The Observer.

Hello, it's Alexi, the host of the slow newscast.

After this week's show, rogue Brits fighting for Putin, I just couldn't stop thinking about the story.

And particularly about the main character, Jay, who seems like such an ordinary guy, boring

even, but then turns up in Russia fighting for Vladimir Putin.

And I wanted to know more about why.

In a 30-minute episode, we couldn't cover everything. So I asked Francisco Garcia, who reported

on the story to join me for a chat. Hi, Francisco. Hi, Lexi. So let's talk about the church,

because that was one of the most interesting aspects of this whole show for me. Not least because

when I think of Scotland, I think of kind of Dauer Protestant

churches. I don't think of kind of incense and Greek orthodoxy. So how, how, tell me all about that.

It is absolutely fascinating. You know when you get a story like this, right? You get a story where

you're branching off in so many different directions

and and you can't always jump as kind of thoroughly into some of them as you would like

for context um for those who listen to the program and read the piece um we'll already know but for

those who haven't um jay he when the university didn't work out, he ended up working at this Brewers.

And Bill O'All Accounts had a really good job, literally, as he described to me, it would have been a job for life.

No one ever leaves.

In 2021 as a kind of, I suppose 19, 20 year old, there's this void in his life.

He goes home from his boring but well-paid job

stares at screens stares at more screens you know rots his eyes and his brain for

another six hours goes to bed wakes up goes back to work that's his routine drinks a lot um

...