Hi-de-hi, campers!
Yes, I feel a little lost too. It seems ('cos it is, stupid) an age since I last confided in you, Dear Reader. We've been in Eng-er-land, you know, escaping from the heat of the summer. Which reminds me to tell you that one of the films on our outbound EgyptAir flight was "In the Heat of the Night". That very tense and atmospheric picture starring Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier. I was really enjoying it, when I, quite suddenly, fell asleep, missing about three quarters of it!
But never mind. We're back, back to the heat, back to the muezzin's wailing and the constant buzz of people-noise that encapsulates what Luxor is now all about since world tourism abandoned us. No more the frightened look on the newbies faces as they scurry through the tourist souk, no more queues of coaches lining up for the Temple coach park, or multi-vehicle convoys dashing to and from the airport. What are the carriage drivers busying themselves with since the demise of the Pasha Run, where maybe 30 of them would trail around the back streets, tourists peering into open doors or being horrified at the condition of both the people and the properties?
But that's enough of me moaning, at least we're glad to be here, even if it does mean that I'm back to my natural calling, cleaning! Here's one of me just today,
I'm busy blowing the dust off the stair walls with my trusty blower (pronounced as in flower) which, as you can see, is a re-purposed leaf blower and garden vacuum which came from FreeCycle. It's a marvellous creation even though I did end up being Hacky-Mucky, as we sometimes say in Geordieland. And yes, those are sweat marks on my shirt, and me at 65!!!! I should have followed my beloved mother's example and ticked the "NO CLEANING" box when I retired.
During one of the brief spells where I was able to go out and about, I noticed a dead cruiseboat lying in the river. It's the MS. EMELY, even though it has been moored up here since the revolution, I was seeing it still advertised on different websites as sailing and taking bookings. But surely, it's not anymore?
As you can see, it has developed a slight list to the starboard and there are several doors left open. Unless all the soft furnishings have been removed to some safe storage facility (hehehe) I fear that the local "wildlife"(?) will have chewed at everything, and not one piece will ever be usable again. Such a pity, as it looks as if it was quite nice in its day, with its full length balcony doors. Isn't it sad, Dear Reader?
But, onward and upwards, and I'm very very pleased to report that our old neighbour Mr Mohamed is still with us, even though he's just about bed-fast now. They've procured a wheelchair from somewhere, in which I fully intend to take him out for a little jaunt, maybe just up or down the street a way, maybe to see one of his old pals. Who knows?
Anyway, you now know that we're back, so perhaps you can drop in here from time to time, you never know what you're going to find. Oh, by the way, it seems that we're off to the Old Cataract in Aswan again, next week. I'm bound to find something to regale you with from there?
TTFN
Yes, I feel a little lost too. It seems ('cos it is, stupid) an age since I last confided in you, Dear Reader. We've been in Eng-er-land, you know, escaping from the heat of the summer. Which reminds me to tell you that one of the films on our outbound EgyptAir flight was "In the Heat of the Night". That very tense and atmospheric picture starring Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier. I was really enjoying it, when I, quite suddenly, fell asleep, missing about three quarters of it!
But never mind. We're back, back to the heat, back to the muezzin's wailing and the constant buzz of people-noise that encapsulates what Luxor is now all about since world tourism abandoned us. No more the frightened look on the newbies faces as they scurry through the tourist souk, no more queues of coaches lining up for the Temple coach park, or multi-vehicle convoys dashing to and from the airport. What are the carriage drivers busying themselves with since the demise of the Pasha Run, where maybe 30 of them would trail around the back streets, tourists peering into open doors or being horrified at the condition of both the people and the properties?
But that's enough of me moaning, at least we're glad to be here, even if it does mean that I'm back to my natural calling, cleaning! Here's one of me just today,
During one of the brief spells where I was able to go out and about, I noticed a dead cruiseboat lying in the river. It's the MS. EMELY, even though it has been moored up here since the revolution, I was seeing it still advertised on different websites as sailing and taking bookings. But surely, it's not anymore?
But, onward and upwards, and I'm very very pleased to report that our old neighbour Mr Mohamed is still with us, even though he's just about bed-fast now. They've procured a wheelchair from somewhere, in which I fully intend to take him out for a little jaunt, maybe just up or down the street a way, maybe to see one of his old pals. Who knows?
Anyway, you now know that we're back, so perhaps you can drop in here from time to time, you never know what you're going to find. Oh, by the way, it seems that we're off to the Old Cataract in Aswan again, next week. I'm bound to find something to regale you with from there?
TTFN
Glad to see you back in Luxor, Edward. Looking forward to a lot more blogging too!
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