Nicholas Quirke was enjoying a full, active and sociable day on the 5th of December but by the time he sat down to collect his thoughts about the day he ended up feeling a little deflated by events that took over his evening. The morning had started well with Eileen, Richard and Jamie taking him out with a walking group exploring the outskirts of Essaouira’s landscape and sea shore. It was an eccentric group of Ex Pats, British, Dutch, German that made their way along a dusty road that led to a sewage works. No one was expecting that, and the stench that arose from cess pools was too much for some of the sensitive walkers. They fought their way through the bush encountering cows, donkeys and a tortoise before the landscape opened up onto a wonderful, empty seascape of sand, blue skies and sea. Nicholas took the opportuinty to take over a hundred photographs on this walk, including the beautiful rock pools and arches wrought in the rocks by the waves and ones of the group before and after the 5 mile walk. Nicholas made his own way home and inadvertently found himself in Essaouira’s red light district with a plethora of women all offering their services, ‘Monsieur’ they cried reaching out their red painted nails towards him. For a brief moment he felt himself to be Montgomery Clift in Suddenly Last Summer. He decided to take some lunch, a lentil and mushroom tagine, at the Vegan restaurant where he had been treated to a rogue takeaway and was reminded that it was a year ago in New York that he had enjoyed his finest dining experience at a Korean Restaurant with Jenny Fisher . It was delicious and satisfying and as he waited he tried to see the photographs he had taken but struggled to find them, he was perplexed but thought he would sort it out later. He and Eileen went shopping in the early evening and he purchased a few items including a TinTin carving and some gifts. Back at the Ryad they were expecting a couple of friends and a builder, the smell of burning plastic began to filtrate through the home and it was discovered that there was a fire in the junction box.  They lost all electricity and they sat chatting in the candle light as Kamal arranged for an electrician to come. Within an hour and half the situation was resolved and they sat talking till quite late with Kamal and his partner Holly. Once they had gone Nicholas discovered to his horror that the 111 photographs he had taken that day were blank and he had no record of the walk and beautiful sights he had seen. This was a dispiriting situation which was added to when he learned that his lodger was giving him notice and hoped to be gone before Christmas. Ir was with a heavy heart that he went to his bed.