Asma Jehangir has died. She was hated and despised and dismissed by many, she was called foul names, she was obnoxious and unpleasant, and she was one of the greatest children this sorry country has produced. It’s hard to articulate the despair her death brings.
blog
Done
Did what I had come to Lahore to do, some dealings with banks and lawyers. It took about 50 signatures and thumb prints, both rather tedious. My signature is variable at the best of times. The ink stain on my thumb, on the other hand, is the opposite of variable.as it has not shifted despite […]
Magic tricks
The Hutchbustle birthday party came and went. I went with perhaps my closest friend, Lady Lala. We first stopped in Main Market at Jalal Sons (a large shop recently in the news for a massive fine for mixing dye into their daal to make it appear fresher) where I bought a basketball and hoop and […]
Not evil nor poopy
Not much to report, other than that I have finally got down to an editing job that had been somewhat delayed due to travel and laziness. One sister has arrived and is working from home; the other sister arrives tonight. The sister-in-law also arrived last night, and there is an early family dinner at the […]
Catfish waltz
I finally gave in to the weather gods and borrowed a sweater from my sister. The next step will probably be to buy socks to prevent the chilblains that are a perpetual feature of Lahore winters. Not that Lahore winters are particularly cold but houses are designed for summer so are cold, covered in marble […]
Gradual decline
I’m now in the Karachi airport domestic departure lounge, which is far brighter (with natural light) and cleaner than the airport hotel. I should perhaps have eaten at the hotel instead of risking a chicken patty that might kill me at the airport but I couldn’t bear today go into the grim, grimy dining room. […]
Airport hotel
A brief flicker of hope that a kindly official would get me onto the 8 am flight to Lahore which would be have trimmed my waiting time to 30 minutes. Sadly no seats were left so I joined the queue for the airport hotel. The place had a slight air of the TDCP rest house, […]
Inflight magazine
Reading these is a great pleasure of mine. The Air Asia ones are distinguished by their award winning letters which follow a similar sort of trend. This month’s was: I flew to Mauritius on Air Asia and didn’t order an in flight meal. Consequently I was hungry. From this experience I learned that one should […]
Step 1
It’s 0230 and I’m halfway through the first long airport stop of the journey. I arrived at the airport half an hour earlier than needed to find a very long hydra headed queue consisting of Pathans pushing trolleys heaped with shrink wrapped blankets. Pakistani men’s vaunted respect and deference to women can rarely be depended […]
Off
My flight to Lahore is tonight, or, correctly, my flight to Karachi is early tomorrow morning. I have a rather ugly journey ahead, and am feeling foolish for not booking a direct flight to Lahore despite the cost. There used to be a direct PIA flight between KL and Lahore; then it changed to KL […]