Saturday morning, 6th Dec. 2008
Good morning from a survivor of the desert campaign. Oh dearie me, I thought when you signed up for these adventure tours you had the option of opting out. I came home with sand between my toes, as well as a horrid flu bug gestating in my chest (caught from our Jordanian driver who caught it himself the night before. Apparently goes hand in hand with the change in the weather.)
Anyway John and I signed up for this tour that was to take us down to the south of Qatar to the Inland Sea, where we could photograph the mountains that form the border with Saudi Arabia.
All of that was fantastic and beautiful and the meal in the Bedouin tent was delicious. I only had seconds, John had fourths.
As it was all so new to me, I just loved seeing scenery I had only watched through David Attenborough’s eyes
and tried to emulate him by searching for a flowering plant that I saw whilst speeding along. While Hassam (the driver who used to be a pastry chef) tended the barbecue by the sea, John and I set off out to look amongst the sparse thorny thickets, (expecting to see a lamb for the slaughter, like when Abraham was supposed to kill Isaac) and eventually found a very poor specimen. It was like corn of the cob. A tough plastic looking toilet brush sort of thing, struggling to get its head above the sand. Saw loads of footprints, like lizards and so on, but masses of paw prints. Hassam said they were foxes. Anyway I have digressed, what I really wanted to tell you about was the sheer terror of dune bashing.
After a lovely meeting with a family of camels, and paying the required price to ‘have a go’
and being duly terrified but elated at finally ‘doing it’ we were led back to the monster size four wheel drive, leaving behind the 2 wk old camel baby cavorting about chasing bits of rope rather like a kitten.
Hassam had let down the wheels from the normal 40 pressure to 15, and we set off to see the dunes. I was so relaxed, oohing and aaahing at the knife point ridges and beautiful formations. Then imagine the fear I felt as he ploughed straight up and sat poised at the top of a sand ‘Munro’…well it felt like it, then hurtled down, like a skier on a black run. Slaloming just as I remember on my only ski trip to Austria and the fear was as acute as when I looked down the sheer snowy drop. I was so terrified, and this horrible experience lasted for miles as he wove up and down along the dunes.
John was in heaven, grinning from ear to ear and the other two in the car seemed to enjoy it too. All very exhilarating I’m sure.
There were other thrills for ‘the boys.’ A big thing seems to be quad bikes, that the lads race up and down the dunes and seem to have a wonderful time in. Like the dodgems without the confines of the rink.
Anyway, I did love ‘the adventure’ and really loved the desert. Today is half day for John so we are moving this afternoon from this apartment to our own one. I shall actually miss this one, as the views are lovely, over the sea and even though there is building going on, when the sun sets it looks so beautiful.
OK, off down to the pool now for a last blast of the sun. Temperatures are nice, it’s the best time of the year, pleasant during the day, but chilly at night. In summer Hassam was telling me, the temp soars to 55. Unbelievable.
John and I have been doing little scenic drives out to the desert on Fridays. So nice to see the sand for miles (!) and the mirages on the road and yesterday we drove right across the country to a beautiful beach on the other side. A lot of the area was sectioned off for Qatar Petroleum, and we saw pipe lines snaking across the desert for miles, and the occasional Derrick burning off the gas (I think that’s what they were). The most common sign was Photographing is Forbidden…plus the odd sign depicting a camel.
We found the beach, paddled and burned up, then ran to the car and surreptitiously drank some water and took some photos of each other, wondering if we would be shot for drinking and photographing all at once! I didn’t feel comfortable about putting on a swimsuit, as it’s the Holy Month. We had to smile as 2 English guys came down and frolicked about in the water, then a white land cruiser with 2 Arabs came and parked. John said how weird is that? Miles and miles away from anywhere, on a deserted part of the coast, 2 guys come and park to watch 2 other guys mucking about in the waves!!!!
On the journey yesterday we did a little detour to John’s site…(that famous four letter word). He wanted to show me exactly what his project was and what was being done. They are laying 220,000 volt electricity cables, to replace the overhead pylons. One day they will provide the power for the new education city. I saw a massive trench cut into the sand, which went on for 8 kms. I was concerned that some poor Sri Lankan or Indian had manually hacked it out as part of a chain gang, but instead in this day and age they man the machines that hack the rocks. To be honest, it still looks a vile job, operating great vibrating monsters when the temperatures are well into the 50’s. Now that it is Ramadan, the hours are reduced, but still. Giant cotton reels come from Korea with the cable wrapped around them, and once they have been laid, these monsters just lie there like some abandoned sewing project.
