Wow – my 80th birthday! Everyone plays it down – says it’s just a number. Yes it’s a number, but seems a pretty big one to me. And if it’s not so significant, how come I’ve just had more birthday cards and presents than any birthday I can remember? And if it’s not so significant, how come we are all now on our way to Marrakech – the first big all-family holiday for many years?
Anyway, forgetting about the birthday, and the number and all that, this is going to be a great family get-together.
We’ve sent an advance party – Dan and Sheena to check security and to look out for paparazzi, Callum, our chief food-taster, and Neve our Influencer and Fashionista. So all should be well-prepared by the time we arrive.
But right now we are still in the departure lounge at Gatwick. There are three announcements from EasyJet as wait. The first offers €400 to anyone willing to give up their seat on the flight and travel later. The second announcement, ten minutes later, offers an increased €450 to anyone willing to give up their seat. And the third announcement says there will be a 45minute delay because the plane needs a new tyre. Cynically we double this time in our own minds, and I go to the window in anticipation of seeing the Boeing 737 being jacked up. But I don’t see it and to our surprise the job seems to be done within fifteen minutes. As we board the aircraft there is indeed a shiny new tyre complete with label (I guess the label says something like “£4,000 + VAT”). So the jacking-up must have happened very quickly – maybe they now have ex-formula-1 guys changing the tyres here.
One of the books Margaret bought me for my birthday is ‘How AI Will Change Your Life’ and I make a start reading it on the plane. In the chapter on ‘Healthcare’ there’s a report of a ten-second AI voice test for diagnosing type 2 diabetes. The recording is combined with data on age, sex, height, and weight, and compared with 18,000 recordings from patient records. It’s claimed to be 85% accurate. But the thing I find interesting is that no-one understands what the subtle differences are that AI is hearing!
After two or three chapters of our AI Future we arrive at Marrakech in the good old, traditional, well-understood, here and now. A short drive to the Four Seasons and Savannah is an immediate hit with the hotel staff – a hit that’s helpful for all of us in the coming days.
We meet up with Dan, Sheena, Callum and Neve, who tell us that they have already tried the local extreme sport of jumping out of the lift at the Nobu hotel so are now happy to spend the rest of the holiday relaxing. Apart from Callum who is still looking for the next challenge.
In the evening we have dinner on the terrace at the riad-inspired hotel restaurant. It’s lovely having all eleven of us together, outdoors and in the warmth of the Moroccan October evening. Everything is enjoyable – the food, the ambience, the waiters, and the company. There’s a big French influence here and we have a talented singer who gives us a Piaf-like rendition of ‘Non je ne regrette rien’, as well as a heart-wrenching interpretation of Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back to Black’. Beautiful.
Then to bed. I’m reading the next chapter of ‘How AI Will Change Your Life’. Tonight I read that ChatGPT burns up as much energy as 33,000 US homes. Time to switch off the air conditioning, turn out the light, and go to sleep.
The following morning it’s a lazing-by-the-pool morning, and there are lots of lazy corners to choose from – the adult pool, great for kids-free swimming and with a nice place for coffee; the baby pool – perfect for Savannah and enough beds for all her entourage; the in-betweenies pool, thoughtfully designed with interesting features, ready for a variety of kids activities; and the grand jacuzzi which occasionally becomes a little aggressive – spraying surrounding mums and dads with jets of water.
At lunchtime we leave the calm of the hotel and take a taxi (not an Uber!) into the ‘Kasbah’ – inside the walls of the old city. Here it’s anything but calm. The narrow streets are a crazy torrent of people, motorcycles, horse-drawn tourist carriages (calèches), delivery carts, cars, and more – all aiming to use the same road-space. We get out of the taxi and follow an unlikely-looking alleyway to a small entrance which turns out to be the amazing Sultana hotel – secretly tucked away behind the turmoil of the Kasbah.
The Sultana is full of wonders – as the hotel brochure describes…’decorative arts are given pride of place….. wrought metal, sculpted wood, zellige tiling offering far more than a backcloth: the privilege of a trip back in time, and the eternal beauty of Morocco‘.
