Sat or Sitting?

It's time to get something straight. Something that's been going on too long and has to stop. That is the improper use of the word 'sat'. If you ever say, 'I was sat...' then you mark yourself out as a person not to be taken seriously. Here's why you are wrong.

The progressive form of a verb indicates something that was happening, is happening or will be happening. Used in the past, it suggests an activity that was left unfinished or still happening at the time in question. So 'I polished my shoes' suggests that it's done and over, whereas 'I was polishing my shoes' leads one think that in this context that shoe polishing wasn't finished and the sentence is about to move to something else that happened whilst the polishing was going on.

English active progressive verb forms are constructed with the present participle (-ing ending) and not the past participle (-ed ending). Now, the verb 'to sit' is irregular in that its past participle does not end in -ed, it is 'sat'. In other words, you say 'I sat' rather than 'I sitted'. So we use the present participle 'sitting' to construct a progressive verb - 'I was sitting', not 'I was sat'. Similarly, in the present tense don't say 'I am sat'. In the future don't say 'I'll be sat'.

'I was sat' doesn't even sound right, it's affected and it's wrong. What's even worse is that people that should know better are starting to do it, even people on the BBC. I shall be writing a stiff letter (progressive?).

Things are different if the sentence is passive - i.e. something is having something done to it. 'The driver was parking her car' - active progressive. 'The car was parked on the hill by its driver' - passive, no longer progressive so past participle is OK. To avoid the ugliness of 'was parked', why not say 'had been parked'?

Less or Fewer?

Oh, and another thing. This is a simple rule of English grammar. If you can count the number of items being referred to, you use 'fewer'. If you cannot, use 'less'. So, 'less water', but 'fewer drops of water'. The checkout in your local supermarket marked 'Ten Items or Less' is incorrect and is Tesco's way of telling you they don't care about you enough to communicate in proper English and that you should start shopping in Waitrose instead. Some say that the exceptions to this rule (it's English so there are always exceptions) refer to money, distance and time, where 'less' is, apparently, acceptable.

It was reported in the Daily Telegraph, way back in 2008, that Tesco were going to change their signs to read 'Up to Ten Items'. Would that mean ten or nine items? They haven't actually replaced any signs, they just use the new wording in their new stores.

There are a couple of other points to be cleared up, but we'll come to those later. There are more important things to turn to for now.

The Falkland Islands are British

Meanwhile, at the other end of the World, Argentina were getting terribly up themselves about, you guessed it, sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. When HMS Dauntless (new Type 45 Air Defence Destroyer) replaced a frigate as the Falkland Islands guard ship, the Argentinean Government used this routine force rotation as evidence of "militarization". And When Prince William deployed there as a SAR helo pilot there was even more fuss. All because it's 30 years since Britain kicked Argentina's arse out of our islands.

People have taken the opportunity to ask what we'd do if they invaded again, using the threat as a device to hang out the recent UK defence cuts. Truth is, there is no realistic military threat to the islands from Argentina and they would not receive military help to attack the islands from any other South American nation except, perhaps, Venezuela. The Argentinean government lacks real support both at home and regionally for anything beyond a diplomatic solution, and any military adventure would result in the isolation of the country from its principal trading partners. Inflation and unemployment are growing in Argentina, but the people are better informed now and the Falkland Islands are way down their list of priorities. Kirschner's government can't even convince it's own people that the islands are important enough to die for. The present garrison is more than sufficient to repel any likely threat.

The Argentineans banned FI-flagged ships from entering their ports, a largely symbolic gesture. Brazil, Uruguay and Chile all stated that if the ships fly another flag they can put in anywhere they like, so not terribly effective.

Argentina spends about 0.9% GNP on defence, ahead only of that military powerhouse Surinam in South America. The Type-45 could splash every serviceable combat aircraft with one salvo, they have no serious amphibious capability, no way of landing armour, insufficient lift for a decisive airdrop, nothing that could achieve even local air superiority, and very little in the way of reconnaissance assets. Their armed forces know their limitations, and have told the government that they cannot mount an operation against the Falklands. Building up to the level where they could mount such an operation would take several years and require funding that simply isn't available.

Of course, it's also fair to say that this is probably a good thing as Her Majesty's UK Government have very wisely been busy, doing their best to degrade our military capability to a point where, should the Falkland Islands every be taken, we would have no hope whatever of retaking them. We no longer have any fixed-wing, fast-jet assets that we could embark on a carrier to send down there. Our only foothold depends on holding onto Mount Pleasant Airfield long enough to reinforce should there ever be a threat.

Anyway, for now, all HMG has to do is not rise to the bait, continue to point out the absurdity of the Argentine claims, and follow the self-determination line, something that is widely accepted in Latin America. And, fortunately, that's pretty much the line that David Cameron took. In response to Argentinean President, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's (I refuse to post a picture of her or her flag on my website) demands for Britain to negotiate about the Islands' future, Mr C told her to naff off. He said "The future of the Falkland Islands should be determined by the Falkland islanders themselves, the people who live there." There was to be a referendum on the matter in the Falklands in March 2013.

I wonder if the renewed interest in this windswept, remote place has anything to do with...

Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth was married to Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark on 20^th November 1947 at Westminster Abbey. On On 6^th February 1952, her father, King George VI, died and Elizabeth ascended the throne and her coronation took place on 2^nd June 1953.