No eating or drinking is hard to endure, but my heart went out to the security guard who was guarding ‘the site’. He was crouched in the giant reel, wrapped up in some grimy bit of cloth. We could have photographed and even sabotaged the whole thing and I doubt he could have cared less.
This Ramadan thing is so annoying for us…the Malls are all shuttered and Starbucks and all the other favourite oasis spots are closed up till the sun sets. Do miss our latte and choc croissant on a Friday morning!
No other news at present…
Saturday, 7th March.
Goodmorning from Doha…on this sunny day with clear blue skies and a bright yellow sun. I am wearing an emerald T shirt and bright red lipstick, and feeling very positive and full of the joys. I should check my biorhythms as I am no doubt teetering on the brink of High and am about to catapult to Low. Such is life, but if you can’t get high on life, like Pollyanna, then its time to crawl into the cave with Bunyan’s Pilgrim.
Talking of being high on life, we were all high on Coke (as in Cola) the other night…sailing on the Gulf of Arabia under the stars, eating lovely kebabs and humus and mingling as you do. We couldn’t risk alcohol, as being caught with it, is a weekend in jail or deported. Some guy got deported the other week for giving an Arab the finger whilst going through a mild form of road rage…John is gleefully hoarding up all these reasons to be thrown out, so that when he can’t stand his Portacabin in the desert any more, he’ll just do them all at once and go out in a flame of shame!!!! The Japanese have got some new crazy control freak in the office who is taking his job very seriously, clocking everyone in and out, and counting the paper clips at the end of the day….John says when he goes out to stretch his legs and get some fresh air at lunch time, he and a Scots colleague walk round and round as though they’re in an exercise yard in jail. It was a great day when he finally got his alcohol licence and we zoomed up to the official booze shop and loaded up the trolley with whisky and vodka and I want to say wild wild women! Anyway, enough said that now, when he comes through the door in the evening its a quick peck on the cheek for me and then a bee line to Mr Grouse!
Anyway back to the Dhow trip…which was freezing by the way. Organised by the Wednesday Ladies Group, we met and mingled
and it was good as it was such a hotch potch of people, from all the professions and so we met some interesting folk.
I spent a lot of time with Michelle and her Lebanese husband, who told us so much about the area and the Lebanon. Their friend Rolande is going to teach a few of us Lebanese cooking (her husband couldn’t make it as he was back home in the Lebanon watching a lingerie show on the ski slopes.) I suggested he might bring her back something slinky, but she just said it would be more likely a diet sheet!
My best person is Patsy…a Texan who has been here for 35 years (in all the cities in the Gulf) she is so funny and as she drives around in her massive jeep she shouts, ‘hey! Are you trying to be ma bumper ornament!’ At least she doesn’t give them the finger. (yet)
She took me along to ‘The quilting Guild’
where I met all the stars of the needle and thread….and then she frog marched me to the Souq where I bought 7m of calico and now I’m committed to a huge project which involves embroidering 64 12” squares with only white flowers (so if you have any patterns pass them on) and then stitch it all together, and edge it in white satin. When I am 82 it should be finished. 
For recreation Patsy and her husband are Harley Davidson Bikers…(they are both in their mid 60’s) and meet with the others in their clan? Pack? What is the word? And dressed all in black leathers zoom off into the desert then come back for breakfast at Ricks Kitchen. When she told me I so wanted her husband to have a pony tail, but no, he doesn’t. He’s an American, but is Iraqui/French mix.
Went for an interview at an International School, but haven’t heard yet if I’ve got a job (starting September). I might have blown it, as they asked me who my hero was…I was dumb struck, and so said I really liked Julie Andrews when I was 11…Oh God!
Ok, that’s all the news…we’re off to walk the Corniche again this afternoon,
it’s so beautiful down there, with the sea breeze etc.
We were lucky in Kiev as well, as we had the Marynski Park there to promenade around. Yesterday we got totally lost coming back from Starbucks in the midday sun, and ended up like Alan Partridge walking purposefully along a motor way…pretending that was what we intended. Got burnt, which is not good for my duelling scar so hope I don’t get any more carcinomas.
Family are all well, Gerry writes, Nicko phones and Natasha could be in outer space for all I know. I am looking forward to visiting them in London in April.
