The Kermode and Mayo film review. The original podcast on my feed. First listened whilst travelling through Thailand, lying in a hammock on Ko Phi Phi which was then only a couple of years out from the tsunami. I suppose that qualifies me as a long-term listener. The New Books Network. Interviews with academics about […]
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In Hamra
Yesterday the Gentleman Friend had to go into the office, in Hamra (West Beirut) and I decided to join him. I dropped him off near his office as he was running late for a meeting, and myself went to Amal Bohsal, an old sweet maker, to try their breakfast knefeh. This is basically a warm […]
Sign of the pelican
We made another attempt to visit Onno, the famous little Armenian restaurant in Bourj Hammoud, under a filthy flyover. We took a car this time, and of course the maps were confusing so the driver took us over the flyover instead of under it. We had to do a long loop through traffic, and he […]
What to say?
The news of John McCain’s death left me rather double-minded. I do think his vanity overcame his reputation as an upstanding man rather thoroughly, and his moral compromises were less than admirable. I remember him being feted for that famous exchange with a supporter who said she was worried Obama was Arab, and he replied […]
Go west
On Saturday we explored a bit more of West Beirut. We got dropped off at Raouche, on the corniche, where there are two rocks in the bay, and walked down the smelly, gravelly path past bushes and concrete pieces of a breakwater, to where the waves were striking the cliffs and the rocks. There were […]
Down south
Our second ex-Beirut expedition, postponed from last weekend, was a lengthy one, but much, much nicer than our first. We were picked up by our guide at 7.30 in the morning and drive down to Sidon for a breakfast of fuul and hummus in a little old shop that felt like it could be in […]
Generally secure
On Friday the Gentleman Friend and I went down to Lebanese General Security, which issues visas, to get our 1 month visas extended to a a full three months. It was simple and quick, but also rather more fun than expected. We went in, were given a token by a security officer (the token was […]
Full story
I am still reeling from the shock of yesterday’s story writing. It is not particularly original, and rather falls between genres so is probably not publishable, but I did write the whole thing in one go. It makes me think I should avoid plotting: all the stories I’ve completed tend to be episodic, leading towards […]
Eid
Eid was its usual understated to the point of non-existence self. I spoke to my father who was in a cheerful mood, but couldn’t face speaking to my grandmother which I shall no doubt regret. I did send her a message. My schoolfriends’ whatsapp group, which is normally an annoyance full of stupid forwarded memes […]
Onwards
I got some feedback on the astrolabe story. Some of it i’ve implemented, and the rest I’m still mulling over. I find it really hard to go back to a story I’ve finished and add on new materials. It becomes something of a whole in my mind. Anyhow, for now I’ve moved on to another […]