{"id":14379,"date":"2026-03-01T14:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T12:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/?p=14379"},"modified":"2026-03-07T18:49:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T16:49:11","slug":"mick-harts-diary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/mick-harts-diary\/","title":{"rendered":"Mick Hart&#8217;s Diary One Day in Travel Trade Publishing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">15 May 1996<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>On recounting some of my experiences of working in the publishing industry, some wag asked, back in the 90s, \u201cSo, what are you going to do when you leave school?\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1 March 2026 &#8211; Mick Hart&#8217;s Diary One Day in Travel Trade Publishing<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The following diary extract is taken from my time as managing editor at a now-defunct travel-trade publishing house, which we shall here refer to as Shackelton Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Shackelton Press for me represented the last post in a long line of desperately bizarre, tumultuously chaotic, and unbelievably high-octane-stressed advertising-based publishing houses, each one stocked with larger-than-life, weird and wonderful characters. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Let\u2019s do a bit of time travelling:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-c8566dd1d23b88bdf82c8519f80ac41a\"><strong>Preface<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">These little insights, or snippets of madness, are taken from my 1996 diary. The setting is London. The names of both the publishing house and the actors in it have been changed to protect the reputations of the not-so-innocent. If you know who you are, God bless you. I trust that you all came through the experience mentally and emotionally unscathed. They were, as John Lennon lyricised, \u201cStrange days, indeed!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Cast of Characters:<\/strong><br>Editorial Director: Byron Quill (Quilly)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Managing Editor: Mick Hart (or, \u2018managing badly&#8217;, as Sebastian used to say, or \u2018managing just&#8217;, as Mr Ormolu was wont to quip)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Production Department Staff<br><\/em>Sebastian Forrester (subeditor\/researcher\/writer \u2013 part-time actor)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Margaret Clark: (researcher\/subeditor)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Matt Ormolu: (editor)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Grant: (graphic design and page layout)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arthur: (freelance editor \u2013 South African) nickname \u2018Slice\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Suit &amp; Tie: (researcher\/subeditor) \u2013 female<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Publishing house: Shackleton Press<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>########################################<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-d5d6a6c9cd2daa203e8f689022b29f42\"><strong><br>Introduction<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong><br><\/strong>Is it the same today? In my days, people were always leaving publishing house editorial\/production departments, either because they couldn\u2019t stand the pace any longer and wanted to get their life back or were, or so they said, moving on to richer pastures. Such is the land we occupy, known as Wishful Thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">On this day, Friday 15 May 1996, someone \u2013 yet another someone \u2013 was about to make the great escape. She was a northern lass, who we will refer to here as Margaret Clark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">In connection with this event, I had been directed by my director (after all, that\u2019s what directors are for, directing) to sally forth, in my own time, of course, or manage someone else to do the same (that\u2019s what managing is all about, delegating) in the interests of procuring for the aforesaid Margaret a communal card and leaving present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">To avoid the boredom of it, I delegated the role to the one chap in our department whom I knew would turn a routine task into something more diverting. No one was better suited to this task, I thought, than Sebastian Forrester, the irascible budding actor, whose aspirations of high culture and whose self-regard for sophistication presented numerous opportunities whilst preparing for the lunchtime trip to, how do we say it, \u2018take the piss&#8217;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Friday 15 May 1996 \u2013 as it happened<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Sebastian, who was extremely excited by the responsibility conferred on him, entertained, with my help, the whole department. He set up his affectatious cultural airs as if they were skittles and my debasing of them the balls that would knock them down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Margaret Clark, the girl who was leaving today, reminded me of a stick of rock; she had &#8216;Northern Girl&#8217; stamped right through her. As such, she would most likely have been happy with a pair of clogs, a flat hat and a bowl of mushy peas, heavy on the mint sauce, for a leaving present, but Sebastian, true to form, had his mind set on something she would like because it was something he would like. He seriously had no idea if she had any interest in, or appreciation of, art, and neither did I. But once Sebastian had latched onto something, it was like a dog\u2019s teeth in arse. (This analogy has some baring, sorry, bearing, on the eventual choice of gift, or, of course, I would not have employed it.