Old News - Newsletter May 2002

I’ve been very quiet lately, but then I haven’t been up to much. I am still in my selfish pampering post-break-up hibernation state, which is how I deal with this kind of stuff. It seems to be working for me anyway, as each week is better then the last, and I’ve actually been kind of happy lately! I also got tired of people telling me to ‘get over it already’, so I just avoided everyone for a bit! I guess I take a little longer than most to bounce back.

Other than that things are going ok. Mountain Man and I are making friends again, which is nice. Having been great mates with someone for over 10 years it was very sad to stop talking. We went for a lovely long walk along the Thames from Putney to Barnes yesterday (absolutely stunning), and had a good heart-to-heart about stuff. We are both still very relieved to be out of our relationship, and it looks like we will be able to save the friendship too.

As you may know, Mountain Man has had a job offer, which has cheered both of us up. They are still working out the visa red tape, but he hopes to get the go ahead this week. It will be a huge weight off my shoulders too, as I was panicking about getting stuck with the whole rent!

My job is less than brilliant still. I am waiting for my new projects to come up to speed, as they are still in the planning phase, which I am not involved in. This new company does things by the book, which means you need half a forest of documentation before touching a keyboard. The same goes for maintenance of old projects. So I have practically nothing to do, and that which I do have I am eking out as long as possible! Ah well, at least I have a job. ;-)

I haven't quite got myself back into society, but I have great plans! Painting workshops, cookery weekends, rambling clubs... all quite exciting. I want to meet a whole new sphere of people, whose idea of a great time involves more than drinking themselves silly and then going raving. Grown-ups, I think they are called!

I've joined a gym in Bracknell, and so I am starting to shed the kilos I piled on after our break-up. Far too much comfort eating (and drinking!) has been going on, and my clothes are way too tight! It is nice to be getting back into an exercise routine.

So, my Bridget Jones ratio is in balance: out of lovelife, job and weight, only 2 (sometimes fewer) of the 3 can ever be under control at any one time!

My little rustbucket is in for repairs to the radiator, and I have realised just how much I have come to rely on it already! Getting to the gym, doing a decent grocery shop, and popping out to visit people has become so difficult! Just getting to work takes half an hour longer, stuck in a carriage with germ-factories sniffing and coughing. Eeeeuuuuw. On the up side, all the walking again has to help my weight-loss!

That’s about it. I am off to see star wars tonight, which I have been looking forward to! So, may the force be with you!

Old News - Newsletter April 2002

I am loving being car-mobile again after 3 years! It's old, red, rusty, rattley, can get to 70mph (120kph) if I REALLY have to overtake a lorry, otherwise rumbles along quite happily at 60mph.

But it cost practically nothing, and even after adding on insurance and breakdown cover comes to less than £1000. So, very cheap! Starts every time, and handles London traffic without overheating - what more can I ask for! I'm getting 9 miles to the litre... not sure if that's good or not.

My new office is going OK. We are doing lots of documentation, which is why I am writing a letter instead! I really need the car though, as we are miles from anything, in a business park type area. I'll be joining a nearby gym next month, which I am looking forward to! All this driving instead of walking is starting to show!

Mountain Man and I went to Holland on Saturday for a daytrip to see the tulips. It was something we'd booked ages ago, so decided to go through with in spite of being broken up. Personally I found it a bit of a strain!

We got up at 3am and drove to Gatwick, landed in Amsterdam at 8:00, and spent until 10am trying to get info about where to go. Then we caught a train to the tulip fields and looked into hiring bicycles. Mountain Man had a brainwave that we would train it into the heart of tulipland and then get bikes, meaning we wouldn't need to cycle as much. So we did, only to find ourselves in the thick of an annual flower float parade! It was fantastic, and we were so lucky to see it!

After that we discovered that they don't hire bikes there, and so set off on foot to tour the tulip fields. This proved to be exhausting, and I got really ratty after a couple of hours! We finally found a spectacular field to picnic beside, and a friendly householder to let me use his loo, and then I felt much better! Then hiked back to town and did a scenic train ride, then headed back to the airport and landed at 9pm. Drove home and collapsed - what a day!

