Kindness in adversity.

Just another short one tonight. I'll get this in quickly, in case we have another power cut! We've already had 4 today, three were for more than an hour each, and the latest one, at 11pm was only for 15 minutes. It wouldn't be so bad if "Yours Truly" wasn't such a dumbbell!

We'd almost come to the end of watching an episode of New Tricks (for the foreigners among you; it's a British crime drama about retired detectives re-examining unsolved cases for the Metropolitan Police) the crime was solved and there was about a minute left of some awful jazz singer. So no harm done there. As expected, I thought, "Seeing as we cannot go to bed", the bedroom being too hot because the A/C hadn't been on, "we'll put a bit of time in by having a nice cup of tea." Of course, I immediately realised what I was thinking, and that it was impossible as we have no other way of heating water other than by electricity. "We'll just have some hot chocolate, instead." Another case of "You couldn't make it up", I think.

It's not only us who are suffering, though. All the other inhabitants of Luxor are also experiencing these cuts. It does seem rather odd, mind, that they have only reinstated since we returned from Windy Nook; there hadn't been any for weeks, while we were away. One of our friends commented today that it would be better if they cut the electricity during the night, then people wouldn't really notice. Even when I remarked that doing so wouldn't actually save any electricity, he still didn't click!

Apart from the current daytime temperatures being in the high 30's or low 40's, and not having A/C being very uncomfortable, the next worse factor, for us, is that we do all our cooking with electricity as well! (I bought a small gas cylinder and ring, for emergencies such as this, but the extreme heat seems to perish the rubber seals and I just don't trust it.) This knowledge was perhaps in Adam's mind last night, when he announced that his wife would cook for us tonight. Although he's sometimes a bit of a pain regarding certain things, his heart is in the right place.

The power cut finished at about 6.40pm, and the doorbell rang at 7.15. Up the 83 stairs came Adam's eldest son with the large tray, laid with our feast:

Two bowls of steaming lark's tongue soup (no, they aren't really bits of small birds) three decent sized chicken breasts (fragrantly spiced), rice with vermicelli, salad and my favourite; potatoes. There was enough to put some in the fridge for tomorrow, I'm looking forward to that, I can tell you!

I do like living among people who are so kind!

1 comment:

  1. Oh, my goodness, that looks so..... good, and with my favourite potatoes too!
    How kind that they have prepared such a banquet for you, and brought it up 83 stairs........ No such neighbours abound where I live. The Luxor families are very hospitable.

    Well it is good to have our own roving reporter back in Luxor, a little bit like Alan Wicker, thats how I think of you, reporting away, with photographs to describe more fully. I can't tell you what a little delight it is, to google, Ourluxorflat, and find there is another entry, and three in such short succession. Quite a treat.

    As for the powers that be, with regards to litter picking - who knows what influence you might be having, but in any case it is all good. Power cuts must be a pain though, especially during the hot days.

    Anyway back to you, our roving reporter. How I would love to be tucking into your egyptian home cooked meal, there is nothing better.

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