Tag: cold war
-
P IS FOR PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
A STORY OF PERESTROIKA IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA (now the CZECH REPUBLIC) ‘My old friend,’ he greeted Phillips with an enthusiastic hug as he had always done. Phillips returned the gesture before resuming his seat. Přemysl took the seat opposite him. They sat facing out from the small coffee shack, looking at the pond and the green park…
-
J IS FOR JYVÄSKYLÄ, FINLAND
A STORY OF JEOPARDY IN JYVÄSKYLÄ Jyväskylä is the Athens of Finland, so they say, due to its role as an educational centre. It was the name given to it in the The Kalevala, the epic poem of collected folk lore and songs by Elias Lönnrot that is considered the national epic of Finland. Juriitta was…
-
EMBERS

Specks of dancing light floated through the dark sky, borne from the dying fire. There was no more firewood in the barren mountain landscape. It would not take long for the cold to achieve its conquest. Phillips had no choice but to move, to stay in the same place was to die. How much more…
-
GRASSHOPPER

The hard grit made for an uncomfortable place to lie. He stared through the binoculars, searching for any sign of movement. Midnight came and went. Dread crept over Phillips. The double agent, codename Grasshopper, had been a high-valued source in Stasi headquarters for over ten years. When the flash red signal was received, it was…
-
OLD FRIEND

The grey clouds hung low over the surrounding rooftops. Phillips stood next to the gate. His breath formed small puffs of mist. He pressed his hands deeper into his pockets. ‘They sent you.’ Phillips recognised the voice from the other side of the gate. He had last heard it in the bar in Whitehall all…