Mountain Man went to friends for a braai on Sunday, and I begged off as I really needed time away from him for a bit! We don't fight, but I find being with him a lot stressful. He keeps talking about heading to SA for 6 weeks to save pounds while unemployed if he doesn't find a job soon, and I wish he would push off for a bit to let me start getting over him!

Having said that, I talked him into coming to a pub quiz near T's on Monday night as I wanted him to navigate! We drove right through the West End, around Picadilly, up Shaftsbury and past Chinatown... quite exciting. I would not have managed without him, and the way back was even worse! I shall need a lot more town driving to get the hang of the streets!

Mountain Man and I are still getting on OK anyway. He is enjoying being able to smoke, drink to excess, go clubbing, and stay out all night with mates without being whinged at. He is planning boys trips to Amsterdam and Ibiza... gah. Glad he's not my boyfriend! I am slowly starting to put feelers out into new groups of people, although at the moment all I want to do is stay in quietly and let the baggage fade away. A little hard to do with the Baggage itself sitting in front of the TV! It's going to be a very long 6 months.

Old News - Newsletter April 2002

Well, it has now been over a week of 'being single'! I was very sad, now I'm kind of numb. Still not angry which is great! It was definitely the right decision.

Mountain Man is having a ball being a bloke - doing mad hikes (60km in one day last weekend!), golfing, clubbing, and all the things I don't like. And turning his room into a disaster zone - I have to stop myself going in to tidy!

I've been a bit busy to do much, but I have been spending time with my Mom, who is loving it! I promise to catch up with everyone soon, once my office move is over - that is dominating things at the moment. I have begun researching cookery weekends, painting weekends and rambling weekends - which I have always fancied doing!

We're not actually masochists - Mountain Man and I are not really expecting living together to work once we start dating - we just don't have many options right now! We can't give notice for 6 months, Mountain Man has nowhere to go, and I can't afford the place on my own. So we are staying together by default really... seems to be working. No fights, just a strange feeling when we wish each other goodnight and go to our separate rooms.

So anyway, let me tell you of the last couple of weeks. As you know we moved to Putney 3 weeks ago - sorry there has been no housewarming, but things have been a bit wierd! The move went well, and we are loving our new flat - it is about 15 mins from Putney rail, and a little further from East Putney tube (although 4 busses come very close). It's really big and airy, and has a garage too. And 2 bedrooms - thank goodness!

For Easter we went to Barcelona. We got there late Thursday night, slept and got up the next morning to find it pouring with rain! We scuttled in and out of museums, had a walk along the seafront in horizontal rain (glad I have short hair), found a place for a lovely seafood lunch, and got back to our hotel around 4. Then a siesta, and out for dinner at 8 - we drank many litres of beer and wine with dinner, and made friends with a couple of ladies from Newcastle who were a hoot.

Then we found a tiny funky bar for a nightcap. Around this point Mountain Man bumped the table and knocked a beer across me, so I tipped one over him (thinking it was funny). We had a little spat about it, went back to the hotel, sorted things out, and broke up. No, I don't remember why, and neither does he. But it has been coming a long time, and was perfectly mutual. We'd each been waiting for the right time to bring it up, and apparently the first day of a 4 day holiday in Barcelona was it!

We chatted until 4 in the morning, then passed out. The next morning (Saturday) we agreed that we still felt the same in the cold light of day, and dragged our hangovers out into the city. We followed a walking tour for most of the morning, had a lie down, and then walked down to the harbour. We took an awesome cable car ride from a huge tower in the harbour to a hill and back - superb views! Then back to the hotel for a bath and change.

I started feeling really ill, but figured I was just still hungover, and at 9 we went restaurant hunting. We got into a very super one at 9:45, and ordered. I was feeling horrid, but nibbled a little bread hoping my stomach would settle. When my main course came I took one sniff and bolted for the door! Poor Mountain Man finished his meal in solitary splendour, paid and left with staff sniggering at him, and got back to the hotel to find me still crouched over the Big White Telephone.

This continued violently from both ends (yes, too much detail I know) until about 3am, when I merely felt dreadful. Mountain Man woke at 8 feeling grim, and began Driving the Great White Bus by midday. We reckon I caught a tummy bug, and gave it to him. So a joint miserable 36 hours proceeded... we didn't leave the hotel at all on Sunday!

