Syria and Lebanon 25 Dec 04 - 16 Jan 05: Damascus Part I and Part II, Aleppo Palestinian Refugee Camp, Lattakia and Markab Castle

Luxor/Aswan 23 - 30 Jan 05: Nile Cruise

Eritrea 21 - 29 Apr 05: Massawa, Ghinda and Asmara

Yemen 27 May - 4 Jun 05: Sana'a and its souq, Ta'izz, Jebel Sabir, Hajjarah, Kawkabam, Shibam/Thulla

Spain and France 15 - 24 Oct ( Read more... )

The rules: bold if you've been there, italics if you really want to go there some day, strike through if you've no interest in the place.

( As you can probably guess, I don't like amusement parks very much. )

Was buying lunch at the coffeeshop near my hairdresser's today when I looked up and realised that the shiny new menu board said FLOGLEG PORRIDGE.

Returned on Sunday night from a four-day jaunt to Bali.  Haven't been there since 2003, when tourism was at a low after the 2002 bombings.  Well, the white tourist crowd has definitely returned, pushing up prices to match.

Our two-room villa was a dream!  In a little walled compound complete with swimming pool (well, it was only 8 metres long) and ( Read more... )

svan_1004 assigned me red.  In alphabetical order:

1. Blood
2. Chinese and Indian weddings
3. Desert sunsets
4. Lipstick
5. Lunar New Year

Looked up the Sarum Rite wedding vows. Rather conventional, with an extra interesting bit for the bride:

Man: I N., take thee, N., to my wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death us do part, if holy Church will it ordain, and thereto I plight thee my troth.

Woman: I N., take ( Read more... )

That's it.  I'm officially addicted to Cat Stevens' Islamic kiddie songs. 

Click to view

In an event only slightly less nerve-wracking than open-heart surgery without anaesthesia, I got up there in church in front of God and my parents and promised to marry someone.

(Friend: "Which was scarier, God or your parents?"  Me: "My parents.")

Photographic proof!


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If you wanted a sapphire ring with diamond embellishments, which would you pick and why? (Don't worry about the colour, just look at the shapes.)

Emerald-cut sapphire:

1.
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A very happy birthday tokielbasa_007 , mare_in_flames  and erfalle  !

May your shadows never grow less!