In 1933, Gareth Jones is an ambitious young journalist who has gained some renown for his interview with Adolf Hitler. Thanks to his connections to Lloyd George, the former Prime Minister, he is able to get official permission to travel to the Soviet Union. Jones intends to try to interview Stalin and find out more about the Soviet Union’s economic expansion and its apparently successful five-year development plan.
Jones is restricted to Moscow, but jumps his train and travels unofficially to Ukraine to discover evidence of the Holodomor, including empty villages, starving people, cannibalism, and the enforced collection of grain. On his return to the UK he struggles to get his story taken seriously. The film ends by recording that Jones died in Mongolia on a return visit to the USSR, not knowing that his guide was employed by the Soviet secret service.
With another wet and windy day at an end, I have to admit I didn’t do a lot today. I read and listened to music for most of the day. Giving me time to think, this lockdown has made me realise we need to slow down. More time with family and friends is needed in our lives. We spend so much time rushing around. I’ve missed spending time with them, I might have read twice as much as I usually would, but if you can’t hug the ones you love, then what’s it all for? I have a month to prepare myself for going back to work, and I’ll admit it does scare me! I work with the public, and the team I work with isn’t a small one. I fear I’ll catch something, I fear the virus will come round again and take someone I love. I was lucky not to lose anyone the first time. Spending time at home without interaction from the outside world makes me want to stay indoors, I know it’s not healthy, but when your mind keeps you a prisoner in your own home, what can you do? I use the bad weather to keep me indoors, fear of catching a cold that turns into something more sinister is always on my mind. But like everything else in my life, I’ll get past it. But at the moment it doesn’t feel like it! I’m just thankful that I chat to people everyday, if not, then I think I’d be much worse.
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