Wowwwwwwwwww!

Dateline: 28th July 2013. Location: Morpeth, Northumberland, England.

Actually located upstairs to the Curiously Wicked cake shop within the Sanderson Arcade, the Cuwick Manor Tea Rooms are an absolute delight! We called there the other week, and I tried their tea and toasted tea-cake with cheese (Freda had the fruit scone with jam and cream with her usual coffee) and were drawn to return there, when we had a visitor staying with us from Dumfries.

This time, we hadn't eaten since breakfast, so managed a bit more than the small snacks of our previous visit. From their extensive menu, we decided to have the Northumbrian High Tea, for two but shared between the three of us with an extra coffee. It was certainly well enough for our older appetites!

(See their menu at http://www.curiouslywicked.co.uk/CM_Menu-2.pdf )

Looking at their offering, I couldn't help but compare it with the High Teas at the Winter Palace in Luxor. As you know, Dear Reader, we do enjoy those when we manage to have them, but the Cuwick Manor puts the Winter Palace to shame! Obviously, even though the place is lovely, it doesn't visually compare in that respect to the W.P., but the content of the Tea far outweighs that of even our favourite 'Grand Hotel'!  What do you think of the following comparative pictures?

These two (above) are of the newly built Cuwick Manor Tea Rooms, and those below are of the world famous 1890's Winter Palace Hotel on the banks of the Nile, in Luxor.

Funnily enough, I cannot find many of the hundreds of pictures I've taken of the Old Winter Palace, so these few will have to suffice, sorry! (You'll see that they're of my usual quality, as well, lol!)

Anyway, the point is, that the actual 'High Tea' is much preferable at Morpeth than in Luxor, but while the place itself is very charming and perfectly adequate; even the little curtsies from the waitresses cannot compare with the 'olde worlde' grandeur of Thomas Cook's wonderful Egyptian hotel.

Never mind, though; the fare was more filling, considerably less expensive and, being only 15 miles up the Great North Road, was much easier to currently access than travelling the 2,500 miles to Luxor!

Here it is:

Ooooh, the sandwiches! They were in 'Stottie Cake' which is a Geordie delicacy, somewhat like an 'oven-bottom cake', in that while it is a bread, it's somehow more solid and filling. The two sandwich fillings we chose were cheese savoury, and ham. Two scones each (remember that we only ordered for two), one fruit scone with separately provided jam and cream and the other cheese, and then two slices of our choices of cake from their wide menu, I had one of the range of different chocolate cakes on offer (quelle surprise!) and Freda had a slice of their lemon and white chocolate concoction. (I did have a small taste, and it was also scrumptious.)

Of course, we had the poor curtsying ladies running back and forth with several extra pots of boiling water and more milk and yet more butter, but they took it all with good cheer, which made the afternoon even more of pleasure for us. We were there for over an hour, and by the time we left we desperately needed to walk-off some of our over-indulgence!

Oh that we could get the Old Winter Palace over here, just to see how it should really be done!!!

10 out of 10, I think!

Hot Legs!

Yes, I've been watching 'Rod the Mod' on the telly! Don't know which programme or channel it was, but there was Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, carrying on like they were young kids again (instead of the old geezers they really are) and being interviewed by Botney (Alan Yentob) along with clips from old film. It was very amusing, and we had a good laugh at the fashions of those far-off days.

Later on, it had my mind wandering back to those times, as well. Those days and evenings spent in 'The Park', Saltwell Park, that is. I used to go there as a small child, with my mother of course, as my Grandma lived only three or four minutes walk away. (I was born in her back bedroom!) We would feed bread to the ducks on the lake, and fish for the little sticklebacks with a fishing net and a jam jar. The days seemed to be so long back then!

Later on, during our teens, we'd (Fatty Wilson and I) walk the mile or so there in the summer evenings, and at weekends too. There were always plenty of girls to impress with our macho games and testosterone-filled bodies, or so we thought. They probably thought we were a scream! Never mind, they were happy days.

Freda and I took a walk around there yesterday, to exercise my poor old legs, and to rekindle a few old memories too, perhaps. There have been many changes; too many to explain, or even photograph. Many of the familiar pathways have simply disappeared! The the two large shelters, at the top of the park, have had the seats taken out and notices saying that it's illegal to consume alcohol in public. The big shuggy-boat and the high slides have been taken away, I've no doubt at all that they would have fallen foul of the Elf 'n' Safety brigade. (Probably rightly so, as we were often almost killed on them as wild teenagers!) There doesn't seem to be any 'Parkies' to keep unruly youths in check any more, either.

We didn't get lost at all, but one or two areas weren't where we remembered them being; faulty memories, likely! Eventually, we came around the back of (what used to be) the Museum. It's now been converted in to a small cafe, but that's only the downstairs, the upstairs was closed-off, so we didn't get to see it. Anyway, here are a couple of shots of it, the fabulous 'Saltwell Towers' which used to be a house.

Of course, we had to sample their, fare!

Shared, as usual. 

I had schoolfriends at Jarrow Grammar, whose Sunday School trips used to come to Saltwell Park by coach, that's how famous and wonderful it was!

We moseyed on, after our re-fuelling, and had a look at the Maze, which has been completely re-planted since our day, and has a metal fence within the hedging (to stop the cheating, I suppose) it didn't look as nice, but then; things seldom do, do they? Then we came across the lake; I could hardly believe my eyes! They've replaced the rowing boats with plastic swans and dragons, which you have to pedal!!!! The little cordoned off part, where the small paddle boats for the young'uns used to be, has gone altogether. And, they've put a fence around the lake, so that you cannot get close enough to fish with your net!

We used to sit on our hunkers (Colloquialism, hunkers = haunches) right at the water's edge. We also used to save our crusts to feed to the ducks, everybody did, but now, it's 'not allowed'; you have to buy proper 'duck food' at £1 a bag! When we were young, we were never off the boats at the weekends, but now they're a fiver for half an hour! Now that just has to be hyper-inflation, surely? And we could only find two swans, maybe the Council have put their rent up? 

