Heron on the Nile
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  Common People One Last Run Tue 12 Apr 2005  

Tue 12 Apr

I awoke half an hour before the alarm which was already set for some un-godly hour. It was getting light already (well just slightly). Through shut eyes and beyond the whirr of the fan I hear the azan and the dawn chorus – I wonder if I should run – I planned to.

The alarm goes. It's 06:10. I get out of bed and go to the bathroom. 06:25 I leave the house. It's quite light but quiet. My legs feel stiff – best not push it today. At the Nile I take some pictures. I've done this run many times before. Today I've brought the camera. In the back of my mind, my days here are numbered. I shall not always be doing this. Like in the latter days of a failing love affair you are never sure when will be the last time you make love. There's a water pump in front of a dawn glow and then a sunrise behind a fishing boat – it's beautiful. I take a picture, but it's not enough – I have to take a dip too.

Back, outside the house I stretch and joke with the local shopkeeper. He remembers he owes me some change which I use to buy some fresh bread. In the flat I put some coffee on, stretch some more, shower and enjoy a lazy half hour in the company of Cleo and Margie.

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