Serious business

I have no trouble filling my time during the week but Saturday afternoon from 2-5pm is reserved for The Office, a meeting convened at the local pub and attended by between 4 and 8, mostly male today but there is no gender restriction. Although betting on the horses and having a couple of beverages constitute the raison d'etre, we hold a very wide range of social and political opinions leading to robust but very educational and healthy exchange of views. Randolph and Janet had already left for home but the attendees in the blip (left to right) are Barry, Wally and Tony. Wally is of Russian heritage, speaks fluent Russian and is a walking textbook on eastern European history. Between races and over a beer, he was able to give us a detailed, chronological history of the Russia/Ukraine conflicts dating back hundreds of years. It might not help the terrible circumstances in the region but a better knowledge of the background and context lead to a better understanding of how these appalling events can occur.