So, 2012 marked the 60^th anniversary (Diamond) of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the thrones of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ceylon, and Pakistan, as well as taking on the role of Head of the Commonwealth and the constitutional titles of Supreme Governor of the Church of England and Defender of the Faith.

The first weekend in June was extended by a double bank holiday in the UK, filled with Diamond Jubilee celebrations. A truly wonderful time to commemorate the remarkable reign of a wonderful and dedicated monarch. Long may she reign!

29 Squadron Falklands Reunion

I mentioned that 2012 was also the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War and to commemorate the occasion, Ian MacFadyen, who was our boss on 29 Squadron at the time, laid on a fabulous reunion for those of us involved. This was held at Windsor Castle on the day of the Garter Day Parade. A great time was had by all and it was a wonderful treat to watch the Garter Day Parade whilst catching up with old colleagues.

Click here for a selection of pictures.

           
Roy Trotter and Courtney                           Ron Cook, Mick Martin and Carol                                 Guards on Parade

Syria - What a Bloody Mess

Probably the biggest story of the year was the on-going civil war in Syria, which started with demonstrations back in March 2011, prompted by the Arab Spring that we looked at in the previous chapter. This year, it has escalated into full-on fighting between the Syrian Armed Forces and rebel forces, calling themselves the Free Syrian Army. As I write this (in mid-August 2012), it looks like some 30,000 people have been killed and some 1.5 million more have been displaced into Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.

Rebels, demand the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad (the evil little git) and the end of nearly half a century of Ba'ath Party rule. Kofi Annan, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, tried to engineer a peace plan, but the regime simply ignored it and carried on using heavy weapons and attack helicopters against its own people. The West, has not been keen to get involved directly; too busy trying to get out of Afghanistan (which was not going well) and not wanting to get bogged down in yet another conflict. Syria had quite sizeable armed forces (400,000 troops and a decent number of MiG-21s, 23s, 25s and 29s, attack helicopters, 4,000 man-portable SAMs and 230 or more self-propelled air-defence systems) and, although short of friends around the world, they did enjoy a lot of support from Iran.

Using military action against Syria would certainly have been difficult and would have resulted in losses; it would not have been popular. US President Obama did make a stand by warning Syria that if they moved or used their chemical or biological weapons, the US would use military force. But, of course, this is not the same as Libya; Libya has oil, Syria does not. Assad had a lot of hardware and personnel and was not afraid to use them. In fact, having committed himself to war against his own people, he probably had little choice to fight to the bitter end. No wonder western nations didn't want to get involved. Another reason is that Russia finds Syria rather useful as they have a naval base there that gives the Russian Fleet a place in the Mediterranean; so Russia says 'No.'

But why should we get involved? Simply, because of scenes like this:

Slaughter in Syria.

There is a lot of information on the internet about this one, so I'll not go into much more detail. I shall report back later with any major developments. Believe me, this one is going to run.

The Top Secret Drum Corps of Switzerland

I quite enjoy watching the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo; apart from anything else, the setting in Edinburgh Castle is just so amazing. However, I can only take so many hours of marching bands, so it's always great to see something different. Without a doubt, my favourite (once again) from this year's show was the Top Secret Drum Corps from Basel in Switzerland. These guys are truly amazing. Don't believe me, look for yourselves...

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If you wish to comment on this video, please contact me.

What about the Euro?

What about it? Basically, the countries in the South of Europe have never recovered from the big crash back in 2008 and the countries in Northern Europe (mainly Germany, actually) have to keep bailing them out. The big problem is that the countries that are struggling under the weight of ever-increasing debt cannot reduce that debt by devaluing their currency; they gave up that option when they joined the Euro. So it looks increasingly like they may have to leave the common currency and reinvent (for example) the Drachma", Lira, Escudo or Peseta.

At the same time, of course, Great Britain was struggling with its own issues - noteably a massive financial deficit. So taxes and prices go up whilst pay falls behind and Government spending gets chopped. They tried very hard to get welfare under control by limiting benefits payments, but all that really seemed to do was cause a load of bleating. I have to ask the question, though, if we're so strapped for cash and cannot even aford our own bills, why the hell are we maintaining our £10 billion per year foreign aid programme. As Baron Bauer commented, foreign aid is “an excellent method for transferring money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.” So we give aid to, for example, India; a country with its own space programme. Explain?

One good thing to come out of this, though. I'm going to retire in France, so the Euro being a little weaker against the Pound is, from my point of view, quite a good thing. Keep it up, Boys.

PPRuNe

The only time I usually go near any of those online forums (fora?) is to look something up. And jolly good they can be for that purpose. For example, my old lawn mower developed an unusual fault and Mrs Google directed me to a forum where I was able to read the appropriate advice and solve the problem in half an hour at no cost. Great.

However, I am very unlikely to sit and read weeks and weeks of other people's conversations about willow craft and basket weaving (there really is such a thing here). However, I have to confess to frequenting a forum called PPRuNe. The Professional Pilots' Rumour Network. Or, specifically the Military Aviation part of it.

The threads are about topics that are of interest to aviators, former aviators, engineers, enthusiasts and wannabies (which is like a kangaroo, but smaller). Topics include in-depth analysis of current military affairs by a committee of self-appointed armchair experts, commentary on present-day and future aircraft developments, nostalgic reminiscences of old aircraft or locations and a caption competition that's been running for nearly 8 years now.

