There were tears in the foyer as hotel staff queued up to take pictures of the press corps - then sent a couple of brave porters on to the bullet train platform to pursue us out of the station waving the flag of St George.

BBC: World Cup memory lane

Like the 60-something couple I met on an overnight train to Birobidzhan in the Russian Far East, who insisted on readying my bed, giving me whole tomatoes from their garden to eat like apples, and then having "just a bit" of their vodka, amazingly still in a frosted bottle.

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Mr Weeks does his research and drily reports that, while there may not have been a bank employee on the train, the amorous smoking couple did exist.

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For the Space Shuttle, being a shorter-duration flight of just a couple of weeks, we still train for over one year just specifically on the task that we'll accomplish on our mission.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama's call to the International Space Station

Russian media reported that all passengers had been flown to Moscow on another plane, with the exception of a couple who preferred to go by train.

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