Although many people feel depressed when they see him, (because he reminds them of death, the afterlife, and prayers. - al-Tayyib Salih

It was a steamingly hot July night, the Nile that year having experienced one of those floodings that occur once every twenty or thirty years and become legendary - something for fathers to talk to their sons about.

I told him that Mustafa Sa'eed was a lie. 'Do you want to know the truth about Mustafa Sa'eed?' I said to him with another drunken laugh.

They are my responsibility, and one of the reasons that brings me here each year is to see how they are getting on.