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Saying nothing to me, he about turned and I followed him to his car. He opened the rear door I got in as he slammed the door hard on my leg. What a welcome!

We drove in silence to a huge multi-storey office block. My host took me straight to the eighth floor, traversing rows of corridors. He opened a double door and pushed me into a darkened room. I waited a few moments for my eyes to adjust and gradually they began to focus. In front of me there were rows of seats like one finds in a cinema. To my right was a podium on which stood a table illuminated a light beam from the back of the room. At one end there was a seated a person who stood up, said his name and indicated I should climb up to the seat behind the desk.

From this position I looked into the spotlight but managed to make out my audience. There seemed to be about twenty-five students all of large Russian stature. They sat with their arms folded and looked as though they had been sitting like this since Monday morning. I waved and smiled but there was no response. Turning to the interpreter I tried to explain that the delay had not been my fault but I had only obeyed orders! Still no response, just silence!

I began the school in my usual manner, First giving out the illustrated books and explaining, via the interpreter, that the students should complete them as I expounded the subject further with the aid of the overhead projector.

It must be remembered that it was winter and I had just come in from the snow. It was extremely cold outside but in the classroom we had central heating. I had already removed my heavy coat and scarf but was still too warm with shirtsleeves, tie and waistcoat. I took off the waistcoat revealing my trouser braces so I unhooked them and put the in my small luggage bag.

Within an hour we had got as far as explaining the Torque converter but I was finding the interpreter was spinning out everything I said till a statement such as, the central bearing, would be expanded to at least three paragraphs. I had to sit in the spotlight twiddling my thumbs while he droned on and on. I was bored and I was certain the students were to but they said nothing looking impassively straight ahead still with their arms folded.

To fill the time between translations I felt in my bag to find something to keep me amused. I normally have a supply of small hat badges to advertise the Clarke Company. I use them as rewards when I have a class such as this one dying on me. As I felt in my bag I found my braces but at the time just could not make out what I had touched. My bag was below the table and the spotlight did not help me to see what I was doing so I lifted the unidentified object I had found above the edge of the table. Only then did I realize I was holding my braces! I returned them at once to the bag, but the students had already seen them and a light titter of laughter erupted from the lads.

This was all going on while my interpreter boringly continued explaining some simple statement I had made. His eyes were fixed firmly on the table but hearing the faint laughter presumed he had made an error and so started to explain all over again. I couldn’t face a repeat performance! I put my hand back into the bag this time holding one end of the braces in one hand and pulling them up with the other well above the edge of the table only to let them spring back into the bag when I let them go! Such an action saved the day. The class burst out laughing; the interpreter also saw the joke and joined in the merriment. Within moments all the students had mounted the stage. They

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