Silent Hunter UK

I'll be off between 19 and 23 May myself. Have fun!

The aircraft was coming from the north-west and flying quite low. It looked like a small twin-engine aircraft in a two-tone blue with a T-shaped tail. Definitely some form of jet, but it wasn't one that the Americans had to his knowledge. Bernadette thought it might be something the British had sold the country pre-embargo.

Thanks for letting me know. Have a good time!

Memorising the routes would probably be quite difficult - their map wasn't very detailed for the area they were in. A dilapidated-looking truck, probably from the last war, drove past them in the opposite direction. James was having to remember that they drove on the left in this former British colony. Then they heard the sound of a jet aircraft approaching.

Soweto looked, in a way, like something out of the Soviet bloc, but in a different way. Rows and rows of tiny four-roomed single-storey houses and barracks, linked by paved roads in some cases, dirt in the others. Hundreds of people, all black, were out and about, doing their washing, cooking etc. However, unlike in the USSR, there were no signs of electricity provision. No street lights, no telephone wires. Ritter wasn't even sure there was proper plumbing. Perhaps there was. Street signs were also rather absent. It was clear that the apartheid government were doing the bare minimum here to house their workers. OOC A near-contemporary film clip.

There would probably be plenty of ways to bug out and places to hide too.

The Land Rover wasn't exactly a luxury vehicle inside, but it was comfortable enough and seemed capable to handling the terrain of rural South Africa.

It's not until 11am tomorrow game-time. You may wish to do a quick recce of the area if you wish, but don't draw too much attention to yourself.

OK. Are you heading for Soweto now?

What drinks did your characters have?

"No, this is a bar, not a game restaurant. But if you go into Jo'burg proper, there are plenty of places that can cater for your meat desires." James saw the AVIS employee walking towards him, raising a hand to capture his attention. "Sir!" he called out once he'd got a deal closer. "Your Land Rover has just arrived."

"We don't do burgers and fries here", the barman said. "The restaurant over there might do those, but to be honest, wouldn't you want to eat proper South African food. You can get that stuff back at home. Ever tried biltong." **** Hope is a town in several American states. It was not very much help here as the notebook was indeed written in Japanese.

It occurred to both of them to check what the ANC's actual plans were for running the country, considering they were quite close to the local (outlawed by the government, of course) Communist Party. A white man in a brown suit came over to the Japanese men and after some mutual bowing, the group of them left, but not before the latter left some notes on the table as a form of tip. Along with an actual notepad.

James found some coffee at a nearby bar. They also did plenty of other drinks options, both soft and hard. He noticed a number of Japanese businessmen sitting around a table discussing something in that language, looking over a bunch of paperwork and promotional material. Twenty minutes later, the man came walking over from the AVIS desk. "Good news, I've found a Land Rover from a local company that is available for you to hire. You'll need to negotiate the fee with them, but they're coming out with it now. Be about an hour."

The airport hire car staff were a bit confused at his request for an off-road vehicle, but after some discussion, they were able to refer him to a company back in the city that organised game hunting trips and might have a Land Rover they could hire him. It occurred that the roads in Soweto were probably not that good and if he headed out in a "city car", there was a decent chance that he'd end up losing the deposit from damage. The Avis employee said he would make a call and get back to him. In the meantime, he should get a cup of coffee or something, as it might take a while.

The driver told them to avoid Soweto if they valued keeping their wallets on their persons. James suspected that was more based on prejudice than actual fact.

The cab arrived to take them back to the airport. The driver was a white man with thinning grey hair, who liked to talk about cricket. A lot. Whether that was something his passengers enjoyed wasn't something he apparently cared about. He suggested that they could go and see a friendly match at one of his local clubs, something for the Americans to read about. He wasn't sure if Germans did cricket. They drove east through the city, heading back towards Jan Smuts Airport, overtaking a rickety bus filled with Black workers.

. Best known by many of us Brits here for his role as the Valeyard in Doctor Who.

There were some nature reserves dotted around the local region, but nothing really in Soweto itself that was intended for tourists, white or otherwise.

They were in central Johannesburg, not a place filled with gas stations. However, there were various shops that sold local maps. James was able to find some grocery shops that sold maps. Soweto was to the west of the city, quite a way from their current location. It would probably be an expensive taxi ride and he realised there was no guarantee a cabbie would even agree to take them there. If they did go directly, the driver might inform the secret police of their travels. Bernadette found a medium-end French restaurant with booths in the rear. It was pretty busy with patrons at the moment, which was probably better for their purposes as their conversation would be harder to hear.

The consensus was that there hadn't been much of that if any - the Arab forces had folded spectacularly quickly. "Doesn't mean that there won't be later," a Coldstream Guards captain said, "The Israelis have just grabbed themselves a lot of Arab land - and a lot of Arabs to boot. Can't imagine the latter will be keen on their new management. Nasser is also going to be very unhappy considering how his air force seems to have been wiped out. I see the Americans put in an arms embargo to all sides. Wonder how long that will last."

It turned out that it was indeed a private compartment that the conductor showed her too. Albeit a rather weird one. Accessed via some upwards steps from the corridor, it contained a single green chair, a single bunk accessed by two steps that was basically in the roof and a fold-out washbasin that blocked the steps when deployed. For trips to the little spies' room, she would need to go down the corridor. "I can take your passport for the night if you wish. It will save you from being awoken at the frontier. The restaurant car will open shortly and will be available until we get to Metz. Breakfast will be available at the station in Lyss."

Once Aubrey had handed off her car to one of the attendants, she was directed to her carriage. It was a shiny ridged metal affair with blue stripes at the top and bottom. Standing at the entrance was a conductor in a smart blue uniform who was holding a clipboard. "Good evening, madame," he began in French. "Can I please see your ticket?"

What's the other?

The officer nodded. "Well, there shouldn't be any issues on the road. Have a good trip." Once she was through Customs, she needed to make her way to Calais-Ville station for the overnight car-sleeper. The trip to the hospital meant that she only had an hour to get through the traffic before her designated boarding time. Fortunately, it would hopefully only take ten or fifteen minutes.