On Monday morning we shot out to do some frantic sightseeing - and crammed in as much Gaudi as possible, before turning weak as day-old lambs at midday and grabbing a taxi to the airport. And so home, where we moved Mountain Man's things into the spare room, and began this strange living arrangement.

Last weekend Mountain Man went off with C to do an organised 37 mile hike, involving navigation and so on. There was a 13 hour cutoff, and they made it in 12! Then drove back to London! Madness...

I went to my Mom's on Friday night, and stayed until Sunday night. We had a lovely time - A is away so we hardly drew breath for chatting for 2 days! I got back Sunday night, and Mountain Man's feet were still very swollen from his hike, and he could hardly walk!

My office moves over this coming weekend, and things are a bit fraught. Every project except my baby have been migrated over just fine - mine fails. It has taken the IT team 6 days to get things working, and we still don't understand the problem. Luckily they let me go at 8:30pm Friday night, as everyone else hung on all weekend trying different configurations. I really hate computers sometimes.

I will be at work on Saturday making sure things go alright. *sigh*

My Mom is picking me up from work on Saturday, and I'll stay there until Monday, when I am going to Drive to work. Yes - I have a CAR! Mom found it at a farm auction for £350! The insurance for it costs £465! I haven't driven in two years, and so I am a bit nervous... and getting home is going to be very interesting! Think of me on Monday evening!

Old News - Newsletter April 2002

Dear Friends

This is to let you all know that Mountain Man and I have broken up.

We have realised that we have grown apart over the last few years, and that our goals and interests are now very different. We were only staying together at the last because it was comfortable, and now we have decided that is not enough.

Our break up was amicable, and we didn't fight about it, just agreed that our relationship was over. So we want to assure all our mutual friends that we don't intend avoiding each other.

On the contrary, we are going to try and live as digsmates and see how it goes. Yes, I know, wierd. But we are still very good friends and hope to keep it that way.

We are both a bit sad, and also relieved, but not angry. We had a good 5 and a half years, and don't regret any of it.

Old News - Newsletter March 2002

A good friend of mine once stated that any woman who passed the age of 30 without being married was a lesbian. So you will all be glad to hear that I have now reached that significant age without the benefit of matrimony, and am awaiting the change with interest. I have had a very short haircut so far, but the ‘comfortable shoes’ have yet to materialise!

As I was in France skiing over my birthday, I had a party in London the Saturday before. J and T kindly let me use their flat, and 12 of my closest friends came along for oodles of snacks and much, much champagne. Cheers to everyone who came for making it such an enjoyable evening! (and to those who couldn’t make it, you missed a great time!) It was a lovely chatty, boozy, laid-back evening, and at around midnight we all staggered over the road to an indie club where the music was excellent. Then back to the flat at 3 for more champagne… I had one of the worst hangovers on record the next day! 9 of the 12 stayed over, and we limped down the road to the greasy spoon for a fry-up at about midday on Sunday. I had meant to produce breakfast, but was too ill to face it! I still felt terrible on the Monday, and work was a trial!

On Friday the 8th Mountain Man, T, J and I went to France to go skiing in Les Arcs. We travelled by train, which is not bad – it means you get 2 extra days skiing, as the train arrives at 7am on Saturday, and leaves the following Saturday at 10pm. I managed to drink far too much far too fast on the train there, and was not feeling well when we arrived in Les Arcs. Mountain Man and J had stayed up most of the night sponsoring the bar, and were not too good either! But as we could only check-in at 5pm, we bravely hired skis and launched ourselves at the chairlift.

I decided to try out snowblades (v short skis, turned up back and front) for the week, while the others took skis. They’re cool, you can get down any slope, no matter how steep or icy, as their turning radius is so small! On the downside they react to the surface a lot, and I never felt quite safe at high speed.

Mountain Man, T and J are very good, and very fast, skiers. I had spent a large amount of time in the gym before the holiday building up my leg muscles, in the hope that I could keep up through brute strength. It seemed to work a bit, as I was not too far behind at each stop (and my legs didn’t get sore - bonus)! I will never be as fast as they are though, even on proper skis – my sense of terror kicks in too soon at high speed!