In the main, the threads are generally interesting and the people that post their comments there are well behaved and there are quite a lot that are very well informed about their subjects or very insightful in their analysis. There is a core of members that mostly know each other reasonably well (although most choose not to reveal their true identities in public) and people come and go to an extent.

Just occasionally someone new turns up and does something very bizarre and starts what I can only describe as a fight. I am mystified as to how these happen, but I think they usually start when someone gets frustrated because other posters will not accept a point or when someone uses sarcasm or dry humour to refute a point. Either way, it's amazing how suddenly a seemingly normal discussion can degenerate into personal insults, mud-slinging and name-calling. It usually ends up with someone flouncing off in a sulk or being banned by the site's moderators. These episodes are often as funny as they are surprising.

Have a look here. This is a well-tempered thread.

EXPEDITION OCEAN VISION 6 - THE RED SEA, SEPTEMBER 2012

We had planned to come back to the Red Sea in June this year to finish up some filming around the Sharm el Sheikh area, but what with weddings, parties and such, we decided to delay Expedition Ocean Vision 6 by a couple of months. In truth, that was a better option anyway because the temperature in Egypt this summer soared to around 50°C, which searingly warm by anyone's standards. September is a little cooler although the water is still nicely bath-like.

We started planning a tailor-made trip, booking the flights, accommodation, diving, etc, separately to suit our diving and planning needs and then, sitting in a rather pleasant bar in Buckingham one afternoon, scrapped the whole plan, walked into Thomson and just booked a package. We walked home, job done in 30 minutes or so. the really good advantage of doing it that way is that one gets a company rep to take care of any issues that sometimes seem 'too difficult' when away from home.

Our aims were to see how much the place had changed during the three years since our previous visit, do some filming of a couple of coral reefs we hadn't been able to get to last time and to get a feel for how Egypt was doing after the Arab Spring and with all the trouble going on in Sinai, where the borders of Gaza, Israel and Egypt meet. It was also time for a break.

Day 1: Thursday 6^th September 2012, Expedition Ocean Vision 6

Flying from Luton Airport is good; it's small and (at the right time of day) conveniently quiet. They take only smaller jets which means, even with only two check-in desks operating, we don't need to queue all day just for the privilege of arguing with airline staff about the weight of our bags. We'll come to that in a moment - as usual. As long as you avoid the evil clutches of those money-grabbing, cattle-herding, fascists that call themselves 'budget airlines'. Yes, I'm talking about EastJet and Ryan Air. I wouldn't travel with them if they were the last airlines in the world. Of course, I'll have to delete those comments if they ever become the last airlines in the world.

Anyway, we went for valet parking because I mistakenly assumed that meant you get your car cleaned while you're away and joined the 15 minute wait for check in - as I said, not bad compared to many I've been treated to. Pleasant lady greeted us, weighed our bags and informed us that we were 2kg over our allowance and that would be £24 pounds, please. I tried to blag my way out of it by looking surprised and offering my opinion that I thought we could have an extra 5kg for carrying sporting equipment. The charm offensive failed completely and we were dispatched to the service desk to pay the nice people some cash.

I thought I might just try the same line there and was pleasantly surprised when she agreed with me. In fact, we were now entitled to an extra 5kg each. Back to check in where the first lady apologised and let us pass. Fortunately, this malarkey had neatly distracted anyone from worrying about the extra 12kg camera housing we were carrying, our overweight carry-on bags and several large items of video equipment. Oh, and a very large lead weight. I'd rather be lucky than good!

Duty free, shopping, perfume, Boots, etc. Best full fried breakfast all year. First glass of wine of the exped. We boarded without a queue and settled down with laptop, Kindle and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th glasses of wine of the exped.

We had the easiest arrival in Sharm el Sheikh International Airport ever seen. Visa in two minutes, immigration in a further three and bags waiting for us at the carousel. Bus to the hotel waiting as planned, but we did have to have a massive, as in really long and tedious faff with loading and unloading everyone's bags at least twice before the driver seemed happy enough to speed us off into the night. Well,when I say 'speed' I do of course mean with the velocity of a speeding arthritic snail (yes I know snails have no joints and, therefore, can't get arthritis - just leave it).

S.O.P. arrival at our hotel: wine, supper bed. Success!

Day 2: Friday 7^th September 2012, Expedition Ocean Vision 6

Previous experience had taught us not to do too much on the first day or two after arrival. I've seen heat stroke, sickness and other bad effects, especially trying to rush into diving. So we played it smart and confined ourselves by relaxing by the pool. However, it was still mighty hot and, unbeknownst to us, somewhat more humid than usual for this part of the desert and, so, we got rather badly overheated. To cut a gruesome story acceptably bland, we ended up with Carol in hospital most of the night, surrounded by a lot of very concerned looking doctors. Actually very good, concerned looking doctors. In fact, everyone we had any dealings with of this little medical upset was absolutely terrific.

We were staying at the Tropicana Tivoli Hotel (or it might be the Tivoli Tropicana) and the staff there were very good at getting a doctor out to see Carol. He was terribly concerned about her 'vitals' and rushed us both to the Sinai Clinic - a decent sized, local hospital. Now, just imagine a Friday night in Emergency in a NHS hospital.