With our memories rekindled and our hearts warmed, we made our way back to the car, noticing that the public toilets had gone along with so much else. I crossed the entrance to a back lane, and thought that I'd better get a snap of it too, as it was an old fashioned, cobbled, lane and so probably was due for ripping up any day now!

See ya!

More 'Men 'with Beards!

Well, you would, wouldn't you? I was more than a little taken aback when I came across these crowds of the dreaded 'Men with Beards', in a nearby Methodist Chapel! (Pictures farther on.)

We've been making good use of Number One Son's car over the past few days, while he sleeps between his 12 hour night-shifts. We took the old woman from downstairs (Mother) for a run to the coast; Seaburn where we could park right next to the beach so it wasn't too far for her (and me) to walk. On the way, we stopped at Oilcloth's (actually it's called Lino's) fish and chip shop in Pelaw, and picked up a beautiful big fat cod and a handful of chips to fortify us when we got there.

Mam wouldn't join us in the fish supper, which meant all the more for her hungry offspring! We did have a little walk though. Here's what the beach at Seaburn looks like:

Of course this piccy was taken in the evening, when there weren't many bathers in the water or many sunworshippers on the beach, we prefer empty spaces, being famously anti-social!

Anyway, back to those blokes with beards. We had a short visit to Durham, a lovely old Cathedral City, about a twenty minute drive away. It was short because the parking charges were 50p per half hour!!! Never mind, next time we might use the 'Park and Ride' 'bus service from right next to the motorway junction. We were wandering around, as is our wont, when we came across Elvet Methodist Church. It's certainly a grand and beautiful place; by the looks of it, I would have thought that it might have originally been a Wesleyan place, as it was far too grand to have been a humble Primitive or New Connexion place of worship.

A makeshift, multi-coloured sign fastened to the usual notice board read "Knitted Bible Exhibition." Now then, I know that the world renowned "Lindisfarne Gospel" is currently on display in Durham, but a Knitted Bible????? I was tempted to imagine old American women, sitting in a circle and knitting individual pages, rather like those 'quilters', you know? We just had to go in!

Honestly, it was amazing; about 35 'tableaux' of little knitted people, animals and scenery, depicting many of the notable Bible stories. I snapped away at only a few. Just loved the many 'Men with Beards'!

Can you guess who this first one is? (The coat is a clue, as is the fact that he has a connection with Egypt, and therefore deserves a place on my Blog!)

Next are his naughty brothers and some of their father's sheep.

Next up is a boozy wedding at Cana in Galilee:

And finally, a bit of a rowdy evening meal, hidden away in an upper room!

I wonder what President (Ex?) Mohamed would think of these 'Men with Beards'? 

The whole lot were made by the folk at St Georges URC at Hartlepool. They're on loan at Durham till Friday, and the whole exhibition is then moving on to Consett, the old steel town.

We had cups of Chapel Tea, with biscuits, while we chatted with the ladies of the church who were 'on duty', before we headed home. A pleasant little visit!

Bye for now.

p.s. I remember wearing a ginger knitted wig in my youth, whilst impersonating Tiny Tim, playing the ukulele and singing 'Tiptoe Through the Tulips'! Happily, no pictures have survived!!!!!

Summertime.......and "The Living" is easy!

Do you know what? I'm such a lucky beggar!

I love music, and singing (and no, I don't care two hoots whether someone overhearing me doesn't like it!) and how I feel at any given moment tends to prompt the remembrance of some song lyrics, or the words of a hymn, which exactly describe that feeling, or perhaps put a particular incident right into context. It happens all the time, and Freda is sometimes initially a little mystified when I nudge her and say something like "Didn't we have a 'Loverly' time?" (A reference to a once popular song [Day trip to Bangor] immortalised by Fiddler's Dram.)

And hence I arrived at today's post title: Yesterday's trip out in our son's car took us among some beautiful scenery, on roads which I hadn't travelled for many years. (I was so unsure of the route to take, that I hunted out a map for Heaven's sake!) We ended up at the small village of Blanchland, in the Derwent Valley. The journey was an absolute joy!

I snapped one or two pictures, which I hope will give you some idea of the landscape and the pleasure it gave us as we trundled along at 30 and 40 mph, like proper 'Sunday Drivers' ! (Actually, I kept  pulling over to let any cars which appeared in the mirror to pass safely.)

We drove for miles along roads which were softly dappled by the sunlight streaming through the myriads of different trees, stretching upwards from behind the dry-stone walls delineating where the boundaries between modernity and tradition lay.
 

 I had to stop on several occasions, as I was suddenly struck by a particular scene. This one above has an old (Norman, perhaps) stone-built Church poking out of the trees just to the right of the centre of the picture. The variety of greens and browns was fabulous, even to someone as colour-blind as I am! One of the things which greatly surprised me, as I clambered over branches and through roadside thistles etc. to get to where I could get a half decent photo', was the scents which took me back to my childhood outings with mam and dad, to places like 'Bluebell Wood', a place about which I've no idea at all of where it was! Beautiful, sweet smells which had a quite emotional effect, I'm not afraid to tell you.

Here's the Derwent Reservoir, showing the dam across the valley to the right

I thought that I'd better put this next one in, just so that you, Dear (foreign) Reader, would have the chance to see just how our past and present governments are determined to destroy our landscape in the mistaken belief that our future energy needs will be met by onshore (barely existent) wind power! Aren't they just eyesores?

Who was it who wrote, "Oh to be in England, now that summer's there"? (Or something like that.)

  We are truly blessed!

But, these scenes, or others equally as beautiful and restful, are available to anyone in England who is able to travel just a few miles into the countryside. While the post title perfectly summed up yesterday's contentment; I'm still luckier than most Englishmen! "Why is that Mr Edward?" I can almost hear you ask. Simply because I am able also to spend so much of my time in a country whose beauty is completely different, but no less appealing; Egypt, of course!

