’s
Day and Shakespeare’s birthday, our
host Anthony Farndon, the proud hotel
manager, warmed us up with a topical
account of the trials and tribulations of
getting the project to completion, laced
with lines from the Bard. His catering
team did us proud with a magnificent
spread, full of exciting oriental tastes
and flavours, and those with a nostalgia
for Blighty quaffed Spitfire ale, flown
in from Kent. David Chitty from the UK
Embassy updated us on security matters
and In2 Matrix presented a new
approach to health insurance. Most poignant,
David Ford recounted his horrific
accident (full interview in May issue of
PASSPORT) and thanked the members
Chicago Gangsters
at Silver’s.
Admit it, you were worried that the
‘krissis’ had driven all the hoods, hoodlums,
gangsters and ne’er-do-wells
abroad (or at least out along Rubolovsky
Prospekt). Thankfully Silver’s, the
original genuine Irish bar, has restored
our faith in the underworld. May Day
night saw the subterranean pub transformed
by the best barmaids in Mos-
and Tania for their support. BBC chairman,
Don Scott, held the reins, organised
the raffle, updated us on the year
ahead and promised free whisky—tomorrow.
The serried ranks of troops exchanged
notes and chatted noisily, trying
to compete with the cacophonous
roar from the gaudy carpet. The latter
apart, a tasteful and purposeful gathering.
Thank you!
RDH. Photos supplied by Nadya Torina
cow into glitzy, seedy, noisy, dressy,
dodgy roaring twenties Chicago. The
days when the bling was for real and
jazz was the deal. A feast of gold, silver
and shady shades.
The costumes were eclectic, the bar
girls were electric, the customers were
charged and the atmosphere sparked.
The music was the best from all the decades,
from Billie Holliday to The Blues
Brothers by way of Glenn Miller, Ray
Charles and Dave Brubeck. Best of all
June 2010
Out & About
was Julia’s virtuoso karaoke concert.
She sang with the legs, the eyes and all
her heart. If you were there, you’d know
what I mean. If you missed it, big shame,
but enjoy the photos. But don’t believe
all you see. That teapot flowed all
night like the sorcerer’s apprentice with
moonshine potcheen hooch, although
it tasted as good as genuine Jameson’s.
A great night! Thank you! Don’t miss the
next one! RDH