Next time

The photos have a couple of problems, I've uploaded twice without fixing it properly, will maybe try again another time

So here it is next time and I’m still here, we are both still here. In fact, after the small demolition by the police on the Sunday after the visit to the governor (and we stayed in a hotel that night, just in case, bought pjs and toothbrushes and had the hotel laundry service see us ready for the next day) things have settled down a great deal. For us personally I mean. We feel more safe and hope we're not being lulled into a false sense of security.

The police visit and the knocking off of a bit of the slab and one wall certainly didn’t stop ole no 88. He’s just keeps on building, finishing the interior walls of the top floor and the external rendering, having windows installed and even re-building the bit of wall that was knocked down. And now the workers are bringing bricks up to the top to build something else on top again. As I was saying to Leah, it’s so ridiculous it’s actually laughable. Not that I laugh at it very often but in my more hysterical moments it seems very funny.

So we are continuing to live our lives as usual – still waiting for the final license for the company and grateful that the piece of paper from the bank didn’t come back for changes for a fifth time. That’s given us a little hope that maybe now all the paperwork is correct at least. The final criminal check for Mohamed is finished and with the lawyer, yesterday the tax documents came back to us and now it really is just waiting for the last license to arrive. The lawyer says we can begin to ask him/chase him tomorrow. Can’t believe it might nearly be this close. Etisalat have almost sorted out the complete stuff up of the phones when they gave our number to another company to use, the signs are up (even if the phone numbers aren’t there yet) and the office sits, cleaned yet again, and waiting for the starter’s gun. If I didn’t have the Internet sometimes I think I’d go crazy.

Apart from all that we haven’t done anything too exciting – went to the Cairo Car Show but it was a total fizzer, very poor, nothing new or exciting and nothing grand or expensive; some manufacturers, like Mercedes, didn’t even show up and many others only had one or two models there. Toyota had a slightly funky looking concept car there but the turntable it was on wasn’t working so we could only see the back of it as it was in a corner :-) I think that sort of summed things up. Mohamed also hoped to be able to look at buses but only 2 low-end models there.

Otherwise our outings seem to be driving through Dreamland and looking at villas and dreaming. The other night we got to see inside the one owned by the Sudanese man that we’ve driven past over and over, asking price 6.5 million pounds with furniture but probably could get it for a bit over 5 million. That’s a partly underground floor of large, open Egyptian/Arabian style room and two large other rooms, ground floor of 200 sq metres of living/dining etc. (known as reception or halls in Egypt) and a kitchen and bathroom, first floor of 4 bedrooms and small central reception and bathroom and top floor of largish bedroom and bathroom and then the large roof. I wouldn’t use that top one as a bedroom unless you had to as you have to go through it to get up onto the roof. And also a room and bathroom for the doorman/maid family on the ground. Quite nice landscaped gardens of around maybe 350 sq. m. Furniture looked high Italian, French or something but I didn’t like it at all. So you can have it unfurnished for 6 million. Beautiful mosque over the road in landscaped gardens and hospital just down the street and international school a little way in the other direction. Mohamed LOVES it!!

I liked the internal finishes, not crazy over the top ornate in the worst taste like the last one we looked at (also 5 million but much bigger), but very classy in fact. No pool, Mohamed says you’d have to put one in (the owner said he had thought of putting one on the roof, I'm so glad he didn't). Apparently the family have never been in it, barely had a holiday in it – the kids want to live somewhere with more action like Mohandaseen. Don’t know what he does but I’m guessing money is no object. So we’ve bought a ticket in the Oz Lotto 90 million – I think that’s the only answer personally. And that's given Mohamed license to dream about a new car as well...our outing the other night was to the Audi showroom :-)

Anyway, am at the office and need to be doing something else, just thought I should put your minds a little at rest – thanks for all the concern everyone

Lots of love

Lyndall