A full Kyiv beach

Jet-skis and gas. Saturday, and there's a BBQ by a Kyiv-based business networking group to look forward to in the afternoon.  Before that, I get on my bike and cycle 10 km across town to an island in the river.  Kyiv's beaches are spectacular.  They range from private, paid enclosures with waiter service, beach equipment and bouncers, to tranquil inlets big enough for a single family.  Many people swim; others race around on jet-skis, potter in rowing boats, or go bungee-jumping.  My favourite spot is at the quieter end of the scale, with an expanse of white sand, a pavilion selling cold drinks and a view of the gold-domed monastery of the Pechersk Lavra across the River Dnipro. The ride home, ascending the steep, wood-cloaked riverside escarpment, is knee-wobblingly arduous.  At the business networking event, much of the discussion is about the global economic crisis and its impact on Ukraine.  A key question engaging much of Europe at the moment is whether Ukraine can pay its monthly bill for natural gas supplied by Russia.  I discuss this with Kyiv-based representatives of the international financial institutions (IFIs) attending the event, who point out that it would be much easier to help Ukraine if the financial arrangements in the gas sector were more transparent.  The energy relationship between Russia, Ukraine and the EU is a complex one which involves political, economic and business interests.  It's also relevant to most of the objectives of the British embassy in Kyiv, as we seek to help a democratic, stable and prosperous Ukraine reform along a trajectory leading to eventual membership of the EU.