All the stuff in the news about the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall reminds me of an old joke.

There are two men sitting opposite each other in a railway carriage in East Berlin. One an East German worker, the other a visitor to an International Communist Conference. The worker asks the other, ... "Are you from the West?".

"Yes comrade" came the reply.

"I thought so" says the first man. "I can tell by your shoes. They are real leather aren't they? We used to have leather shoes... before the revolution"

The visitor, embarrassed, says, "Comrade, please, I have a spare pair, you can have these" as he hands over a pair of leather shoes from his case.

After a short time, the worker points to the man's tie. "Is that a real silk tie? Oh, we used to have silk... before the revolution."

Taking his tie off and handing it over to the man, the red-faced visitor says, "Here, they are only capitalist consumer goods. Take it."

Moments later, the worker said, "Is that a full cotton shirt you have? We used to wear cotton shirts... before the revolution."

"Comrade, comrade, the visitor says. Please don't embarrass yourself, nor embarrass me. I'm a communist too you know."

"Ah," replies the worker. "A communist. I remember them. We used to have communists.... before the revolution!"