Now I must go and mop my floor…this dust is the trial of my life.
May 2008
We finally went the museum of Islamic Art on Saturday. 
We decided to wait till the weather got really hot as it was such bliss to go into the air conditioned luxury. It is a truly beautiful building, spacious, airy and so tasteful. 
Of course there were just a load of old dishes 
and pages from the Koran from centuries ago, and the odd priceless worn out carpet, but nicely set out.
The weather is now awful. Today was 50 degrees, and the thought of a blowy stroll in the rain is so appealing.
Wish I was storming up the Salisbury crags right now.
This morning was quite special. I was invited to go along with some ladies who had been doing a cooking course with 4 Qatari sisters. They are actually Iranian by descent and the old mother sat quietly watching all the social chit chat. I was really pleased to get invited as I’ve been dying to know what their houses are like and what they actually wear under their abayas.
The house was huge, with a mature garden of big trees, and an aviary. Birds have all been let go, due to the last bird flu scare. Instead there were two goats inside. The house was opulant, with three sitting rooms, and fantastic lights from Isfahan, plants fell in creepers from the upstairs balcony and in the centre of the huge living space was a fountain. The ladies were fantastic. Aging from 48 down to about thirty, and were all very curvy. Their clothes were normal, just dresses and a lot of cleavage.
What i loved was their openness. They had an almost childish desire to tell us all about their lives and customs, husbands and children. A really thin pale girl of about thirty was Nalwa’s daughter (who was the 48 yr old). She has four children already! Most of them have 6 kids each.
We were given lunch…and I was just wanting to write down all the recipes…soooo deliciousl There was a cauliflour dish with fried pitta and yogurt…I had to laugh as the old mother came with her plate and demanded a lot. She was right, it was good. I expected the whole place to be crass and vulgar, but it wasn’t…and I just loved the warmth of them all. After eating we moved to the second sitting area for a mango mousse thing then suddenly they played a CD really loudly and began to dance with each other….the waltz, a sort of tango and then the belly dance. They got us up and we danced too…it was all very natural, and I looked at my watch and it was only 11.30 am and we hadn’t even had a glass of wine. Now I know what these women do whilst the men sit in another part of the house, with their hookah pipes and so on!
The farewells took about half an hour, with so much kissing and professions of love. I had to come home and lie down. I was worn out.
Also started yoga. Went to my very first class, and got into such a sweat just holding my leg up like a stork. I will persevere.
Thats all, just thought I’d share that with you!
June 2008
Not too much to report, the days slip by and I seem to be busy, so I suppose that’s a good thing. Yesterday was bad. I had a fever and horrible ear ache (like flu, you forget how bad it is until you get it again) so went to the clinic. The driver was very attentive and told me the procedure. Go to reception, hand in health car, get a number and see the doc. Sounds clear, but inside it was all Arabic, all the ladies were heavily veiled and I sort of tentatively did a bit of mime to find out where I had to wait. Then the doctor checked out my ears, confirmed I had an enraged drum, and was appalled at the state of my fillings! She obviously had only read about a life before fluoride. Anyway got my anti biotics, paid 7 rialls (about a pound) and off I went. Home and decided to eat a date…crunched the stone and broke a tooth. So one of the famous fillings is now sitting all alone without any enamel around it. It is SO sharp. Had dinner with John, after toiling over a brand new recipe…and made a dal from the novel Brick Lane, was chattering about my day from hell, when I bit in to my lip and nearly removed half of it. Gosh, I wouldn’t like to be my enemy. So hopefully that’s the three curses.
After dinner, I took John to see The Green Door.
It was down an alley way, past a wall and under a tree. It was practically pitch dark and I was going by memory alone. I had been the previous day with my friend, Patsy, but that had been in the hot morning sunshine.
Behind this rickety green door, is a warren of rooms. There is a huge selection of ethnic furniture, some prettily decorated in red flowers and stained yellow and so on…mostly from India.John was blind to all the trinkets, pretty lanterns, embroidered cloth, which had so bewitched me, instead he was entranced with the family of kittens that was scurrying about. As we went into the interior of the ‘shop’ (where there were no prices, the English woman who was the care taker told us, ‘just ask me, and I’ll check with the owner’ who was sitting in an inner sanctum. He’s Lebanese.) As my eyes feasted on carpets from Iran, and unusual pieces of ‘occasional’ furniture John found two three legged cats! One had the hind one missing and the other had a front one gone. They were so affectionate, purring, sitting on luxurious rugs, rolling about, getting patted and when they tried to take a little nip they suddenly fell over, quite undignified, in their own peculiar three legged way!