On the way back home, we took an entirely different route (once I got on the road, I didn't actually need the map. I would have been so embarrassed to have to rely on a map after spending most of my life wandering the roads of this 'loverly' country!) We came across a sign which set my imagination running:

What if it was really there, the 'Stargate', and guarded (as usual) just by the world's most stupid and inept military officer of all time:

Perhaps we could gain access and catapult ourselves back to Luxor? I suppose that the main trouble would be that we'd end up in the wrong epoch.

Perhaps the past or future Pharaohs would prove to be more brutal than President Mubarak, or more religiously intolerant than President Morsi's Brother Muslims? Or perhaps we'd even be sold into slavery by the wandering Arab slavers, which we have read so much about, from former times.

I don't think I'd like that very much, so I think we did the right thing by just making our way back to Windy Nook, and sausages!

New Egyptian Revolution?

We got an email from a dear friend in Luxor, last night. Although she lives over on the 'Side of the Dead', she's very close to the river and can see across, and she's very keen to watch and know what's going on on our side as far as 'unrest' or demonstrations etc go.

This is some of what she said.........."Well, its all amazing! They estimate 20,000 people in Luxor demonstrating! And peacefully. Some wonderful pics of the women marching, surrounded by men and muslim and christian side by side!"

Another Luxor man (Dusak, living at Karnak) decided, last night, to collect some friends who were staying at the Etap, and take them to the Taste of India, which lies at the other end of town.

Here are some extracts of his report which he published on the Luxor4U Forum..........."Well we all chanced our evening out at the Indian last night ……….The journey to the Etap was as smooth as silk. There were approximately 2/250 people outside the government office's. They had placed a stage across the road and music was playing. It gave the impression of a party atmosphere. On our way to the restaurant we saw very little traffic which I think annoyed the driver as this removed his need to continually use his horn…………... Going back to the hotel the crowds were massive, both outside the hotel and adjoining streets, but still very little traffic. This was, by any definition of the word, party time for all those in attendance. They were chanting, shouting, laughing and joking. There was music, flag waving and street sellers. The people of Luxor showed the world just what a peaceful demonstration looked like. I commend each and every one of them. Of course this was just from my perspective within a small area of Luxor so do not know how the rest of Luxor fared or what may have transpired after I arrived home. Karnak was just its normal happy self."

While I certainly don't wish that I wasn't here with our family, I do wish I could have been in Luxor yesterday! I would have loved to witness these scenes personally, even if it were just to debunk all the ignorant doomsayers posting on the various forums dedicated to Luxor. I'm sick and tired of people posting destructive mis-information regarding Luxor and the supposedly dangerous atmosphere there.

Another Blogger (more famous than I am, for sure) posted a YouTube video of the demonstrators in Luxor last night (Sunday June 30th) and it tells the same story!

Here's a small part of what she had to say........."Perched high on the Calesh, steadying myself with a hand on the driver’s shoulder (not proper in ordinary life!), I felt a hand tugging at my ankle.  Looking down, there was a foreign lady wanting to speak with me.  She was concerned that I might be hurt – wanted to know if I knew an American had been killed while filming a battle outside a Muslim Brotherhood office in Alexandria the day before.  I assured her I was in no danger.  Luxor is not Cairo and most people know each other by sight and far from wanting to do me or any tourist harm they go to extra lengths in times like this to ensure our safety.............Luxor has never seen a day of such unity and solidarity across religions, sexes and nationalities."  

"Luxor is not Cairo", indeed!

The following day.

After seeing Ruth's wedding off to a good start, we had a run up to Hexham. (As you all know by now, Hexham is one of our favourite little jaunts.) It's just as well that our Benjamin is at Glastonbury, as we can use his car as we wish, (Talking about Glastonbury, who among you watched the Stones there on the telly last night? Weren't they fab, for a bunch of old geezers?)

Never mind, back to Hexham, or the journey there to be more precise. What do you think of this wedding party?

Judging by how stiff the people looked, I would imagine that they were Church of England, but the nearest church is the Methodist at Riding Mill! How about the audience, looking on from the other side of the road:

Is it the mother-in-law?

Of course, I'm only pulling your leg, but you knew that straight away, didn't you? (Colloquialism: 'pulling your leg' = having a joke with you.)

Actually, the first dressed-up mannequins that we saw were outside the Jiggery Pokery shop and tearoom. They had a lady dressed in Victorian gear, and just a few yards further on there was a seated couple across the road dressed for about the same period, but less formerly. Obviously I didn't get pictures of them, as they just flashed past without really making an impact. But, we did see a few more farther on.

Here's a building/gardening type, or a handy-man, at least:

He was actually adjacent to the main road as we travelled through Stocksfield, just up the road to the left we also saw this chap. (He looked a bit like I did in my distant youth, but my belly was perfectly flat then!)  

We saw several more as we went, but they were in positions where we couldn't stop because of the road layout and the surrounding traffic. The best one, by far in my opinion, was of a police constable. He was positioned near to a pedestrian crossing, and holding a speed camera (actually a hair dryer!). We didn't notice until on the way back that he was wearing a Jeremy Clarkson face mask!!!!

I eventually realised that I had seen this display before, couldn't tell you how long ago, but it definitely rang a bell (Colloquialism: 'rang a bell' = prompted my memory.) They were scarecrows, to be entered into a Scarecrow Show, which along with a 'Garden Walk' were free to visitors today, Sunday, or so a road sign somewhere said.

Apart from just enjoying Hexham in general, there was supposed to be a Buskers Festival on there yesterday. We've often come across buskers in Hexham, and some have been really good, like Robin the melodeon player whom I mentioned a while ago. We managed to get parked near to the Abbey again, this is my favourite place to park as it's near to most of the things we like to visit. As Freda went to find the parking ticket machine, I was serenaded by two old birds singing and playing "Big Yellow Taxi". One of them played a banjolele, while the other strummed away on a washboard, they weren't half bad for a couple of old bags! (Strangely enough, Freda found "Sounds of the Sixties" on one of the TV channels while she was channel-hopping later on last night, and who cmae on there? That's right; Joni Mitchell, and yes she was singing her hit song from 1970, "Big Yellow Taxi". Strange but true!!!!

