There And Back Again - A Yorkshireman's Tale

 So after nearly 9 weeks away, 5,800 miles and a surprisingly small amount of alcohol consumed, I finally got back to the Dale last night……..

So the Key Questions which need to be answered...

1.   Where was the Perfect Merguez?

It was a surprise, but these meaty gems were surprisingly hard to find, and were not a staple on every menu as I had perhaps expected.  I probably had a good dozen different ones whilst I was there including sausages made from lamb, the traditional mutton, beef and even camel.

All were good but were less spiced that I had previously experienced and whilst well flavoured lacked the heat that I expected.  One of the reasons for this is that the Moroccans rely on accompanying dips and sauces especially Harissa paste to give this heat.

The long and short therefore is that actually the best Merguez I have had in the past year is one that Tom and I (the creative hearts of sausage making at the Townend Farm Shop) created from some locally farmed mutton which, whilst we probably over-season them if my experience of 'proper Merguez' is anything to go by, they taste bloody fantastic.....a bit of a bombshell maybe, but it is the truth 

2.  If you were going for a short trip to Morocco - where would you go?

Fly to Marrakesh as it is a good central location well served by airlines from the UK...but then leave it!  

Do hire a car, the roads are great, if you have driven through Bradford then you will have experienced significantly worse road sense than that displayed by the Moroccans!!  Petrol is cheap and it will give you the opportunity to easily get to the Atlas Mountains, Essaouira on the Atlantic Coast, and the desert within a few hours.  Hotels (or desert glamping camps in the Sahara), in each of these locations are plentiful and are of good quality so don't think everything is centered around Marrakesh.

If you are reluctant to drive, then still use Marrakesh as a starting point but use the fantastic network of 'Grand taxi's' that will drive you to all of these locations for relative peanuts or book tours through your hotels.

3.  Was this a mid-Century Crisis?

Before anyone can take a view on this it may be worth reviewing what I think I have achieved:

• I have had over 8 weeks exploring a country in some depth...meeting a selection of 'odd-balls, freaks and weirdo's' all of whom were incredibly welcoming, friendly and generous despite their relative poverty....being constantly warm (if not hot), during some wet, cold and miserable weeks in the UK and experiencing the beautiful and varied regions of this fantastic country from the lush mountains of the north, to the endless sandy beaches of the Atlantic Coasts, the high unforgiving mountains of the Mid and Anti-Atlas Ranges and of course, the desert.  How I love the Sahara and am in awe of the tribes that call this beautiful region home 

• Got to play in the best vehicle ever to be produced in Solihull (at least since they built Spitfire IIa's there in WW2) and whilst I may not have fully tested it's limits, I definitely tested mine at times.

• Ate some fantastic food ranging from Lamb Tagines to Spider Crab (let's leave out the Camel hump which to be fair tasted worse than a foetid-dingo's kidney!!) often sharing these meals with locals both in Restaurants, around campfires and on two occasions, their homes.

• It gave me the opportunity to reflect and think about 'Life, The Universe & Everything' without many of the distractions that we face in our home lives and gave me another opportunity to spend a time living outside my 'comfort zone' only to realise that every day the 'zone' was getting bigger and bigger.  

• Avoiding what I understand was a nightmare few weeks of the kitchen being fitted at home ...... it looks lovely now however (Thanks Viv, I know, that you know, that I know, that I owe you🫣😍)

So was this a mid life crisis?   I will leave that to you to make the final decision but if you think it was, I couldn't disagree more..... at a push, I could maybe believe it is the latest chapter in a 'whole-life crisis', but mid-life, never!

However, as I said in my very first blog,  I could of course be wrong in which case F**K IT, and bring on the next crisis if it is a good as this one.

The Next Trip?

To quote Bilbo Baggins (a character I admire purely from his epicurean qualities), the official line I am telling Viv at the moment is 

‘Sorry! I don’t want any adventures, thank you. Not Today. Good morning! But please come to tea – any time you like! Why not tomorrow? Good bye!’

The reality however, is that I have plans forming……….my mind is turning to the Budapest to Bamako Rally in 2026 which, following a similar route to this years raid, runs down from Budapest to Freetown in Sierra Leone via Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia.  On this one however I will be looking for a co-driver………watch this space🤫

What’s the worst that can happen? And as a great sage once said:

‘There is nothing sadder in life than a missed opportunity’

If anyone does want more info on Morocco, or would be interested in discussing the 2026 rally, please do contact me at bucko.yorks@gmail.com. 👍