August 2008 A stag, a wedding, a birthday and yet more building

A hand to hold, Alamy helps us out.

Finn, we've been building now for about 6 months and yes we are moving...sometimes creeping forward, but crikey it's exhausting. The team has grown and we've got Alamy working for us on a consultation basis, which helps (Pic Right. Alamy is L, Tayeb our mason in R).

He generally comes in before the workers and we talk about what's going on and what might be needed, then he goes to "The Russian" and I welcome in the team. But he'll be here through the end of August when I come home for your birthday..

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Finley, happy birthday to you...a year already, amazing!

To be honest, a bit like you, I really need someone to hold my hand, someone who knows more than me, which isn't difficult, someone who can help with the torrent of questions and directions that demand instant decision making, from someone for whom that doesn't come naturally anyway, and for whom, in this case, has barely any idea of how I should advise mwalem who have been working for years. Why are they asking me? I thought the idea was that they know.

But that's part of the problem. There's not a question that you ask on a chantier that doesn't receive a response from each an every worker backed by an absolute conviction of their individual validity, but which regularly differs, generally significantly, from any other response. God it leaves you spinning.

How many ways are there to skin a cat? Clearly thousands, and each different and more valid, tried and tested than the rest, which you'd obviously be a fool to consider.

How is this noice, amateur, begrudging chef chantier supposed to say whether we need metal girders there or if there is too much weight here.

Talk about the blind leading the those with 20:20 vision! Here in Moroc this of course is anything but a problem. When we were looking for entrepreneurs, the sort of people that came forward to act as chef de chantiers often had, as their major asset an ability to speak English/French, a series of design magazines, and no shortage of ability to, what's the technical phrase? Bullshit!

So why can't I? I have 2/3 of these qualities in abundance, but in the latter, whilst I have been known to be able to tell the odd tall tale, it simply scares me to the bottom of my stomach to be trying to lead people when I know nothing at all about what they are asking. So why do it?

Well in honesty, we decided that we couldn't afford most entrepreneurs; none of them filled me with confidence. On the contrary the stories I've heard from far too many people lends me more to think that if I'm going to have an amateur leading my team, I'd rather it was me, than someone who has no real interest in our builds, other than the money we are paying him, added to that which he can scam from us.

I know I know, where's the trust? well tbh, there isn't any!

Bex the Builder...d'you think it'd make a good DVD Finn?

So at the chantier we've moved on, but as luck would have it the majority of this is still next to Shameless, what a nightmare. Fortunately Alamay has been able to quell the majority of the constant screaming. I think I'm genuinly begining to hate them.

But as we agreed with the Caid, we are finishing our work in their house, well our work, we're repairing their walls in a house that is literally falling down around them, which of course they blame on us, rather the 50 + years of neglect that it has sustained.

In part this helps us, but they are so thankless and clearly repairs is not what they are after ... Fluuss, Fluuss, Fluuss (money, money, money)..but they'll get nothing out of me, the bastards.

Sorry Finn, I don't mean to, but there are times these people just send you to places you've never been and never wanted to go...was this part of the choice I made in doing this? Yes it would seem so.....

A collapsing wall built by a guy claiming to be a mwalem mason...who can you trust?




So we are building bathrooms and mezzanines, we've rebuilt walls and others collapsed totally on us. We're relaying part of the roof and it all feels like progress. But I truely think that working in any of the war zones or emergencies that made up my prior life was easier than this. At least you knew what you were doing and had people with you who you knew were on your side.

Here, if I'm honest, who do I trust? Well there's your mother and I, and that's about it. Sad but true!

Of course it's now roasting hot which makes any work on the terraces very difficult, but down on the patio of the house it's still lovely and cool. It also means that our flat is a complete furnace, so there's no refuge from the heat. I don't think that you've yet noticed that nudity is the norm chez nous, apart from your nappies that is.

Ian's Stag in Marrakesh, and some more tourism.

Quite apart from working on the chantiere there's also been a number of calls for celebration. The first was Ians' stag do in Marrakesh.

You'll remember that I said that not too many of my friends had gotten married? Well, no sooner had Bryn, a very dark horse indeed, tied the knot with Lois, than Ian, the perenial single man on a night out in Camden armed with a packet of fags, no lighter and a library of bizarre stories and theories, all of which managed to ensure him a success with the ladies, also hung up his spurs, tho it has to be said that he's been with his fiancee Tanya, for...umm quite a while now.

