More by luck than good management, I returned home safe and sound from my October desert voyage, the hottest one ever, and am now busily preparing for a much cooler excursion in January, when I must remember at all times to hold on to the front of my camel saddle: In a single second of carelessness, I am ashamed to say I slid off my dromedary’s hind quarters as he was clambering up a very steep dune, but happily for me, the soft Saharan sand made for the cosiest of landings with not a single bruise to show for my mishap! It was rather like going down a slide backwards. Thankfully no-one was there with a camera to record this inelegant incident, and Zeydoun obediently knelt down for me to climb back on again.……….