Lovey throws his toys out of the pram
August 21, 2007
Yerevan, Armenia
By Dan

The Georgian road to Armenia is probably the worst we have travelled, little more than a crater strewn rock track. Luckily there were few other vehicles on it, and we had the ‘roads’ full width to weave around the trenches and chasms.
When we finally hit the border it took three hours of passport stamping and document checking to get across, so once again we arrived in a strange new country in the early hours and pitched on the side of the road.
Luckily we have contacts in the Armenian capital of Yerevan. Carlos had made a friend through the Hospitality Club website, Goha, and the next morning she found us an apartment to rent. That evening we went out to meet Cheryl, who the boys call Cherkyl. She travelled with Lovey, OJ, Tony and Carlos in South East Asia last year, and is now working in Armenia as a volunteer in the Peace Corp.


So we went out for a hearty dinner together – the Armenian national dish of BBQ. There were such delicacies on the menu as brain and tongue, along with lamb’s testicles, but I opted to play it safe with pork.
At dinner Lovey announced that he was going home- the project’s not what he wanted, no one listens to him, we haven’t got any donations, noone cares about the kids.
He gave a stream of truth and half-truth that thoroughly enraged me and left me feeling distinctly distrustful of him.
“I just don’t think people care about the kids,” he told me, like he’s Mother Theresa, “where are the donations?”
We have had very little corporate sponsorship and the personal donations I’ve managed to attract amount to £20 from Tom Shaw and Goolistan at the Herald. In total we have $5,000, though he hasn’t raised an extravagant amount himself.
But the people who have travelled with him the most, Tony, OJ and Cheryl, said he always claims he’s going home.
“He’s a drama queen,” Cherkyl explained, “One night when we were in Asia last year, he told us not to be surprised if he was gone when we woke up. Don’t take him seriously. He just wants people to tell him he’s needed.”
But it is not in my nature to pander to drama, I find extravagant but empty threats infuriating. He was the instigator of the whole trip and now he plans to dump us all out in the middle of Asia. What a dick.
He should surely be offering some kind of leadership, instead of threatening to turn tail and run when things get a little difficult.
Logistically, losing him would be a nightmare. Two of the cars are registered in his name, so he needs to be with them for every border crossing. Trying to change the registration of cars with Hungarian export plates, while we’re in Central Asia, would be a terrifying process. He also has a lot of the contacts we need along the way, especially for sorting out of China visas, which is the biggest headache we have yet to face.
That night He continued laughing and joking with the group, and I was left to skulk. He told OJ he can get reasonably cheap flights from Almaty, so he’s staying with us till Kazakhstan, but his outburst has seen him sink in my estimation.


The next day I spoke to Tony P, who knows Lovey best, and he confirmed that he regularly throws tantrums.
I have resolved only to be as concerned as Tony – I can use the little Mexican to gauge just how much bull shit Lovey’s talking.

Ends
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