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">So, we were off to Covent Garden to buy Margaret, who was leaving, a book on art that she might not want, would not like and would never read. It sounded to me like the perfect present for a person quitting a job that she did not want, did not like and was pleased to close the covers on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Sebastian, just before we left the office, was commenting vociferously on the remarks of one of his colleagues, whose projected view on everything he considered rather crass: \u201cOh yes, Michael, there\u2019s old Ormolu, his usual helpful and refined self, \u2018I think some novelty items are in order, Sebastian,\u2019 he said. Novelty items, indeed. And we all know what he means by that!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">What Sebastian did not know was that Matt Ormolu and I had already discussed the type of present that we were going to buy dear Margaret, and novelty items were top of the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"625\" height=\"830\" data-attachment-id=\"14407\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/mick-harts-diary\/diary-pages-mick-hart-1996\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Diary-pages-Mick-Hart-1996-rotated.jpeg?fit=964%2C1280&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"964,1280\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Diary pages Mick Hart 1996\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Diary-pages-Mick-Hart-1996-rotated.jpeg?fit=226%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Diary-pages-Mick-Hart-1996-rotated.jpeg?fit=625%2C830&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Diary-pages-Mick-Hart-1996.jpeg?resize=625%2C830&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Mick Hart's Diary 15 May 1996\" class=\"wp-image-14407\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.7529411764705882;width:599px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Diary-pages-Mick-Hart-1996-rotated.jpeg?resize=771%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 771w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Diary-pages-Mick-Hart-1996-rotated.jpeg?resize=226%2C300&amp;ssl=1 226w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Diary-pages-Mick-Hart-1996-rotated.jpeg?resize=768%2C1020&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Diary-pages-Mick-Hart-1996-rotated.jpeg?resize=9%2C12&amp;ssl=1 9w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Diary-pages-Mick-Hart-1996-rotated.jpeg?resize=624%2C829&amp;ssl=1 624w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Diary-pages-Mick-Hart-1996-rotated.jpeg?resize=18%2C24&amp;ssl=1 18w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Diary-pages-Mick-Hart-1996-rotated.jpeg?resize=27%2C36&amp;ssl=1 27w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Diary-pages-Mick-Hart-1996-rotated.jpeg?resize=36%2C48&amp;ssl=1 36w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Diary-pages-Mick-Hart-1996-rotated.jpeg?w=964&amp;ssl=1 964w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cOh no, Michael!\u201d protested Sebastian, his nose curling and sensibilities clearly offended. \u201cI\u2019m not under any circumstances going into Nutz Novelty shop!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">&#8220;Sebastian I barked (Sebastian was the son of an army officer, and sons of army officers, I have found, respond instinctively to the old sergeant major treatment). \u201cSebastian!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cYes, Michael!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWe are going in!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cRight, Michael!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cOh my God!\u201d That was Sebastian, genuinely shocked by the risqu\u00e9 greeting cards greeting him in Nutz Novelty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Naturally, being a thespian by aspiration, buying anything of such a crass, crude nature was theatrically beneath him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Officially, we only had our lunch hour in which to buy a present, and the clock was ticking. In Nutz Novelty, the hands and the pendulum bore an intended resemblance to male genitalia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">&#8220;Pity we can&#8217;t afford that,&#8221; I thought. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Sebastian&#8217;s dithering was impinging upon our schedule, so I had to make a managerial decision. So, much to his dismay, I grabbed the nearest greeting card. On its cover was a naked man, who was looking rather gay. Then, before Sebastian could faint, I added to my basket a jumping clockwork bum and a packet of luminous condoms.They were always experiencing power cuts up North, so Margaret should find some practical use for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Sebastian was so appalled that, in the interests of balance and resuscitation, I accepted his need to restore the culture he\u2019d lost by looking for it in Dillons bookshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">In Dillons, we haggle over two potential publications: <em>Works of Art of the Past Century<\/em> or <em>100 Years of Playboy<\/em>. I&#8217;ll leave you to decide which one of us advocated which book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">To placate Sebastian, <em>Works of Art of the Past Century<\/em> it is. A good manager always manages to make concessions when they are faced with a member of staff who looks as though he&#8217;s about to stage a tantrum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">With the esteemed book in his mitt, Sebastian proceeds to checkout, putting the book on one side of the counter and resting the Nutz Novelty nude-man card on the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The shop assistant rings up the book and then, glancing at the gay card, with its picture of a compromised nude man on the front, asks Sebastian, &#8220;Is this yours?