Tuesday, 20th September, 2016

Well, after our relatively quiet day at the Israel Museum we spent a very full Tuesday making the journey to Masada, the hilltop palace of Herod the Great.

First up was the taxi ride to the Central Bus Station to catch the No 486. It was scheduled for 1030, arrived at 1030 and left at 1045 largely because most of the passengers decided to buy their tickets from the driver rather than the ticket office, a negotiation that seemed to involve an inordinate amount of discussion in many cases. Finally we were all aboard in air-conditioned comfort heading east towards the north end of the Dead Sea (near Qumran, where the Scrolls came from) and then south along the western side of it (ie the West Bank) and one hour and forty-five minutes later we arrived at our destination.

Now a bit of geography. Masada is amazing! It is a plateau (technically a horst), about 58 metres above sea level, which does not make it seem very high, unless of course you are standing beside the Dead Sea, whose surface is 429 metres below sea level, which makes it, well, er, 487 metres high! One other geographical or, at least, meteorological fact was that the temperature was about 40 to 42 degrees C – and that was in the shade, of which there was precious little!

First up, let me give you an idea of the setting.

Arid does not do justice! And don’t be fooled by the upper photo as the wide angle flattens it quite a bit. You can spot the path on the right (known as the Snake Path), which takes about an hour to climb and which was closed the day we were there due to extreme weather conditions!! Not that we were contemplating climbing it – you will also notice the cable car wires – much more sensible!

Now, you may well be wondering what we were doing here. Masada is more than a big rock in the Judean Desert, it was also the site of a magnificent palace and bolt-hole (in the event of the need to escape an uprising) for Herod the Great (of the Massacre of the Innocents infamy) who built 2 palaces there between 37 and 31 BC of which there is still much remaining to be seen. Masada is also very important to the Israelis as it was the site of a long siege during the Great Revolt by the Jews against the Romans between 66 and 73 or 74 AD. Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD and some of the Jews fled to Masada followed by the X Legion (8,000 men) led by Flavius Silva who laid siege, building a wall and camps all the way around. The 900 or so Jews at the top had plenty of resources because of the water cisterns and food storage that Herod had put in, so the Romans were not going to starve them out. So, in true Roman fashion, they built a massive ramp (114 metres high) up the western side of the hill, hauled a huge siege tower with a battering ram up and set to on the wall. As they used captured Jews to do the hauling, the besieged decided not to kill a fellow Jew, so the end was inevitable. The account by the only historian to write about it (Josephus) is possibly at odds with the archaeological evidence as not many skeletal remains were found, but then they could have been removed. According to Josephus, the Jews, once it was obvious that the wall would fall, decided to die rather than suffer the humiliation of capture and slavery. They chose 10 of their number by lot to kill the other 900 or so, which they did. They then drew lots again to decide who would kill the other 9 and then himself.

Looking down on Herod’s swimming pool with, below that, his banqueting hall – what a view!

One of the Roman camps

The banqueting hall

The bath house

Hypocausts!

The Synagogue

The ramp

The couple in the photos are Walter and Fernanda who we befriended on arrival and with whom we travelled around the site.

It was now time to head for phase two of our trip – a dip in the Dead Sea. What could be better after the scorching heat of Masada than a refreshing swim? Well, what indeed – but the Dead Sea is about bath water temperature, so it was never going to be all that refreshing. It did not get off to a good start. We had decided that the best spot was a beach at Kalya at the top end of the Sea and on the way back to Jerusalem. So we (with Walter and Fernanda) got on the bus and I said ‘Kalya’ to which the bus driver said ‘beach’. I, thinking he meant Kalya Beach (as opposed to Kalya Kibbutz), said yes, to which he said that we should get on the bus behind, which seemed odd, so Val and I disembarked, waving goodbye to our new friends and climbed on board the bus behind where once again I asked for Kalya. No, the bus does not go there! ??? To save a long story getting even longer, it probably was the case that the bus driver made the decision that we would not like the beach at Kalya and that we would be much better off at the swankier resort of Ein Bekok, further down the Dead Sea (and even further from Jerusalem!).