I’m a bit of a lazy, social, fair-weather skier, and 8 days in a row of 6 hours a day is a little too much skiing for my liking. I took a day off after 3 days, and an afternoon off a couple of days later, and towards the end of the week tended to head for home an hour or two before the others. Unfortunately there is not much else to do in a ski resort, and I was bored silly! If I go skiing again it will be in a big group, with at least one other lazy person to chill out with.

Les Arcs is a superb skiing resort. We were very lucky with the snow too, as they had a huge snowfall the week before, and the piste was still 1m thick at the bottom and 2m at the top. It was getting pretty thin at the bottom by the time we left, and I felt sorry for any novices trying to dodge the grass! There are about 4 villages that you can ski between, and one of them is very high up and always had excellent snow. It was very sunny for most of the time (we all got sunburnt on the first day, and now have sunglass-tans!) and surprising warm. This is the latest in the year I have skied, and the sun is getting strong!

I had a great birthday – I didn’t even notice it! The best way to spend your 30th I say! (or the beginning of your fourth decade as someone said – sounds even worse!)

The rest of this week will be spent packing up our flat, as we move on Saturday. Yuck, I hate packing. My Mom is coming to visit tomorrow, and we are having a ‘packing party’. Heh, I wonder if I’ll be able to find anything that was packed after the second bottle of wine!

Mountain Man is still job-hunting. The IT job market is really horrible, and he is starting to talk of taking absolutely anything offered. He is thinking of perhaps nipping over to Nepal for a month in the hope that things pick up while he is gone. He was planning to go next year, but if he has to take a permanent job now then he won’t be able to :-(. Is anyone out there interested in going along? On the bright side (for me), he has taken over shopping and cooking duties while he is at home, and has been trying out our cookbooks. I have been eating like a king for the past few weeks and I’ve begged him to use the ‘slimmers’ cookbook this week, as my clothes are starting to creak at the seams! (also since I’ve promised myself this week off from the gym, after all the activity before skiing!)

Old News - Newsletter Feb 2002

Well, interesting times over here (I do believe that's a Chinese curse or something).

As you may know by now, Mountain Man has been made redundant - well we're 99% sure he is. He'll find out for certain on Thursday, but we're quite sure. He got told last Wednesday afternoon, and hasn't had to go into work since - which is a bit of a giveaway! His company have decided to stop developing products, and do consulting with their existing product, or something like that. So bye-bye developers. It's a bit of a shock, but we've almost got our heads around it. Luckily he has a bit of money saved, so I don’t have to support him just yet!

Mountain Man is now frantically trying to get another company to take over his work permit, on which he still has 3 years. If he swings it then this will have been all for the best! He was fed up with his job, and was just killing time waiting for the market to improve. He's hoping to get back into contracting, at which point I am going to be horribly jealous – permanent work sucks! We’re not expecting him to have much of a problem, although the market could be much better.

In spite of this we have decided to carry on with our move into a bigger, more expensive flat! We’ve found a lovely 2-bedroom flat in Putney, and will be moving at the end of March. It’s very spacious, and even has a garage to store bicycles and stuff – I’d love to get a car, but probably won’t in the near future!

I’ve finished repainting our current flat back to cream, and taken down all the shelving I put up. All our things are now stacked in piles against the walls again… sigh. Our next flat has lots of built-in cupboards, and I can’t wait!

My job move is progressing in a whirl of paperwork. The company that has bought us is a huge established one, and so they have lots of paperwork routines in place to which we have to conform. I haven’t written a document since I was studying, and they’re going to send us on training to teach us how!

T and J are now engaged. They’re expecting to marry next January, and the planning is already in full swing. As one of the bridesmaids I get to trail around choosing dresses and fabric and patterns and hen night and so on. I am not having a wedding if I get married – far too much effort!

I’ve had a raise and a bonus in the past few weeks, which was very nice indeed. I’ve slapped most of the bonus into savings, and the rest will pay for my 30th birthday party in 2 weeks and my trip home in November. The raise will half cover my rent increase!

