It's been a long time since I last posted to the blog, but I'm back in Benghazi now so normal service will be resumed.
Three weeks in England was a special treat - initially it was only meant to be a fortnight, but the extra week was most welcome. It was good to see some rain, the green fields, the beginning of autumn; to smell the beautiful English air; and to see all my friends and family. I hadn't realised how much I missed them all. It was also good to go out in mixed company, to have a few (or more) drinks, and to drive at sedate speeds visiting all the people I miss so much.
But then it was good to get back to Libya too. I spent a few days in Tripoli seeing friends and revisiting old haunts, staying with an old colleague, and tasting food outdoors, in the sun, again.
Flying to Benghazi this morning was a delight - the plane was full, and there was incessant chatter throughout the journey. Conversation is a major characteristic of Libyan life, and is emblematic of the friendliness of the people here. On arriving back at my flat, I was welcomed like a missing brother - people were hanging out of their windows and running out of their houses to welcome me back. It was wonderful.
I'm in the middle of Stephen Fry's Moab is my Washpot. I was almost in tears, and not only from laughter, particularly in the parts relating to his time at prep school. For example: the apartheid evident in the colour of trunks being used to differentiate between swimmers and non-swimmers, and the humiliation handed out when an unknown rule was broken. He could almost be talking about Beech Hall. It brought back masses of forgotten memories, few of which were pleasant!
The next month is going to be very busy, leading up to the BEC in mid-November. It promises to be a very busy and exciting time.
