… hand my mobile phone to my mother-in-law a couple of days ago, to show her a photo of Haron cutting her 30th birthday cake… forgetting that all of the girls in the background were wearing school uniform?

Fortunately, she already thinks that all westerners are weird, so I got away with it! But I wonder whether anyone else has inadvertently nearly outed themselves like that?!

On other matters… we were wondering which of us is more corrupt: me, for telling my wife at a family gathering that I fancied her brother’s ex, or my darling wife for then informing her brother’s ex of said fact?

And finally… it may be childish of me, but I took great delighted in seeing Ukrainian TV adverts for fruit juice known as ‘Sok’. Only, in the Cyrillic alphabet, that’s spelt ‘Cok’. As in: ‘Drink cok’; ‘Cok is good for you’; ‘Cok, fives times a day’…

PS I got back to the UK yesterday; Haron’s still going to be in Kiev for a few weeks yet. Thanks to so many of you for your kind and touching comments over the past, difficult week. We’re both so thankful to have such wonderful friends.