Monthly Archives: March 2008

A strange paradox in Egypt is that it is the incredible, miracle-level stuff which works while the ordinary and the routine seem to fail. Maria Golia expressed this well; she describes Cairo as being held together by rubber bands. How … Continue reading →

I have recently watched two films with nearly all-female casts, Caramel, in which four women in Beirut subject us to their various trysts with men, and the appallingly-named Lahzaat Onootha (‘Moments of Femininity’ for crying out loud) in which four … Continue reading →

The week I have just spent at the Doctors’ Syndicate sit-in was an interesting first-hand lesson in Egyptian union politics, the weakness of a fragmented labour movement and the dangers of temperamental Shattafaat. The sit-in was organised after the Syndicate … Continue reading →

AMNESIAC: So are these men whose release was ordered by a court 12 days ago and who are still in detention being held legally or illegally? PERSON IN PUBLIC PROSECUTION OFFICE: Both. AMNESIAC: …

I have lost count of how many times Egypt has thrown its best and its worst at me simultaneously, in the exact same moment. It’s strangely exhilarating, the clash of emotions this produces; a mixture of expectation and fear and … Continue reading →

Having a mother in the house has proved highly inimical to blogging, and in fact to all and any activity outside: Watching the Fatafeat cookery channelListening to complaints about dustListening to complaints about lack of grandchildrenListening to snoring She watched … Continue reading →