So we found ourselves at Ein Bekok, where there was a good public beach with changing rooms and showers (but don’t ask Val about the loos!) and seats and, of course, the Sea. Now, I am sure that you know something about the Dead Sea, but just in case the knowledge is a bit rusty, let me fill in a few facts. It is 429 metres below sea level making it the lowest place on Earth (on land). It is 300 metres deep but, due to farming extracting water from the River Jordan it is in danger of disappearing. It had a surface area of 1,050 sq kms in 1930, 680 in 1980 and 600 in 2014. It has sunk by about 39 metres in that time. It is about 31% salt, which means you do not swim in it (and don’t put your head underwater or go in if you gave any cuts or have just shaved your legs!) you simply float. Enjoy the photos..

I have to say it really is the strangest feeling. It is actually difficult to get your legs down when you want to stand up again. I would add that the water temperature must have been in the 30s, so it was not refreshing and the salt was really sticky. The showers helped, but we were still feeling less than our best as we made our way to where we thought the bus went from. We eventually found the bus stop, though it seemed closed as they were working on the road, but we were told we were in the right place. So, we waited….and waited…..and waited…..for an hour until I popped into one of the nearby hotels only to discover we had just missed the bus at 4.50 (I think we saw it leaving) and the next bus did not leave until 7.15! We crashed the Crowne Plaza Hotel, had a drink, enjoyed the air-con and a sit down, noted that at 6.30pm the outside temperature was 33C and eventually made it onto the bus, getting back to a decidedly bemused Claire at about 9.30pm! What a day……..

Monday, 19th September, 2016

A day of ‘taking it easy’ today, although that is a decidedly relative term compared to buses and taxis (and irritating taxi drivers – see Bethlehem post!). It was still a fullish day, but spent in the air-conditioned comfort of the Israel Musem.

This was built in 1965 and renovated in 2010 and has a spacious, modern feel about it. There is a very long corridor to start with, so long, we were offered a lift! The statue in the middle is by Rodin.

The exhibits are well described (in Hebrew, Arabic and English) and displayed well. There are 3 main wings in the museum proper – archaeology, Jewish art and life and a fine arts wing. We started with the archaeological wing, which is the largest part of the museum and cover the area of Israel (known as the Land) from as far back as 1.5 million BC and covering all the different influences of the area such as the Canaanites, early Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Egyptians, Philistines (yes, they did have a culture, but not a very good marketing department), the Seleucids (inheritors of Alexander the Great’s empire – or part of it at least) who brought Greek living to the area, then the rule from Judea by the Hasmonean Jews until the Romans arrived, then the Byzantine period, the arrival of the Islamic rulers and the Crusader interlude finishing in the 16th Century with Suleiman the Magnificent and the Mamelukes (Ottoman Turks). There you go, a very brief history of the Holy Land/Israel/Palestine. If your particular empire/invading horde has been left out Incan only apologise.

I always get a bit jittery about archaeological museums as they sometimes seem to be full of fragments and you have to try to picture the real thing from a tiny shard of a vase. Not so the Israel Musem. Whilst sometimes difficult to follow the exhibits in a chronological sequence (better signposting would help) there is plenty of fascinating stuff from mummies (see Val below) to beautiful glassware, jewellery, ceramics and textiles with plenty of background history to go with it. Some examples….. I particularly like the second and third photos if only for the wonderful expressions.

Val and the other Mummies

What time do you call this?

Who, me?

We next looked at the Jewish Art and Life wing the highlights of which were, for me, the complete reconstruction of synagogues from Venice, Cochin in India, Germany and Suriname plus an 18th Century Parisian salon donated by the Rothschilds and a Georgian English dining room.

Venice

Cochin

Suriname

There was also an exhibition of Yemeni women’s jewellery (largely crafted by Jewish silversmiths) and headdresses which were beautiful. I will let the photos do the talking, as best they can.