"The doctor will see you in a few hours (if you're lucky). Meanwhile please relax and enjoy some of last century's caravan magazines and the pleasant company of a bunch of vomiting drunks, who will be happy to abuse you, at no extra cost. Please be aware, that for your safety and convenience, most of our staff do not speak English."

This was an entirely different experience.

"Please may I just take a few details, Sir? Ahmed, please take the lady in the wheelchair straight into the Emergency Room. You don't have your travel insurance details with you? No problem, Sir. We'll take care of your wife and we can sort everything later. Don't worry, everything will alright."

Chief consultant is called and arrives immediately. Carol is wired up to that machine that goes bleep. Consultant is concerned and so calls the cardiologist who makes a further examination and declares that and ECG is required.

Back to the NHS equivalent. "If could like to go back to the waiting room, Mrs Cartlidge, we'll see if we can find a partly-trained assistant that can do that. He's on his break at the moment, but should be back in a few hours."

Sinai Clinic.

"Ahmed, get the ECG machine in here straight away. Excuse me, Carol (he had taken the trouble to find out her name) I just need to attach the wires. Here we go. Stay very still. That's all done. Yes, hmmm, OK, good, that's all absolutely fine. I just wanted to make sure. I shall leave you with Dr Hassan who will look after you."

NHS:

"We need to take some blood, Mrs Corliage, I'll get a nurse, it won't be long."

One hour later, patient's arm is a mess of bruises and failed needle punctures and you're told that the samples will be sent off and should be back in the morning.

Sinai Clinic:

They put in a canula, took some blood samples and sent them 'off to be analysed'. Twenty minutes later the Doctor is examining the results and declares that the full blood check is normal.

"I shall give her two 'ampules' to stop the symptoms and some tablets to take with you and then we can get you home.

NHS:

"You seem to be OK, Mrs Cocknidge, but we'll need to wait for the consultant to see you. He'll be in on Monday after his golf. After that, we'll dump you on the streets and you can find your own way home."

Sinai Clinic:

Thirty minutes later we are in reception again, Carol looking better and I get to the tricky bit of settling the bill.

"Don't worry about your insurance details, because it is only a small amount. You should pay cash and I will give you all the paperwork to claim from your insurance." Thank you, Sir, I have ordered a car to take you back to your hotel at no cost. This is our number, please call us if you need anything."

You get the idea. Anyway, back in the wee small hours and finally in bed, watching Carol like a hawk.

Day 3: Saturday 8^th September 2012, Expedition Ocean Vision 6

We slept in late, despite waking a few times in the night, Carol feeling so much better. We're now going to re-run the first day here, but taking it even easier, staying cool and without the night in hospital - even though it was a very nice hospital with excellent staff. In fact, we're delaying any other plans until we know all is absolutely well.

I discovered a sign today in our hotel. It was alerting guests to the health risks of buying food in town, keeping it their rooms and eating it. Part of it said,

"strictly advised not to bring food and drink into the hotel."

Strictly advised. Not strictly forbidden, strictly disallowed, or strictly against the rules. So they send you the message that they're serious about this. Strictly serious. But they do not assume the right to tell you what you can and cannot do.

Another sign in stated, "Bitte duschen sei vor der poolbennutzung." My guess was it meant, "A small piece of sausage is good in gravy." But, no. It's another example of gently encouraging guests to do things the way they prefer. In this case, apparently, please having a shower before swimming. So, in contrast to some other places we've been, it's interesting to note some of the other things that are not verboten.

• Glasses around the pool
• Glasses in the pool
• Smoking indoors - especially by the ashtray under the no smoking sign
• Arriving for breakfast two minutes after the stated closing time
• Disagreeing about the price of something
• Talking to strangers
• Driving at night without your lights on
• Driving the wrong way up a dual carriageway because it's quicker than the next turn.
• Piddling in the kiddies paddling pool
• Throwing you peanut shells on the floor of the bar
• Jumping into the pool fully clothed
• Being ridiculously late

There are a few things that are not a good idea, though. 'Not a good idea' in that you will spend a long time in a luxury, air-conditioned, single-occupant basement cell, with fine cuisine, a distinct lack of beatings and expert medical attention. If you get my drift.

• Jumping into the pool naked because you forgot that you didn't have your swimmies on under your shorts
• Jehovah's witnesses
• Shouting "What happened to good old Mubarak?"
• Being a plane spotter
• Bacon
• Being leerily drunk
• Holding your breath whilst diving
• Camels in the room after midnight
• Elfansaifty

I met an interesting chap in the evening and spent many hours listening to his explanation of the current situation in Egypt and the Middle East in general. It seems that Mubarak's departure was not welcomed by everyone here and the soft, democratic, moderate orations we all heard from the new President may not truly reflect his intentions for the country. I wonder how liberal Egypt will be in a few years time. I wonder what Egypt's relationship with Israel will be like. I wonder if the poor here will fair. I remain to be convinced that all is as well as the new government would have us think.

Day 4: Sunday 9^th September 2012, Expedition Ocean Vision 6

We met some more fascinating people today. We talked at length to a vendor from a village near Cairo who gave us further insight into the state of Egypt. He was clearly happy to see the back of Mubarak, not least on account of him stealing all the people's money. On the other hand, he was less than impressed with the lack of progress from the replacement President, the poor getting poorer as prices rise whilst wages stagnate and the fact that they seem to get nothing back for their taxes. He considered the Israelis a significant threat to the Muslim people although he was emphatic that the Arab world was happy to live next door to them as long as they kept themselves to themselves.

