A Wonderful Friend

.

During my time in Libya, I sometimes flew to Egypt to visit our friend Colin Davies at the IH school in Heliopolis, Cairo.

Whenever I visited, I was impressed by the total craziness of the place. And by how well Colin’s eccentricities fitted in there.

I remember once standing and talking with Colin in the school’s reception area. A small well-dressed man was enquiring about classes. Colin walked up to him and asked his name. The man replied, “Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah” or some such typically Egyptian name.

“That is not your name,” said Colin in his usual extremely loud voice. “Your name is Mahmoud Taleb and you are a Libyan spy.”

Libya and Egypt were on very bad terms at this point in time, so everyone in the reception area stopped talking and turned to stare at the man. He looked nervous.

“No, you are wrong. My name is Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah and I am an Egyptian.”

Colin towered over the little man and was unrelenting. “You are not Egyptian. You are Mahmoud Taleb and you are a Libyan spy.”

The man denied the accusation again. Everyone watched and waited.

Colin leaned over the reception desk and picked up a pair of scissors.

“You are Mahmoud Taleb and you are a Libyan spy. And I don’t like your tie.” With that, he grabbed the man’s tie and cut off the bottom six inches.

The little man fled.

“Was he really a Libyan?” I asked Colin.

“No idea. Never saw him before. Now, have you met Mimi? She’s our newest receptionist.”

Those of you who are lucky enough to know Colin will know that this story is true.