Hello to those who might come accross this writings on the net!Today in London we had a very first day that could really remind everybody that summer is just around the courner.But alas,- mood in and outside the office is not always the same!So,when I arrived at my desk I found that there is not much time for relaxation, as essentual ability to connect to our colleagues abroad is failing us.

For a few days now I had been desperately trying to contact our twin organisation in Ukraine, but without any success. I know that situation in this country is far from being stable and communications are first thing to go when country experiences a period of chaos. My own memories of life in post-soviet Georgia proove it: darkness, silent phones and faint internet connection that isn't always there... I truly hope that circumstances in Ukraine are not that grim and that kind people I met there won't have to put up with the harsh reality for long.

Eventually familiar voice broke the silence on the other end.Hurrah!We finally got in touch!We came up with alternative ways of communicating and will try them out tomorrow. What a relief! Re-established connection makes me truly happy, I understand once again how important it is to be able to reach people and feel that our planet is not too big any more. Now I will be able to solve some problems and inform seafarers about the outcome of their cases in their own language, and my ukrainian colleagues will help me with that.

If you are reading this lines and find them a bit sentimental, please think twice: often we are dealing here with high emotions caused by very seriouse issues brought to us by real three-dimentional people. And in the midst of all this it can be stressful to loose an ally, even if it's just for a week, for a day, or even an hour. However now everything should return to normal and hopefully tomorrow will bring only solutions, not problems to everyone, but first of all to people who work at sea.