I visited Siberia's equivalent of Walford Market yesterday... Like any typical market it provides the consumer with badly made brand imitations at bargain prices and so I left with a pair of trendy sunglasses that cost less than 2 British pounds. Now I feel like a proper Russian. There was a distinct lack of friendly cockernay banter and 'get yer apples and pears' type shouting that I always equate with a good market in any big city, but nonetheless the market devooshkas were always keen to make a sale, speaking rapidly and placing products in our hands that they thought we might like. I thought about buying a whole Russian girl outfit but decided against it because first of all the effort to communicate was too daunting and secondly I don't want to dress like a Russian girl... tiny skirt, tiny top and tiny shoes. I prefer to protect myself from the inevitable rain storm that will ensue from hot weather by wearing trousers and shoes that cover my feet.

We watched the England game in the Irish pub where the atmosphere lacks drunken karaoke singing and dancing, and where the beer is 100 roubles more expensive than the places we normally go to. Ok so there's a toilet that isn't a hole in the ground and you can sit indoors and watch TV, but still, you'd think they'd make some effort to attract the Russian crowds to give it a bit of an atmosphere. So we went with all anticipation that this would be where all the English folks who now live in Tyumen would be hanging out to watch the football.... but we were the only ones in there apart from a few Russian blokes and a few tables of Russian diners.

Other news; it's been incredibly hot, there's been a big storm, Pop Idol finished, today is Independence Day so another public holiday....that's it.