Today I put on BBC iplayer to see if there was anything worth catching up on. And discovered that on March 18th it’s Red Nose Day, run by the charity Comic Relief.

Comic Relief run ‘Red Nose Day’ every year across the UK. Schools often join in, as well as most TV and Radio stations. People fund-raise in lots of different ways, through endurance challenges to bake sales. And all the shops stock red noses (the kind a clown might wear) which are made and sold by the Comic Relief charity.

It is really well known, and a lot of fun, and each year a few high-profile celebrities and comedians do something. Two which I found particularly impressive this year were these two.

David Walliams – One of the comedians responsible for ‘Little Britain’ among other things, and well known in the UK for his endurance efforts.

Helen Skelton – A presenter of the popular childrens TV show ‘Blue Peter’ who is known for having kayaked down the Amazon river solo last year.

Hope you enjoy their stories, and have a great Red Nose Day! (when it comes!)

That is not big, or clever. I shouldn’t have said half of what I said, and the half which needed saying should have been to the person’s face.

I can’t say enough how sorry I am that what I wrote made the person in question feel awkward with me. I take it all back whole-heartedly. She is a lovely person, and I appreciate having her in my life, and I hope that she knows that.

So I am not angry with anyone, but I am disappointed in myself. Very disappointed.

It was something else. There were huge bolts of lightning every few minutes, and thunder so loud that my window shook. And the rain came down. It flooded our back balcony and half of the kitchen, so I spent a good 20 minutes trying to mop it up. But I’m not a Moroccan lady, and I haven’t perfected the ‘bend at the waist and clean the floor in no time’ moves, so I just had to wait for Halima to come and help me.

It was amazing though.

Other people’s laundry is interesting because it can tell you so much about a person. Are the little, or big? Bright, or pastel? Outgoing or introverted? (Outgoing people put their knickers out on the washing line, and introverted people hang theirs on a clothes horse somewhere away from prying eyes). I don’t use these judgements for any purpose, and I forget almost as soon as I’ve walked by, but it’s a fun little two second game to play. I particularly like playing it in Morocco because there is so much laundry out all of the time. From sexy underwear to glittery jelabas it’s one of the most vibrant things about this place, and it’s really a lovely sight.

courtesy of The Washington Post

Of course, there are two meanings for other people’s laundry. And there has been a fair amount of other peoples troubles in my life the last few days as well.

And no, I won’t tell you. None of your business. Suffice to say that it’s been there, and I hope that those people manage to get their lives back on track despite the ridiculous and frankly, unfair, pressure being put on them by others who should know much better. If you take one thing from this (other than the laundry game) remember what other people are worth. Never treat someone like they are worth less than you.

Today was the 21st birthday of two of the Leeds group here in Fes. We celebrated in style, at a Japanese/Thai restaurant called Kai Tai. And it was amazing. Bar one person, the whole class turned up, and almost everyone asked about our missing member at least once. We sat together and chatted and ate and joked, and it made me realise how lucky I am to be here with these fantastic people. You couldn’t ask for a better bunch. There are millions of words out there to describe my classmates, but there is one that stands out to me today. Here and now in Fes, these guys are