Sadly, we didn't come across any more buskers performing, although we did see a few here and there with instrument cases, and one woman with a very large gong in a large frame. She struck it shortly after we had passed the alley where she was, with another lady unpacking a double bass, and it was VERY loud!

I'm almost embarrassed to tell you that the only money we spent was in "Poundland"! But you've always known that we're cheapskates, haven't you?

I'd better sign off now, as we're expecting the tribe for a late lunch. Byeeee.

What a difference a couple of thousand miles make.

We've been reading all the Egypt forums and all the Government's F.C.O. advice, along with the missives from John the Ambassador in Egypt. It doesn't make for a good impression of the other town and country which we love, that's for sure!!!!

Nevertheless, it's no good in trying to foresee the future for the poor inhabitants of the benighted town of Luxor. Things just get worse and worse for them. No matter how real the 'dangers' actually are or are only perceived to be, the tourists have abandoned them to their own devices! From my own conversations, it's obvious that most of the people to whom I've spoken are hoping that Shafiq (formerly of Mr Mubarak's government) will come back and get everything sorted out.

I honestly don't know what to think; I'm still not convinced that President Mohamed is necessarily a bad man, perhaps inexperienced and needing sound advice, yes. But he is the man elected by the people!

Can we really contemplate one of Mr Mubarak's cronies coming back into power? While I don't have any influence in any outcomes, I do have an opinion. For one thing, I certainly believe that any of the former repressive regime who were to stand for election would be savvy enough to realise that things could NEVER EVER go back to the same old ways; no more fortunes filched and stashed away in foreign accounts, no more 'disappearings' or routine torturing, and no more talk of forming new dynasties! But it cannot be denied that these men have a much better idea of how to run a country, and make it's people feel secure, or even of how to feed them!

My Muslim neighbours were asking Freda and I to pray for Egypt as we were coming away for our summer holidays. We do, and I would ask any and all of my readers who pray, to do so on Egypt's behalf.

Well, that's enough of that doom and gloom for the moment. What do you think of this from last night:

It's a picture of my eldest grandson, Mark, and his beloved, Megan. They're sitting in a 1973 VW  Microbus, which had been hired to take them and four of their friends to their school 'prom'. (This is some American moneymaking idea which some greedy fool has introduced into England, and which almost all parents are having to struggle with!) Most of their contemporaries were travelling in stretched limousines (another horrible American import) but this gang wanted something a bit different!

Never mind, they were enjoying themselves, and joining in with their pleasure was certainly better than moping about the situation in Luxor!

Here's a shot which gives you an idea of how Megan's frock surpassed everything else on display.

It was entirely her own design, and the oblong sequins took the dressmaker hours and hours to sew on. (It cost her poor mother a small fortune, but the end result was astonishing, she looked absolutely gorgeous!) Even her six foot two inch beau wore a suit and took great care in his appearance, his tie matched Megan's underskirt. (I was told that she was wearing 'painted' leather Doc Martens underneath!!!)

Then, today, there was even more cheering news. How about this:

That's a 1937 Rolls Royce. Beautiful, eh? It's parked outside our Chapel at Windy Nook, where it was delivering the daughter of a couple of our good friends for her wedding. Both of their children, Andrew and Ruth, were born very close to the time of our two eldest, Benjamin and Charlotte.

Here's Ruth with her proud Dad, he's even relinquished his pipe for the moment!

I do like a bit of good news on occasion, especially when it involves people who are close to me!!!

That's all for now, I think I'll watch a bit of tennis from Wimbledon. Tarra!

Men with Beards!!!!!

Howdy, I'm speaking like someone from the 'Wild West' because that's what it seems like here in Luxor at the moment, well it does to some casual observers anyway.

I'm certain that any of you lot (who care about Luxor) will have heard the latest news regarding our new Governor. Yes, that's right; he's a founder member of the (former) terrorist group which committed the Hatshepsut tourist massacre in 1997, and which was also supposedly responsible for the assassination of Egypt's former president, Anwar Sadat! Not an obvious choice, one would think. But then, who would have expected Mr McGuiness to now wield so much political power in Northern Ireland, after his shenanigans in his previous role as a high ranking IRA man? Or, come to that, many of the Israeli politicians of recent years, after their former terrorist allegiances.

Well, the politically aware of Luxor could only manage a 26% turnout in the Presidential election, or so I believe. (Similar to the turnout in my English hometown for Mr T Bliar's last government!) And this is what non-engagement gets you; government edicts (and appointments) which you really don't want!

We noticed a serious column of black smoke rising from the Corniche area, near the Luxor Supreme Council building, from our rooftop eerie. Of course we'd heard that the tourism folk were protesting against the Governor's appointment, and we actually feared that someone had set fire to the Council building! Obviously, being intrepid as we are, we just had to investigate on your behalf, Dear Reader.

Our equally brave transport provider was telephoned, and duly turned up with Edward the horse in the shafts, and little Bedawy (nicknamed 'Mido' after the footballer) perched on top next to himself. Away we went!

This is the scene which greeted us as we approached the Savoy Bazaar on the Corniche, burning tyres at both ends of the demomnstration. Not very inviting, I must admit!

Nevertheless, we reporters have to suffer for our 'art'! I dismounted, crossed the road onto the river side pavement, and got in among the business. I met a couple of tourists who were actually coming out of the melee, who seemed quite un-fazed, which surprised me somewhat after reading all the scaremongering tripe on TripAdvisor recently. Never mind, I plodded on, into the crush!

Here's a little, poor quality as usual, movie, so you can use your imagination to get an idea of what it was actually like.

