How things have changed...

For the first time in over 18 months I left Pereg at home to go down-town to the old covered shuk [market]. It is still old, still scruffy, and still half empty, the spice stalls have modernised in that they are more like little shops than open stalls, but have not increased prices too much, but the fish stalls have gone totally modern and are charging a fortune - I was quoted ~£1.65 for one salmon head [the only fish they were prepared to remove the head from and sell separately], and the poulterers say that they only buy fowl drawn, head-less and claw-less now.

Bang went my idea of fish heads and chicken feet for Pereg, who is now chombling away on a piece of beef rib that one butcher gave me. Actually he rummaged through his "chuck-out" bin and gave me what bones he had. Not that many as he said all his rubbish had been collected about an hour earlier. He did not want any money but I gave him some to put in one of the charity boxes as I do not expect things for nothing.

It used to be possible to get fish heads and guts for next to nothing, ditto chicken feet and heads. I know things have changed, but I honestly did not expect this amount of change down-town, in what is still the ancient scruffy place it was when I first came here.