The sad thing is, so the care taker pretty lady told us, was that another cat had bitten their legs off when they were kittens…so they had to take them to the vet to do a proper amputation. We went all soft and mushy with compassion (as you do) but don’t male lions eat other lioness’s cubs??? I seem to remember David Attenborough telling us that. Still on the nature theme, we are cultivating a relationship with a mynah bird family. They come and peck on our window demanding water (from a sardine tin) and they do enjoy some egg fried rice.
Patsy and I had lunch the other day…I do enjoy her company. She’s lived here for 35 years (well, all over the Gulf) and she is just so entertaining. I came home exhausted, flying too high on adrenalin! Talk of her lazer surgery, her quilting, her flower arranging for the Queen when she visited the Sheik and their discussion of his gift of a solid gold handbag that he had presented to her ie the Queen, (it weighed a ton on her majesty’s little arm) and how he had kept them waiting for an hour and half for the dinner she was hosting on Britannia (the Queen, not Patsy).
My embroidery is coming on. I’ve done 9 flowers. Only 55 to do. The last one was the mistle toe, and it’s the best so far. I shall put that in the middle. The bad blue bell will have to go in a corner somewhere.
I’ve been going to an embroidery course in the Souq…we are transposing a Monet painting into an embroidered picture. So far I’ve done 6 hours out of a 9 hour course. We made the back ground in hand quilting, creating the sky and the fields. Then made a frame from raw silk in an ivory shade. Imagine my horror when she handed me a blow torch and told me to singe all the edges…after all that work, I was a nervous wreck. She said the antique look would give it character. Yeah right. Next week we embroider the trees and poppies and so on. NOW I understand why people might charge £100 for such a frippery!
John is fine, has good days and not so good days…I got dressed up last Monday and went to Landmark Mall where we had lunch…he said it was like a first date! So unexpected and romantic…we had soup and a lemon and mint juice. Such fine dining.
The temperature is like the weather at home…such a topic of conversation. Apparently 3 wks ago it hit 62. The other day at the pool, I took the thermometer I ‘borrowed’ from school in Kiev, just to check how hot it was and it popped…it was well over 50. Crazy temperatures…and inside the Malls it’s freezing. Oh the trials of life…what is one supposed to wear!
November, 2008
I’ve been wanting to write for ages, but never seemed to get the chance. Moving house and not having internet didn’t help and then having flu and feeling as though someone had kicked in my chest had me scurrying off to the local clinic to be in a ‘women’s’ section where I was part of a black robed, veiled bunch of quite scary ladies. I got antibiotics, pain relief, anti histamine and vit C, all for 16 riyalls, which is approx 3 pounds! I would have been paying hundreds in the private sector. I probably will now though, as the other evening my front tooth, well second to the front broke off. Oh Lordy lord, and it’s Eid and everything is closed, so I have to wait till tomorrow when the world returns to normal. It’s been quite sore as well, as the nerve is exposed. There goes my pay check for another crown. Wonder how the dentists compare with the ones in Kiev.
Nick has been here a week now,
and it has been so good having him around. He has been up beat and adventurous and seems to have enjoyed all the sights we’ve dragged him to. Naturally took him to Zakrete, where we rescued the snakes and lizard and we were very happy to see that the ropes we left are still there and no creatures were trapped. We did manage to get sort of lost in the desert, very easy to do, but finally found the way, and didn’t have to resort to Camel Track Number 7 like we had to the first time.
We called in to see the camel racing, but it was quite disappointing, as we only saw a few practising around the ring. Saturday was the day apparently. Saw some pictures in the paper, it is so bizarre, as they use robots to sit on the camel and the owners drive round on the outside with their remote controls, whipping the poor beasts with their buttons!
Nick went off on a dune bashing trip and then sampled the delights of the Irish bar in the Sheraton, and came back and reported. I have been here a year now and haven’t been to a bar once. (John refuses to spend huge prices in these hotels). Last night he found another round from us, called the Admirals Bar, and he says its Doha’s best kept secret….really pretty overlooking the sea and has a nice atmosphere. I am going tonight.