What with job loss, job move, home moving and turning 30 we are a little stressed! Interesting times indeed.

Old News - Newsletter January 2002

A whole month into the New Year, time flying as always.

It's been a busy month. In the first week I went to Paris with my Mom for a couple of days. We've been before, and decided to do the art galleries this time. It was very cool, we spent most of a day in the Louvre, and a morning in the Musee D'Orsay, with plenty of wine and cheese breaks, and an awesome steak in the evening. Plus some sightseeing thrown in to and from the museums. We'd managed to get a free upgrade to first class on the Eurostar too, which means free wine and a meal on the way... very cool!

One thing I have to warn you about though. There I am thinking I am a veteran traveller, and I got horribly conned in Gare de Nord. We'd got in late at night from London, and I had a pretty good idea which Metro tickets I wanted, so we happily toddled down to the ticket area. All the windows were closed, and the machines would only take Euro coins, so we had a bit of a struggle, and eventually got change and came back. Then we got 'helped' by a French bloke, who insisted we had to buy two 2-day passes (E100), and we were so tired and fed up and struggling with the language we finally agreed, and as we didn't have enough coins he kindly paid with his card, and we handed him cash. The next day our tickets wouldn't work, and it turned out we had two singles... worth E5. I don't know how he did it, but it was very slick and I had no idea! So watch out.

Mountain Man came back from SA on the 14th, L also got back that week from Oman, and B got back from SA the week after, so we've had lots of reunions. N and N have arrived from SA too, and we've seen a bit of them, so a nice social month.

The weekend before last I came down with a cold, and stayed home when Mountain Man went for 'quick drinks' with mates, and got home the following evening after going clubbing and staying over. Nothing changes.

On the job front things are interesting. My company has been acquired by a big one out in Bracknell (near Windsor), and we will all be working there by May. It should be a good move for me, as I have gone as far as I can in my current place, and was getting very bored. They are massive, and international, and committed to training and new technology and to keeping their staff. Might be good.

We are going to have to move, as the commute from where I now live is too far, and so we will be moving to Putney in March. I am now frantically taking down shelves and repainting our flat back to the way we found it!

Old News - Newsletter January 2002

I am back at work after a lovely relaxing break. My company gave everyone the days between xmas and new year off for the price of one day's annual leave, which was very sweet of them.

I can't remember what I'm meant to be working on, so I'll postpone it a little longer by writing email...

I think I last wrote before my company xmas do... it was great fun, and I didn't get too blotto. I made it home on the last train without falling asleep, and felt halfway reasonable the next day. Not so the rest of my office (some of whom had been in the hotel bar until 3), and we all repaired to the pub at midday for the hair of the dog. At 3ish I decided to go home for a nap before Mountain Man's do that evening. I had a nice snooze, dressed and dolled up, and called him for directions... apparently I sounded so out of it that he told me I didn't have to come out, so I had a nice long bath and an early night instead! Just as well as he staggered in reeking of vodka at 7 the next morning!

The rest of the weekend was very low-key, with both of us resting our livers in preparation for xmas.

On xmas eve I travelled through to my Mom's in the afternoon. She was busy preparing the xmas dinner for the family at the Hall, so I took a bottle of wine across and sat at the kitchen table chatting. Mountain Man arrived in the evening and joined me, and towards the end of the evening A's and A also came across. So the 'staff' were in the kitchen while 'family' were in the living room! Straight out of an old novel... we took our portion of dinner back to the servants quarters after serving the family, and had a very nice evening opening pressies, and drinking lots of wine.

I woke up feeling a bit under the weather the next day, just in time to see my Mom off to the Hall to prepare xmas lunch - and didn't see her again until 5. A's daughter and I made lunch for the rest of us, and we chilled out watching TV and reading, and Mountain Man flew to SA in the evening.

Mom and A were given Boxing Day off, so after a slow and lazy start we all went for a pub lunch and then a long frosty walk on the downs near Uffington. It was freezing, with thick frost on the frozen ground, and bits of snow in the wind. Very bracing!

