Bernard Cribbins in violent assault shocker.....

A note from my mates the Freds. Apparently they got into a bit of bother in Moscow.

Hi XXXXXXXXXXXX,
THE MOSCOW INCIDENT (28-05-2007)
As we know alot of you have seen us on the news and in the press being beaten and attacked by Neo-Nazis in Moscow. We thought we should write a few lines to add our perspective to these bizarre events.
We flew into Moscow on Saturday May 26th for a show that evening.After we had checked into our hotel Richard and i had dinner and people watched in Red Square while the sun slowly set.We were amazed by how many gay couples we saw holding hands and openly expressing their sexuality.Wow we thought "Moscow's changed"..........................
The following morning we had arranged to have lunch with the local promoter, his wife and their 7 year old daughter.We were going to have lunch in Red Square but it was closed due to a demonstration.There were a large amount of Police and soldiers on the street but this is Russia so we thought nothing of it.At this point the promoter received a phone call from friends of his who were at a "Civil Liberties/Freedom of speech" rally and they invited us down.Richard and i weren't aware this was a Gay Pride demo and that it had been denied a licence by the Moscow authorities. We aren't big on public rallies particularly illegal ones and prefer to show our support for "sexual tolerance" etc etc in other ways. However we were assured that it seemed safe and the main purpose of this demo was to hand in a petition to the Mayor and that Tatu (a popular Russian girl group) were also performing so we felt ok about going along.
When we arrived it was a very small affair with a massive police presence and alot of international press,the Neo-Nazis were singing and doing interviews.The moment Richard and i left our vehicle the international press recognised us and immediately all the attention went from the Neo-Nazis to us.......oh joy!
We started to do some interviews but were very uncomfortable and could feel the tension rising, at this stage there was just alot of shouting and pushing. Richard and i tried to move away but the police wouldn't let us, in a heartbeat a guy had pushed through the wall of press and punched Richard in the face, as we both tried to move away again the Police pushed us back into the fray. Richard was struck 3 or 4 more times in the face, i was kicked and punched in the body, a policeman at one point actually restrained me while i was being hit.The guy hitting Richard had a crucifix in his left hand and was punching with his right.......Now there's an image!!! to It soon dawned on us that we were on our own so i grabbed Richard's arm and shouted "we're getting the f**k out of here" we pushed through the police line and the just legged it for all we're worth. What followed was like a scene from a Benny Hill sketch. We were being chased by the Neo-Nazis who were being chased by the press who were being chased(i use the term loosely) by the Police. Luckily we're quite fit but after a few blocks they caught us and we were attacked again, this time there were 2 policeman having a tea-break who were sympathetic to our situation and got involved,they arrested one of the attackers and protected us until our vehicle and promoter found us.
We found sanctuary in a very quiet restaurant where we attended to our wounds drunk some wine and tried to get our heads round what had just happened.
Although this was a very scary ordeal it's important to for us to say that on previous trips we have been lucky enough to meet alot of friendly, funny and compassionate people in Moscow and Russia.
We'd like to thank you all for the thousands of good will messages,we really appreciate your concern.Richard's been very sore for a couple of days but his cuts and bruises and mine are healing fast, alot faster than the deeper and more worrying wounds that fester inside the heads of those who attacked us and of those who were happy to watch and let it happen.
Love and Peace
RSF XX