@rah 11 September 2021 more from that month

So my current True and False 1) I did have an AK-47 in Kosovo and in terms of where it came from - as you may wonder - during the Albanian Anarchy of 1997 many military facilities were raided by the population and a year later many of the same weapons had found their way across the border into Kosovo and were used to equip their - what proved to be - successful insurrgency against the Serbs. When I arrived their were plenty of them still in circulation and I was give one for personal protection. However, I am no soldier and I refused to even pick it up because the moment you weaponise you become a target. So it was left where i could get it at a moment's notice if necessary. But yes i did have an AK-47 2) Back around the period of Gulf War One there was a controversy about what became known as the Iraqi Supergun. Sheffield Forgemasters build the barrel in several segments and were blindsided into believing they were segments of oil pipe (but why would they need rifling running inside - to help the oil flow). However some of the other components - brackets, mechanical parts etc were manufactured by a company called Walter Somers based in Birmingham which was / is part of the Folkes group which the company I was working for was a part of too. Walter Somers subcontracted some elements to where i was working and while I wasnt an engineer I was handling much of the paperwork and directing the engineers to build such components - which were part of the whole. So YES I did contribute. Just don't tell George Bush 3) I went to a village as part of my job in Kosovo to do an assessment of their needs. Only the head man didnt appreciate me being there and was on me before I even conducted a single interview and had made a single observation. he was less than polite as he and his friend told me to leave. As I left he got in his car and followed me about a metre behind and matching my pace. I didnt have a weapon but he almost certainly had a gun in his car. When I got to the edge of the village I told him to meet me at the local police station and he came. I was in good contact with the UN Police officers there so I was onto a winner and in controlled circumstances I told him it was his hostility that was hurting his village and then I told him that I would visit again next week and expected to drink coffee with him at his home before having a tour of the village. He was humbled and embarrassed and the following week I went. It might seem a bit far fetched but I have never been one to take crap from people - not the only incident - and sometimes (not always a good thing) I have no fear. I had a job to do and he was in my way. Problem solved but FALSE because I didn't have a weapon even if he did chase me out as a Serbian spy - which of course I wasnt!