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Sebastian panicking, \u201cGood heavens, no! <em>He<\/em> bought it from Nutz Novelty!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">But \u2018he\u2019, meaning me, was nowhere to be found. I had expeditiously removed myself and was studiously and demonstratively preoccupied with <em>Post-modernist Works of Art.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWe sell them here,\u201d the assistant said, referring to the card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cDo you!\u201d exclaimed Sebastian. \u201cWell, I\u2019m shocked!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">Mick Hart&#8217;s Diary One Day in Travel Trade Publishing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">We were already late back from lunch, two hours late to be exact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">&#8220;It wil be a ground-to-air arse-seeking boot for us, Mr Hart!&#8221; was Sebastian&#8217;s prediction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">We were rattling along on the tube, with Sebastian imitating what he expected Director Quill to say about our lengthy expedition,&#8221; Huh! Did it take two of you!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cTo which the reply will be, Sebastian: \u2018Yes, one to go into the arty-farty shop and one to buy the bouncing bum.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Mr Quilly never commented on our combined late return, but he did say, \u201cI can\u2019t have my managing editor buying condoms, bouncing bums and false breasts in Nutz Novelty Shop.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Mr Q.\u201d I contritely replied. \u201cIt won\u2019t happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Leaving his office, I thought, \u201cWhere did he get the false breasts from?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">As I approached the editorial department, I could hear actor Sebastian hamming it up in no uncertain terms: \u201c\u2026 and whilst I was in Dillons looking for a decent present, there\u2019s old Mick,\u201d I could hear him sneering, \u201cdithering about in Nutz Novelty shop, undecided about whether he should buy the fart spray or the masturbatory glove?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cFalse breasts? Masturbatory glove?\u201d Perhaps Quill and Sebastian were more frequent visitors to Nutz Novelty than we gave them credit for. Perhaps they <em>are<\/em> given credit? Perhaps they had a joint account!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">When I entered the department, I was greeted with: \u201cWe thought you were never going to come back. It\u2019s 5pm!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cSebastian\u2019s fault,\u201d I replied. \u201cHe\u2019s such an old woman when it comes to buying presents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">No fear of reprisals for that comparison. The one thing I never did was employ feminists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">Mick Hart&#8217;s Diary One Day in Travel Trade Publishing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">We were late back, so late that we barely had time to wrap the presents and get the card with the bare gay man on the front signed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">South African Arthur, regarding the nude picture on the front of the card, asked: \u201cWhy is there a picture of Quilly on the front? More to the point, who took it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Grant, from the production department, asked, referring to the photo, \u201cIs this a still out of Sebastian\u2019s latest film?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">After everyone in the production department had signed the card, I ferried it, with half the department behind me, to Mr Quilly\u2019s office. Through the window in the door, we can see him smiling as he signs the card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Matt Ormolu: \u201cQuilly&#8217;s smiling. Perhaps people should leave more often.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Even Mr Quilly himself had a comment to make: \u201cI\u2019ll have to be more careful about who photographs me as I\u2019m scrubbing my right knee!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">It was almost time to leave for the leaving party, which was taking place at a venue in the Angel. There was an air of school days\u2019 excitement in the office. We were going to be really naughty and leave fifteen minutes early. Even old Suit and Tie, one of the female editorial staff, was coming with us tonight. She usually went straight home to darn her socks or something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Outside on the street, most of those people accompanying me waited patiently for a cab; all, that is, but Sebastian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cTypical Harty situation,\u201d he scoffed, referring to me, and then directed at me: \u201cHaven\u2019t you heard of that simple and convenient mode of transport known as the tube?