Paying attention at the back.

Greetings from Cairo! We were privileged today to deliver a talk on our LRDG Expedition to Year 7, 8, 9 and 11 Students at Futures International American School in the Maadi Region of Cairo. My friend and our guide, Mahmoud Marai sorted this out as it is where he teaches. I sat in on his Chemistry lesson which was very orderly, but with debate and questioning encouraged. When the lesson finished the attentive students listened to me ramble on about the war time history of their country and Jeeps, whilst Mahmoud forwarded the pictures on his laptop. The talk was well received, with many students coming up afterwards, shaking my hand and thanking me for the talk. All of them spoke perfect English and were polite and interested. If the rest of our time here is as enjoyable and rewarding we shall all have a great time.

Tiffin in Cairo

There is now great excitement amongst the eight of us taking part in this unique and ambitious expedition into the remotest areas of Southern Egypt. For the first time in two years of planning we can finally announce that we are definitely GOING! Money has changed hands, Carnets applied for, deposits sent and shipping is in the final stages of being booked. Current favourite is to take both Jeeps to Felixstowe and have them loaded into a container for shipping with Seagoline Ltd, part of the Mearsk shipping group. The RoRo option is a little cheaper, but not enough to merit the lack of security. Agents are ready in Alexandria to grease palms and take care of the myriad paperwork. Last time I drove into Egypt from Libya, I remember having no fewer than 15 pieces of paper including a ‘brass rubbing’ of my chassis number!! Sam Watson, who lives in Cairo, and I will be kicking around in Cairo awaiting Jeep arrival in much the same style as my Grandfather and Grandmother did in the 1920’s as depicted in this rather charming picture of them. I wonder if the cafe still exists.
All for now.

Another Brief Encounter.

Jason Paterniti emailed us to say he would be in the U.K. briefly for his pal, Al’s wedding this month - Was I about?

Jason is down as a ‘cert.’ for the trip and is an enthusiastic member of the U.S. based Explorers Club. and is President and Chairman of the charity, Global Exploration & Oceanographic Society. His travels have taken him far and wide around the Globe and it is something of a relief that he has experienced Desert Travel at it’s most basic. During a very rushed hour and a pot of tea we discussed the details of our trip, fine tuned a few aspects and parted knowing we have many shared interests.

‘See you in Cairo’ was the parting cry as Jason went to get changed for Al’s Stag night and I zoomed of the Le Mans on my Cagiva Elefant!