Rain has finally made it to Moscow and it changes the view rather a lot from my concrete building. Somehow everyones shoulders are just that little bit more hunched and a the bright lights of packed (but extraordinarily expensive) clubs and dining places seem a little more tempting.

However tonight I'm hoping to leave with enough time to contentedly purchase a bottle of wine and something European and then the wonders of Slingbox will be unfolded.

Slingbox for those that don't know is a rather nifty gizmo that plugs into your Sky+ back in blighty and then connects remotely to a foreign land via the interweb. So much so technology advance. But what I love is that feeling that when you press a button something happens a long way away as the method of communication are the infra red sensors setup in front of the UK Sky box.

Pressing a button in Moscow is actually more long distance remote than broadband...which reminds me of the first ever remote control VCR players.

My dad brought it home and proudly set it up. The only thing was it was pre infrared. So the 'remote' was actually a large, black, snaking cable designed mainly to trip up any tray carrying mother that ventured into the room.

And if you remember such a thing consider yourself dated to over 36 !