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cIndeed I have, Sebastian, but you being an actor and all, I wouldn\u2019t dream of casting you in the role of a commoner. Besides, on the tube you\u2019d most likely be deprived of a speaking part, whereas in the cab your oratory will be rewarded with a standing ovation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cYou\u2019d have a job standing \u2026\u201d but his derision was cut short by our chariot arriving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The cab got us to where we wanted to be, door to door, in half the time it would have taken by tube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cI know, Sebastian, there is no need to congratulate me. We are here much quicker than if we had taken the tube; that\u2019s why I\u2019m the manager, here to manage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Sebastian&#8217;s book, A <em>100 Years of Art,<\/em> came in handy. Margaret used it as a platform for the jumping bum, and everyone, except for Sebastian, was enraptured by it. \u201cGood choice, Sebastian,\u201d Ormolu glowed &#8211; and so did the condoms.<br><br>Whilst Ormolu and the condoms glowed, Sebastian glowered; he was leaning in close &#8211; too close, I thought &#8211; to two of the female editors for which he had a lascivious liking, chastising me for all he was worth: \u201cYou should have seen him, old Hart, standing there in Nutz Novelty, unable to make up his mind whether to buy the fart spray or the masturbatory glove!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I steered clear of this conversation but wondered how Sebastian would deal with certain questions the female staff now were putting to him regarding the glove to which he had alluded, of which, like Quilly\u2019s female breasts, I had not the slightest knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">All things considered, the party went well, which was something of a letdown by publishing standards. Nobody got paralytic and disgraced themselves by fondling bottoms, except for the clockwork one, or by slagging off the production director to his face; nobody threw up, got into a fight or bonked one another in the gentlemen&#8217;s lavs and the stench of Ganja was conspicuously absent. It all could have been so very different, if I had only invited the sales staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Copyright \u00a9 2018-2026 Mick Hart. All rights reserved.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">Dear Diary &#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/2025-that-was-the-year-that-was-uk-and-kaliningrad\/\" title=\"2025 - that was the year that was\">2025 &#8211; that was the year that was<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/how-to-grow-old-graciously\/\" title=\"How to grow old graciously\">How to grow old graciously<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>15 May 1996 On recounting some of my experiences of working in the publishing industry, some wag asked, back in the 90s, \u201cSo, what are you going to do when you leave school?\u201d 1 March 2026 &#8211; Mick Hart&#8217;s Diary One Day in Travel Trade Publishing The following diary extract is taken from my time [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2704],"tags":[2737,2741,2740,2739,71,2738,2742],"class_list":["post-14379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mick-harts-diary-2026","tag-19th-of-may-1996","tag-a-career-in-publishing","tag-a-day-in-the-life-of-publishing","tag-mick-hart-managing-editor","tag-mick-harts-diary","tag-travel-trade-publishing","tag-working-as-an-editor"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/rz-Mick-Harts-Diaries-1990s-rotated.jpg?fit=900%2C1195&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10088,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/kaliningrad-house-of-soviets-melts-into-the-past\/","url_meta":{"origin":14379,"position":0},"title":"Kaliningrad House of Soviets Melts into the Past","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"29 \u043c\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0430, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"What goes up must come down, but it took 50 years to do so 29 March 2024 ~ Kaliningrad House of Soviets Melts into the Past I go away for four weeks, and this is what happens! In my absence, someone has nipped off with three-quarters of the House of\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 &quot;Kaliningrad: Mick Hart's Diary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Kaliningrad: Mick Hart's Diary","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kaliningrad House of Soviets Kaliningrad","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/House-of-Soviets-min.jpg?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/House-of-Soviets-min.jpg?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/House-of-Soviets-min.jpg?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2828,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/2020-memories-are-made-of-this\/","url_meta":{"origin":14379,"position":1},"title":"2020 Memories are made of this","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"31 \u0434\u0435\u043a\u0430\u0431\u0440\u044f, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 292 [31 December 2020]or Goodbye 2020, if I never see you again will it be too soon? Published: 31 December 2020 ~ 2020 Memories are made of this The End is Nigh! Well, you would think so from the aggregated hype bubbling furiously over the\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 &quot;Diary 2019\/2020&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Diary 2019\/2020","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary\/diary-2019-2020\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Happy 2021 from Zelenogradsk