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EXTRAS #2
2008 En Bref
All the stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else ... Steve Cubbins
in Egypt |
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Who'd be a Coach ...
It's a hard life,
taking your players all over the world, making sure they're
looked after and well prepared for their matches ... but hey,
someone's got to do it ... |
EXTRAS #1
2008 En Bref
All the stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else ... Steve Cubbins
in Egypt |
Welcome to Hurghada ...
Squash doesn't always get the profile we think it deserves, but
you have to admire the effort they're making here in Hurghada.
How many times have you landed in an airport to be confronted
with posters advertising a sporting event?
Well, at Hurghada airport we had posters - and a miniature
squash court - in the baggage collection area, and posters
adorning the lamposts on the road out of the airport. Yes,
squash posters .... welcome to Hurghada!
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 At
the Stadium
When you hear the words "Cairo Stadium" and see the "Squash
Stadium" photos, you're likely to assume that that's all there
is to it. Well, no, the Stadium Complex is a huge site,
containing the squash facility and, among other things, a
100,000 seater football stadium.
It was full to capacity last night as Egypt took on Zambia in a
World Cup qualifier (result: 1-1). The good thing from our point
of view was that the normally traffic-snarled roads on the way
back to the hotel were deserted as everyone was at the stadium
or at home watching the match on TV ...
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On the
Phone
 Nothing
unusual, you might think, in catching someone with a mobile to
their ear ... except when that someone happens to be Mr WISPA,
Andrew Shelley himself.
One of the last people on the planet to hold out against the
ubiquitous cellphone, Andrew occasionally relents when on a
tournament, when organisers give him a local phone. He's still
steadfastly against having one of his own though - "no-one can
complain that I'm hard to get in touch with, and that I don't
get back to them," he says, "I just feel that if I'm permanently
contactable by mobile I'll never get any work done."
All very admirable, let's see how long he holds out for ...
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Blasts from the Past
I was warned about the Cairo traffic - "one beep means get out
of the way, two beeps means you're about to die," Fram told me
as I set off - and I sort of expected to see most of the cars
with bumps and scrapes on them.
 What
came as a bit of a surprise though was the sheer age of many of
the vehicles, with many models - particularly Fiats and Seats -
that have long passed into folklore in Europe. Fiat 124, 128,
127s abound, some interesting old Peugeots, and many other makes
and models I'd forgotten existed.
I'm watching out for my first ever car, a Simca 1100, there must
be some of them about, surely ...
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Me
Myself I
 Another
warning was that in Cairo things happen "on Egyptian time". So,
waiting in the hotel lobby for the 10am bus to the venue [the
qualifying draw was at 11], I was pleasantly surprised when it
appeared spot on time.
 I
was a little perturbed, though, when it set off with just me on
it ... surely there should be more people than this?
Turns out that as long as you're brave enough to cross the dual
carriageway (there's a zebra crossing that goes half way across,
but it might as well not be there at all for all the notice the
traffic takes of it), it's actually quicker to walk to the venue
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Photogenic family
The El Torky sisters, Nouran and Heba, are always
up for a photo, and they always come out very well, they're a
really photogenic couple - even when you catch them off guard!
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