There is a very good fine arts wing too, which we visited, but the photos don’t really do it justice. So next we made our way to the Shrine of the Book which is a stunning building that houses the Dead Sea Scrolls. The design represents the jars in which the scrolls were discovered with the part above ground being the lid and with a huge black granite wall contrasting with the white dome to reflect the decisive battle between the Children of Darkness and the Children of Light described in the War Scroll (and being the first draft for the Star Wars films!).

A nice view with what looks like an Alexander Calder mobile on the right.

With the Knesset in the background 

Val heading for the Dark Side!

Light versus Dark

The first seven scrolls were discovered in 1947 by a Bedouin goatherd looking for a lost goat at Qumran at the northwestern end of the Dead Sea. Over the next two decades fragments of some 800 more were uncovered dating from the 3rd Century BC to AD68 some containing the oldest existing versions of biblical scriptures. Sadly you cannot take photos inside the building, which is well worth a visit in its own right.

A very good day out, though possibly not the restful day needed for our next big adventure tomorrow on which more soon.

Sunday, 19th September, 2016

Claire had to go to work today (yes, on Sunday,  please see the earlier post), so Val and I set off on our own like intrepid explorers to have a day in Bethlehem .  The taxi to where we had to catch the bus was OK  but then we could not find the bus stop.  Eventually we saw it and also the bus heading for it. A lot of waving on our part and it did stop,  which was lucky as they are not that frequent. This was the Arab Bus as it is known, as Israelis are not allowed to go to the West Bank, ie Palestine. Nice bus, lots of air-conditioning and comfortable,  though it does take a very circuitous route to get there.

On arrival we decided to walk into town along Children’s Road, though first we had to fend off the fairly aggressive attentions of the taxi drivers and ‘guides’ who wanted to help us out and took some persuading that no means no. Once on our way we had time to see how Palestinians live albeit in a reasonably prosperous town like Bethlehem. Everyone seemed to be out and about doing their shopping, lots of cars honking and a generally busy feel to the place. It is certainly not as economically advanced as what we saw in Israel and it is very scruffy in comparison,  but there seemed plenty of commerce. Sadly litter seemed to get dumped pretty much anywhere.

We found our way to Manger Square and tried to enter the tourist information office only to find it shut. No problem,  on we went up Manger Street to the Visit Palestine Centre which Claire had advised  us was a good spot to eat. Unfortunately it too was closed! We found somewhere else though and I did manage to photograph a few shop signs  which may amuse you.

I would love to have met one of the Casanova Franciscans and I like the way the tattoo studio tells it as it is!

The main attraction in Bethlehem is, of course, the Church of the Nativity. It is quite a small building considering some of the churches you see at the holy sites, but was originally ordered to be built by the Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century AD (or CE as they call it in this part of the world). It was rebuilt by the Eastern Roman Emperor,  Justinian and has not changed much apart from some repairs. Sadly that is exactly what was happening on our visit and most of the inside, including the Crusader decorated columns were covered in scaffolding and protective sheets. We did manage to get to the grotto, supposedly the spot on which Christ was born, the focal point of the church and, indeed, Bethlehem . There was a very long queue for this holy of holies but Val in her practical way simply went to the exit, waved her walking stick a bit and asked the priest sitting there if we could go in that way to which he waved us through.

A few pics to give you a feel, though it will not convey the heat, the mass of people, the singing, praying and general religious fervour. The silver star on the floor marks the ‘exact’ spot. I never quite worked out what the bit with the candles was, though some visitors were muttering ‘manger’…..

The nave was completely covered up, but there are some superb mosaics from the time of Justinian,  in perfect condition and an interesting doorway, known as the Door of Humility, actually built by the Crusaders to stop the practice of driving carts into the church. There are also some lovely cloisters in the church that is joined to the main one. Why are cloisters always so lovely?

We did try to go to the Milk Grotto where Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus allegedly hid during the Slaughter of the Innocents. Mary is supposed to have been suckling Jesus and some milk dropped on the floor turning it white and both Christians and Muslims believe that scraping a bit off the floor can help fertility. Unfortunately the Grotto was shut for lunch! So a photo of the outside was all I could manage. Here are a few others of the town – we hoped the rabbits were being sold as pets!