And people should keep themselves to themselves. And their ideas to themselves. Especially ideas about changing things that really don't need changing. For example, if you find a lovely bar, slightly scruffy, loads of character, mementos, flags, football shirts from all around the world, all signed by famous people, photographs on the wall and the floor covered in peanut shells, you come to love it. If anyone were to have the idea that it needed turning into a modern, stainless steel, coloured lights and sterile glass sort of poncy city bar, you would think it a good thing thing they he or she kept that idea to them self rather than putting it into practice.

What a tragedy, then, that some forward-thinking, yuppie halfwit decided to decimate the Camel Bar, home and refuge for hippies and divers for decades, and turn it into a Sloane bar from the 1980s. So our favourite haunt in all the world is now a characterless, soulless, clinical, unloved, "sports bar" with no fewer than four big-screen TVs, each showing a different football match from around the world and dispensing the same flavourless, piss-yellow lager from Belgium or somewhere; a place where some of the best dive instructors anywhere used to meet, but from which they have now fled because it is just so wrong. It is an abomination.

It's still OK to go there, but DO NOT stop half way up the stairs, keep going until you find yourself in the starlight on The Roof, which is still delightful, friendly and welcoming. The food is truly excellent and you will love it. Unless you go very early, you should reserve yourself a table.

Day 5: Monday 10^th September 2012, Expedition Ocean Vision 6

Today we continued our research into the state of Egypt after the Revolution (called the White Revolution) in 2010. To the outsider, especially in South Sinai, things may not appear terribly different. But scratch the surface and you will find that the people here are not at all happy. The hopes of a more secure, more prosperous environment that were running high 18 months ago and that fuelled the Revolution have not been realized. Work is hard to find and money is tight. The massive fortune that Mubarak stole was no closer to being recovered and it looked very unlikely that it ever would be. We, in Britain, must accept our share of the blame for this as it seems very probable that a large chunk of that resides in banks in Britain. We are known as one of the most difficult countries in the world to recover money such as this from, which is pretty shocking when you think about it.

And what of the new government, followers of the Muslim Brotherhood? When the new President came to power a little earlier this year (still 2012, by the way) his inaugural address promised freedom of expression, economic growth, justice and the like. The sort of things that politicians promise to get themselves elected. There was a moment when I thought that maybe, just maybe, Egypt would be alright. This optimism is not shared by the people here.

The Country's economy is thought to take 5 or 10 years to recover from the losses it suffered (including from the global recession) and, meanwhile, prices and taxes rise, whilst wages stagnate and public services are next to non-existant - these people have to pay for everything: schools, hospital treatment, etc. The huge dip in tourism following the Revolution cost millions of jobs and, whilst visitor numbers have recovered to an extent, it does not appear to be anything like as I remember it. This is not helped by the impression in the West that Egypt is unsettled and unsafe - the post-revolutionary unknown and a small shooting war going on further north in Sinai around Raffat. My friends that were here in Sharm at the time tell me that you wouldn't have known there was a revolution going on and, apart from some new armed police check points around the place, Carol and I see the place as it always was. It feels perfectly safe here.

Tourism is THE main source of income for the country and any government would have to be crazy to do anything to damage that. The tourist industry directly employs around 2,000,000 people in Sharm el Sheikh, Hurgada and Marsa Alam, out of a population of some 82,000,000 - my own figure, not verified. Sorry. Each of those supports his family (say 4 to 8) and the hotels, bars and restaurants use the services of many more businesses that supply food, drink and services. There are taxi drivers, shopkeepers, dive centres, Casinos, furniture makers, and hundreds more. The Government has opened up resorts such as Sharm el Sheikh to Egyptian families, which is good, and Carol and I find ourselves two of maybe 6 Europeans at our hotel, all the other guests being Egyptian families enjoying the last week or so of their summer holidays.

Now, we came to Egypt to be with Egyptians so we are happy with this. But the Egyptians that work in tourism do not completely share our opinion. For a start, Egyptians do not spend as much money as Europeans for obvious reasons. First they don't have as much and they really don't need to buy souvenirs from Egypt, pyramid paper-weights, shisha pipes, Sharm T-shirts and the like. Second, not many of them dive, so the dive centres are not doing as well. Third, this is not bringing money into the country, simply circulating it within the economy. Consequently they are all feeling the squeeze. I think we were probably the only people in the hotel that engaged with our hotel staff, certainly the only ones that offered tips on which the people depend - it was reported to me that a manual worker here might expect to be paid LE 500 per month (500 Egyptian pounds or roughly £60 sterling). I have to say at this point that we love to chat with our friends that work in the hotel, they are incredibly open and friendly and look after us magnificently. I must also state categorically that our friends here do not look after us like lords for our money; they do so because we engage with them, talk to them, ask questions (carefully and with respect) and listen to them.

Another massive worry here is that the Muslim Brotherhood might impose a much more strict form of Islamic law on the country. This would include banning bikinis on beaches and the sale of alcohol. People flock here for the wonderful diving, the weather, the antiquities and the friendly, welcoming environment. Westerners feel they can do this comfortably because of the liberal approach to life. Egyptian women cover themselves in accordance with the requirements of Islam, but western women may wear bikinis on the beaches or by their swimming pool. I should add here that, despite what you may see some women doing, this is not really acceptable anywhere else and topless sunbathing is definitely not acceptable.