The souq is crazy as its Eid, and everyone is in holiday mood i.e Qataris. They sit about puffing their hookah pipes (I tried a puff of Nick’s, and it was actually really nice. ) It was like steam flavoured with apple and aniseed.
Anyway we patrolled the souq and found chickens that had been dyed blue and green and red (!!!!)
and rabbits dressed in dresses and cats and turtles and pythons all curled up in cages next to each other. We did like the falcon centre made up of several rooms, that held about 30 birds to a room, all with their little hats on. One bird we were told was worth 100,000 US dollars.
Being Eid so many things were closed, so a huge population of Indian and Sri Lankan workers were wandering aimlessly around, enjoying a respite from their vile jobs. Poor guys are not allowed in the malls, I suppose they might offend the ladies. Instead they hang out in Little Bombay down near the souq.
Today we are going to meet Marion in the Pearl, a new flashy resort area, comprising a semi circle of high rise apts, surrounding a man made marina and lagoon with some of the biggest yachts I have ever seen in my life. I am talking acres of teak decking. In the last week one of the apt blocks has suddenly donned a huge red ribbon around it, in the same way as you would wrap a parcel. One of my friends suggested it might be a present to a wife, or a 12 year old son!!!! Ah well. It looks as though they are trying to copy somewhere on the Med, but without the wine and street magic it is just too soul less. The shops only sell Hermes and Bugati in fancy posh outlets. There are no ordinary shops.
Here in our flash apt we are settling in to a life with a view! On the 33rd floor of B Block of the Zig Zag towers, we certainly have the wow factor. 
At night it is so stunning with all the twinkling lights, and by day we look out at the patches of GREEN of the golf course and also the lagoon that sports all the homes of the very rich. Nice. The land lord has furnished it quite tastefully, no horrific Arabic black net curtains and drippy chandeliers or zebra striped wall paper. It’s just creams and browns and very comfortable. A good move.
Now its a new day…we are going to criss cross Qatar down to the south west and see what there is to see.
Nick is intrigued with the US air force base that is supposedly hidden down there in the desert. There are about 35,000 guys there, and they do the runs to Afghanistan and Iraq. I have my doubts about seeing them. Still we can swim when we arrive at the border with Saudi, well Nick can, as its too cold for me now. Temperatures have dropped such a lot.
Yesterday went to see 2012…first time I’ve seen such a big budget disaster movie. Maybe the last one was Towering Inferno!!! Funny to see all the Arabs in their white dresses going in and out with pop corn and nachos and chips throughout the movie! So weird. I needed a brandy afterwards to relax my tummy…I was quite tense after all the near death experiences!
Better get on, as Nick is up and jOhn has just cut me up a plate of fruit. Last 2 days before school then its flying back to Edinburgh on the 17th. Can’t wait.
Having Gerry and Cathal for a few days, plus Natasha and Nick, so its a family holiday for me, which is the best.
Actually can’t get on as we have been invaded by workers coming to fix a leaking pipe. Oh the joys, and I am still in glorious undress….was about to leap into the shower. As you do.
I have Tasha here at the moment, she arrived on Friday night and is all gung ho with the guide book and wants to see everything all at once. She is lucky to be here in the luxury of the Zig Zag and not have the joys of staring at a wall and the visiting mynah birds of Al Saad!
Yesterday we went on a MASSIVE tour where we circumnavigated Qatar…starting of course with coffee at the Ritz Carlton.
We set off south to Zakreet, where we promptly got lost in the desert, taking a right instead of a left, ended up on the fatal black sand (where it has a potential of turning to sinking sands) and got stuck. We went out, braving the 48 degrees temp and had to push as John vroomed and vroomed. Visions of trying to ring my friend Pat and trying to explain where we were…Em, past the big rock formation then on a bit and there is a huge pack of camels watching us, and I think the sea is over there!!! You can imagine. Then we saw a piece of dried up leathery skin, (maybe of a long dead camel or tourist) so that spurred us on to push harder…and then we got out, and zoomed off and retraced until we found the right rock formation and finally found the mushroom and the old deserted film set, and duly snapped our hot faces. Tasha just wanted to see some wild life, so we called into the abandoned oasis (used for the film) and met a charming Sudanese man who gave us a glass of hot sweet tea. She scrambled up to see the view and disturbed 3 black kittens.
No ostriches were to be seen, so we drove on to the ‘famous’ wells where the GREAT LIZARD rescue took place.
