Well, in the tragedy of the four storey building collapse, over the road to us, it seems that a very unlucky German tourist was killed, and two little Egyptian girls from the same family also lost their lives. I haven't been able to ascertain the progress, or otherwise, of the other 13 casualties. Let's all hope and pray for their eventual full recovery.
The clearing up operations have been fascinating to watch, especially the skill of the plant operator who was driving the 360 degree machine with the big toothed shovel on the end of its extending arm. He was magic! I took a load of videos of his work, but I'll just show you a few short clips, to try to impress upon you his ingenuity and skill.
To increase the reach of his machine, he built up an operating platform from the rubble, and then either drove the wheeled machine onto it, or dug the bucket into the rubble and used it to pull the machine up to the higher level. It was great to watch.
Please forgive me for the chuckling on this next one, but I was astonished that the people were still in the houses next door, seeing as the machine was knocking stuff down within an inch of their single-leaf mud-brick walls. It struck me as resembling a Harold Lloyd or Oliver and Hardy movie; if only the little fellah in my video had scratched his head, it would have finished the scene off perfectly!
It has almost all gone now, so much so that it has become a carpark and a new place to dump rubbish, what a surprise!
But, as we all know by now, every cloud has a silver lining! The other day, I noticed four men (well dressed!) nosing about in the main street, and then they came into our little cul-de-sac, they had folders in their hands, the equivalent of clip-boards at home!!! Within a minute or so, they were accosted by our neighbours, of course. It transpires that they were "on the hunt" for mud-brick buildings in poor condition. Old Mr (Uncle Bagheeri) Mohamed's building, next door to ours, is such a building. They told Adam (coffee-shop Adam) that it will be knocked down after 10 days! I'm so pleased that old Bagheeri is no longer alive to see it, it would have broken his heart. Perhaps this new initiative will save some lives in the long run, but where are the displaced residents going to go in the meantime? That's the burning question of the day here in La La Luxor Land!
I'll keep you in the picture, Dear Reader, you know you can always rely on your roving Luxor reporter for the truth!
TTFN.
The clearing up operations have been fascinating to watch, especially the skill of the plant operator who was driving the 360 degree machine with the big toothed shovel on the end of its extending arm. He was magic! I took a load of videos of his work, but I'll just show you a few short clips, to try to impress upon you his ingenuity and skill.
To increase the reach of his machine, he built up an operating platform from the rubble, and then either drove the wheeled machine onto it, or dug the bucket into the rubble and used it to pull the machine up to the higher level. It was great to watch.
Please forgive me for the chuckling on this next one, but I was astonished that the people were still in the houses next door, seeing as the machine was knocking stuff down within an inch of their single-leaf mud-brick walls. It struck me as resembling a Harold Lloyd or Oliver and Hardy movie; if only the little fellah in my video had scratched his head, it would have finished the scene off perfectly!
But, as we all know by now, every cloud has a silver lining! The other day, I noticed four men (well dressed!) nosing about in the main street, and then they came into our little cul-de-sac, they had folders in their hands, the equivalent of clip-boards at home!!! Within a minute or so, they were accosted by our neighbours, of course. It transpires that they were "on the hunt" for mud-brick buildings in poor condition. Old Mr (Uncle Bagheeri) Mohamed's building, next door to ours, is such a building. They told Adam (coffee-shop Adam) that it will be knocked down after 10 days! I'm so pleased that old Bagheeri is no longer alive to see it, it would have broken his heart. Perhaps this new initiative will save some lives in the long run, but where are the displaced residents going to go in the meantime? That's the burning question of the day here in La La Luxor Land!
I'll keep you in the picture, Dear Reader, you know you can always rely on your roving Luxor reporter for the truth!
TTFN.
I can imagine you watched every minute of it Edward, wonderful to see there type of men operate their equipment with such skill, its the circumstances which make it so sad.
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