Fliptrack

A Good Read! - - - - - - Chris Hunter - Eight Lives Down

Chris Hunter has just published his book "Eight Lives Down" about his experience in Iraq as a bomb technician. The most dangerous job in the world in the most dangerous place in the world. Good luck with it Chris! The "News of the World," UK Sunday Newspaper is serialising the book. This is surely going to be a best seller.


ABOUT THIS BOOK

Visceral and compelling, Eight Lives Down is the most exciting and nerve-jangling work of military non-fiction since Bravo Two Zero.

"If fate is against me and I’m killed, so be it, but make it quick and painless. If I’m wounded, don’t let me be crippled. But above all, don’t let me fuck up the task".

So goes the bomb technician’s prayer before every bomb he defuses. For Chris Hunter, it is a prayer he says many times during his four-month tour of Iraq. His is the most dangerous job in the world — to make safe the British sector in Iraq against some of the most hardened and technically advanced terrorists in the world. It is a 24/7 job — in the first two months alone, his team defuses over 45 bombs. And the people they’re up against don’t play by the Geneva Convention. For them, there are no rules, only results — death by any means necessary.

The job of a Bomb Disposal officer is a lonely one. You are alone with the sound of your own breathing and the drumming of your heart in a protective suit in forty-plus degrees of heat. The drawbridge has been pulled up behind you as you advance on your goal. It’s just you and the bomb.

But for Chris Hunter, just when life couldn’t get any more dangerous, the stakes are raised again.

Manaira in Paraiba

Sara on horseback

We have just returned from another brief trip to Manaira. If Extrema is a 'one horse town', and Pelo Sinal is a 'two horse town', then Manaira is a twenty horse town. It is lovely to see lots of working horses and donkeys. Unfortunately, this way of life has long gone in the Scottish lowlands.

Most noticeably, as you approach Manaira, the dirt-track roads are of a considerably higher standard than those in Pernambuco. As Romulo, our nephew who lives in Manaira explained, "People need to travel from Manaira to towns in Pernambuco. No-one from Pernambuco has any reason to go to Manaira!"

Don't air your dirty laundry in public!

This photo shows why it is not a good idea to air your dirty laundry in public. However, it makes a rather splendid colourful display and you have to show respect to the Dona or Dono of the casa because by bowing your head as you enter.

John Paul II Restaurant - note the place setting!

If you're hungry, I suppose a good place to eat barbecued meat, 'churrasco' could be at this churrascaria. I still can't make up my mind if the place setting logo on the wall is meant to be wrong to attract attention - or perhaps the graphic artist (and the owner) just didn't know the correct way to set the table. It usually doesn't matter anyway in north-east Brasil as with a beer you get one plate and one fork for four people to share and enjoy the freshly cooked salty barbecued beef and dipping flour. A very tasty and sociable experience.

Danceteria Night dance

....and for night entertainment, may I recommend Danceteria Night Dance!

Tourist trips are on offer, at very reasonable prices if you want to experience life as it really is in the sertão!!

House for Sale

Or, once you experience how good the life is here you would certainly be looking for a house to buy. You could probably get this one at a fantastically low price. If you are interested I could get you a good deal. Just let me know!