May - June 2011. Not the Chantier 2....jailbreak!

Hi Finn,

I don't know what happened between April and May, apart from that clearly we just slogged on and "tried to get things done", what we didn't do much of was getting away from our sentence of hard labour. You get sucked in to the daily grind and given that we now, and for some time, have worked a six day week again, this leaves time built in for us and you, much too marginalised.

Finn wonders what maps are for?

I think between April and June we barely left Fez at all, perhaps once,when we may have spent a rare, if glorious afternoon on Mt Zalagh........this simply wasn't enough.

In short, too much work makes jack a dull boy. Given that we don't know too many people called jack, you may wonder what the hell I'm talking about...but you'll get used to that, if you haven't already!

But hey, ho life goes on and so did we. A great little event was going to see your school open day. You are loving school at present and whilst you're slightly shy speaking to us in French, when with franco phone friends, you babble away at leisure. At school you spend all day speaking French and at your Open day, there you were, centre of attraction, lead singer in a class song about dogs losing bones. I brimmed pride for you...I still do as I type this, a huge grin over my face.

Infact just on that, I have to say that you are a marvellous little chap and tho I say that myself, so do many other people. You're very generous, loving and cheeky. I love you popping up in the early morning to come in to our bed, as you did this morning, with Ben 10 watch and toys in hand, only to fall deep asleep before we could do anyting with them. But you are so very independant, love camping, insects and animals.....you've a massive vendetta out on all monsters at the moment, whom, in your mind, all need shooting as soon as possible. Hummm, monsters, sometimes, it's as good to just get to know them and make friends, rather than try to kill them off....and sometimes monsters are so very useful, let them live a little.

Anyway, aside from outpourings of love for you, which I am prone to do, whilst equally wondering if we are providing the best we can for you...sic guilt at spending too much time at the chantier, or returning feeling too exhausted to engage in a way that we would want to, somewhere, I have a sneaking suspicion that you are having a relatively good time, and hopefully, once we are finished, will have an even better one. You seem happy and I think have a world of opportunities and security that were certainly unavailable to me when I was your age. I love you.

So, April and May saw us made captive by our own aspirations, June had us begining to break out and looking at a future without builders and building. This not only meant that we hung out with you and your friends at their houses, but also at ours.

One of the great things being here is that you can pop over to see someone and find that you are infact hanging out in, or in part of a near palace. Thus when we go to Dina and Steves house...or should I say, James and Lulu's, we are infact in the Mezria of a huge family house that is splendid, if increasingly dilapidated. But what a place to hang out and play...your very own castles!

Aside from visiting other people's houses, we've finally begun to invite people to ours. Of course we're not recluses, but we do end up feeling too tired to socialise, invariably following you to bed at 20.30, in preferance to doing anything more lively.

Hopefully this will change, but over the past year, it's been very much the case. This is a real shame as we have a great home, which you, Beccie and I love. We've been here a year now, and how much happier we all are in comparison to last year and I assume that without the chantier, things will improve even more, regardless of the current crises in tourist numbers!

But anyway, we've started opening our house up to guests, tho' people have also gathered that we're in a slightly diffierent position to others, running a relatively large chantier, raising a wonderful child and trying to maintain our own sense of sanity, so Robin and Paul were ever so generous and invited us to dinner at our house, with their doing all the cooking...it's great to have mates!

Along with degrees of gregariousness, that have so far eluded us over the past few years...don't worry we aren't really miserable old gits...environment is everything in this context!.....we also began to break out of Fez and out in to the countryside.

Steve and I took you guys for a day away which included a night on Zalagh and a morning running riot, after which we took you to a pool. The summer months have seen all the local swimming pools open and so we tried out what was on offer at the International Camp Site, where we'd previously both camped way back when, and been to see the Congo Massive girating their booty...yummmmmm....

Now however it was the pool that called and t was great, to be recomended, if very busy at weekends, with lots of boys, testosterone and strutting about to magrebbi rave or Chebi. Which works for a while....tho obviously was too much for some of us. Nonetheless the point was and is, that there is fun to be had in and around Fez and we need to get out thee and make the most of it!
But boy is all this fun exhausting!

Out of Fez we took almost every oportunity t get back up to Zalagh with anyone who would come, and even without at times. I popped up for the full moon,which was spectacular, preceeded as it was by a resplendant sunset and sunrise. God I love it up there. Here we are with Andy and is family enjoying habiby's creature comforts amongst the space and peace of the mountain. Their conclusion, as it is so ofetn ours, was that tis was one of the best things they'd done in Fez...all good news for Tours Around Fez!

Anyway, having made the break, there was no stopping us and thus June has seen al sorts of adventures. Of course this has also been because we've had loads of visitors, Andy, John (and France, John...but without France!), Luke and Heather and currently Sarah. This was part of the point of coming to Morocco, that people could visit easilly, and it seems to be the case. Bring on more free time!

Now part of escaping has been to finally to get to one of the multitude of festivals that there are here in Morocco. As ever, we barely saw anything of the Fez Festival of Spiritual Music, but generally I have to say find it expensive, aloof and anything but a festival, more a series of over charged and exclusive gigs. The excpetion to this are the evenings at dar Pasha tazi, which are excellent.

However this year we managed to get to the Cherry Festival in Sefrou, which was a real festival that takes over te town and which is targetted purely at Moroccans. We got there and stayed at the camping site which has definately seen better days but has a great view and is very friendly. Once the pool, bar, electricity and running water are in place, it'll be wonderful!

