BCA Christmas Ball

On Friday night we went to the BCA (British Community Association) Christmas Ball which was held at in the Ballroom of one of the posh hotels in town. We went with some friends from work and so were on a table together. There were also a few other tables around of work people, but this was in a room for 400-odd ex-pats! The tickets were 400LE which included a five course Christmas Meal and a free bar - not bad we thought!

The bar-men were wearing Santa Hats and there were a number of fiber-optic Christmas Trees around the place to get us all in the mood! The bar was a real treat to be honest. Having been to Balls in Cam we were used to the idea of getting drinks within the ticket price, but it was nice to have such a choice (something we're not used to in Cairo when it comes to alcohol). There were three or four different brands of vodka, whisky and gin to choose from - none of which were rip-off Egyptian copies that make you go blind! You also had a waiter allocated to your table who would get another round of drinks for you if you were running low!

So the five courses were; smoked salmon (really nice thick slices too!), mushroom soup, turkey with all the trimmings, christmas pudding (with "real custard") then coffee and chocolates. It was definitly nice to have someone cook a Christmas Meal for you, but some parts of it did leave us a little dissapointed. The custard wasn't what I call "real", and the sprouts were more for decoration than eating. There was also a lone pork sausgae with the main course that although was a nice gesture, didn't look too happy.

After the meal a band started and we all went for a little boogie. The band played covers mainly, rather than anything seasonal. Some of their choices were interesting (!) and they all managed to have a latin/salsa twist on them...not sure why??!

It was a good night, and nice to have a bit of decadence. In the new year we have a Masked Ball organised by work - so we'll have to be careful or we'll make a habit of it!!

3 Months Gone

Who would believe that we've been here for three months? That's, like, a quarter of a year. Put into terms like that it feels a bit weird, but also good that we're still surviving and adapting to the new culture. I looked back at the blog last night and saw the progression of posts from excitement, to disbelief, to frustration, and more recently towards a happier balance. Some things are still taking some getting used to, both culturally and at work, but it's a nice milestone to have passed.

UKNova Radio - 24th November 2008

And, as if by magic, here is the next one!

Download podcast here.

Alternatively, stay on this website and listen to the show in the MP3 player below:

UKNova Radio - 17th November 2008

Cripes, I'm late sticking this online!! It's almost time for us to do another one!

Download podcast here.

Alternatively, stay on this website and listen to the show in the MP3 player below:

The Citadel with Yanny

Yanny arrived today, having spent the last week diving in Dahab and visiting a few sites in Cairo. One site the three of us hadn't yet visited was the Citadel and so we decided to head there.

From driving past, the Citadel always looked impressive on its limestone hill, but as we walked up the size and beauty of the place really hit us. The main attraction is the Muhammed Ali Mosque which is really impressive both outside and inside.

The great thing about the Citadel site too was the view across Cairo. Seeing the pyramids up close is undoubtedly impressive, but seeing them from far away really hits home how huge they really are.

No pictures (or words for that matter) can really describe the National Police Museum ad the National Military Museum. The first has a feature on how conterfit 2 piastra pieces were made and a room dedicated to the assassinations of various Egyptian Presidents and leaders. However we now have an understanding of an Egyptian approach to a museum visit - basically walk as quickly as possible from entrance to exit whilst playing music on your mobile phone!

The Citadel is another site that the Guide Book slated as being a bit dull, but we have to say we really enjoyed it and that with the view, impressive buildings and quirky museums - it is well worth a visit.

More dodgy electrics

Last night we bought some new lightbulbs to replace the ones that have blown over the past few weeks in our elaborate chandelier in the living room. Being sensible, I screwed them in with the power off, but flicking the switch there was an almost bang and the fuse box tripped.

Hmmm.

I unscrewed one bulb, reset the trip, and tried again. Fine! So I tried again, putting that bulb in. And this time, rather than just tripping the fuse box, it created an enormous green spark inside the switch itself before knocking out power to the whole room...eeeek!

The switch itself is absolutely knackered. The spring inside must have melted, as the switch is now permanently on. This led me to needing to open up the back box and rewiring the switches this afternoon. This, I guess, is the key (only?) advantage of having three-switch plates but which only have one switch actually doing anything! A quick change of the wires onto another switch and we had sensible light switching restored. Hooray!

Picture Hanging - the actual pictures ;)

As requested by JAC, here's what we've actually now got hanging...