Ministry of Enjoyment


Marrakesh Souq
Originally uploaded by ajblachman.

It has been a while since I took a freeform trip along the hypertext trail … of course, there have been some detours, like the various memes as well as the fabulous Z-list … but these were more structured, and somehow lacked the randomness that I love. (The Z-list started, of course, as a meme about marketing blogs.)

But tonight, there was a touch of serendipity — an email/comment from Maryam in Marrakech. Now I am always going to be intrigued by an email address like that … I felt certain that there had to be a story attached.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long and I was sucked into this exciting and exotic blog about living in Africa. It is full of the sites and sounds of Africa, touching on the vibrancy and history but also looking at the challenges of expatriate living. There is certainly a strong sense of wonder peppered throughout the articles, whether it is fascination with shopping and markets, history or even the making of personal histories in a foreign land. And while Maryam’s blog is fantastic, it also led me elsewhere …

Maryam showcases some of the cutest kids products I have ever seen — handmade modern toys for kids. Unfortunately, ZidZid do not have an online shop … BUT Julie Klear very kindly forwarded me a catalogue of the latest items (all the way from Marrakech–don’t you love email?). I am sure if you e-mail her she would send you one too (use the Contact Us link on the ZidZid site).

4 thoughts on “Ministry of Enjoyment

  1. Gavin, I thought you were supposed to be helping me cut back on my blog surfing ;-), and then you put up this post linking to Maryam’s absolutely glorious blog.
    I am slightly obsessed with decorating and architecture and have a definite preference for the exotic, so I was just salivating looking at her site.
    Thanks for sharing this great find! (I’ll find a way to work it into my 4 hour workday ;-)).

  2. Maryam … just let me know where to send my invoice 😉
    Sorry Sharon, I thought you were no longer reading this 😉 I must say that I am inspired by the 4 hour workday. Unfortunately my boss is not too keen on it!

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