RUSSIAN TRIP EASTER HOLIDAYS, 1965 Party consisted of : —Barker, Bowie, Disney, Dixon, Gray, McKay, Rank, Reeves, Skerret, Sugar, Summers-Smith. Master-in-Charge: —Mr. Austin. Total Mileage: —3,840 miles.
Tuesday, 6th to Thursday, 8th. Eleven excited Peterites, under the watchful eye of Mr. Austin, assembled at Victoria station, in readiness for the first school-organised trip behind the iron curtain; last minute purchases were made, travellers' cheques secured and final good-byes bidden. The route : London-DoverOstende-Cologne-Berlin-Moscow (with change of trains at Cologne and Berlin) became not a little tedious on the third day of travel through the drab expanses of Northern Russia; however, the few hours in West Berlin proved beneficial for recovering a little self-composure and sightseeing— the celebrated wall, and in particular the Brandenburg gate, "checkpointCharlie" and Hitler's bunker, attracting most attention. A general sigh of relief issued forth when at long last Moscow Central Station came into view, and, after filling yet another form, the party was only too willing to go to bed.
Friday, 9th. A 'bus tour introduced the party to the city and it was not long before the coach was filled with the gentle purr of cine-cameras and the staccato click of numerous colour cameras; the main landmarks seen were the Kremlin, Lenin's Tomb, the University, the Bolshoi Ballet Theatre, St. Basil's Cathedral and the large departmental store "Gum". A free afternoon allowed the party to split up and explore the capital and soon one member was already sporting a very chic fur hat.
Saturday, 10th. The party was taken around the Kremlin, but—as there was a meeting in progress, the visit was somewhat curtailed. However, there was enough time to explore Ivan the Terrible's private chapel, with its golden cupolas, and the Kremlin Museum; the climax of the stay in Moscow was undoubtedly the visit to Lenin's Mausoleum. Unusually solemn-faced, the party filed slowly past Lenin's body (displayed in an all-glass showcase) and re-emerged into daylight favourably impressed
Sunday, 11th. It was at the Exhibition of Economic Achievements, and its 5,000 exhibits, that the party was unexpectedly interviewed by a reporter from the Soviet News Agency, Tass; in answer to a series of probing questions about the party's opinions of Moscow and the Russian achievements in general, the opportunity of expounding St. Peter's claim to be the oldest Public School in great Britain was not missed. After being shown the Space and Industrial sections, the party visited one of Moscow's leading 'Pioneer Palaces"—a far bigger edition of the English youth club. Its 700 units offer facilities for every kind of pastime, hobby or sport and each palace is well attended by school children of all ages. 13