We were just about pilgrimmed out now, so we got a taxi with the intention of being driven to the checkpoint in the Wall to get back in to Israel as Claire had told us it was worth seeing.  We negotiated a price, but the taxi driver then said he would not go there and would only drop us where we could get the bus. We were not happy, but could not do much about it, so caught the bus back. They must take a different route as we did not see the Wall though some well-armed border guards did come on the bus to check passports.

All in all an interesting day and well worth the trip largely to get a glimpse of how the Palestinians live.

Saturday, 17th September, 2016

A quiet, at-home day as it is Shabbat aka the Sabbath and there is nothing open, almost no traffic and not much else to do. It reminds me of Sundays in my youth – the early mass, buying the paper and raspberry ripple ice cream from the newsagents, a family roast lunch, the washing up listening to I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again, maybe a walk, Earl Grey tea with chocolate cake and biscuits, the Sunday Express (sorry about that) general knowledge crossword and something like the Forsythe Saga on the box in the evening…… All very idyllic especially with cars that didn’t work very well, strikes every other day, 3 day weeks, lousy trains, no internet (or is that a good thing?), waiting weeks for a phone, expensive travel and not very good cuisine. Take your pick…..

Ok well this was at least leisurely which was just what we wanted, but Claire is a girl on a mission, said mission to get her mother and father up to IT speed. So first up, I now have a new email address on which more soon. The old one still works, but as I don’t really work at Emanuel any more, I really do need to get a new email address. So this is the first advice of no doubt many, to start switching to the new one. Claire is superb at explaining complicated (well, it’s complicated to me) stuff to novices like me, though it will be interesting to see if I really can link everything together. We then tried to get a bit more space on this iPad by reviewing apps and deleting a load of stuff. Very cathartic!

She then turned her attention to Val, who hung in their valiantly, though it did take a long time to transfer all her emails. I will leave it to her to advise of the new address, but all in all we both feel wonderfully cleansed. Mind you, Claire’s phone number is on speed dial as I am sure we will need more training soon.

We ventured out for a walk to and through a nice park where the locals were at play, like lots of other locals are all over the world on the weekend. The weather is warm here, but very pleasant in the evenings and wonderful for a stroll. Finally we had a nice, non-kosher dinner, largely because all the kosher restaurants are closed on Shabbat. Jerusalem feels to be a very safe city, the people can be quite loud and upfront, but are fantastically helpful and will go out of their way if you need help or directions. The mix of people is extraordinary, ranging from the Ultra-orthodox Jews with their ringlets, some with spectacular hats that look like a form of topiary and long coats that must be very hot, through to very modern looking Jewish youngsters, though I am told you get much more of the latter in Tel Aviv. There are Arab Israelis, Palestinian Christians and Armenians, Russians (lots of these), Coptics and Orthodox Christians as well as all the different Muslim sects, though most of them here are Sunnis.

It can be a slight disadvantage to one’s view of the city and the occupants if you have a sound working knowledge of Life of Brian! There are just too many times that it leaps into your head, eg when we saw some graffiti, though sadly not in bad Latin telling the Romans to go home. And you only have to overhear someone haggling……. And then there are places like the Church of the Cross, but not of the Sandal or Gourd.

The city is split between all of the different groups with some areas dominated by some more than others. It has lots of trees and most people seem to live in flats in 3 or 4 storey apartment blocks of a similar light brown colour. It could be a bit cleaner, but on the whole it is pretty good. Traffic is ok, though they sure do drive fast when they can. It is fun at the zebra crossings as they will not stop unless you are actually on it, so you have to judge it carefully. We are getting pretty good at it now, though one or two drivers have had to throw out the anchor at the last minute and looked a little startled that we actually really did mean to cross.

No photos today, but I hope you have enjoyed the short travelogue. More from the Benniad tomorrow as we visit Bethlehem.

