... but instead I found my self on the road to Alexandria.....
I accept that Guildford is not quite your archetypical seaside port.... but that's the odd thing about shipping ...... surprising how far a ship can take you.... this particular ship is in fact the MoL Comfort and the reality is...... this particular ship is actually going nowhere these days, now that it has sunk....
But by the unpredictability of my work.... instead my meeting in Guilford was cancelled and Cairo became my immediate port of call....with a side visit to Alexandria.....
Some parts of the road to Alexandria are not necessarily picturesque
There was an aqua park on the way...but it looks like a very sad aqua park...
But when you finally arrive at Alexandria, it is worth the drive
The thing I find about Egypt...... it is a country of contradictions.....
Worn out buildings stand side by side with wonderful modern buildings......
The atrium at the Union Hotel is a stark comparison to the atrium at the Fairmont Towers, I am just glad I am staying at the Fairmont.....
For a country that had the wit and intelligence to build the Pyramids some 4,500 years ago whilst us Brits still lived in caves........on the drive back from Alex..... in the car to the right of us, it appeared that a young child was driving the car, until we realised the child was sitting on the drivers knee, and the car to the left of us, the driver was watching a TV program with the device strapped over his rear view mirror..... oh how times have changed in Egypt......
It was a ship that first brought me to Egypt some 35 years ago, as a young boy recently turned 17 years old, travelling along the Suez Canal aboard a super tanker, a 1/4 of a mile long.... the tanker not the canal that is....
And since then my life with shipping has taken me to many places, and whilst I may have missed out on Guildford today, shipping has taken me to Zambia for example..... another place along way from the sea ....... or Geneva, quite some distance away from the sea as well...... I have seen the Niagara Falls, had dinner under the shadow of the Sydney opera house, sailed along the Panama Canal, and on one weekend return journey...... found myself having Saturday breakfast in Perth Australia, followed by Saturday night out in Singapore's Chinatown, and getting home in time for a Sunday roast at my home in Suffolk.
I once flew first class with a Spice Girl..... she didn't recognise me....and to be fair I had to google which one it was.... I naturally refused to give her my autograph but we were both seen sporting the same first class cabin pyjama's.... they looked better on me....
It's been a funny working life.... in shipping........ but having now visited Alexandria for the very first time, I can now say with a smug grin on my face [not an aqua park grin] that I have now had an ice cold beer in Alex.....
I accept that Guildford is not quite your archetypical seaside port.... but that's the odd thing about shipping ...... surprising how far a ship can take you.... this particular ship is in fact the MoL Comfort and the reality is...... this particular ship is actually going nowhere these days, now that it has sunk....
But by the unpredictability of my work.... instead my meeting in Guilford was cancelled and Cairo became my immediate port of call....with a side visit to Alexandria.....
Some parts of the road to Alexandria are not necessarily picturesque
There was an aqua park on the way...but it looks like a very sad aqua park...
But when you finally arrive at Alexandria, it is worth the drive
The thing I find about Egypt...... it is a country of contradictions.....
Worn out buildings stand side by side with wonderful modern buildings......
The atrium at the Union Hotel is a stark comparison to the atrium at the Fairmont Towers, I am just glad I am staying at the Fairmont.....
For a country that had the wit and intelligence to build the Pyramids some 4,500 years ago whilst us Brits still lived in caves........on the drive back from Alex..... in the car to the right of us, it appeared that a young child was driving the car, until we realised the child was sitting on the drivers knee, and the car to the left of us, the driver was watching a TV program with the device strapped over his rear view mirror..... oh how times have changed in Egypt......
It was a ship that first brought me to Egypt some 35 years ago, as a young boy recently turned 17 years old, travelling along the Suez Canal aboard a super tanker, a 1/4 of a mile long.... the tanker not the canal that is....
And since then my life with shipping has taken me to many places, and whilst I may have missed out on Guildford today, shipping has taken me to Zambia for example..... another place along way from the sea ....... or Geneva, quite some distance away from the sea as well...... I have seen the Niagara Falls, had dinner under the shadow of the Sydney opera house, sailed along the Panama Canal, and on one weekend return journey...... found myself having Saturday breakfast in Perth Australia, followed by Saturday night out in Singapore's Chinatown, and getting home in time for a Sunday roast at my home in Suffolk.
I once flew first class with a Spice Girl..... she didn't recognise me....and to be fair I had to google which one it was.... I naturally refused to give her my autograph but we were both seen sporting the same first class cabin pyjama's.... they looked better on me....
It's been a funny working life.... in shipping........ but having now visited Alexandria for the very first time, I can now say with a smug grin on my face [not an aqua park grin] that I have now had an ice cold beer in Alex.....
This calls for a SoD....
in fact 2 for the same song....
the original by the sublime.... Nick Cave...
and the other from the wonderful Camille O'Sullivan
Set Sail Nick.....
but Camille .... do you have to heave your bussom so much ?
