Christmas Shopping

We left wet Somerset 7 weeks ago and we're gradually settling into dry and dusty Cairo.  Even though we were here for 5 months at the beginning of the year, we have still taken a while to adjust - especially Peter's stomach.  We are grateful to the staff at the language school and the Cathedral congregation who have made us feel very welcome.  Last night we got into the Christmas spirit by going to a candlelit service at a small local church, and next week we'll be going to the Christmas Eve & Christmas Day services at the Cathedral.  Our most recent 'Christmas' shopping trip has been for urgent supplies from a local western style supermarket.  The supplies of certain goods can be sporadic, which means that if you find a desired item it is advisable to grab as many as possible because you may never see them there again.  We have a shelf full of Jordan's muesli which has now disappeared from the supermarket shelves.  So on our last trip when jars of Coleman's mustard, Weetabix and Kellogg's All Bran (for Peter's stomach) were on sale we snapped them up - the jar of Coleman's mustard will fit into Peter's Christmas stocking but a box of All Bran may be a squeeze.  We also managed to find a copy of the Christmas edition of the BBC Music magazine which had a free copy of a collection of Christmas choral music  - now we're really getting into the Christmas spirit.