Jazzman goes talkabout

And so it happened that two weeks ago to the day, I found myself unemployed for the first time in 20 years. With all this time on my hands I decided to do a few things I have always been meaning to do but somehow never quite got around to. Top on my priority is learning how to swim. Oh, and the fact the my GP, well the locum doctor because my GP was away, suggested that at my 'age' I ought to slow down and go easy on my joints. Try swimming he said. I'd have to earn first I thought.

It is rather interesting for me to learn though that on informing people of my lack of ability to swim the assumption is made that this is due to some fear of water. Never quite under stood that one. Well I can say with some joy that I have been practicing my 'kicking' all afternoon in the tranquil swimming pool at the Royal Club Mohamed-Aly on the shore of the Nile in Cairo. Hence the title! Incidentally, visiting the Pyramids o Egypt somehow crept up to second on my list of things to do whilst I have the time so to do. I think the 'kicking' is coming along fine but not quite kicking - so to speak. But the Royal Club Mohamed-Aly sure is a nice place to practice. It is away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Cairo and is a 20 minute taxi ride through the ever present Cairo rush hour. A cacophony of blaring horns, near misses screeching and random phrase in Arabic tossed in the air with hand gestures for good measures. For some inexplicable reason that I really can't be bothered to delve into I thrive in this kind of urban mayhem. I fell at home surrounds by ritualised chaos. Nonetheless the tranquility of the Royal Club Mohamed-Aly was very welcomed.

Today is my first full day in Cairo since I arrived on a very late flight this morning. As we came in to land over the night sky of Cairo, I peered out of the window as my plane glided serenely through the clear skies. Where is all this much talked about Cairo smog I wondered. Cairo looked absolutely resplendent at night. With isolate settlement twinkling in the dark like a great constellation in space. I liked Cairo already!