Several strangers spoke to me, to reassure me that tourists were safe in this crowd. I was rather taken aback to see at least three men whom I knew to be senior managers in top tourist hotels among those gathered! I actually spoke to two of them, separately. They were both there to register their utter disappointment that such a man (with beard, although I don't think he actually has one!) with such a background, should be placed in this crucially imortant position.

It was explained to me that the purpose of the gathering was to actually stop the new man from entering his office and taking up his position. So far, they seem to have succeeded, but heaven knows what's to come. I mean, would any other elected government stand for such blatently illegal activity?

Well, I'd better be off to bed now, 'cause we're up again in less than four hours to catch our EgyptAir flight to Cairo, where we connect (Insh'Allah) with their onward flight to Manchester International!

See you soon, in Windy Nook.

Ringing the Changes?

Well, there's not much to report as far as I can see. Some people are up in arms about a supposed lack of police on the streets; but it seems to me that there are actually more than ever! It doesn't matter where we go, we come across groups of them. (They're like the Geordies in that old song, "Wherever ye gan you're sure to find a Geordie!") Every tourist hotel has at least one plain clothes officer and one uniformed one, there are pick-up trucks full of them at many of the major road junctions, all the Christian Churches have at least one outside in uniform (and sometimes several) Gold Street (the continuation of Mustapha Kamel Street where all the gold shops are situated) has a pick-up truck full at the top end and a plain clothes officer and his uniformed mate at the other end. Then we have all the new 'Wendy Houses' scattered around, these seem to be manned a lot of the time, and all this is without mentioning the motor-bike snatching gangs which suddenly appear anywhere and stop all the youths on motor cycles; confiscating them for the slightest infringement. (Not before time!!!)

Never mind, there are changes afoot in Luxor; here's one that you'll not see again:

That's correct; it's your's truly, putting some kofta on the grill! It's really the job of this next bloke, Hassan at Chez Omar's restaurant down the street.

It's quite possible that you might think that you know this man, but by another name; Hussein? That's OK, Hussein is his identical twin! We have several of them in our small community, the other nearest ones who are two huge lads, I'd hate to have to keep the two of them going with food! We had kofta and chips for our lunch today, that's another change, as we usually have kofta in the evening.

We're busy cleaning, and making changes to try to reduce the temperature in the guest apartment. We don't usually rent it during the summer, but summer came early this year, and we've been experiencing temperatures up towards the 50 degree mark during the past six weeks or so, already! We have a lady coming tomorrow, and with the addition of sun-block curtains on the balcony; we've managed to knock about 5 degrees off the livingroom temperature during the hot  afternoons. I'm so pleased! (It's now really quite comfortable, at around the 27/28 mark.)

I've also made a significant change to our livingroom upstairs. I've clagged (Colloquialism: clagged = stuck on) some 40mm thick expanded polystyrene sheets to the inside of the wall which gets the sun nearly all day. They've reduced the inner surface temperature considerably, which means that the A/C doesn't have to work quite so hard! Depending on whether I can get a good decorative finish on the polystyrene, I might even have a go at doing the same in the guest apartment. Changes, changes, changes!

As I was hanging the newly cleaned curtains in the guest livingroom, I was aware of a lot of hammering outside. Looking over the balcony, I saw what looked like a bomb-site!

It wasn't till I actually went out, that I saw just how bad the situation was!

The two dikkehs (bench-like seats) lying on their ends against the walls at either side, have just been repaired with about a stone of three inch nails and bits of scrap timber, by a 'carpenter'. They've been (along with some other scrap furniture also belonging to Coffeeshop Adam) cluttering up the street for some time now, and he's promised time and again that 'some man' will be taking it all away 'bukra' (tomorrow). But we know he's a fibber, don't we, Dear Reader?

Anyway, more changes here, as he's re-shaped the coffeeshop yet again, and it's being decorated by a professional painter. Here he is with a very proud Mr Adam Osman:

Insh'Allah, they'll have it all finished, and the street cleared, by the time our new guest arrives tomorrow night. (Who am I kidding?)

Moving on: You remember how the old Mercure Hotel (the Etap to many of you) was taken over by Misr Travel and suddenly renamed the El Luxor Hotel? Well, what do you think of this?

There you are; Egyptian spelling aside, it's now back to being the Etap!!!!

So, there you have it Dear Reader, 'Change Is'. (That was the name of a Newcastle night-club, many moons ago, owned, if I'm not mistaken, by the famous comedian Bob Monkhouse!)

What a Shower!

Yes, I could be talking about the members of practically any country's Government, but I'm actually thinking of myself and Messrs Ideal Standard!

We've had the same shower cubicle in our guest apartment since we first designed it. As some of you will remember, it's a quarter circle job, with sliding doors:

I was quite taken by the thought of it, when I first saw it in the catalogue at Ahmed Hashim's bathroom shop on Madina Street. "How novel", I thought. I hadn't imagined that it would be anything less than perfectly adequate for our needs or the needs of our guests.

I was right, naturally! However, even with the best will in the world, it couldn't be described as 'unadulterated luxury' could it? My increasing dissatisfaction with it, came to a head last year, when a (rather large) American gent happened to mention that he did struggle a bit in the shower, but of course he did actually manage.

'Managing' just isn't good enough, at Our Luxor! This gentleman's remark fired me to do something about the shower, as soon as funds (and time) became available. Mind you Dear Reader, these things cannot be rushed!

I've had a goodly number of new designs for the guest bathroom running through my mind, including remodelling it altogether. One of the biggest problems (the other being the lack of cash, obviously!) has been the fear of starting the job, and then not being able to manage to complete it before the arrival of our next guests. After all, we are in Luxor; where "Bukra, insh'Allah" (Tomorrow, God willing) can very quickly, and invariably does, become "Bad'n bukra, insh'Allah" (After tomorrow, God willing). This can go on for days, sometimes even weeks! Even with the longer gaps between bookings (since the full effects of the revolution tricked down to our backwards little town) we still haven't had a period where I was confident of completing the task.

