Andrew Currie Online

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  Andrew 11:09 AM on August 13, 2003 Permalink
  Tags: Bosnia, Second City ( 84 )   

  Drvar 

  

  Our ragtag team of merrymakers weren’t the only guests at Castle Greyskull; a Hungarian SFOR unit was stopping over as well. Here’s me hamming it up with some of ‘em, hoisting a variant of the famous Russian AK-47 above my knobby knees.

  

  This is Maggie, an abused dog who was adopted by the base, and who stole everyone’s heart.

  

  A group shot of the troupe in our emergency gear… In case the bus broke down in no-man’s land everyone who rode it was issued a hockey bag containing a helmet, flak jacket, gas mask and a day’s worth of rations.

  

  As a further safety precaution we were escorted by jeep into the centre of Drvar. What our escorts didn’t know is that we had come into town the evening before, on bicycles.

  

  Asshole of the world? Well, Drvar is pretty rundown, but no… This is the entrance to the caves where General Tito hid from the Nazis during the Second World War.

  

  We didn’t get keys to the city, but Shag singer Sandra Volodoff did get some hand-picked flowers from a local goat-wrangler…

  Ben BRAINE is discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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    Ben BRAINE 10:05 AM on October 26, 2003 Permalink | Reply

    Lived here fo 11 months 2002/3. Lived with Serb family – good atmosphere most of the time. Typical mountain town,not much to do and limited opportunities to spend money! Choice of fresh food limited in winter – 1 metre snow for three months and -27 degrees C!
    Easy to cross into Croatia, loads of scenery. Beware ‘cos bears and wolves live here (for the time being)
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  Andrew 2:38 PM on August 12, 2003 Permalink
  Tags: Bosnia, Second City ( 84 )   

  The Road to Castle Greyskull 

  

  On the way to Drvar, our fourth stop, we stopped for coffee here, at an honest-to-goodness Bosnian brothel. I think army folks call it “The Purple Pickel” — and if they don’t then they should! Sadly for us, the freaks only come out at night.

  

  As our aging bus made its way through the mountains, it had to negotiate through several sharp 180-degree turns, called switchbacks. It can be a little scary on a narrow road, especially if two large vehicles meet face to face!

  

  Fortunately the driving was in the very capable hands of our dear friend Serge. Unfortunately for us, the drive to Drvar was his last with us.

  View image

  Click on the link above to see a panoramic view of the town of Drvar. The military base there is almost hidden in the hills on the other side of the valley, about halfway left from centre.

  

  The Canadian army calls this converted flour mill “Castle Greyskull”. Wouldn’t you?

  

  It doesn’t look like much, but this VIP tent had single beds in curtained-off private rooms, with an electric fan in each… Heaven!

  Chris and Andrew Currie are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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    Chris 7:42 PM on August 12, 2003 Permalink | Reply

    Doesn’t Drvar have to many consonants, how in the world do you pronounce it. Just wondering.

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    Andrew Currie 8:34 PM on August 12, 2003 Permalink | Reply

    “Der-var” is how I heard it. If you can’t pronounce that, how can you possibly handle the name of the town called Kljuc?

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    Ken 1:18 PM on August 13, 2003 Permalink | Reply

    Actually it is pronounced Dre-var. Ahhh, to love and hate the Serbo-Croat language all in one breath. Cheers!

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  Andrew 1:47 PM on August 11, 2003 Permalink
  Tags: Bosnia, Second City ( 84 )   

  Camp Maple Leaf 

  

  The third stop on our tour was Camp Maple Leaf, in an area called Zgon. Though the air conditioning on our bus was definitely a joke, getting the bus into these camps was no laughing matter — that mirror is for spotting hidden cargo on the undersides of vehicles, like a bomb or a crack team of ninjas.

  

  When stage manager Peter Sherk speaks you drop everything and listen, especially if he’s pointing a grenade launcher your way. I found out after taking this photo that the freakin’ thing was loaded!

  

  Here’s me mistaking a brick of C4 explosive for one of those protein bars. Mmm… plastique-y!

  

  Here are the famous urchins I wrote about in a previous post. In our hurry to shower these impoverished little ones with gifts and flags we failed to notice the BMX bike…

  View image

  Click on the link above to see a panoramic view of some castle ruins above the town of Kljuc. That cell tower in the background gave my Treo crystal-clear reception!

  

  These are the kind military escorts that snuck us up the mountain to see said ruins. Check out the army’s standard-issue Kodiak Grebs!

  Emma is discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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    Emma 8:02 PM on April 23, 2004 Permalink | Reply

    camp maple leaf is the best place in the world! i love it so much and i can’t wait for this summer

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  Andrew 9:29 AM on August 9, 2003 Permalink
  Tags: Bosnia, Second City ( 84 )   

  Camp Bee-Yatch 

  

  The second of the six bases we visited was a converted car dealership in the town of Bihac. I think you can still lease that GMC van in the background…

  

  To get there, our bus travelled through an hour and a half of pretty countryside. Here’s Shag drummer Kyle Radomsky eyeing a castle on the way…

  

  One of the few minefields that are actually marked… The first thing the army tells you about mines is that they don’t act the way the Hollywood ones do — that is, click when you step on them and detonate when you step off. In the real world you step on one and it’s all over.

  

  One of the things you gotta do in a two-hour outdoor show is pace yourself. Here are Shags Sandra Dominelli and Tiffany Hambrook providing some backup vocals, from backstage.

  

  Only in the army can you sign autographs under barbed wire. Well, maybe prison…

  Michael and Andrew Currie are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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    Michael 9:50 AM on August 11, 2003 Permalink | Reply

    I noticed on via a search that I was doing on John Buchanan of EA that you have some comments about him. It has com to my attention that he is involved in an affare with my wife, which is having a drastic effect on my son’s and our family, and I trust his partner. I would apreciate any information you could give me about him. Please call me @ 1-866-873-1386 or email me @ mharrison@firstmg.com

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    Andrew Currie 12:37 PM on August 11, 2003 Permalink | Reply

    Yikes. Not to worry, folks… I’ve sent an email to Michael. Unfortunately I’ve never actually met this John Buchanan, just heard him speak at U of T. To read the reference on my website, scroll down to the February 22nd reference here:

    http://andrewcurrie.ca/old/archives/2002/02.html

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    Michal. 7:31 AM on July 24, 2004 Permalink | Reply

    He’s having an affair with your wife eh? Who would your wife be? I’m just curious, because he’s my father.

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  Andrew 10:12 AM on August 8, 2003 Permalink
  Tags: Bosnia, Second City ( 84 )   

  Camp Black Bear II 

  

  There wasn’t much to do in VK proper, save for the pirate CD shops across the road — the only consistent evidence of an economy I saw on the entire tour. Here’s Warrant Officer Randy Lahaise, checking out the selection.

  

  Thankfully, there were plenty of toys on base to keep us busy!

  You’d think that handing a comedian an automatic weapon would be a bad idea. You’d be correct, and our army hosts wisely took the bullets out first. Here’s me fiddling with the Canadian Armed Forces standard issue rifle, the C7A1. We took the American M16 and made it better, though I’m clearly having some trouble with the quick-release strap.

  

  Shag keyboardist Joel White tries out the military’s night vision goggles, captured by me courtesy of Sony’s Super NightShot technology.

  

  And to top it all off we were treated to a tour of the Balkan countryside, by helicopter! An underpowered, Canadian-made helicopter, yes… But a helicopter nonetheless!

  

  Christy Bruce and I, keeping our lunches down. I think.

  

  An aerial view of the Ostrozac Castle, dating back to the 1600s.