If, like me, you have a bad ebay habit then you HAVE to watch this!!!

Have you ever dreamed of soaring high in a hot air balloon, letting your cares drift away as you marvel at the sights below? Imagine taking such a trip over one of the most breathtaking places in the world - Luxor, Egypt; home of the tombs & temples of the pharaohs.

Hod Hod Soliman Balloons have very generously donated 2 tickets for a hot air balloon flight, which Luxor4Care are selling by auction on ebay. The lucky winners will have one year from the end of auction to book their trip......so come along and get bidding!!!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=019&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=290113950802&rd=1&rd=1

Luxor4care's aim is to give whatever assistance and support it can to thosewho care for the abandoned, orphaned, disabled and disadvantaged childrenregardless of their religion, gender or ethnic background. Although thischarity is primarily for children, the plight of any adult in distress willnever be ignored.

More information on Luxor4care can be found by visiting www.luxor4care.org

Below are photographs of a very popular market in China.  The animals are picked by the customer and then bludgeoned to death, or half-killed if preferred.  To read the full article, go to http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=445260&in_page_id=1811

What fine specimens they are!!!  It's all Daniel Craig's fault!!

How's this for a view!

It's from the table of a restaurant inside the new Tourist Bazaar in Luxor...the perfect way to relax and unwind after haggling the morning away!

Oh yes, that is the Nile you see in front of the Theban Hills

Above is a photograph of the kitchen in one of Luxor's care homes.

It needs to be completely gutted and refitted.  The tiny gas stove is used to prepare meals for over 30 residents.

Luxor is a historian's paradise and a tourist's dream destination as temples are inspected and time is spent soaking up the sun and slowly drifting down the Nile. Everyone knows that the tomb of Tutankhamun is in Valley of the Kings and that it contained fabulous treasures that were beyond price. What tourists do not see is the extreme poverty, suffered by those who are not fortunate enough to have families to care for them, or are so disabled that families can no longer cope.

Luxor4care was founded in February 2007 after one of the Trustees was alerted to the appalling conditions that existed in some of Luxor's care homes: many of which receive little or no official funding. Often the homes could offer little in the way of comfort, education, physiotherapy and health care because funds only stretch to placing a roof over children's heads.

These charitable homes are not those that receive publicity or have their own websites, although we will help those too whenever we can, they are simply homes that have been set up by religious groups and well meaning citizens of Luxor to care for orphaned and abandoned children and the severely mentally and physically disabled of all ages.

It is not the initial aim of Luxor4care to open its own care homes. There are many already in existence in Luxor. Instead, its aim is to give whatever assistance and support it can to those who care for the abandoned, orphaned, disabled and disadvantaged children regardless of their religion, gender or ethnic background. Although this charity is primarily for children, the plight of any adult in distress will never be ignored.

We cannot do this without your support
Membership of Luxor4care is free
Please fill in a membership form and join us.

http://www.luxor4care.org/membership.html

www.luxor4care.org

Marianna

This is Marianna, who is 5 years old.

Two months ago she fell and broke her arm. It was an open wound - the doctor she went to see put the whole arm in plaster and told her to return after a month.

When the cast was taken off, the arm was found to be severely infected. She was given a month's course of antibiotics and told to see the doctor again after that time.

The antibiotics were ineffective and the infection has now spread to the bone. She was taken to see several doctors in Luxor who said her arm would have to be amputated.

With the help of Luxor4Care, Marianna travelled to see a doctor in Cairo who cleaned the bone and recast her arm (the bone was still broken). She is on another course of antibiotics and will return to Cairo after 4 weeks to be assessed.

Please keep her in your thoughts.

This is the story of just one of the children we are hoping to help.

www.luxor4care.org

This is a picture of Mena. He is 16 years old and one of the full-time residents at the Good Samaritan Home in Luxor.

Mena is severely disabled. His mother didn't know what to do with him so she kept him in a cage. The only contact she would have with her son was to open the cage door once a day to put in food and water. He was found naked and covered in his own excrement

Due to restricted movement in the cage, Mena needed many hours of physiotherapy to help him learn to walk again. He couldn't talk and would only communicate with grunts.

Today, Mena is still unable to talk, but is a very affectionate and happy boy....

Well...here I am again, after a lifetime away (well, in internet terms anyway!!).

I'd like to share my latest project with you. If you've ever visited Egypt - Luxor in particular - you'll know how dire the poverty is there.

I've lived here for almost 7 years and only recently visited an orphanage for the first time. All I can say is that I came away in tears Whilst the staff do their best, the conditions the children are living in are awful.

So, that's how Luxor4Care came about. We aim to help children's homes in Luxor, to improve the lives of these children in any way we can.

Please check us out at www.luxor4care.org to read more about what we are trying to do.

If you have any questions, or would like further information, please feel free to drop me a line at: secretary@luxor4care.org

Btw, if you do drop by the website, please sign up to become a member of the charity. It's free to join - we're in the process of applying to the UK Charities Commission for registered status, so the more members we have the better!!

Whilst I try to remember what I've been up to for the last 3 months, I'll give you a link to peruse my ebay auctions.....enjoy !!

http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZegyptian_sensationQQhtZ-1

OMG, I honestly can't believe that almost a month has passed since I last wrote in my blog!!

I've finally got something resembling a business up and running - I didn't realise I'd be so busy! For those who are interested, you can view my wares at http://egyptexports.en.ecplaza.net/ (bare faced plug there!!).

More soon!!!

How many visitors on average does your blog get per day (not page views)?

Just wondering because I looked at mine and had to do a double-take!!!

Will stop being nosey now!

So...I've been extremely busy these past few days photographing all my gorgeous garments. I've also had the joy of working with models who are visions of perfection with their 22" waists and 30" hips. Not for these women a bad hair day - nope, everyday their hair looked as though they'd just come out of Nicky Clarke's salon. And all of them seemed to tower a good head and shoulders above me!

However, they were distinctly lacking in the conversation department. A cheery 'good morning' would be met with a blank expression. I told some of my favourite jokes to break the ice, but was met with the same sea of blank faces. I went out to buy some cakes to go with the coffee - and had to eat them all myself. It seems models don't eat - ever!

Hmmm...wonder if there's any difference between the store mannequins I was working with and their human equivalent