16th September, 2016

Now one of the things you have to get used to in Jerusalem is the ‘weekend’. The Jews and Muslims of course count the weekend as Friday and Saturday – but the Muslims have Friday as their holy day and the Jews have Saturday. For the Christians, it is Saturday followed by their holy day, Sunday. So today, being Friday it was a big day for the Muslims, which is largely the Palestinians in Jerusalem. This largely manifests itself in lots of calls to prayer and what feels like a mass migration through the narrow streets of the old city as everyone hurries to and from their mosque. For some this is done 5 times a day, but for many the lunchtime one is the main one, resulting in some spectacular en masse movement of humanity.

So it was into this we ventured with the aim of a spot of lunch and a walk through part of the Old City. Our taxi driver this time was less talkative but impressively quick, but he did inform us that there had been a stabbing somewhere in the Old City, probably by the Damascus Gate. Undeterred we set off as we were on the other side of the city, entering through the Jaffa Cake, sorry Gate! Map below, which I hope you can enlarge.

This is the biggest and busiest gate though largely because a gap was made in the wall in 1898 to allow Kaiser Wilhelm II to enter in his carriage! The original gate, next to this, was built in 1538 by Suleiman the Magnificent and is L shaped as a defensive measure. Once through you are in Omar ibn el-Khattab Square, though this is more of a widening of the road than an actual square. It is very much a focal point where you will see Ultra-Orthodox Jews, Arab sellers, Palestinians, Armenians, nuns, monks and priests all intermingled with the myriad tourists. Most of the square is owned by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate including the impressive Imperial Hotel. Opposite is the the Citadel (Tower of David) largely built in the Middle Ages and embellished by Suleiman. Some believe this was the site where Christ was tried and condemned.

The Old City is divided into quarters with the Christians largely in the Northwest, the Armenians (also Christian) in the Southwest, the Jews in the South and the Muslims in the Northeast. I am not going to attempt to explain the current political situation in and around Jerusalem but effectively the city is divided between Israel and Palestine, but security is dominated by Israel. This also applies to bits of the Western Bank (part of Palestine along with the Gaza Strip) though the Palestine authorities do control many of the activities here. There is no border as such though there is the famous wall built by Israel to try and stop the bombings of the 1990s. You can walk though most of the Old City, though not all of the Haram Esh-Sharif, where the Dome of the Rock sits. I hope that helps, but I suggest you read further in Wikipedia!

We set off through the Souk (Shuk in Hebrew, but this largely populated by Palestinians (Muslim and Christian)), down David Street until it meets the Via Dolorosa. David Street is fairly touristy, though much of the Souk is used by the locals for everyday shopping. It still feels as though you have stepped back in time by about 2000 years in some cases and it is not hard to imagine what it must have been like, though there is more electricity these days! The history is all around you leaping from the stones. I hope the photos give you some impression of it….

We arrived at our intended lunch venue, a restaurant opposite the Austrian Hospice where the road/alley splits north and east and where a great number of people were going to or returning from the midday prayers, so there was something of a battle to get there. On arrival, the road was blocked by Israeli security forces, very and I mean VERY heavily armed who were stopping everyone from going on to the Damascus Gate due to what is reported to have been a shooting by an Israeli soldier of a man armed with knives (the stabbing incident mentioned by our taxi driver). This made our lunch decidedly more exiting as the crowd were none too happy to have their way blocked, though the vast majority seemed resigned to the problem. Claire issued us with our escape plan, ‘in the event’ and we tucked in to our pitta bread whilst the old and infirm grabbed chairs from the restaurant to sit down and the restaurant owner tried to get them to give them back.

Eventually the way was reopened and everything calmed down, including Claire, we finished our lunch and set off to visit Hashim who owns an Aladin’s Cave of an antiques shop and who Claire befriended some time ago and from whom we bought our triptych icon on our last visit. Hashim is one of the most charming men you will ever meet, very useful in his line of work, but a delight to sit and chat to. Despite his quiet and friendly persuasion we managed to leave empty handed, but fortified by tea. A few random photos….

