A cool, well fed street cat watching the floor show -- an athletic whirling dervish in Sharm el Sheikh.

Thank you Chief Health Officer, Victoria for putting truth before spin, unlike our politicians.

‘The start of another COVID-19 wave’: Sutton’s warning after worrying numbers theage.com.au/national/victo…

Prof Brendan Crabb AC Yes - Reff is over 1 again - first time since July.

I see an upward trend of Covid cases this week in Australia, no surprise there. Meanwhile our hotel in Sharm el Sheikh has adopted Covid safe practices. A 'no touch' breakfast buffet. All food behind glass and masked staff serve you what you'd like. Very reassuring.

Australia has 33,614 cases (up from 30,565), with the Reff up from 0.91 to 1.06. There are 111 deaths (up from 85). There are 1,348 people in hospital (down 85), and 48 people in ICU (up 6).

Well, this is a first for me. Downtown Cairo is underwater after a huge storm. I'm safe inside this lovely bar, Carol, which serves delicious Egyptian tapas.

Lunch at Cafe Riche, founded in 1908. A hub for intellectuals and revolutionaries for decades, it has an annex with photos of many including Naguib Mahfouz the Nobel Prize winning author of the Cairo Trilogy. Food is average but it breathes history. Chicken livers for me.

The search for Cleopatra's tomb now on SBS.

The scale is breathtaking, as is our nonchalance towards it. Key points:
(1) On track for 20-30,000 deaths more than usual in 2022
(2) COVID causing ~50%, the rest also likely COVID as in Singapore
(3) Last wave our worst
(4) These are true XS, ie, no 'catch up' on previous years

Watching my doggies 'play' reminds me of watching a Scandi noir murder scene. Mysteriously, they don't seem to hurt each other.

Why don't the media tributes to Uncle Jack Charles mention that he was a proud gay man and a major supporter of the LGBTQI community? ABC The Drum

Another fascinating SBS doco tonight on ancient Egypt. It seems the collapse of the Old Kingdom around 2200 BCE was probably due to extreme climate change that replaced savannah with desert and removed the nourishing Nile floods over 600 years leading to catastrophic famine.