Some of the highlights of the festival for me were firstly the Fantasia which sees hundreds of horses and riders all bedecked in traditional costume and gold braid charging from one end of an open plain to another in an example of age old Moroccan horsmanship.

I've seen this in a number of places in the Middle Atlas, but this really was something. Given your current penchant for all tihngs gun, thought you'd have loved it. The reality of all those very loud bangs was quite different and you made it clear this wasn't your preference....rather an ice cream, which is also a good call!

After this we went off to see Berber tents and dancing. It was a wild and friendly time, surrounded by women and families you danced and played with everyone and anyone. People were warm and inviting and we snuggled in between extended legs and bodies. But as soon as the music started everyone was up girating and clapping.

It is a useful reminder of what there is when we tear our noses from the walls of our chantier. Let's get out there.

March - April 2011 - Not the Chantier 1...Is there life on Mars?

Hi Finn, here you are with Joe who came over to see you in April. We all loved that.

Funnilly enough, having just about gotten up to date with news from the build, it seems more than important to try to address the seeming imbalance in my accounts of what we do in our life...as in, do we have any other life than that at 27 Zkak Rouah...it is difficult, and I am sure we'd both agree this project has demanded more of us, financially, personally and in time consumed, than we'd have hoped and there are times when it feels that we don't do anything else.

It is only when I look through our images that I'm reminded of how much...or how little else we are doing. One day I hope that we'll be able to gain more freedom from this project, that of course, being the ultimate point of doing it!

March saw us venturing out of Fez for a bit of early spring camping. with James and Lulu Despite a desire to venture further afield, we only got as far Dayat Aoua, which is about 17km from Ifrane. OK so it's not particulrly adventurous, but actually it was really beautiful, and simply wonderful to get out and camp.

The Dayat, which is a seasonal lake was quite full and looked beautiful in the morning light, tho' it was pretty cold once the sun had set...well it was only March!!!, but we all snuggled and cuddled up in to the tent and that kept us warm enough. I loved that we were able to go up to the gurdians at one of the kings palaces and ask for wood for our fire that night, I doubt Charles' would have been so accommodating. The saddest thing was that there was so much broken glass around. It's strange the level or absence of environmental cleanliness in such beautiful spaces.

It may have been a bit early to go camping but back in Fez it seemed that the circus had certainly come to town. In Europe there is Cirque Du Soleil who perform a sort of human circus, stunning. A troupof similar artistes had come to Moroc and were training youths in human circus. The result was magnificent, with crazy magrebi/rock music, light shows and stories based on the legend of lakes Isla and Isli. The local audience, including me loved it, tho I think you found it a bit scarey!

In contrast was a local human circus made up of huge puppet style figures of Disney characters, clowns and pounding music hall tunes that everyone knew. This happens annually in a local cinema and reminds me of being a boy and going to Saturday morning cinema...oh those were the days....you loved this....probably we'll go next year...and then we'll try to ensure we get a proper seat...not that you minded, you just wiggled and danced around!

So what else have we been doing? well as alluded to above, Uncle Tim, Auntie Michelle and family came over again to see us. It was wonderful to finally be able to give them a house to stay in and they certainly seemed to enjoy 813. It's great to get a feedback from outside, just to gan a bit of perspective which is easilly lost in the neverendingness of The Chantier. It's great now that they've come over so many times we are all comfortable with just hanging out together.

Last year we all went over to Asilah and you stayed in Chefchaouen for a few nights, which was great fun for all. this year you went off to Tangier but the house you al stayed in, where we didi n May last year, was unfortunately less than well maintained and it also rained, which put a dampner on things. Having said that we all talked of the next tme over, so we'll look forward to that. Certainly you all put the house to good use...including abit of footie coaching here with Louis and Joe.

Whilst we moan about the progress we are or are not making, again having visitors who've seen us throughout the build at Tazii...oops Dar Finn... is useful as a sounding board for how things are going and what we are producing. Tim certainly seemed to feel that the terraces and bar area were relaxing enough..yup he definately made himself at home. Personally i think the view from the bar is outstanding!

Prince Finley with his Princess Francesca....Even better than the real thing eh! As I've said earlier, you also got s chance to meet your first princess....Obviously Franchesca is your own personal princess, but this time you got to meet Camilla at Cafe Clock. You did very well to ask all the right questions like "Are you a real princess?" and made a great impression, tho secretely I think you still prefer Francesca.

Back in fez we also enjoyed a chance to see some Flaminco, which is something of a rarity, despite the Al Andaluch connections. I love getting to understand the links between northern Morocco and Andalucia that is so clear in Grenada, Cordoba and Seville, but also within the White Villages and say Chefchaouen. again this was the first time that you seen anything like this and you loved it, dancing and shouting. We'll have to get Sebastian to take us out in jerez and show us the real Macoy.

Other trips around Fez took us to dodgie Bin Souda Souk which had absolutely nothing as a "famous" Saturday souk, tho you did manage to find something of interest amongst the animals for sale! We'llhave to wait for Chaouen to get any of these.

As ever at this time of year, we began to get to see the Wedding Season begining with, yes even more princesses being carried through the town all dressed in silver and gold, carried high on silver chairs and musicians, drummers, trumpeteers and singers, yululating through the streets. Brilliant. i look forward to more of this.....bring on the end of the chantier and we'll get ourselves out to see more of everything everywhere...ish allah!