Up on the Roof!

 Well well well!

Young Mr Abdou turned up early! That's a new one in Egypt, Dear Reader, as I'm sure you're aware. He was armed with an electric drill and a black plastic bag full of nice wide headed screws with which to tightly clamp the roofing sheets to their timber frame.

When he got up there, it didn't take him long to shout down to tell me that we'd actually lost two sheets! Obviously, they would have to be replaced before the winter really takes hold, before any (granted unusual) heavy rain came along and ruined our inside decoration again.

Now then, it's over eight years since the roof was modified to its current configuration, and the roofing sheets of wriggly tin were 72EGP each, this figure was confirmed by Mr Abdou. Now, they are a staggering 250EGP each!!!! Yes, Playmates 250EGP!!!!! That's quite an increase, and I was doubley pleased that we hadn't lost any more than just the two.

Of course, in my state of panic at having to spend so much from our dwindling budget, I completely forgot about taking any pictures or videos of the job in hand, or the expedition in Sayed Hair's caleche to collect the 2.5 metre long sheets. Suffice to say that we got them, and dear young Mr Abdou managed to get them securely fastened to the roof timbers. We're now safe from the unusual Egyptian weather patterns which are possibly caused by me riding around England in an old 3.2 litre diesel powered Mercedes Benz car. (Certainly not by China increasing their production of coal, to produce electricity, by 1000,000 tons per day!)

Meanwhile (back at the ranch) due possibly to my colour blindness, Freda invented a new culinary delight!

You already know, of course, that Freda is turning Egyptian, evidenced by her reluctance to leave the house. So, Mr Muggins has to do all the shopping, like many a doting Egyptian husband. All well and good, I hear you say, Dear Reader. Except that my disability (completely unrecognised as such and ignored in England) can cause the odd problem. I've previously brought home green potatoes, but this time I brought home lentils (said so on the packet!) which were yellow insted of the customary orange; all I knew was that they weren't brown.

Freda recognised my mistake straightaway, needless to say! "Never mind", says she, "it does say 'lentils' on the packet, but they look more like split peas to me!" She duly mixed them with the remainder of the real lentils and away she went making the soup.

Deep in the recesses of what passes for my brain, I had a dim recollection of something occurring once before regarding lentil soup????? Now what was it?

Found it: https://ourluxorflat.blogspot.com/search?q=Lentil+spread ......and that was just over 10 years ago!

Maybe it was the addition of Freda's Egyptian bits and pieces (herbs, spices or somethng?) but it didn't actually taste like pease pudding at all! Here it is:

Whilst it was obviously NOT ordinary lentil soup, it wasn't quite a pea soup either. I found it relatvely palatable but Freda wasn't struck, so I ate most of it myself.

So here I am; special soup and pudding all consumed, and now I'd better get back to work.