Over the last few years we have experienced our birthdays in many different places and situations. After arriving in Cairo about 2 years ago we have finally managed to go to the Cairo Opera House. We knew that the Cairo Symphony Orchestra played every Saturday evening but we didn't know what they were playing! So Jane's birthday treat was a meal in a restaurant on the banks of the River Nile followed by a concert. We thoroughly enjoyed the concert - it was a shame that the Opera House was only 10% full. Listening to Ravel, especially the Menuet, made one forget about all the difficulties of living in Cairo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9qxygpFTos
Pete's birthday treat was going to the British Community Association clubhouse where he enjoyed Cumberland sausage, chips and baked beans (and Coleman's mustard) and then Everton vs Liverpool on satellite TV. Jane enjoyed the meal but decided to read instead of watching the game, which was an exciting 3-3 draw.
Because our birthdays are so close together (Jane is 12 days older than Pete) we also had a fish 'n' chip lunch with a few friends.
We have found that the good old jigsaw is a great way to amuse oneself during the curfews and also a useful way to unwind after teaching. It also means that we can listen to a BBC radio programme instead of the wall to wall news or third rate sitcoms and films on the local TV channels. There are rumours that the final Friday curfew will be lifted soon so once again we will be able to freely travel around. But we will continue puzzling because we brought back some jigsaws from the UK and we have also borrowed some. So far we've finished four 1,000 piece puzzles and a couple of 500 piece ones; and we have three more 1,000 piece puzzles (one without a box or picture) to complete as we warm up for the one with 3,000 pieces. We've only had one disappoint so far which was a middle piece missing from a puzzle we bought at a charity shop in the UK - perhaps we could get a job making their puzzles before they sell them. It has also highlighted our different personalities: Jane likes to randomly pick up a piece and see if she can fit it somewhere whereas Peter likes to sort the pieces into colours or shapes and then fit them!
