Thursday 6 October 2011

Stim

Is there anybody out there who remembers Stim?

When we lived in Aden, our flat was no distance from the Stim factory, but I don't think that got us any extra supplies! We lived on the same side of Ma'alla Strait as the factory. I think it was Cherry Buildings, I know it was number 6.

Wednesday 5 October 2011

The Nomad

If there is one part of British society that seems not to have been made part of a so-called "reality" TV show, or mini-season tucked away on BBC4 it is the families that lived overseas as the Empire shrivelled and Britons were not so welcome in parts of the world.

One such place was Aden. BP families were in Little Aden, and the service families in Crater, Khormaksar, Ma'alla and Steamer Point (as we called in those days). In Ma'alla we lived almost cheek by jowl with the locals. We had the posh flats on Ma'alla Strait, they lived in the back streets.

Since the British were unceremoniously expelled from Aden, it seems little has happened to improve the lot of the native population. Of course they have enjoyed advances in modern society. So has everybody else to a greater or lesser extent. Since the British left Aden, it has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons. Like many other Britons, I am proud to say it once was home to me for a short time.