July 2008; Everybody needs good neighbours!

July’s been a funny old month Finley, dominated by intense periods of work and several trips away to celebrate weddings or the prospect of them.

Work has again progressed, but the issues with Shameless have gotten to the point that they took us to the Caid. Why do we call them Shameless? Check out the TV series set in Manchester..this is they, but set in Fez, and they're our neighbours!

The difficulty is that we are doing most of our current work next to their house. There's no way round it, it has to be done, but of course, as sods law would have it, this is the most significant piece of work we have to do thro the whole house. We're trying to build in spaces (vides) so as to add bathrooms for 3 rooms on that side of the house. This is major structural work for which I, with the excpetion of you, am possibly the worlds' least qualified person.

You see we've managed to buy a house next to possibly the insanest group of individuals one could possibly have hoped for. They come out screaming, waving hands, brooms, bricks. They are dangerous, illogical and hungry for money. There are many things that you learn about a build and certainly many things that you cannot forsee and one of those is what your neighbours will be like.

It's relentless, funny at first, but now boring and at times frightening. They want money, they want us to buy their house, or bits of their house, or give them cash on the pretext that they need to repair their house, but at root it's just about money, they haven't got it, are bitter and here we are, foreigners and we should have loads to spare...so give it over.

Shameless in the flesh, looking at what's going on with the Gaouries.

We've tried everything, rebuilding parts of their house, bringing them in to show what we are doing and how it doesn't affect their house. Appologising for inconvenience, improving their plumbing system and several of their walls. But it's not enough, it's never enough..it's money that they want, plain and simple.

And all this within a learning curve that points skyward at every level; building, culture, language, appropriateness of in/action. I watch you Finn, looking at everything that's new, that's "for the first time" and I understand, god I understand.

Yes we have masons, we even have an engineer and an architect, we also have Alamy, but in truth does anyone know, does anyone ever have the sense to really, thoroughly look at what's being done and how and if it's possible..if it's being done properly?

Not in my experience...but then I have no experience!

If we weren't here doing this, if we had employed an "entrepreneur", we'd know nothing about it. Building would be going on, the quality of which we'd be blissfully ignorant of and we'd just deal with the end result. But we are here, we are managing it and as such....this knowledge is our purgetory!

We have approximately 10 - 11 households that neighbour. Within each of these there can be any number of families and/or individuals, as I have said Shameless have 56 people living there. All of them relatively poor and many of them who see a foreigner moving in next door and building as a ripe opportunity to vent spleen at the scurges of their lives, poverty, and milk a potential panacea as far as possible.

But, whilst Shameless are by far the worst neighbours we, and tbh anyone we know, have, the fact that we have so many neighbours means the opportunities to create problems with all or any of them is immense. Fortunately most are great. Some are rightly put out and others we hear little or nothing of.

Paul on the phone to God, Allah, Jesus, infact anyone who might be able to help...Is there anybody out there?

But then, there are times, when you think you've got everything under control (actually I've given that up, I know we're never in control and any fleeting thought that we have, is passing illusion..nay delusion), and then suddenly something happens. A workman puts a pick thro a wall, or pierces a drainage system, or , or, or...surely there has to be a better way to earn a living? What the F*&% are we doing here?

Anyway, after weeks of harrassement by Shameless, and admittedly some mistakes by us, they decided to get the Caid involved. Now this was a problem for us because we're working without the correct building permission because, we were told, we were trying to avoid "the Commission" (sic Camden building authorities...but much hungrier) comming round and blocking us with bureaucracy and bakshish. Ordinarilly this would be a problem, but in Moroc many things are possible, if you have the resources.

Thus the Caid came round, along with an entourage from the Baladier and two Mkadums. On entry the Baladiers representative informed me that this would be very difficult for us and that we'd be shut down. We had over stepped our authorisation, and perhaps we'd have to take down what we'd built...That worried me.

The Caid walked round, looking in corners and shadows. He tutted here, wringed his hands there and whispered knowingly to his assistants almost everywhere, who then looked at me and shook their heads with faces fixed by the sign of resignation and bad news. In the end he stopped and informed me that I had managed possibility 1,000 infringements to my authorisation, which I thought was a rather conservative assessment, personally!