The next couple of days were very lazy, and I came back to London on Friday to an empty flat *sniff*. I hibernated over the weekend, and on New Years Eve caught up with J and T to tag along to a New Years do. We went to a house party with a bunch of Jon's Cambridge mates - 6 couples and one baby... very grown-up and civilized. We had a 5 course dinner, each course organised by a couple (T and I did the starter) and all of it really impressive gourmet stuff. Then we had port and coffee in the lounge and watched Big Ben strike midnight and played Trivial Pursuit until quite late.

Everyone stayed over, and we had a massive fry-up brunch, and then a long frosty walk through lanes and fields (the long frosty walk seems to be a very English festive thing).

Then home, and a very early night. I managed to set my alarm for PM, so overslept somewhat - but got in to work on time anyway!

So, now back to normal. It is wierd not having Mountain Man around, and I'm looking forward to him getting home in 2 weeks.

Old News - Newsletter December 2001

I don't have much to tell you... no major international trips anyway - so it's all boring!

The past few weeks have been a (literal) blur of drinks and dinner, with xmas do's, farewells, reunions and birthdays. Add in a few pub lunches and gym sessions during the day (not necessarily in that order) and you might understand why we've barely stirred from the flat over the weekends. Plus it's bloody freezing now. They say we might get a white xmas down here, or at least a damn cold one!

We have made a small effort to do some sightseeing though, and a month or so ago we went off to Shrewsbury to see S and L. Shrewsbury is a gorgeous town - a bit like York without the tourists.

Then a few weeks ago we walked from the Millenium Dome (thought we should see it before it finally gets torn down) to the Thames Barrier which is very impressive. We had coffee in the Tearoom there to defrost and then scampered back home to watch videos feeling slightly smug.

And a week or so back we went up St Paul's Dome. It's quite a long climb, and we had to hurry as they were about to close for a function, so I reached the top hot and sweaty - then got so cold I had to come straight down again! I've done it before in warm weather, so I didn't mind!

My company xmas do tonight (last week was the department do), and Mountain Man's tomorrow. The weekend to recover and then xmas (we're going to my Mom's). Then Mountain Man heads to SA and I tag along with J and T for New Years - and then the poor liver might actually get a break!

Old News - Newsletter November 2001

Yes we are safely home in one piece, in spite of flying Egypt Air, and touring a Middle Eastern country! I have to say that I never felt in any danger (although we both had the jitters on takeoff from London!), and the Egyptians were really friendly and took pains to tell us how welcome tourists are in their country. Heavily armed police and solidiers were thick on the ground everywhere too, which was nice to see.

I didn't see a single American, and even the English were few and far between. Mostly Germans and French around. Places where the guidebook said we should expect to queue were empty, and it felt like low season, not the height of high season! Nice for us, but the locals are frantic for business... which is perhaps why they fleeced us so thoroughly - but I hear they do that anyway!

After spending 4 hours in Heathrow (3 hours early for checkin, and then the flight was delayed. ugh) we finally landed in Cairo around 1am. We got to sleep at about 2 with big plans to be at the pyramids for sunrise. Seeing as the sun rises at 6am, we missed that, but got there at about 8 instead!

The pyramids of Giza (3 big, 6 little) stand isolated on a desert plateau. They really are awesome, and we had a nice stroll about in the cool morning air. It was still quite peaceful as the hawkers and camel drivers hadn't arrived yet. By 9 it was getting hot, and so we got talked into a horse ride all around the plateau, past a muslim cemetary, and then to a perfume and papyrus shop (hmmph). We proceeded to part with way too much money, as we had no idea of the relative costs, paid the horse man and took a stroll uphill past the sphinx with the idea of now entering the great pyramid of Cheops.

After 10 minutes of beating off dozens of camel drivers, boys with postcards, old men with mules and would-be guides, we finally got caught out by a bloke who asked to see our tickets, and then wouldn't give them back until we had followed him into and out of several tombs, sarcophagi, shafts, tunnels and mounds - expecting to be mugged any second. We then had to pay him a huge amount of money for the privilege. By this stage we were so hot, dusty and annoyed that we gave up on the pyramid idea and caught a taxi into Cairo for lunch and the Egyptian museum.

