"I don't believe it!"

We've launched a new Arabic Language podcast - 'Cup of Shaay' !

Fatema Elzahra Shokra and I have been chatting about theatre, films, customs, traditions, and celebrations in Egypt and the Middle East since June 2021, so we thought it was time to share.

Please listen in! You'll probably be able to guess what we're talking about even if you don't speak Arabic - from the mood - and even if it is incomprehensible, there's some nice music.

We're interested in popular culture in Egypt and Britain and we mix English and Arabic (both Fusah and Egyptian).

This month the 8 min. episode is a brief discussion about actor Naguib El Rihani (1889-1949) and his famously grumpy comedy character, Mr Pigeon, from the film The Flirtation of Girls (Anwar Wagdi, 1949). And there's a snippet of Victor Meldrew saying 'I don't believe it'!

Fatema and I talk about the pleasure in seeing these grumpy characters vent their frustration at everyone else and at life in general! Mr Pigeon is not unlike Richard Wilson's exasperated but often triumphant character Victor.

I've just spotted Rihani's dates and it appears that he died of typhus during the making of the film. It's ironic and macabre, then, that we've made this association with the British sitcom One Foot in the Grave (David Renwick, BBC TV 1990-2000). Both characters seem to know that life is short and things could be so much better... if only...

There's also a lovely song in the podcast - Rihani singing with actress Leila Mourani. So Mr Pigeon is not bitter, and he has his admirers. I'm just glad we didn't get to hear Victor Meldrew serenading his long-suffering wife, Margaret (Annette Crosbie).