We can enjoy a glass of wine or six and, as long as we act responsibly and with respect, we can feel comfortable here. Now, if the Muslim Brotherhood Government were to impose strict laws banning these things, the place would take on a very different feel. Fortunately, even the Government's detractors don't think they're stupid enough to do that just yet. They think they will do it, but over many years when they can find other sources of income. Good luck with that!

But, even in hardship, I still see the people smiling, doing their work and going about their business. I've said it before and I'll say it again, these are good, friendly people.

One thing is as bad as ever, maybe worse because of the squeeze, is the hustling for trade in the streets by shop keepers and chaps from bars and restaurants. The only way to handle this is not to get engaged at all, but to offer a polite, but firm, "La shokran" and keep walking. If you even stop to explain why you can't hang around, you will find yourself trapped. Deal with this properly and it stops becoming a problem.

Day 6: Tuesday 11^th September 2012, Expedition Ocean Vision 6

We both had work today today so we stayed at the hotel and got on with stuff that needed doing. As you do. But an otherwise constructive day was shattered by the news that some idiots in California had made and released a film, on video, that was extremely insulting to Islam and the Prophet Mohammed in particular. I haven't seen the video and have no intention of so doing, but the reaction in Egypt and Libya has been severe, doubtless the makers' objective. So the Americans are making even more friends.

The US Embassy in Benghazi was stormed last night and the Ambassador, Christopher Stevens, has been killed as a reprisal. It seems that even if the people that made this are not American (I do not know at this stage), because the video was made there the US is the first obvious target. As the makers are thought to be Christian, there will clearly be a threat to the safety of all Christians in the region too. More to come on this one. All I can say for now is that people are furious about this.

Day 7: Wednesday 12^th September 2012, Expedition Ocean Vision 6

A nice quiet day today, doing some study and relaxing. There has been more news about the anti-Islam video with anger and violence spreading throughout the Middle East, Africa and western Asia.

Carol and I had supper on the Roof of the Camel Bar at our table - the one where we got engaged four years ago. We also checked in with Camel Dive and made arrangements to start our diving and filming on Friday.

Day 8: Thursday 13^th September 2012, Expedition Ocean Vision 6

We prepped our dive kit and video gear today, ready for diving tomorrow and the start of filming on Saturday.

We've still been searching for news about the video from America, but still not much here at the moment. It looks like a quite carefully targeted piece of trouble-making, being released or promoted in selected countries to start with, but spreading. The reaction so far is huge, although many in the Middle East haven't heard about it yet. I have heard rumours that a couple of European embassies have also been attacked, but nothing has happened in Sharm el Sheikh. Although we're holding our breath. It will. Wait until after Friday prayers.

Day 9: Friday 14^th September 2012, Expedition Ocean Vision 6

First day of diving. Very good. We got ourselves back onto one of our favourite dive boats today, the Wasser, on which we last sailed nearly 3 years ago to go to the SS Thistlegorm.Good to be back on board. We're using Camel Dive to start with and there have been quite a few changes since we were last here; lots of our friends have left, for various reasons (recession, birth of first child, the Arab Spring, huge down-turn in tourist numbers here), and many new ones have joined. It is a professional outfit, but not without a few minor glitches: a Ukrainian guide that chose to treat some of the less experienced divers like students by being unnecessarily critical, a group of divers told a morning pick up time that was one hour too early and a bloody shambolic transport plot back to the hotels at the end of the day.

The MV Wasser at Na'ama Bay

On that last point, here's the scenario for you. We were offered a choice of busses, one at 5 o'clock and one at 6. As it was already well after 5, we elected for the second option and went to the Camel Bar for a glass of fine Egyptian wine - Obelisk. We reported for our bus, 5 minutes early as briefed, and were directed to sit in a hot tin can. We did this for ten minutes, just enough time to work up a serious sweat. Then we were redirected to a different, equally hot, tin can. It appeared that the dive centre staff were drinking their beers, which meant that the customers had to sit in the hot tin cans and wait until they were quite finished. Varous groups of people were sequentially shuffled from one bus to another for a further ten minutes or so, until we were nicely overheated and then we set off.

Sure enough, there were protests against the video from California in Sharm this evening. We had to drive back from Camel Dive to our hotel through a large, but mainly peaceful protest, which later made its way through the tourist areas in Na'ama Bay. The anger is almost palpable and it feels like things could still go either way. We shall see.

Day 10: Saturday 15^th September 2012, Expedition Ocean Vision 6

We went to the Tiran Reefs today. This was the first time for the video gear in the water on this exped. We had forgotten some of the finer points of handling that huge thing in the water, but the currents were gentle at the new moon making this a good opportunity to get back up to speed. Carol is a better diver than ever before, so comfortable in the water, great air and buoyancy.

We enjoyed our traditional apres-dive glass of wine at the Camel Bar, avoiding the ghastly new interior by sitting on our favourite perch on the bridge over the entrance to the Dive Centre. Lots of locals and even the bar manager there are telling us that the changes have driven away quite a lot of custom. I could have told them that would happen.