Anyway, after many a visit to Ahmed Hashim's shop, and several others, (and hours of Freda's concerted financial calculations) we made our final decisions about exactly what we wanted to do, and started to source the various bits and bobs which we would require to make our guest bathroom into the luxurious place that our guests really deserved. We'd made a start with the new counter-top washbasin etc, and want to carry on with the addition of a more spacious and stylish shower enclosure complete with the (must have) 'rainfall' shower, and also the alternative of a water and power saving 'Eco' shower, as well. It's not actually up to us to enforce environmental awareness or practices onto our guests, but it's nice to give them options, isn't it?

Never mind, all was going swimmingly; finance secured, shower tray and enclosure chosen, pipework and plumbing fittings etc purchased, the Ideal Standard plumber had made a site visit and acquainted himself with the job at hand, even his charges had been agreed! So, the other night I got buckled in and removed the quarter circle enclosure, the towel rail, and the shiny black toilet seat (in case it got damaged)

and (at five past midnight) started to chisel away at the tiles around the shower tray. I'd just got started when there came a banging on the wall, presumably the people next door wanted to sleep? I hadn't actually realised the lateness of the hour, but you know how it is when you're enjoying yourself? Reluctantly, I left it till a more considerate time.

You can imagine my mixture of  despair and relief when Ahmed Hashim telephoned me, later that morning, and told me that the shower tray was not available until after one month, because of its unusual size. My despair was at not being able to finish the job before our next guests arrive, and the great relief was that the neighbours had objected to my banging away after midnight, and completely destroying the current shower into the bargain!

I was also pleased that I had decided to try to sell the old shower enclosure, and had therefore removed it properly and carefully, without damage; pheeewww! It didn't take long to reinstate everything, with the only trace of interference being a few chisel marks on one of the pieces of tile below the actual shower tray, I think we'll get away with that, though.

It's all to do with Horsepower!

Well well! It seems no time at all since we had problems with our A/C, but like the daytime and the night, they are bound to come around. And, of course whenever that time is, it's when you actually need them to be working properly, it's been reaching towards the 50 degree mark on some afternoons here on our little roof terrace!

I'm sure that you will have heard the old adage that "You get what you pay for." It sure seems that it's true as far as A/C units go, here's a little FREE word of advice "DON'T BUY 'AMERICOOL' AIR CONDITIONERS". I won't bore you with the saga of our multifarious air-conditioning units and their differing configurations, suffice it to say that because it's hot, they won't work.  

Obviously, in this unseasonable heat and without the benefit of the A/C, sleeping becomes difficult and tempers tend to become ragged,  adding to the general sense of unrest. You, being a regular aficionado of my ramblings Dear Reader, will no doubt recall the nightmare scenarios with the various A/C 'engineers' with whom we've dealt in the past. I've thankfully blotted their names from my memory, and we now have a reliable and knowledgeable engineer. He arrived almost on time to have a look at the Americool, one and a half horsepower, unit in our bedroom.

I knew that it required a good clean out, and that this should increase it's effectiveness, but I was appalled at the amount of muck that came out of it:

After half stripping the unit down, they washed it in our bathroom, with the shower hose and a little 'Gener-Al*' floor cleaner. (* That's how it's pronounced, it's really called 'General'.) Naturally, being Egyptian, they left the floor and everything for us to clean after they'd left.

Although I had expected a marked improvement, I wasn't prepared to be nearly blown off my feet by the reinvigorated blast of cold air emitting from the unit! Thankfully, the temperature has dropped a little since it was cleaned, so everything has been hunky-dory, but I'm fully expecting the worst, once the temperature rises again to over 45/46. I've asked the man to return and do the same to the other one we have, at his earliest convenience! Even though I am delighted with the change in performance, I really think that a better quality A/C unit would be the job, and maybe a two horsepower one, just to make sure.

Talking about 'horsepower': last night we had the privilege of being the very first people to be pulled along by Farid, the latest of Mr Ahmed Badawi's horses to be trained as a carriage horse. We'd been scoffing English cake at the Nile Palace, and had rang Ahmed to come and collect us, as we had quite a bit of shopping to get and carry home. He turned up with brother Samir driving what looked like a very small horse (in comparison to Edward, our usual trusty steed) in between the shafts. Ahmed was very excited, and told us that they were giving Farid his first solo lesson, just for an hour or so. I'm sure that many of you will have seen caleches with a younger, smaller horse tied to the one actually pulling the caleche along; this is the first stage in their training and it gets them used to the traffic and noise with which they will have to contend during their working lives.

Farid performed admirably, except for not being able to keep the conveyance in a straight line, and having a little difficulty negotiating left-hand turns. He wasn't yet used to answering the guidance of the reins. We had a good old laugh as poor Ahmed had to keep leaping to the ground to steer Farid away from parked cars, or around a tight corner before he ran straight into a wall!!! (Actually, I was rather worried that Ahmed would end up under the carriage wheels!)

We even ventured into the chaotic traffic of Television Street and Manchia, places we try to keep clear of with the caleche in  normal circumstances, where Farid seemed to not even notice the surrounding Bedlam! I'm sure that his father (Edward) will be proud of him as he gets bigger, stronger and more confident. It was 'cool' to see this part of his training, and I was really pleased at Ahmed's and Samir's patience and gentleness with the young horse. 10 out of 10, I think.

Cake Comparisons?

I think I'm turning into a sort of sandwich-board-man for the Steigenberger Nile Palace! Don't worry, I'm not 'in their pocket', but it's not for the want of trying. (There's no way that I can induce them to give me a discount or preferential treatment of any kind, the mean so-and-so's!!!)

Did I tell you about the Winter Palace putting on a cover charge? Well (you know my memory) just in case I haven't; they've decided to levy an entrance fee of 50le, which can be reclaimed against whatever you spend whilst you're in the hotel. Obviously, we really cannot afford to fork out twice as much as normal, just to enjoy the splendid 'olde worlde' charm of the place. I know that tourists can recoup it with just a couple of beers or a cocktail, but that's a whole different kettle of fish!

