Sept - Oct 2009. Visiting Friends at home.

Ramadan in Fez

Always a joy to go to people’s houses to break the fast, tho I have to say I frequently cheated. The temperatures have been soring and I’ve no idea how they do it, but they do. Whilst Beccie was away I was taken under the wing of several families, including Fatimas and Richard and Saida. Thanks guys.

It was great to eventually get home to see you and beccie. Of course I was shattered, but what a joy you are and you give such a different perspective to the frequent nightmare that is building in Fez.

Funnilly enough I found some notes that I made when we were first looking for a place in Marakesh and I found that I had written that …

”people say that building a house in Morocco is one of the most difficult things you can do. Generally people feel unable to have an idea of completion costs and frequently state that the process itself is a complete nightmare….it can’t be as bad as all that!”

How right they all were..and how wrong I was!

Friends.
One of the great things about coming home is the perspective given by seeing people. It was wonderful to visit Lisa and Gordons’ house, which is also being rebuilt. They’ve done a fantastic job developing their urban garden and not only are they composting, but eating home produce as well. Gordon had me buzzing about bees, perhaps on 813’s top terrace, with Fez medina honey a result.

Bryn was really impressed, and of course he’s expecting a baby soon..as you can see.

Later on in October Lisa, Gordon and Jules came over to Fez which was again great. It’s a shame that we were so stressed, but then we are. In all honesty this whole thing really puts a lot of pressure on your relationship. We’re doing Ok, but as I say it’s bloody hard.

813.
Back at work and we finally had some great advances at 813. The guys worked amazingly during Ramadan and I am really pleased with the work done showing the brick work on the etage. It’s funny, you just lose al of this under layers of Hirsch and plaster, but underneath is a beautiful tableau, which I hope will be exposed by this.

We actually pushed on quite a bit having teams oiling, laying zelig and every now and then, a bit of carpentry. What a rare image to see one of saids “workers” doing anything. He agreed a minimum of 2 mwalem..instead we got kids and rubbish..prat!

Tazi.

Things have gone a little slowly here. We’ve done well to start “the finishing” in the bathrooms and now there’s teams of zeligis in. we found the wonderful Mohammed whom we like because he’s a good zeligi, but also because he just gets on with the job. None of the constant white noise that flows so readily from so many “Muellem”…blah, blah, blah, blah…

SHUT UP…please!