The man behind an anti-Islam movie that has triggered protests and violence across the Middle East turns out to be one Nakoula Bassely Nakoula, a US citizen, but originally from Egypt. Today I have heard that his disgusting video is called 'Innocence of Muslims'. In his native land, Nakoula would face swift and severe punishment. However, in America, there is nothing illegal about making a movie that disparages a religious figure and so the US government is caught between a rock and a hard place; the law states that they must protect his right to freedom of speech and must, therefore, also protect him from harm. Meanwhile they are desperate to be seen to condemn the message in his film.

This is clearly a paradox that makes little or no sense to those protesting and baying for his blood. Here in Egypt, America's refusal to punish someone that has performed the ultimate sacrilege is seen as tantamount to approval of it. Obama finds himself in a political minefield with just two months to go before the election. He is wondering how to express outrage over the movie's treatment of Islam without compromising the most basic American freedom.

This situation raises questions about how far the US Government should and can go to protect someone who has not broken the law as they have had to do to ensure that Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan could march without being attacked for their views. As I said before, people here in the Middle East couldn't give a damn about Obamas political problems; they will only be satisfied by an unqualified condemnation of Akoula and suitable punishment. I think, even if Obama could do this, he wouldn't want to anger the Christian and Jewish voters at home.

Day 11: Sunday 16^th September 2012, Expedition Ocean Vision 6

Today we did some excellent filming in Ras Mohammed National Park. We dived Eel Garden and Shark Observatory in the morning and we were the only divers on the site. We took some great video of the Garden Eels, Black Coral and a beautiful Turtle.

Afterwards we dived Shark and Yolanda reefs, still one of the top ten dive sites in the world, in my humble opinion. Again there were just eight divers on the entire site, a sure sign of how quiet it is here at the moment. Good for us, but terrible for Egypt's economy. We videoed Batfish, another Turtle, Scorpionfish, Blue Spotted Stingrays and a lot of Jacks. There was virtually no current today, the first time I've seen it like that in over ten years!

Following a fantastic lunch, we went to Ras Umm el Sid where we found an Eagle Ray and some magnificent Gorgonians. It was a truly fantastic day's diving and we have seen that the coral is in great condition, the sea life is plentiful and healthy. Furthermore, Camel Dive are maintaining their professional standards and are still as friendly as ever.

We returned quite late to our hotel and our new friends there: Abdul Azis, Ibrahim, Mohammed and Ayman.

The protests here in southern Sinai have cooled off for the time being, but we are hearing from locals that military action in the northeast continue. One of our friends relatives was wounded in action there. Iran has jumped into the action around the 'Innocence of Muslims' video, vowing to track down and 'deal with' the films makers. Syria rages on, Israel is quiet, but still looking menacingly at Iran and next door to us in Libya protests and riots continue. It may seem a blindingly obvious thing to say, but even with the rather sketchy news we get here, it feels ominously unsettled here. Strangely, the BBC World Service TV channel seems to have disappeared. The only news is coming in from the Arab stations.

Day 12: Monday 17^th September 2012, Expedition Ocean Vision 6

Today was out last day of diving. And where better than going back to Ras Mohammed? We divied Ras Za'atar and Shark and Yolanda.

Somehow, we always manage to find at least one complete arse on every trip, normally two or three. This time was slightly different in that we found three, but all one bloke. Bless him, the little darling. I think he was Portugese. He wa one of those people that seemed completely unaware (or disinterested) in even trying to be well mannered on a reasonably crowded dive deck. A dozen or so people trying to get their dive kit on in a fairly confined space containing LOTS of bulky and heavy equipment do not need extra people just hanging around or taking up space unnecessarily, at their liesure. Somehow, this bloke managaged to be in everyone's space, seemingly without effort.

And then we got in the water, at which point he really started to excell. He immediately ignored and abandened his assigned buddy and buggered off with his camera in search of poor, unsuspecting prey. Soon a magificent Green Sea Turtle happened along. He appeared out of nowhere and set about terrorising the poor creature in a most astonising way. Being a polite British type, I queued up with my massive sea anchor that doubles as an underwater camera, patiently waiting my turn to take little video of her. I moved well ahead of her and her tormentor and lined up my shot, only to be surprised by the shock of Il Wanko appearing in the viewfinder, pretty much pinning the poor turtle against the reef. Enough of that saga.

We were treated to a visit by a large female eagle ray, one of the beauties of the reefs in the Red Sea. They tend to hang out in the blue rather than close to the reefs and are quite shy. They will come close to divers as long as you're still and quiet. She closed in on us slowly and was offering up a magnificent photo opportunity when up popped the git once again. And what did he do? Well, as you ask he rushed up in front of it and popped off his camera flash in her face. We were only at about 8 metres, so there was really no call for a strobe. Anyway, the effect was immediate and inevitable. The eagle ray performed the most elaborate and speedy escape manoeuvre I've seen for a long time. Clearly very shocked and never to return. I was wishing bad fortune on the guy at this stage.

And my prayers were answered. El Wanko was now seriously out of air. The only shame was that he failed to drown. Instead he made a speedy safety stop, ascended to around two metres (probably the most dangerous place to be) and swam at that depth to the waiting dive boat, about 50 metres away. The only consolation for him not being charged down by a speeding boat and sliced to little pieces of meat was the fact that he then proceced to board the wrong dive boat.

There's always one!

Our final dive was back to Shark and Yolanda, again with no current and flat calm seas. In fact, we could have done with a tiny bit of current, just to get us to the Yolanda wreckage, but it did give us the opportunity to explore that pat of the site at will. A great final dive.