We we were heading for the Lion’s Gate in the eastern wall, also built by Suleiman though it is also known by its Arabic name of Bab Sitti Maryam (Gate of the Virgin Mary) as her supposed birthplace and tomb are nearby. First though we had a look beyond the wall at the Muslim cemetery and over the valley to the Mount of Olives (in the distance behind the palm tree in the middle photo below) where thousands of Jewish graves are as well as a Christian cemetery too. The idea is that if you are buried near the eastern wall you are going to be well placed when the Messiah comes as he is due to enter through the Golden Gate – though this may be a bit tricky as it was walled up in 16th Century and is currently out of bounds. Hope springs eternal.

We then retraced our steps and entered St Anne’s Church, a superb Crusader church built between 1131 and 1138. It is traditionally believed to stand where Anne and Joachim, the parents of the Virgin Mary lived. The acoustics are stunning and we luckily had a group of singing Japanese testing them out as we entered. Very moving. The church is next to what is thought to be the Pool of Bethesda where Christ is said to have cured a man  of 38 years of paralysis. It is certainly the site of huge cisterns dating back to the 8th Century BC together with all the developments that took place since, much now in ruins.

It was was then time to head home, with a lovely evening light shining, though not before we went up onto the rooftops of the Souk, a popular walkway to avoid the crowds and where you get good views of the city and where you can pick up a beer at the Lutheran Hostel overlooking the Dome of the Rock.

Well done for getting this far – assuming you have!

15th September, 2016

Claire had to prepare for this evening when her Institute was hosting the Jerusalem Season of Culture and she was due to give 3 talks on the ethics of images, so Val and I ventured out on our own to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum. A short taxi ride got us to the site (after the usual chat about where we are from and the international language of football- so far one Man U and one Liverpool supporter). It is a very impressive building in a serene garden. The main part is dedicated to the history of the Holocaust, followed by the Hall of Names where all those who died are listed. There is also an eternal flame and a very lovely Children’s Memorial where you enter and you are in almost complete darkness lighted by what seem like stars with a voice reciting the names of the children who died in the Holocaust, presumably all 1.5 million of them, one by one and where they came from.

The historical bit was very well displayed with a lot of information starting with the reasons for anti-semitism through the ages, moving on the the liberalisation of views in the second half of the 19th Century which seemed to coincide with a rise in anti-Semitic feelings and the complete concoction of the so-called Jewish plan for global domination (made up by the Russian secret police in about 1904). The problems leading up to and after the 30th January, 1933 when Hitler was appointed Chancellor are well covered with the gradual cutting away of rights, liberty and possessions of Jews up to the war, followed by the ghettos and extermination as the war progressed. All very moving and with many first-hand accounts of incidents and atrocities. I still find it hard to get my head around the numbers and also the inexorable planning that went into it all. It would have been interesting to have had a section at the end that covered other acts of genocide since the Holocaust by way of reminding us that not everyone has learned the lesson of history.

Our evening was very different as we headed for the Van Leer Institute to attend Claire’s very interactive 45 minute talk on the ethics of images. Very interesting and thought-provoking with a good deal of discussion from those who attended (all three of her talks were sold out). To sum it up, images are hugely powerful, often manipulated and need careful thought both when decisions are made as to what to display and by those who are receiving them. Val and I then headed for a nice pizza restaurant and home.

The photos show the Polonsky Academy building where Claire works and a proud Mum and her clever daughter!

14th September, 2016

Now some of you might be wondering why Val and I are in Jerusalem and the answer is that we are here to see our lovely daughter, Claire (yes, Caroline, you are lovely too!). She is a research fellow at the Van Leer Institute, researching into matters philosophical including supererogation (look it up!) and the ethics of technology. She has been here two years and we did in fact visit her in February of 2015, when, astonishingly, it manage to snow!

We had a nice slow and easy start to the day and then it was off to lunch at an excellent restaurant though I now have to ask Claire what it was we actually had. Kubbeh (dumplings in soup) and Azura (named after the restaurant) which is roasted aubergine with minced beef cooked in cinnamon. No photos, sorry, but absolutely scrumptious.

