As this is my 200th article and I love food and beverage shows on TV, I thought I'd post a quiz as I know Joeusers love these. Rules: Very simple --no Googling or dictionary peeping. Straight off the bat and have a go at my twenty questions. Winner becomes Joeuser "Gourmet" for May! 1. Name three Italian cheeses. 2. What are "petit pois?" 3. What ingredients would you use to make a Bechamel sauce? 4. Venison is meat from a ____? 5. Sherry is traditionally made in which country? 6. ...

I think I'm going to write a childrens' story about my guppy George. He has to be the strongest guppy I know of. Let me explain: My son and I have shared a fish tank for over a year. We tried guppies and they died like flies. We tried little catfish and they did fairly well for months before turning belly-up too. We tried goldfish and, fortunately, two are still with us --er,that is out of ten original team members. The surviving member of our guppy family nearly didn't make it. After a go...

I want to ask Joeusers whether they have researched their family trees and where their families originally come from. I have seen from watching TV, that, in the US, there seem to be Norwegian influences, Italian influences, Irish backgrounds, Polish backgrounds and so on. Watched a programme the other day on a cooking channel(!) about Czechs and their food. Many Czech Americans have brought their cultures with them and they have endured. So it is with other groups who immigrated in the 1800'...

I wonder how many people realise that the city of Cairo would not exist without the Nile River. The river provides water for the city, irrigation for the cultivation of food, opportunities for tourism and a cooling breeze that dulls the heat of a desert climate. As you pass over the Nile via Cairo's numerous bridges you can feel the cooling effect of this nourishing river. In places it is over a mile wide. The other day we took a fellucca ride for some relaxation. You climb on board a typical...

Expatriates like me who live in Cairo don't own a car. I own a car in England but my daughter uses it and I've more or less signed it over to her. I could not own a car in the craziest city in the World because it would not last one week! I've been driving for over forty years but there is no way that I am going to drive in Cairo--it is a mad, road-raged city with bumps every five minutes (I don't mean speed bumps)--and an impatience that would try a saint. So, like millions of others in our ...

I do enjoy living in Cairo. One reason is, that It is, probably, the mecca of home delivery in Africa, if not the World. Here are some insights that will probably boggle your mind: -My British newspapers and my auto magazines are delivered to my door twice a week. I receive the Sunday Times on the next day, Monday. - If I want a Pizza, a burger or a Chinese meal, I log on to a home delivery site that delivers in twenty minutes.Yes, there's MacDonalds, Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, Hardees, KFC a...

I do not know whether JU friends agree or not but I think we're going through a (temporary), lull at the moment. JU can be very active and inspiring, but like everything, we hit our lows from time to time. As a a loyal Joeuser I thought I'd sow a few topics out there and we can debate them adnauseam (ha ha). Lets see if you can agree or get angry over these topics for discussion: 1. General Peter Pace is narrow-minded and out of touch about gay men. 2. Senator John McCain will be 72 in 20...

I promised I would post on Egypt and Cairo from time to time. When the Aswan Dam was built in the early sixties it became known, notoriously, as the "Cold War Dam". President Gamal Nasser wanted to build a new dam on the Nile so that the water flow along the Nile could be controlled. An older dam (Aswan lower Dam), had been built in 1902 by the British but it was not successful in keeping back the waters of the river. Before this, for three thousand years, the ancient Egyptians had used ...

Travellers and tourists are advised to be cautious in their choice of a destination in Africa. See the link below (which I'll comment on), and I've added a few because they have been left out . Avoid the following places if you want to travel in Africa. As per link: Liberia--putting itself together under Mrs Leaf. Could be safe in future. Guinea--very unstable at the moment. Demonstrations against government. Nothing for tourists here. Kenya--Lovely destination. Crime the big problem in ...

Thousands of people know the old man of Giza, the Sphinx, but I have to tell you that I have a special relationship with him. Firstly I love to visit him because he has an aura--a 3500 year old aura--that I cannot explain, but I'll try. He is much smaller than he appears in pictures but his legacy is huge. Imagine, if you can, a monument that stood 1500 years before Christ. Not so long ago, in 1798 (!) the forces of Napoleon fought the battle of the Pyramids near the old man. There are many ...

I thought I'd blog on some of the aspects of Cairo tourists never see. I'll do this once a week or so.This city has some amazing stories to tell in its 1000 year history. On the eastern side of the city, close to the famous citadel, and in the Moquattam hills, lies the City of the Dead. This is a vast area of cemeteries and small mosques that has existed for as long as the city has been here. As you pass the city you will note two things: Mile upon mile of boarded up or walled grave yard. ...

I read on Times Online today that Kodak is considering selling its film interests. That's after 100 years of making cameras and film. I guess they'll concentrate on digital more. I know their digital cameras are getting better and are proving quite competitive. Last week I read that PC Warehouse will stop selling floppy disks when stocks run out , and a few months ago I heard that Dixons (UK) would no longer stock VCR's. So, it is obvious that old technology must make way for the new. I began...

Ah, the cycle of life. How it runs, seemingly, back to the beginning. It's the "empty nest" part of the cycle that we are in now. My wife and I married in the early seventies. We lived in a rambling cottage on the edge of a farm and we had three dogs. There was always an edge of panic when our bulldog, lab or spaniel got sick. You know the scene. Young couple dote on dogs, visit vet frequently, spend a fortune at the vet! Our dogs have always been important but when the kids came along the...

Everyone has heroes simply because there are people we admire and look up to. Heroes come in all shapes and sizes and may be from politics, sport, the arts and entertaintment or, in fact any walk of life. A hero can be from history or the present. Most of all a hero is a)a representive of things we aspire to, or, a person we would defend in any debate because of qualities that have influenced us. A hero can be a brother, a Saint or a pop singer. One of my wife's heroes is Bob Dylan. Some of...