So sad to see a dead black cat at the bottom of one, perhaps bitten by a snake that it had been pursuing….who knows, maybe it was the mum or dad of our little kittens. Our ropes had disintegrated over the last 5 months since we were last there…and had fallen into the wells, so the imprisoned snakes were stuck. Tash valiantly prised off a thorny branch of acacia, and tried to fish up the ropes, and John managed to retrieve one so that we could leave it for the snakes. The other one was left the branch to climb up. So all in all, another good day in the desert.
We decided to follow the skinny blue thread of a road on the map and head north to Zoraba then head over to Fuwarait where we normally go to the beach at the weekend. Normally we go on the THICK red line that links the north to the south. It all sounded very plausible until the tar road ended and only the bleak desert stretched ahead. John was very dubious, and wanted to turn back, forgetting the intrepid spirits of past explorers. He drove with clenched teeth, full of foreboding, looking at hundreds of abandoned tyres along the road, and imagined punctures and every other kind of catastrophe. Tasha and I tried to keep cheerful as we lurched about, on a very rough stony track. For a while we were all alone, nothing on any horizon, and I kept thinking about ‘riding along on a horse with no name’ or whatever that song was…and the sun was high and the landscape was quite arid. Suddenly out of nowhere we came to a sad hovel of a farm, full of black sheep…and strange figures watching us. Then onwards, with John muttering all the time about wanting to turn back, and we saw three dubh lizards, with fat scaly tails, (the same type that we rescued) and they were skittering across the sand like racing dinosaurs, yellow bodies and dark heads. So cool.
The next big excitement was when we came to a rather plush farm (well, relatively speaking…we’re not talking Kent here) and there were some very elegant, sleek camels, obviously not the usual wild things, and more black sheep and sweet lambs with floppy ears. John stormed off to ask a huddle of men in dish dashes which direction was the road. I followed to be met by death in all its splendour. They were butchering a sheep, their hands all bloody and one came and took our map and had no idea what we were on about and looked very cross.
We retrieved the map (with bloody finger prints) and retreated…off to see more lizards and wild desert squash. So pretty, growing so unexpectedly on barren ground. Food for the desert rats and Rommel too I suppose. Anyway the day ended happy and so did John, who actually admitted he quite enjoyed the adventure…especially when he saw the distant shapes of the north road lights in the distance.
Went to the Souq yesterday,
did attempt to walk the Corniche but with the temperature very close to 50 it was tooooo hot, so we had a Haagen Das instead, and explored the shady labyrinth of the souq 
and Tasha was most impressed with baby bunnies dyed lurid orange, pink and yellow. Whatever next? We found ourselves in a really cool shop, amazing antiques, it even had a 1925 telephone exchange that I have only ever seen in movies. There was a grand photograph of the Emir and his beautiful consort Sheika Mosah visiting the souq and lurking in the background was our Queen, looking very suspicious in a purple hat, looking as though she was about to shop lift!!!! Had a giggle at that.
Tasha was taken with the falcons and bought a leather falcon hood.
..not sure why…maybe she is planning a new hobby or maybe she is planning to carve a bird’s head…never sure with that one. She ended the day spread eagled in the pool looking up at a full moon, and the massive darth vadar type vision of the zig zag at night.
Today we visited the Islamic Art museum and there was a special exhibition of pearls. Totally awesome…I finally saw the amazing Boroda rug with a million and half seed peals all sewn with rubies and diamonds, and is worth $8,000,000. I was politely told to remove my camera. It was incredible. Not for the likes of Siamese cats to roll about on that’s for sure. Came out, worn out from so much opulence and now after making a Gordon Blue dinner with Tasha (Moroccan fish with preserved lemons and almond and date couscous) I am off for a bubble bath.
Tomorrow I must finish my reports, and then plan to relax and maybe swim. Only two more days of half term, then back to school for 2. Tasha is coming in with me and is going to do an animation workshop with my class….they are going to be doing something with bees I think! Should be fun.
We finished making the film of the Blind men and the elephant, and it is awesome….music by Rimsky Korsakov and I think maybe we could use his flight of the bumble bee for the animation….We are such a cultured class.
Reading a House for Mr Biswar by V.S. Naipol…so brilliant. Set in Trinidad.
OK, all for now, my bubbles are waiting…Hope you are well, and sorry for going on and on and on….
Tales from the Gael 
