Some weeks ago I booked a holiday in Luxor,....whereupon all hell broke loose in Egypt!

I try and convince myself that my booking a holiday there was totally unconnected with the troubles that followed, but of course I know perfectly well that not to be the case !

However much the Egyptians may have demonstrated against my visit, I have now decided, as the riots appear to be running out of steam a little (and having written that...watch them escalate from this afternoon!) that I just must move amongst the good people of Egyot, to show them that their demonstrations against my arrival is to no avail....!

No, seriously. Having researched thoroughly on the net, in Luxor there appears to have been very little of the troubles we have seen in Cairo. The odd tank in the street, the odd slanging match between Mubarak supporters and supporters of....eh....umm....whoever they want to take his place.....and of course all the tourists have vamooshed, leaving me and a few other "fools" (where Angels fear to tread...!) types at the mercy of the town's population of chancers and fakirs who follow you around offering you a "good price" for just about everything!

The sites in and around Luxor will be deserted...yay!....I am getting a free upgrade to stay at one of the best and evocative hotels in the world..The Winter Palace ...yay!...the sun is shining...extra yay!...and this weeks is a good week to get away from work...so, either I will spend the week next to the pool amongst the hotels stunning park-like gardens, sipping Martini cocktails and smoking the hubble pipe...whilst all the while dodging bullets...or I am in for a weeks unpressurised tour of the antiquities....something every other visitor in the past to Luxor can only have dreamed about.

So, see you at Gatwick, Wednesday morning at 09.30. I expect an empty plane....so there's plenty of room if you want to join me !