MY HUSBAND THE POTATO FARMER . . .

Well not quite, more like the potato farmers helper, but you get the idea. Poor lad, he's bored stiff here (me too if truth be told but that's another story) with no work to do. What with the worldwide financial downturn, all the business opportunities that we had in mind have pretty much dried up and/or now just isn't the right time to invest. He's not a happy chappy not having any work to do. He did work for a short while back in the summer for a local firm making fibreglass kitchen units (very popular out here in Egypt) but it wasn't really for him. Anyway, the potato season has just started again (there are 2 here, this first one, called the winter season) and the next one in May (not surprisingly called the summer season). So anyway he's off doing that for a while. He did a few days last week. Had yesterday off, and is back doing it today. He goes to the piece of land that his Uncle is buying the potatoes from, there are men and machinery there that dig up the potatoes, he then works alongside another man bagging the potatoes. Basically they decide which potatoes are good enough to go to market, then they stitch the bags up. The pay isn't great, but then he's not doing it for the money. But they get a big bag of potatos each day included and sometimes the farmer gives them a tip too (a tenner if they're lucky but its better than a slap in the face). The potatoes that don't go to 'market' are ones with blemishes, very small potatoes, potatoes with cuts in them etc, but these don't get wasted, they go to my Uncle who them sells them locally to people at a reduced price. Even ones that are going bad get sold off cheap for animal food (e.g. the cows eat them), so nothing gets wasted. Of course poor old me is left her on her ownsome - well not quite as I have Noor - but actually in many ways thats not a bad thing, as it gives me a little time to get online, as when Reda is here its not so easy. Plus he can sometimes be a bit of a 'bear with a sore head' but when he's been working he is usually in a much better mood. He's really not the type of person who can sit around the house, or in the coffee shops etc, doing nothing, he needs to be working; and I guess I should be thankful for that. TTFN. Stella x