Back then we lived in a gentler, more peaceful world but those who remember my previous Diary will see that I predicted the rise of global terror and the landslide victory of George Doubleyah Bush in the presidential election. However the geopolitical world is not the only arena to witness huge change; Bucharest and Romania have also undergone major upheavals. I think that I am in a position to notice this more than most because I have been out of Bucharest so much in the past few years so that when I return I can see these momentous changes.

Of course some things never change. As one of the longest serving expats in Romania - I have been her five years now - all the new kids in town often ask for my help in getting their bearings. So whether they are ambassadors or CEOs they all need some local knowledge which I am only too happy to pass on.

One of the less beautiful aspects of Bucharest I must say is the problem of the stray dogs. It was a lot worse when I first came here in 1997 but it is still unacceptable. Of course a lot of people who think they know Romania think they know the answer to its problems, particularly the dog situation. But as they taught us in the SAS at Sandhurst you can't know the solution until you truly understand the problem.

And these Johnny-come-lately expats trot out the usual nonsense about people being forced out of their villas under the communist regime and not disposing of the dogs, which went forth and multiplied. Well, let me just say this is poppycock. The dog problem is a direct result of Elena Ceausescu's desire to recreate the rural style community from which she hailed, and so instituted a ëfive pup policy' where everyone who owned a dog of reproductive age had to ensure that every year the dog had at least five pups. Any dog not producing the requisite amount was examined by vets and the owners questioned to see if they were going against government policy.

The Official Secrets Act prevents me from saying where I have been or what I have been doing in my frequent trips out of Bucharest in the past few years. However let's just say there are those who watch the news and those who make the news. And talking of news - using my special forces training I have uncovered a huge scandal involving a Lithuanian paediatrician and members of the Lithuanian embassy here in Bucharest.

This paediatrician, a certain Mr Hip Treadcow - it makes me shudder when I think of the effect he has had and is still having on children's lives - was supported and protected by the Lithuanian embassy despite Mr Treadcow making no secret of his paediatric activities. I have made numerous contacts with the embassy through phone calls, letters, faxes, telegraphic transfers, carrier pigeons but all my missives have been ignored.

Perhaps the most disgraceful aspect was what happened to the carrier pigeon which I had just bought from a leading aficionado in the trade based in Bucoro Bore the week before. He assured me the pigeon would come home and do you know what ñ it never did. Obviously the Lithuanians used some method to destroy the pigeon which contravenes article five of their constitution - which states that all animals are born equal. Some of my friends have suggested that the reason I have had no reply is because there is no Lithuanian embassy in Bucharest. Well ñ that just sounds like a classic black ops operation: create confusion, divide the enemy and continue with your nefarious activities. Ah, the pleasures of the innocent and the burdens of those who know the truth through experience.

It is all a far cry from where I first cut my teeth as a young squaddie - fresh faced and innocent. When the Turks invaded Cyprus in ë69 I was one of the few of my colleagues who were not surprised by the developments. I don't know whether it was my training or my instinct but I seem to have a sort of fifth sense that alerts me to possible dangers ahead. Many people get outraged by the Turkish invasion but they are missing the point. The invasion was a failure - they got half the island and, even if I do say so myself, this was because I had my battalion on alert and set up the green line which we defended brilliantly. In the fifteen years that I have been here I have seen many changes - some good, some not so good and some pretty appalling.

But one of the greatest advances has been in the architecture and building world where there has been an ongoing and state of the art redevelopment programme. All across the city those decrepit old-fashioned villas are being knocked down and replaced with up to the minute stylish buildings that are a credit to design and taste. They stand in stark contrast to the over-designed so-called art deco buildings that used to stand in their way. The German embassy, with its innovative use of concrete stands as an example of this type of new architecture for a new Bucharest . Of course your living quarters is not about making a profit ñ it is about feeling at home and being comfortable.

Mihaela, who has given up a promising career as a dancer to look after house and home for me is happy where we are. She knows that Sector 16 is really where it's at and is the true heart of the city and that although it is cheap to live there that is not the reason we are there. Oh yes, sometimes Mihaela jokes about wanting to live in a more salubrious part of town but I know it is only the humour of the young which, when tempered with the knowledge of the experienced, makes for a wonderful combination. We hope to do something special for Mihaela's 18th birthday next month which, coincidentally, will also mark the 18-month anniversary of our relationship. She and I seem to have gone from strength to strength especially since she has given up the dancing. We still love listening to Hologram, our favourite band, and seeing them live as well, even though the boys refuse to let me get up on stage with them (for fear I might show them up, I think). Of course it has not all been fun and games especially with my many absences, which I firmly believe do not make the heart grow fonder. But when one is asked to do something by a ìvery senior personî one respects, one does it.

Iraq is a very different place. In my recent trips there it reminds me of when I first came to live in Romania in 1992 - just after the so-called Revolution. There was chaos then and there is chaos now. But Iraq has what Romania never had. Iraq has the services of professionals who have cut their teeth on the playing field of Eton and Harvard and trained in Sandhurst and Westpoint - a winning combination in anyone's book. Of course there is much poppycock talked about George Doubleyah's military record - about whether he actually did the required hours in the Alabama National Guard.

Well - I have met the President. I was invited to the reception to meet him when he came to Bucharest. Although not a US citizen I think I was there because I am one of the longest serving expats in Bucharest. I remember Romania before 1989 and was able to briefly meet the president when he was here. I shook his hand and looked him in the eye - warrior to warrior - and I saw what I see in many of my colleagues. The reason his military attendance was so low was because - and civilians just don't understand this - a great soldier is a reluctant soldier. If you have military experience then you will do everything you can to avoid conflict - a lesson hard learned but so often misunderstood.

Also misunderstood is the reasoning behind the government's decision to award Bletchley Park , the controversial Monrovian company, the contract to build the new highway from Constanta , without putting the project out to tender. It was the right decision. And so what if there was no transparency? Do you think Napoleon put the march on Moscow out to competitive tender? Did Churchill ask Hitler to put the battle of Britain on hold so that he could get the best price from the various aircraft manufacturers? The building of the ëBletchley Park highway' is a national emergency and the lack of a tendering process is entirely justified.

And thankfully the Monrovian embassy has stood by their countrymen. They recognise a duff story when they see it. Also let me say that it doesn't matter if Vice President Lon Chaney is well connected or not, in my book, you need connections. I for one wouldn't have survived my seventeen years in Romania without the odd connection or two.

Romania has many interesting and prosperous years ahead. It is on a journey - a journey of challenge and change. The expat community can either be drivers or passengers on that trip or it can miss the bus. The choice is yours!

Reginald K Gutteridge DSM OBE runs a successful import / export business based in Bucharest.