It Was A Busy Day,

first thing the asbestos crew arrived, 

the troublesome door being removed, as they were doing that Harry arrived to replace the cords on some of our sash windows, 

he brought a mountain of kit with him, 

and there was even more that stayed in the car park!

we resorted to wedging the windows open during the hot spell, 

the same living room window being worked on, next the second large living room window, 

followed by the kitchen, 

then the bad news, the bathroom was so far gone, 

it had to be taken away, it took the whole day, so next my evening meal followed by the usual Outback Opal Hunters, I then decided on a film, 

Witchfinder General, in the mid 1600's Roundheads and the Cavaliers battle over England, but in this sometimes lawless time a man was on a crusade,

Matthew Hopkins was perhaps the most notorious name in the history of English witchcraft, throughout his reign of terror 1645-1646, Hopkins acquired a feared and evil reputation as a ‘fingerman’ (informer), paid by local authorities to commit perjury, together with his henchman and fellow ‘Witch-Pricker’ John Sterne, in just 14 months, Hopkins was responsible for the condemnations and executions of some 230 alleged witches, more than all the other witch-hunters that proliferated during the 160-year peak of the country’s witchcraft hysteria, yes basically all of the above is all true, although his death in the film is not what is thought to have happen in life, but what did apparently happen in real life was the barbaric way the Hopkins had his victims burnt to death, typically by the time the flames have reached the victim they are already unconscious by smoke inhalation, but Hopkins did things a tad differently, a scaffold was built, then the fire was lit, when the fire was raging the tied victim on a ladder, for want of a better word, was then slowly lowered over the flames face first,

similar to this, but the bottom of the ladder placed further back next to a scaffold, ropes behind the scaffold would slowly be let out, the victims face getting nearer to the flames without the 'luxury' of passing out first, horrible, to even think about it never mind watching it in the film! after that it was time to pick up Diana, arriving home a Have I Got A Bit More News For You before Diana was a tad tired, as it happens so was I, so we were both off to bed.

Day 13, And The Good News Is That My Computer Is Now Up And Running Again,

and here we are docked,

coaches waiting, 

we were in Casablanca!

tickets in hand, 

and all set to go, 

on to the coach, for our first stop, 

Hassan II Mosque (Mosquée Hassan II). Completed in 1993, it sits on a promontory over the Atlantic Ocean, it is the second-largest mosque in Africa and features a 210-meter (689 ft) minaret, making it one of the tallest religious structures in the world,

we stared our tour of the mosque,

taking photographs as we went, 

outside a huge square, 

huge fountains lined some of the building, 

as Diana made her way through some of the many archways,

we joined the queue to go inside, 

well I just had to!

as did Diana,

I was snapping away as usual, 

from here we went downstairs, 

to the area where devotees, 

wash themselves before prayers, next outside into old Casablanca, 

outside, 

I was snapping away, 

there were cats everywhere, 

we then popped into a museum, 

with the rest of the group, then for us, one of the highlights of our trip, if you have ever watcher Casablanca, you will know what I mean,

we were at Rick's Cafe, 

the queue for lunch was enormous, 

but luckily we had booked with the tour from the boat,

no mistaking where we were!

inside a cool courtyard, 

we were shown to our table, 

where a complimentary menu awaited us,

all set, 

figs and goats cheese, 

followed by baked salmon, 

and a most delicious apple pie with ice cream,

after the meal a quick tinkle of the ivories, 

never mastered the double bass, 

it was now time for us to leave, so a pose from Diana,

and one from myself, 

but I just had to snick into the private end of the bar where Rick sits,

reserved, for Rick!

a quick photo on the stairs that lead to the upper dining area,

then a goodbye, 

to some of the staff that took such good care of us, 

next shopping, 

our guide was showing us the benefits of different spices and oils, as it happens Diana bought a pack of "35 spice" which refers to Ras el hanout, a complex North African/Moroccan blend of spices traditional merchant blends often contain anywhere from 20 to over 35 distinct ingredients, such as cumin, cardamom, and clove, the one Diana bought was guaranteed to have all 35!

did I mention they had a jewelry section? Diana bought these as a souvenir of our visit, 

I went for something completely different! back to the UK. Last night the liter bottle of spiced rum took a bit of a battering, so off to Bromley to replenish supplies, 

past the green, now brown,

and the graveyard with it's new hair cut, 

past the entrance to the church and on to a 227 bus to Bromley,

off of the bus and into the cut through that leads to Sainsburys, 

but this is where I was going, Timpson for a couple of new watch straps, 

I needed one for this one and one from the same model in brown, but alas they did not have either, so I will contact the watch manufacture and buy 2 from them,

next past The Partridge, 

and into the bank, for some reason they had stopped sending paper bank statements, so I call in and asked to go back to them, 

onward past Primark,

no haberdashery today as it is Monday, 

some work was going on to the precinct floor, 

all go today!

one of the buildings on the High Street being refurbished, 

and another area being pressure washed, 

into LIDL, 3 bottles of rum and 2 of sherry, and I was on my way home,

into the park and past Foxgrove Lodge, 

and the snail mail box, and I was home in time for my evening meal, after which I watched a film, 

The Mission, from the blurb:

'Eighteenth-century Spanish Jesuits try to protect a remote South American tribe in danger of falling under the rule of pro-slavery Portugal'

a powerful film to watch, one that might upset a few, but well worth watching if you can, it was then time for a Midsomer Murder, during which I popped out to up pick Diana up, arriving home it was a Have I Got More News For You, before we were off to bed.