This was amazing. Miles of sculptures and artifacts of ancient Egypt. All the goodies from Tutenkhamun's tomb are there too, and we had a good look at the famous golden death-mask, and tons of solid gold statues and bits and pieces. By this stage we were a bit tired, so went back to the hotel for a siesta before heading out for a dinner cruise on the Nile. We were on a 3 story boat - with 3 restaurants - and had a buffet dinner, followed by a belly dancer and sufi dancer. They were both excellent! Sufi dancing originates from some religion where they spin round and round until they reach a trance. A man dressed in weighted colorful skirts spun in the center of the room for about 15 minutes, spinning extra skirts over his head and performing other tricks at the same time. Quite impressive!

The next morning we flew to Luxor at 6, so got up at 3:30am (ugh) and checked in to our hotel by 8. We managed to organise a guide and minibus that picked us up at 9, and headed off to the West bank. Our guide was a recent graduate from Tourist school, and extremely eager. I have never heard anyone babble so many names, dates and places. And expect you to remember them too. He got really annoyed if we didn't pay attention, and by the late afternoon I could have thumped him.

First we pottered around the temple of Hatchepsut (yes, where all the tourists were shot in 1997), then went to the Valley of the Kings and went down 3 tombs. These are essentially a long deep tunnel decorated with hieroglyphics, culminating in a room with a sarcophagus and lots of treasure. Of course they were all plundered millenia ago. The mind boggles to imagine the treasure that would have been in the tombs of the important kings who ruled for decades, when you think that Tutenkhamun only ruled for a couple of years and his treasure was astronomical! The paintings and hieroglyphics are in amazing condition, considering that they were painted 3 or 4 thousand years ago! It must be the dry desert air.

Then we went to the Valley of the Queens and went down a few tombs there, and then had a late lunch (via an alabaster shop where Mountain Man spent close to half an hour knocking 10 Egyptian pounds off a statue - about £2. Not sure who won!). Egyptian food is nothing to write home about. It's a bit like Turkish - all fried, spiced and greasy with rice and pita bread. I went right off it after a day or two and started pinching rolls from breakfast instead!

In the afternoon we went to the East bank and the temples of Karnak and Luxor. I'm afraid by this part of the day it was all a bit of a blur of columns, obelisks, pylons, statues and paintings, but it was really amazing and awe inspiring. We finished our tour at 6pm, absolutely shattered!

I'd mis-read our itinerary, and we had an extra day in Luxor. This was brilliant as we'd already 'done' the tombs and temples. We slept late, and chilled out next to the pool all day. We were in a rather swish hotel, with terraced gardens leading down to the bank of the Nile, and then a huge floating swimming pool with sun deck and bar. Very nice! In the evening we went for a sunset felucca ride (ancient-style sailboat) which was everything I'd hoped it would be. Quietly drifting down the Nile, watching kingfishers diving for fish, and little fishing boats rowing about near the reeds. Unfortunately we ended up paying double what we'd 'agreed' on, which spoiled it a little.

On Tuesday we took a bus to Hurghada on the Red Sea. We stayed in the most incredible hotel I have ever seen, with 2 swimming pools, a private beach, shops, restaurants and bars all inside the grounds. We spent the afternoon on the beach, and organised to do a couple of dives the next day, followed by our advanced PADI course. The diving in the Red Sea is superb! Loads of coral and fish, and we were lucky enough to see moray eels, stonefish, lionfish, an eagle ray and a shark. I got so excited about the shark that I spat out my mouthpeice, and by the time I found it again the shark had gone! The dive boats and guides were excellent, and the equipment first class - made me realise just how basic Thailand was!

We had an idyllic few days in Hurghada, although the few times we left the hotel grounds on our own we were so hassled by the locals (perfume, papyrus, alabaster, jewelery, where are you from, come into my shop, check my english... bug bug bug!) we went scampering back inside!

Then flights back to Cairo and London and Winter. the clocks have gone back, and now it is dark well before 5. There was ice on the cars this morning, and I have unearthed my gloves and scarf... hat will follow soon! *sigh*

It really was an excellent holiday. I had a wonderful time, and it rates as one of the best trips I have ever done. Pity about the huge hassle factor... but that's just the way they are. Very smiley and friendly with it anyway!