Another tale from Moscow, albeit short but hopefully rather sweet.

Traffic is a bit on an issue. In fact it's been known for a relatively simple journey to take 2 hours or more, if one strikes Lady Luck unawares.

So the great and the good of this fair city have a failsafe plan. Blue sirens for all important people.

Like a never ending episode of The Sweeney various unmarked cars go hurtling past, with large stick on siren resplendant and coiled black wire trailing back inside the vehicle.

'Must be an important politician I mused'.

Except it seems that with typical Russian attitude the occupants might not be quite so important.

It seems that local Russians, seeing in their eyes as something of an opportunity to get home for tea quicker, have been purchasing said blue sirens by the box-load.

So we're now in an intruiging situation where the local police, knowing of this blatent law breaking, are now periodically stopping supposedly important cars on the off chance that it's a miscreant.

I'd love to see the look on officer Vlad when he opens the door to see Mr Putin staring back !