We went back to Camel for our après plongée and took the opportunity to wash all our gear, the intention being to let it dry for 24 hours and collect it tomorrow evening when I can also check out of the dive centre.

Carol Courtnage - Sharm el Sheikh 2012

Day 13: Tuesday 18^th September 2012, Expedition Ocean Vision 6

A good day to review our video footage and to do a bit of local research. I won't bore you with the details as it's just stuff for our videos, etc. I shall just report one interestng finding that might be useful to any travellers to Egypt. We have been drinking a white Egyptian wine called Obelisk, which comes from the Gianaclis vineyards in the Nile Delta. Obelisk white has been around for years and, after the first few glasses, is reasonably acceptable to drink in Egypt, as long as it's very cold. It is light straw in colour and has the flavour of some fruit, although this is quickly swamped by the wine's sharpness. It's basically OK, apart from the flavour and the nose. I think it's made from pinot blanc grapes, but it's quite hard to tell.

Now, I always knew that there was also an Obelisk red, which I have only ever tried once. I don't think I would recommend it. It smells like musty old rugs and damp leather.

But I had never come across Obelisk Rose until now when I discovered that the bar in our hotels sells it. I was tempted to try it, but then I saw a write up which stated:

This dry rose wine has probably garnered the worst reputation among foreigners of any Egyptian wine. Some foreign wine experts have referred to it as nearly undrinkable. It smells of damp compost and this comes through in the flavour too. Alcohol content: 12.5 %.

After which I decided not to bother. So, today's useful fact is: if you must drink Obelisk wine, stick to the white, make sure it's very well chilled and do not under any circumstances be tempted to by any in duty free to bring home.

Day 14: Wednesday 19^th September 2012, Expedition Ocean Vision 6

This morning I cleaned and serviced the camera housing and put it in the sun to dry - 3 minutes later it was bone dry.

At lunchtime we chatted to a very interesting Egyptian who was explaining to us some of the lesser known points about Islam - and very interesting it was too. Especially his perceptions of how the West views Muslims and how Muslims view the West. I think there are a lot of people that would benefit from listening to a man like that from time to time.

This afternoon I find myself swotting for a French exam - having hardly touched the language for over 40 years. I like a challenge. The penalty for getting 5 or more answers incorrect is to be ejected from the bar into the pool fully clothed. I shall go and study for a couple of hours now and report back to you afterwards - assuming my laptop isn't at the bottom of la piscine.

Our little den for warm afternoons where we study, read write, etc, is a very cosy (cosy as in nicely air conditioned), disused bar. All made of wood and very quiet. I've just seen a notice on the wall that reads:

Lost Dog

Three legs, blind in one eye, missing right ear, tail broken, recently castrated. Answers to the name of Lucky.

I MUST concentrate on learning 40 years of French in (now) 90 minutes...

Back now to serious stuff. Following on from that video, again, from America. We have the BBC World Service back on satalite TV here, but only the picture, no sound. Reading the headlines we find that a French satirical magazine has published and obscene cartoon of the Prophet Muhammed. So here we go again. This time, of course, it looks like Europeans will be the target of protests, which are already being organized here on the internet and networks like Twitter. This time, expect anger on top of existing anger. What the hell are the people that produce this stuff thinking? Hotels here are already receiving hundreds of cancellations from Europeans who don't feel it's safe to come here.

Day 15: Thursday 20^th September 2012, Expedition Ocean Vision 6

Having a late flight home tonight, I arranged a late checkout with our hotel reception so that we could relax and enjoy the day until it's time to quickly pack and go. And that's what we did.

Generally speaking, we find that the airlines and airport authorities have managed to eliminate any last vestiges of pleasure from air travel, turning what was once an adventure into at best a chore, at worst a bloody nightmare. I have seen weary travellers from England that are tempted to believe that the level of misery involved increases linearly with one's distance from London and that it is further boosted by other unusual factors such as the airport belonging to the military - especially a foreign military. I have also seen that this belief is utterly wrong.

For a start, London Heathrow is an utter dump and probably one of the most depressing, grey and unkempt of airports. At the far end of this expedition, Sharm el Sheikh International airport, run by the Egyptian military, made the first steps of our journey home very easy.

Luton Airport, on the other hand, seemed to have recruited some of the most miserable, unhelpful and unpleasant people that Luton could provide. It wouldn't be quite so bad if some of them could at least speak English - especially the ones that check my passport and decide whether or not to allow me back into my country. I think maybe we were there when the third division team was on duty. Unusual, I suppose, because Luton Airport is usually fairly good.

Luckily, we arrived at a fairly quiet time of day so our exposure to these morons was nicely limited. Oh, and valet parking was a doubly good idea.

We were home by 2 in the morning. It was a great exped.

A Closing Thought

A gentleman named Alan who lives in Evesham had his Tax Return sent back to him by HMRC because they claimed his answer to the question 'Do you have anyone dependant on you?' was unacceptable. He had written:

'2.1 million illegal immigrants,
1.1 million crackheads,
4.4 million unemployable Jeremy Kyle scroungers,
900,000 criminals in over 85 prisons
plus 600+ idiots in Parliament
and the entire European Commission.'

His response to HMRC was:

'So, who the hell did I miss out?'