So much so that they've even got Sam, who's a few months older than you are. I think you'll like Sam, he's oh so very much like Ian, and we all love Ian for, well, being Ian...you'll know what I mean when you get to know him.

Umm, I thought Ihad some photos of everyone...where have they gone? Can anyone help?

Anyway, Ian's best man, Sarah, I think you already know aunty sarah, organised a not that secret stag do at a wonderful Riad in Marrakesh and a whole troop of us (Roy, Karen, Dave, Neil, Andy, Sarah and I) got ourselves down there for a great weekend hitting the choicest spots...and paying for it too. Marrakesh is great fun, I loved the Arab house, but boy was it expensive. Tbh, whilst we went out to many places, I think we were all pretty knackered, there being several dads enjoying the chance to get up late and do...nothing.

However I did manage to pick up a tangia which is a great cooking pot that I'm very excited to use. Ummm, yum, yum, yum!

http://www.moroccan-cuisine.com/moroccan%20cuisine/Tagia.htm

A short drive in the Middle Atlas.

On the way of course I made an effort to try an out of the way route, again through the middle atlas, to Marrakesh. This meant that I spent the first night camped up at Aguelmane de Sidi Ali (I don't think it's where the bottled water comes from), where there's also the begining of a rural lodge being built by a returning Moroccan emigree. Very out of the way and beautiful.

From there on a very long and winding road I crossed from Zeida across the Tizi n Taka, Tagoudit and down just south of the eerilly barren lakes of Tislit and Iseli.

Tradition has it that these two lakes were created by the tears of two lovers, Hadda and Moha who, as members of rival tribes, were kept apart by their parents. These tears created Iseli (the fiance) and Tiselit (the fiancee). And it is this story that acts as the basis of the now famous Marriage Fair at Imilchil.

From Agoudal I took the piste, at times barely recognisable from a river bed, through isolated villages with wild looking children and eqully wild looking adults. It was generally fine except that I'd gotten a puncture out in the forests and as such another would have left me stranded in the middle of somewhere, far, far away from most places, which made it a great place to camp in.

The eventual drop on to the dades valley, it's palm groves, oases and irrigation systems, kasbas and dramatic backdrops was a pleasure to be in. I'd almost forgotten how beautiful it is down here. We must come down as a family, there are even camels.

Whilst the rest of the drive thro El Klaa M'Gouna, Skoura and finally up from Ouazazate was beautiful, after the isolation between Agoudal and Boumaine Dades, it felt a little touristy for me. I got back to organise the chantier with Alamy, who'll be looking after it in my absence, and then came home to celebrate your birthday.

Finn's First Birthday.

Your Birthday Cake.

What a great time you had with so many family members there to see you and celebrate you. You got a great birthday cake, we played musical chairs to old punk songs (well done uncle Tim) and everyone ate and drank too much. I think you loved it.

Grandad enjoyed seeing you again.

A year already since that bumpy journey to hospital at 03.00 in Mytholmroyd. Thanks for being in our lives, yum, yum, yum, yum!!! From what I saw at your birthday lots of other people really enjoyed being with you, what a popular chappy you are.

Ian and Tanyas' wedding, Camden, UK.
After all that celebrating about you, there was more to be had as, at the end of the month it was time for Ian and Tanya's wedding. Another great time had by all, that had your mum looking ravishing, Ian writing his speech in his "pyjamas" literally minutes before he had to be at the church, and a host of friends from a very colourful past at uni, where Ian and I met, about 25 years ago!

Everyone made a special effort to put their glad rags on and look their level best. But some, like Lisa, Jules and Suzie, had the shock of realising that they had more in common than a similar group of friends.

In the end Ians' speech was a big hit, tho' the highlight has to be Sarah's "speech", in which she said nothing, but put on a film she'd made of interviews with friends and family and ancient out takes of old cine film and stills from Ian's past all set against a truely magnificient soundtrack.

It had everyone in hysterics and quite rightly received huge applause at the end...well done sarah, excellent.

But a highlight for your mum was being sat next to Louis Thoreaux for the evening. Of course there was the TV contact, but I think secretly mummy has a little crush on the guy. Come to think of it, I think he and I look alike, if you close one eye and squint abit. Maybe I should grow a beard?