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This is a picture of the crater. All around us was volcanic rock with holes in .It looked like black sponge but rock hard
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These other photos where taken this morning . The man on the horse is Delphi the Egyptian who cares for the stud farm. Sam is with the Colt who has to be in a separate paddock because “the girls” gang up on him and beat him up!
Here’s photo’s of my chest (Thanks for early Christmas pressie Isabel. Yes it’s a wooden one not a plastic uplift for my bust !) Things a lot cooler now .We finally got to 30 degrees! The locals are walking around with coats on! They think it is freezing and can’t believe we are all still in t-shirts at night. We tell them it’s nice and warm just like English summer! Hope to finally go and see this extinct Volcano this Friday. Haven’t dared risk it yet as we are waiting for new alternator for the car. Its just hanging in there but don’t want to stuck in middle of desert having to push the damn thing.
One last thing to make you laugh! Stuart went off to see some hay with Dr Mustafa yesterday. On the way back they filled up with petrol and Stuart asked petrol station guy for a receipt so he could claim back the money spent. Now the word for receipt in “futchura” so Stuart has thought. So he says to the man “Footchura?” The man looks at him astonished and shakes his head. Stuart asks again! Still the man shakes his head. Finally Stuart goes up to Dr Mustafa and tells him the guy won’t give him a receipt. So Dr Mustafa gets out has chat with the man and they both fall about laughing. “What’s so funny?” Asked Stuart. It turns out there are two words that sound very similar (a very common thing with Arabic! We keep finding that just a slight slip can mean something entirely different!) Anyway Futchura means receipt but Footchura means Breakfast. So Stuart had been asking for breakfast at 2pm in the middle of Ramadan !!! No wonder the guy was confused. Stuart went into shop for some stuff when he came out a few minutes later Dr Mustafa and the Indian where still rolling around laughing!
Take care and love to you all Moira
This is Chris and I by the front door ! We forgot the shades DUHH hENCE THE SQUASHED EYES !
The sun here is very bright even now in Oct. The temp is still mid 30C s !! So still cant go out during 11 till 3 as so hot and you get brunt in seconds !!
Saw a lovely sunset last night as we were walking up through the trees past the Sudan grass. Just as we came up the track a huge swam of Swallows and Swifts came over the trees and swooped down low over the pivot. The sky was almost black with them I kid you not. It was incredible. I have never seen so many in my life. I presume they must be on their way to their winter homes as they have nearly all gone this morning. We must be a little oasis as they come in from across the desert and down or across to where ever they are heading! Just thought I’d write and tell you all it was a very amazing sight! The pic is for Mum of the roses by the front door ! Actually got two buds on one bush !?!The two big pots are actually really meant for water storage but they where cheap so we got them and plonked roses in them. I’m sure the locals think we have lost the plot ! When we brought them we were stopped by some Arabs who told us how wonderful they where for water and what a good thing we were doing storing our water the proper way . Hope they never visit the house !? Hope to be getting more plants for the back garden that should give the cats a bit more to play with ! Another plague of kittens is upon us as the last lot have grown up nearly. These lot seem braver that the last and you can almost trip over them as you walk around farm at night !
Take care Moira
Hi folks its Ramadan tomorrow and the very very sad
news is that Sherban our little Turkish mate (He who cooks the most amazing rice and Chicken ) in the village is leaving for the entire month . He is off to Turkey for the first time in 26 years !! This is only because as they joke in the village Stuart has given him so much buisness! He wants to take Sam with him but Stuart says not untill Sam is at least 14. Everyone on the farm is getting ready and the big breakfast starts tomorrow morning at 5am ! Sam cant wait for tomorrow night and the promise of chicken Sambosa !Chris is going to have to learn to go and do the horses without his bottle of drink ! Wish us luck !
Love Moira
This building is lit up at night.The u shape changes colour every 5 mins. During the day it has flashing lights up the side and round the middle. You can get tickets to walk across the "sky bridge" at the top .A idea for next time ?? Apparently there is a resturant up there as well ?
Hi Everyone
Got back from Riyadh. 750 km each way total cost in petrol ?35 Bargain . About 6 hours drive there and another 6 hours back. ! Beautiful driving across desert .The roads are very good the driving very scary but nothing new ! Saw scenery straight out of Lawrence of Arabia. Huge yellow sand dunes with camels been ridden and then followed by a long line of thirty baby and mum camels. Goats following beautifully decorated donkeys along the roads. The unlucky ones where those speeding past us at around 180kph strapped into the back of pick up trucks! Though this first pic of a camel
shows a very chilled camel! The sheep and goats never look this chilled!
We spent 2 days and a night in Riyadh. Very “new” buildings and huge big roads. All full of crazy drivers who have yet to really understand that a red light means stop ! Riyadh at nighttime is a mass of the most beautiful / tacky (depending on how you like your Christmas lights) light up shopping malls and streets. Some of the shops are made up to look like Palaces and sell floor upon floor of the most over the top furniture you have every seen. We went to the huge new shopping mall that has the third floor just for women. Isabel and I went up there and it was a big shock having women serve you in the shops. We have got so use to just men behind the counters. We didn’t go into to many of the shops as they were all LOUIS VUTTON and other designer names. Even on the other floors they had money oozing out of them! They did have a Debenhams and that had a women’s only floor as it went all the way up the levels of the shopping mall. It was incredible beautiful and very clean.
Stuart went to the Agricultural show on Wednesday we went to another Mall just as expensive and designer (that what comes of having the Fahad family tell you where to shop !!!) So I didn’t buy a thing except some very nice fitted cotton sheets for the boy’s beds. 144 thread count and only ?3 !!
We all went to the show the next day. Most people had gone to the races (horse not camel !) and this was the first time ever they had allowed a family day at the show. This is because the new king is more liberal and has been bringing in more laws to help women. He has now said women can work in what ever they want and get to vote on various boards of commerce. The big debate at present is women driving. The argument is that only a small minority on the council want to keep the ban but they are the most influential so no one wants to be seen to vote against them !!
The animals at the show included Life of Brian goats (those with the huge floppy ears) Ostrich, rabbits? chickens and an amazing group of insects and snakes in jars ! On the vermin control stands the jars full of scorpions, snakes, beetles, termites and other grubs had the kids fascinated.
All the shops here are full to overflowing with Ramandan stuff. They are going crazy filling the trolleys to over flowing ! Its starts on the 3rd Oct till 4 th Nov so only worth going out at night for that month. Here they do not even drink water between sun up and sunset. We have our little card that tells when you have to stop eating and when you can start again!
Anyway will post these few photos one at a time again .The web page takes so long to up loads pics to and its chewing up my internet bill !!!!!!!!!!
Still hot and sunny though now seems to be floating in mid 30’s
Take care
Love Moira