So, we're visiting our other two choices of hotel more often. The good old Etap (El Luxor Hotel) is still OK, but there seems to be fewer and fewer foreign tourists staying there to provide us with our little 'light entertainment'. The tea and Nescafe are the same price as at the Nile Palace, but you don't get the little, half chocolate coated, coconut macaroons. But, in saying that, the Etap does advertise free English cake between four o'clock and six. Mind you, this is a bit hitty-missy! Often there's non to be had at all, and sometimes it's still frozen, and has to be defrosted before serving. This invariably means that you've finished your tea before it arrives! Even then, it's possibly still frozen in the middle, or hot enough to burn your lips! When it's not free, it's 10le for two slices.

The old Food and Beverage Manager left the Nile Palace a few weeks ago. He was a nice bloke, whom we'd surreptitiously Christened 'Mao Tse Tung', because of his slightly oriental appearance. His replacement looks nothing out of the ordinary, and has no real distinguishing facets, in fact, he could easily be mistaken for an Englishman. So, that's his new name; 'The Englishman'! Along with being a hands-on manager (we came across him shifting tables the other night) he's also trying new things on the menu.

That above is what we've had there the past two nights. Yes, it's English cake, but unlike any we've had previously. It's coated down either side with icing sugar, and it's actually lightly spiced, utterly scrumptious! And, three goodly sized pieces for 13le! By the time Freda and I have messed about with pots of boiling water and the hot milk for her Nescafe, I easily managed four cups of tea, and she, three cups of coffee. Half a slice of cake with each of the first three cups and the coconut macaroon with the last. I can tell you; you certainly know you've had something to eat! (And people to watch all the way through, what more could a man want?)

I've got to hand it to the management and staff at the NP, they're making the running for the rest to follow, and they're bloomin' good at it and getting better!

Just as a little aside:

As we were taking a stroll along the Corniche, we came across some caleche horses bathing, there must have been about 10 of them cavorting among the dead Nile cruisers. They were certainly enjoying the cooling effect. It's funny that they're next to the Emely, as several would-be cruise tourists are still being offered this boat. Sorry, but I don't think so!
TTFN.

Yalla, President Mohamed, when are you going to get things moving?

We've just been watching an episode of 'Foyle's War', it's an excellent series. It's got me wondering though; I cannot help but wonder just how those men, those who weren't allowed to actually 'join up', really felt about not doing their bit for the war effort by being at the (metaphorical) front, about their seeming uselessness?

That strand of thought also echoed in my mind as regards Luxor's situation in this time of so much uncertainty and fear among the general Egyptian population!

In one way, here in Luxor, we've really been uninfected by all the trouble and strife which regularly seems to erupt in Cairo and the other northern 'hot-spots', about which we keep on reading and seeing on our TV screens.  But the people here in Luxor aren't at all happy with Mr Morsi's current handling of things; simply because they feel that they are being sacrificed for the sake of their northern compatriots! I hear grumblings about the 'men-with-beards' everywhere I go! It seems fairly obvious to me that the people of Luxor want no more to do with either the modern and liberal revolutionaries, or the Brotherhood and their hardline friends. The revolution's legacy of physical and financial hardship and (seemingly deliberately engineered) disadvantage are driving them to wish for the return of Mr Mubarak, or one of his henchmen (Shafiq?) at least!

I cannot tell you how many of my Egyptian friends have often regaled me, over the years, about the Egyptian 'life' being one of continual hardship. They understand this, and have learned to accept it without much complaint, as they have been doing during several thousands of years of being oppressed by despotic rulers; from Pharaohs to the Arabs, from the Turks to the Egyptian Generals, and that's not even mentioning the differing European interlopers! But it now seems that the current mish-mash which purports to be governing them, is going too far!

As well as there being next to no tourists from which the locals can make their living, there are now electricity (and water) cuts, without warning, three four and five times per day! Thank heaven, we've only had the one so far today (Thursday), but yesterday we had three; for an hour just before lunchtime, another hour at about 4:30 in the afternoon, and a third at 10:30 for an hour and forty minutes! With the outside temperature being over 47 degrees Centigrade that afternoon, and the walls of our little flat being too hot to keep your hand on; we baled out by 5pm, and sought the air-conditioned refuge of the Nile Palace. The mini-bus stopped, however, at the junction with St Joseph Street, as Khaled Ibn El Walid Street was blocked a few yards farther on. We had to walk from there.

The road blockage was outside the house of the General of the Police (that one directly before the Sonesta). There were about four women and half a dozen young men and boys sitting in the middle of the road! Several of the men and boys were in the middle of their prayerful prostrations. One young man was very highly agitated and very emotional. Of course, I asked  some bystanders what the problem was; only to be told that these people were making many demands of the police.(?)

In a telephone call later that evening, I was told that (so far) 15 people had died in Luxor as a direct result of these power cuts! Perhaps that was the reason for the emotional 'sit down' outside the General's house? Who knows? The power cuts were certainly the reason behind the protest outside the Governor's office this afternoon! Even Egyptians, can only take so much!

But still, Luxor isn't Cairo! I have hoped that Mr Morsi was the good man that he originally seemed to be, even though he and I don't share the same views on religion, and that he actually was determined (as he had said he was) to govern "for all Egyptians", but it's beginning to seem as though the population of Upper Egypt are being punished for the waywardness of the northerners who took the road to revolution and are now constantly making waves against the elected President and what passes for his government.

As usual; the Upper Egyptians are left to sink or swim, and with their ingrained sense of oppressed victimhood they must surely now feel desolate indeed! God bless them and help them, for as the unrelenting 50 degree heat of summer, plus the spectre of starvation, looms, they certainly need it!

Another Fine Mess!!!!