The restaurant is close to the Shuk (as in souk), though this is not the same Shuk which is in the old city and is more of an every day market, partly covered and partly open. Lots of produce on show, especially some lovely looking fresh fruit and lots of nuts and dried fruit. Very bustling with some industrial-strength shopping trolleys wielded by some very experienced and somewhat uncompromising local shoppers. Ankles beware! This is still the land of the plastic bag and so, laden down with our goodies, we hailed a taxi and headed back to Claire’s flat. The taxi drivers are almost universally chatty and interesting in Jerusalem and this one was no exception, taking time out to help Claire with her Hebrew (which is already very impressive). Quite  warm at around 30 degrees, so it was good to get back and have a nice cup of tea (how English we are – it was even Earl Grey).

A few photos to keep you going….

I thought I’d contribute to the blog, even though I am usually  the silent partner on our travel adventures. Not that I  didn’t want to make the effort before but typing is a tad difficult and I have to pick the right time.  So let’s see how it goes.

To begin, prep for this trip was so different to the three month one early this year. At that time, I encountered freezing,  panic attacks, sleepless nights with nightmares of being unable to cope.  This time I had a very good week leading up to D-day.  Everything went really well – which is a  worry in itself.  I think the wonderful weather we’ve been having helped enormously.

Everything went like clockwork with time to spare.  Even the suitcase co-operated and kept under 20 Kg – only one suitcase this time.  I  managed 40 winks en route to Luton. I don’t know what set off the alarm when I went through the arch in security but I was thoroughly frisked! Also I think it was a coincidence as there were rookies being trained to be security officers. Anyway, I was let through and in a way comforting  to know they were thorough. I  won’t talk about the ‘special assistance’ – John did that in his blog.

However, in passing, I am of the opinion that whilst the assistance afforded to the disabled community by airports in the UK is varied, it is also excellent. However, I take umbrage with the airlines for not providing toilet cubicles big enough for wheelchairs and/or big enough for carers to assist you while inside.  Before I left I wrote to the CAA enquiring if it was going to be regulated. Otherwise people in this category of need would be discriminated against and therefore unable to travel. I believe EasyJet single aisle planes plan to have accessible toilets installed in new and refurbished aircrafts.  For Virgin Atlantic Airbus aircrafts, having such toilets will be normal. We just need the rest of the airline fraternity to do likewise.  A campaign for Parkinson’s UK to pursue perhaps?

More soon!

Val

Yes, Mr Benn’s Blog is back once again and this time, faithful follower, I am writing to you from – Jerusalem! We arrived today from Luton (not often mentioned in the same breath as Jerusalem I suspect), via an excellent flight courtesy of EasyJet. It was made all the more interesting as I registered Val for special assistance. Now this was a good idea as the queue at the gate was very long and there were no seats to be had – unless you had registered for special assistance, of course. Now, to be honest, Val could easily have walked on to the plane and we just didn’t want to have to stand for long in the queue so we were expecting that they would do that thing where they call you up with those with toddlers etc. Not this time it transpired. First up we were shepherded to the lift and then onto a strange looking lorry with seats on the inside of it, via a tailgate that lifted us all in through the back. This was impressive, but getting off was even better. We arrived at the side of the plane and the whole lorry rose up until we were level with the door (on the right-hand side of the plane) through which we entered to do the usual battle with the rest of the passengers coming in from the usual entry point.

Anyway, all went well and we did not have too much of what we experienced when we last flew to Tel Aviv in Feb last year, ie the constant getting up and chatting by members of the Hassidic Orthodox Jews. As soon as the cabin crew had got one lot settled, another group set off down the aisle to have a last chat with their mates.

Claire, who we are visiting, had given us excellent instruction as to what to do at immigration and how to get a sort of taxi-bus to Jerusalem. We had Lewis Hamilton at the wheel (honestly, I never realised those buses could go that fast!) and we made swift progress to Clare’s flat, where we were greeted by an omelette, a nice cooling shower and bed.

So there you go, another adventure begins. More soon!!