Moroccan Interlude

I feel such anger for the wholly unnecessary trauma May has put us through with a future as uncertain as I have ever known. Single handedly she has brought Labour back from the graveyard of history and emasculated the Tories as a voice of government. Her inept handling of the heart-retching Grenfell Tower terror compounds an inmate weakness within her soul and she will be despised by her party and the country for years to come. An away-weekend in Marrakesh. Morocco is an exciting country and so restful and seemingly peaceful after the many recent traumas of poor old Blighty. We stayed in Riad Ilayka, an authentic small Riad with traditional family values, a superb courtyard complete with banana tree, and a roof top terrace and mini tower overlooking the city. Some of the best food and service i have experienced. But never have I experienced such a warren of narrow covered alleyways nor so many tiny shops selling such a variety of usefulness and tac. The temperature rose to an unseasonable 42C, too hot to look in comfort and we could only move from drink to drink, stopping at a wonderful perfume museum en route for shade and yet another drink. Drinking in public is hard, knowing the people around cannot drink till the end of Ramadan at 7:45. I stopped at one café for a Fanta, and watched an old woman in the square stitching names into straw hats. One of the café men threw her a water bottle and I supposed she might be excused the fast on account of her age, but she merely poorer some water on her bare feet and down her neck, then splashed the rest around the cobbles to keep the dust down. She drank not a drop. Now at the airport, a tropical thunderstorm has broken with lashing rain and thunderclaps overhead. It is a most beautiful new building of contemporary design incorporating Islamic motifs, but still the roof has one or two leaks with puddles forming. Update: thunderstorms have now forced our plane to divert to Casablanca. Stocked up with goodies from shop and hankering down in lounge to await news. (Update2: plane finally arrived approx. 3 hrs late for most rapid turn-round, and finally we left for home. Charlie picked us up and arrived back approx. 4am. He and Ann chatted all the way – I don’t know how she stays awake for conversations, but it kept Charlie alert).