Russ's Mum and Dad did Paris at last. It was scorching on the first day, and then it rained on the second.

Saved up all our dough, then withdrew it to spend on formidable nosebague and fun at Steve and Joan's pad in Paris.

How many of these can you name?

It was a strange and pleasant experience to meet up again. See below the pictures for the explanation.

Weekend of 3rd and 4th March 2007 - some prime time with Dave and Vicky on their visit to us southern poofters, and then, thanks to the kindness and ingenuity of Pete and Angie, a Sunday of surreal assembly of old chums from way back. It didn't seem as if more than 30 years had passed!

Then there was Leeds, where some of the intelligentsia of the sixties and seventies were able to meet for supper at the very nice Olive Tree in Headingley.

Earlier in the day, we had visited some of the new generation seeking their higher education in Yorkshire - here are some of us at Bodington Hall and York .

Edinburgh in the summer was brilliant fun. It was a mixture of theatre, jazz and Scottish tradition, like Greyfriars Bobbie (who sat at his master's grave for about 14 years until his own death), the Crags near Arthur's Seat (where Liddell used to train - but not on Sundays - as in "Chariots of Fire", remember?), and strange graffiti in the tunnel near Pollock Hall.

Ball Tampering

The Experts Speak

I have consulted friends at the highest levels of cricket and am now able to advise the public of the situation. The picture shows some of us on our way to issuing the following joint statement:

"The suggestion (devoid of any evidence of ball-tampering other than the tampered-with appearance of the ball) that the ball had been tampered with is outrageous. As readers of cricketing autobiographies by such figures as the former captains of the England and Pakistan teams will know, we have stopped doing that now. And when we did do it it was OK really as lots of other people were doing it as well, honest.

"And just in case anyone thinks that the above affirmation undermines our honour in any way, please note that when we did use to tamper with the ball it was not dishonourable, but that suggesting that we still do it is grossly to impugn our present honour. Not that we were dishonourable in any way in the past, though. Or now.

"We are pleased to have had the opportunity to clarify any confusion surrounding the recent misunderstandings.

"With regard to the unfortunate matter of the suggested pay-off to the senior umpire in question, we would only comment that there were of course two umpires on the pitch (not to mention the third upstairs and the Match Referee), and therefore any sums of reward should be equally distributed, especially as it was Umpire Doctrove who removed the first pair of bails, wasn't it? And even if he didn't, we believe that he deserves to be paid off just as much."

So there we go. Susi and I have framed our unused tickets for the final day of the historic match, and will soon be inviting offers on ebay for this priceless item of memorabilia.

Owzat!

What are the purpose and function of the "Team members" thing in the profile? And if this list is of any use, how do you put entries in it?

Back at the compound

Don't look, Gwen!

Hundreds of miles from the majestic purity of the sandy desert, we were in the scrubby, scruffy zone along the coastal strip, or tihama. In fact, we were only a couple of miles from the vast landfill site and accompanying lake of human effluent that threatens to undermine the city. From a distance, its verdant banks are beautiful to behold. On our way to out-of-town destinations, like the venues of the Jeddah Hash House Harriers (desultory running, jogging and strolling group), we occasionally passed the source of the river flowing into this lake, ie the disposal point for the incessant convoy of wee and poo trucks plying between Jeddah and the hills.

The main hazard was mosquitoes, but the netting on our new tent and the choking fumes of the camp fire protected us, as we were cunningly placed downwind. However, it was an uneasy night for some of our party...

This was another creature that we seemed to disturb, mainly by chasing it around with a flash camera.

Things livened up a bit as we prepared to retire.

Fortunately, the dense clouds of acrid smoke helped to repel dangerous creatures.

The conversation and singing around the camp fire were lively that night.

Camping after the Jeddah HHH