We're back! Not a bad flight with our friends easyJet:

I had stocked up with a selection of pies from John the butcher in Pelaw, and thoroughly enjoyed my two, with a relatively large slice of his lovely black pudding! My 'tablet' Christmas gift and headphones were also a great boon, as I now have even more of my depressing music on it (that's Freda's opinion) and I could listen to it without being harassed! Five and a half hours of a mixture of Steeleye, the Watersons, Swan Arcade, Sonny Boy Williamson, Cream, the Stones, Melanie Safka, the Spooky Men, Bob Dylan and the incomparable Leonard Cohen, and many others who don't get much of an airing on today's wireless!

For the first time I can remember, I had a window seat on the port side, so made the most of it by taking a picture or two:

It must be de rigueur to have a shot of the coastline as one passes over? And the desolate wastes of the desert I always find curiously enticing! I cannot help but imagine myself along with John Mills, struggling through the Qattara Depression in that old Austin ambulance in the wonderful film "Ice Cold in Alex".

Did I ever tell you that I used to be a member of the 'Sons of the Desert'? "What, what?" I can almost hear you cry.

Actually, it's the title of a 1933 Laurel and Hardy movie; that just might give the game away as to what and who the 'Sons of the Desert' were and are. That's right Dear Reader, we were and are fans of the most hilarious double act ever created; Stan Laurel and Oliver 'Babe' Hardy. Here's an advert for the film:

The various (worldwide) groups of fans were organised into 'Tents' (pretty obvious, eh?) and held regular meetings where at least one film would be watched, lots of booze drunk (except by those teetotallers [guess who] who would be driving their drunken mates home, of course) and memorabilia pored over and swapped etc.

Our Tent was at North Shields, once the home town of Stan Laurel before he went to the USA and made it big. We also had occasional visits to other Tents, and I remember well going to the Tent at Carlisle, I provided the coach which I drove myself. (I decided to wear my bowler hat, just for effect, and the man who ran the Carlisle Tent asked if I always wore it while driving!) He also ran the 'Laurel and Hardy Museum' at Ulverston, Stan's birthplace, and the 'Cars of the Stars' motor museum in Carlisle, which were both very interesting. I wonder if they're still there?

Anyway, I'm sure that there cannot be many of you who haven't heard, or didn't recognise, that most famous of quotes from our big fat mate Ollie: "That's another fine mess you've gotten me into!" Which brings me back to part of the subject of today's offering; we came back to Luxor, and a right old mess! Although, not in the strictly accurate meaning of the word 'mess', what we actually had (or not) was NO WATER!

Apparently, the water pump had been operating by itself when no-one was in the flat. Being worried that the pump would burn itself out, Adam (Coffeeshop Adam from over the road) had turned off the water and switched off the pump. He also had a 'plumber' out to see what the trouble was. Being a 'really plumber', he checked everything in the flat before fiddling with the adjustments of the electronic 'Automatique' and the pressure regulating valve, whilst not noticing that the water filter, in its see-through cannister, was actually clogged solid! (OK, I was supposed to change the filters and switch off the water before we left, but I forgot; I've already been reprimanded and had my chocolate rations withheld!)

Poor Freda had to cope with the unpacking and initial cleaning (so we could at least get into bed) by herself, while I found friend 'Hani the Plumber' and we tried to get something moving. Eventually, I decided that it wasn't the 'Automatique', which Hani was convinced that it was, but that the pressure regulator had been screwed right down till it wouldn't allow water through at all! After stripping, cleaning and adjusting the regulator, we managed to get the pump to work, but only by switching it on and off manually; the 'Automatique' was actually faulty and has been replaced last night. It was really good of Hani and his mate Ayman to come out and sort it out for us, as they are both Coptic Christians and yesterday was their 'Good Friday'!

Having my dodgy legs, still, I'm not overly fussed about traipsing up and down ladders at the moment, not that I ever was mind you! So we've had our carpenter mate Abdu, from New Karnak, back to do the finishing off of the fascia on the new roof. It entailed another couple of sheets of the Islamic patterned latticework and 20 metres of architrave, but that's not all. He's coming back tomorrow to try and get it finished before Monday. As you should all know, Dear Readers, Monday is the Pharaonic festival of 'Sniffing the Breeze', where both Christians and Muslims join together to welcome in the Summer. (Or, is it more to do with the expected 'inundation' does anyone know?) Whatever! I expect that it'll be difficult to find anyone willing to work on that day.

Here are a couple of pics, just to remind you of how we left the new roof when we went on holiday to Windy Nook:

Mentioning Easter, reminded me that they're getting on with our new Coptic Church! The bell-tower lights are busy being sorted out:

I promise that I'll get you a better picture eventually.

Copy-catting is still as rife as ever here. I was surprised to see the coach in the following picture. It looks brand new, and has Neoplan badges on the front. It's a two axle Neoplan Cityliner, but they don't make them anymore.

 A-ha, all was revealed when it passed me! Although I didn't have time to get a snap, you can believe me when I tell you that the back panel and rear window were all wrong, and it had Chinese badges all over!!!!!!

On top of everything else which is currently going wrong here in Egypt, there is now a shortage of bottled drinking water! The mains tap water is actually quite safe to drink here in Luxor. Although I wouldn't recommend drinking it for long periods (Egyptians seem to suffer a lot of urinary tract problems) I firmly believe that the high concentration of chlorine in it would kill 99% of all known germs. (That sounds familiar, doesn't it?) Our filter system removes the sand particles down to 5 microns, and the activated carbon filter is supposed to remove the taste of the chlorine before it gets to the actual taps. But I still prefer the taste of the bottled vintage!

It seems, however, that at least one well from which the bottled water is drawn has become contaminated, and has been closed down, and Nestle (who produce 60% of the bottled water in Egypt) had a fire which has seriously disrupted their production. It's not looking too good, and it's against the law to import drinking water! I'd better find some before our next guests arrive on Wednesday, hadn't I?

I'd better be off to bed now, or I won't be getting up in the morning. Good  night, and God bless.