Then with his hand on my shoulder and looking me in the eye, as if a comforting, friendly uncle, he advised me that these 1,000 infractions could be over looked, but I had to make an effort to be more flexible. To consider the needs of my neighbours, but he would ensure that all was taken care of...I should come and see him as soon as possible, and he turned to leave.

At this point, the mkadum peered over his shoulder and squeezed his thumb and forefinger together..incase I didn't quite understand. Ahh, the dirham dropped immediately, right, yes, I'll see you tomorrow..another brown envelop! As they left the Baladiers official whispered in my ear, "That's fine then, you're alright now, you can carry on." and with that they trooped out of the house and left...problem solved? Ish Allah!






Of course, if your working with bended rules, let alone if your working outside of the rules, you become a potential hostage and then it's open season and every man and woman for himself....but then what are the rules? Now that's another steep learning curve!

There's the simple fact that you (I) don't really know what we are doing and are more or less completely reliant on "experts" to guide us. This might work sometimes, but not always.

People so rarely say "No". So if you're asking about knocking down a wall it's "right then let's go" and if that brings the house down...or worse still someone elses house down, then it's your fault, you asked for it to come down, not the responsibility of any mason, or engineer or anyone that might be employed to guide you.

YOU! Which for someone working with little more experience of building than lego and sticker bricks, is something of a challenge..talk about a steep learning curve!

Bryn and Lois' Wedding and a chance for a bit of tourism.

Bryn and Lois on their special day

Fortunately, this month has also included some trips away, one of which was to celebrate the wedding of a very old friend, Bryn and his fiancee Lois. As a group of friends it has to be said we've been slow to settle down and get married. The so called prolonged adolescence certainly related to us and we all had alot of fun for very many years.

Out of a group of my oldest friends I think I was the first to get married and that at almost 41 years old. But once people see a good thing there's no stopping them and this month Bryn and next month Ian are to be married. I have to say that I don't think I was mature enough before I hit 40 to make such a commitment and possibly not enough to be a father. I once met a woman who told me she didn't think boys became men until they reached 40 and, at least in my case I would say that was close to the truth.....your mum might disagree!

One of the other great things about having to go to and return from Marrakesh for Bryns' event, was the chance to do a bit of travelling. There are times when you are completely engulfed by building here, that you forget the beauty, diversity and quite extra ordinary history and culture that makes up the whole of morocco.

Returning through the Middle Atlas from Marrakesh where I flew to Uk, meant that I could aim to start my return from the beautiful water falls at Cascade d'Ouzoude. I've known these waterfalls for decades, but it was a great surprise to come across a couple whom we'd met managing a campsite in Ghana on our trip through west africa. They've set up Zebra camping, where there are all sorts of eco facilities, composting toilets, solar water heating etc..and a beautiful background..I must admit I was envious..can't wait for Xaouen!

Having spent a wonderful night chez Renate and Paul, I crossed the Middle Atlas to return to Fez.

This on a journey via the stunning dam at Bin el Ouidane, that I'd never seen before and in which I passed a number of stunning pise houses and granneries.

This trip coincided with Eid and as part of the celebrations for this I came across a Fantasia somewhere between El Kebab and Itzer. These Fantasia are spectacular events showing the traditional horseman ship skills of the tribes of the Middle Atlas. Tens of stunningly braided horses are paraded and charged with multiple shots of old muskets bringing an atmosphere that invoked hundreds of years of traditions.

Down from here and now moving in to the more verdant and forested part of the middle atlas I came to and stayed by one of a circuit of lakes that I think was Aguelmane Azigza. It was remote, calm and beautiful. Facing it was a wrecked and now squatted former lodge and restaurant that must surely have been a wonderful place to go to.


Of course I thought of the opportunities to restart it and what a gorgeous spot this would be from Spring to autumn. It's said the lake teems with fish and certainly even in July there was plenty of water. From here I came back to Fez via the Sources of Oum er Rbia and surrounding rivers and forests, all stunningly beautiful and back to you who was holding the fort back at the chantiers.