Guest writer 6 - oh come all ye protesters

Merry Christmas everyone! The BBC news site has informed me that I am officially sad to go online on Xmas Day, but the festivities here start late (and go on late) so I reackon I can fit in a quick blog.

Fi has gone to church (I went to the carol service last week so not feeling that guilty), and I am scoffing breakfast (at midday) and preparing for the mega lunch/evening extravaganza we have later.

Our first Xmas in Beirut will definitely have been memorable, and it is good to see that Lebanon, despite everything, is really pushing the boat out to celebrate. What surprised me a bit is that everyone seems to celebrate Christmas, whether Christians or Muslims, and this year with Eid al-Adha falling between Xmas and New Year most of the country seems to have gone on a much needed knees up. I have never known a tense atmosphere like the last month, it has really been very difficult to do anything meaningful - the country really is split badly. But as my Lebanese friends say this is really how it has always been; Lebanon is just the playground for greater powers as usual. It doesn't mean there will actually be any trouble.

The squares in the centre of town are still full of protesters but it is very much a hard-core of campers now, and we are not expecting any developments until the New Year. They certainly have some good Christmas trees down there, and it is all very friendly. Diplomats are still running around trying to get a solution, but it will still take a few weeks. Probably a deal of some kind will be done - the alternative is too awful to contemplate.

We threw a big 'solstice' party on Thursday and around 50 people came. Quite hard work getting it all ready, but Fi did a great Steak Pie and I did a North African Lamb thing (thank you Jamie Oliver) and we still have loads of cake left as everyone brought things to eat. The interesting thing about Christmas here is that the Lebanese follow the French model and have a big meal at home on Xmas Eve, then apparently Xmas Day is a major night out - whereas of course in the UK we go out on Xmas Eve then spend the day itself with the family. Thus we found ourselves with some friends in a deserted restaurant last night (a new place in Gemmayzeh called Copper), and tonight we will be in with about 20 of us eating and drinking for England while the pubs and cafes are packed.

The weather is lovely (still) and cold at night but warm in the sun in the day. We are expecting rain later on Boxing Day and maybe some snow in the mountains as we have vague plans to go skiing in the New Year. I am working 3 days between the 2 then got the first week of 2007 off. Still it beats freezing fog in London.

Have a happy Christmas and a great New Year wherever you are!

Unfun Runs and Festive Fever

Sorry about the time lapse... although I am a lady of leisure I have been quite busy and have neglected the blog. I will try to be less tardy in future...

I am certainly enjoying my time off and am relaxing, learning Arabic (2 lessons a week now!) and generally getting into the Christmas spirit. I predict that come January, I will be looking for some work and although I managed to resist applying for a job on mine clearance that looked really interesting (but a: was in Sour/Tyre in the south and b: has pretty much already been given to someone else), I have already identified a couple of things I might try and volunteer for. (Don't worry, the mine clearance job would not have been in the fields, it would have been project managing part of it!).

Anyway, the run itself, although it took place during a time of pretty high tension in Beirut and the country as a whole, passed off without incident and was enjoyed by all. Being no athlete, I only enjoyed it once I finished the run - mine was rather a poor time of 1 hour 18 but as my friend Lucy pointed out, I did have to spend 14 minutes getting a stone out of my shoe!! Dom was far more athletic as befits one who looks like a certain champion middle distance runner, and the picture of him finishing appears above... His time was 1 hour 4 minutes. Next year I aim to beat that!

Otherwise, we have been struggling to get into the festive spirit much like many others in Beirut. The opposition remains camped out in the centre of town, meaning that traffic is terrible at the moment and that many businesses in Downtown are likely to close for good after Christmas. Even friends of mine who are strongly pro-Aoun and Hezbollah are completely fed up with the current state of affairs. But at least the very real threat of civil war has passed - although some writers, or headline writers at the very least, seem determined to mention it in any article about Lebanon. A certain Mr Fisk is the main culprit here... see http://news.independent.co.uk/world/fisk/article2076121.ece for both a well written and insightful, and egotistical and hysterical article, pretty much in equal parts. Still, he is one of only a few who continue to bring Lebanon to the attention of western readers.

The last few days have seen a bit of a last minute rush - although I think Christmas buying starts late here anyway. Traffic round the ABC centre in Achrafieh, a large mall, is packed solid for much of the day and the city is certainly looking more festive.

One final festive/political gem to show how one can easily mistake intentions in these confusing times... the other day Dom thought that the protestors had set up camp in Sassine - however on closer inspection he found that it was actually a large fake cave containing the nativity!

Merry Christmas!!