Kevin Paul Scarrott
Published: 2020-11-24
Total Pages: 261
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It's the height of the Cold War. Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev is presiding over the country as general secretary. Against this backdrop, a fourteen-year-old British boy roams Moscow unhindered. Adventure is the name of the game. What's it like to be a teenager when your father works for the British embassy in Moscow during the Cold War? Kevin Scarrott was that teenager (as were others in Moscow and other postings around the world). Where do you go to school in that situation? What's your social life like? And how do you make friends when you and your family are always moving to the next foreign posting? Scarrott describes what his life was like; the people he met, how it affected his relationships with his parents, what it was like exploring Moscow in the 60s and early 70's, and the different peers (and adults) he had as friends in this exciting, yet challenging time. Some of the Moscow crowd Kevin meets, and writes about, are: former British Intelligence agent Kim Philby, Harold (Hal) Doyne-Ditmas (MI5), Ambassador Duncan Wilson, Brigadier Humphrey Gurdon Kemball, Dennis Blakely (BBC), Derek Lambert (Daily Express), and (Sir) Christopher Meyer. Between the years of 1968 and 1971, the Cold War was in full swing, and tensions were high. Everybody was following everybody - the atmosphere was electric. Even some of Britain's top MI5 and MI6 agents had fled to the East seeking refuge. In the melting pot of thugs, spies, and corrupt officials that was Moscow at the time, everyone was competing or colluding for valuable information and a slice of the lucrative black market. Everything was for sale, and everybody had their price. While all the adults stationed or serving in Moscow were forced to follow the strict rules and unyielding regulations of a highly volatile, aggressive regime, the boy had total freedom - the liberty to come and go at will, unrestricted, uncontrolled, and unhindered. In these dangerous times, opportunities abounded. Exploiting the farcical deadlock was an easy task for those who had the guts, ability, and confidence to play the game. Follow Kevin as he plays East against West, entangling himself in the tension and exploiting every opportunity.