Russia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Happy-New-Year-FROM-ZELENOGRADSK-russia-2021.png?fit=554%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Happy-New-Year-FROM-ZELENOGRADSK-russia-2021.png?fit=554%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Happy-New-Year-FROM-ZELENOGRADSK-russia-2021.png?fit=554%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1927,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/englishman-chilling-in-zelenogradsk-with-bear-beer\/","url_meta":{"origin":14379,"position":2},"title":"Englishman Chilling in Zelenogradsk with Bear &#038; Beer","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"8 \u0430\u0432\u0433\u0443\u0441\u0442\u0430, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 141 [2 August 2020] Published: 8 August 2020 'You ought to get out more!' Since the birth of coronavirus, the intentional irony in this off-hand remark has taken on a whole new irrational meaning. We know that we want to get out more, but we\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 &quot;Diary 2019\/2020&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Diary 2019\/2020","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary\/diary-2019-2020\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Englishman Chilling in Zelenogradsk with Bear & Beer","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/With-a-bear.jpg?fit=555%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/With-a-bear.jpg?fit=555%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/With-a-bear.jpg?fit=555%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1294,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/isolation-restrictions-change-in-kaliningrad\/","url_meta":{"origin":14379,"position":3},"title":"Isolation Restrictions Change in Kaliningrad","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"12 \u043c\u0430\u044f, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 54 [12 May 2020] Published: 12 May 2020 A round-up of coronavirus news in Kaliningrad It is official: \u2018universal self-isolation\u2019 in the Kaliningrad region is no longer operational1 and many people are back to work. Restrictions still apply for people over 65 years of age\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 &quot;Diary 2019\/2020&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Diary 2019\/2020","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary\/diary-2019-2020\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Isolation Restrictions Change in Kaliningrad","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Old_cathedral_of_Kaliningrad_in_Russia-Resized.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Old_cathedral_of_Kaliningrad_in_Russia-Resized.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Old_cathedral_of_Kaliningrad_in_Russia-Resized.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Old_cathedral_of_Kaliningrad_in_Russia-Resized.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Old_cathedral_of_Kaliningrad_in_Russia-Resized.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14049,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/2025-that-was-the-year-that-was-uk-and-kaliningrad\/","url_meta":{"origin":14379,"position":4},"title":"2025 that was the year that was: UK and Kaliningrad","author":"Mick","date":"30 \u044f\u043d\u0432\u0430\u0440\u044f, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Mick Hart's 2025: a nostalgic review in photographs 30 January 2026 - 2025 that was the year that was: UK and Kaliningrad As the photographs immediately below illustrate, Kaliningrad has been and is experiencing a real winter this year. Snow fell on cue, a week or so before the New\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 &quot;Kaliningrad: Mick Hart's Diary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Kaliningrad: Mick Hart's Diary","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"2025 that was the year that was","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2025-that-was-the-year-that-was-1.png?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2025-that-was-the-year-that-was-1.png?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2025-that-was-the-year-that-was-1.png?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2025-that-was-the-year-that-was-1.png?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7068,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/alena-kravchenko-photos-1940s-english-home-in-kaliningrad\/","url_meta":{"origin":14379,"position":5},"title":"Alena Kravchenko Photos 1940s&#8217; English Home in Kaliningrad","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"26 \u0438\u044e\u043b\u044f, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Alena Kravchenko writes about her love for photography and a past project in the present Published: 26 July 2022 ~ Alena Kravchenko Photos 1940s' English Home in Kaliningrad About Alena Kravchenko, Professional Photographer Alena Kravchenko: I have been interested in photography for as long as I can remember. It began\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 &quot;Diary 2022&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Diary 2022","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary\/diary-2022\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Alena Kravchenko Photographer, Kaliningrad","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Alena-2.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Alena-2.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Alena-2.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Alena-2.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Alena-2.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14379"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14435,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14379\/revisions\/14435"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}