We take in as much of this beauty as we can on our way up multiple flights of stairs to the rooftop restaurant where we settle down for another enjoyable meal. Hooks are conveniently provided on the table to hang your lobster.
At the end of the lunch the party breaks up into those wanting to explore the market stalls of the Kasbah; those exploring the renovation of the grand mosque, next door; and those happy to have another Casablanca beer on the rooftop. We all meet again and while waiting for a taxi Neve and Scarlett mesmerise everyone with their high-speed hand-clapping-gesturing routine. A couple of passers-by wait and watch, looking impressed or mystified – we are not sure which. We get a taxi and head back to the Four Seasons.
It’s Tuesday evening and we head to the Mamounia Hotel for gin and tonics. What can I say about the famous Mamounia? It was described by Conde Nast as the best hotel in the world. It was a favourite of Winston Churchill’s who used to come here and paint in the beautiful gardens. He even brought his friend Franklin D. Roosevelt here during the war to discuss strategy. ‘Mamounia’ in Arabic means ‘Safe Haven’. It was a haven for Churchill and Roosevelt in 1942 and nowadays it’s a sanctuary for the rich and famous – David Beckham, Nicole Kidman, Richard Gere, …..the list goes on…, which explains why it’s difficult to get past the entrance. We probably have Savannah to thank for getting us accepted, but Dan and Neve, arriving later, are rejected – they don’t have a cute two-year old with them.
The hotel is fabulous. We settle down in luxury next to the resident band. They are playing another of my favourite Edith Piaf’s songs – “La Vie en Rose” – a perfect accompaniment to the décor and ambience of the hotel. Last night I read some more of my “How AI will change your life”. It said that 50% of the world’s wealth is owned by 1% of the population and that 81 billionaires own more than the combined wealth of the poorest 50% of the world. Looking around me at the Mamounia I could well believe that many of those billionaires are dining here tonight. Brad and Frankie look quite at home here and Callum – if only he could get in – would fit in perfectly.
Before we leave, Margaret and I take a walk with Scarlett and Savannah in the stunning hotel gardens. And while we are mingling with the rich and famous, and draining our gins and tonics, Dan and Neve are taking the abstemious option of exploring the Koutoubia Mosque opposite the hotel.
Finally we all meet up, from our various directions, at the Comptoir Darna restaurant, for an evening of dining and entertainment.
So far in our holiday I have managed to keep a low birthday profile, but tonight I’m inclined to think that there’s a mole in our party responsible for the special attention I am given by the belly dancer. But I’m not complaining. To my annoyance though, I realise too late that I am supposed to tuck a note (a dirham note that is, not a note of my telephone number) in a conveniently reachable niche of her minimalist clothing. Another missed opportunity.
Later still I am treated to the Moroccan version of “Happy Birthday”, given a lovely red rose, and a powerful Saharan candle (similar I think to the type used to derail trains in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’) planted in a Marrakech orange. With all these celebrations, my birthday is turning out to be almost as grand and long-lasting as Dan’s famous 50th.
Then it’s a taxi back to the hotel and straight to bed. Too tired to tackle any more of ‘How AI Will Change Your Life’ tonight – it’s straight to sleep. I wonder what I will be dreaming about tonight?
The next couple of days we slip into a comfortable Marrakesh routine. A healthy breakfast in the open air followed by some time for the kids to play padel and swim in the pool. Then it’s back to the Medina for lunch at a rooftop restaurant with Savannah, asleep in her push-chair and slipped quietly under the table. Wednesday it’s at ‘Terrasse des epices’ – where I have a delicious Chicken thigh tagine with candied lemons and green olives and a bottle of Casablanca; and Thursday it’s at the vibrant restaurant ‘Dardar’ with energising music beating from their hi-tech turntables.
After lunch it’s back down the stairs and into the mysterious opportunities awaiting us in the souk. A long and winding Aladdin’s cave that snakes, seemingly endlessly, through the Medina. Frankie hones his bargaining skills, opening up a buying frenzy of Arabian teapot, bowl, camel (small wooden variety), bracelets (his and hers), and enough T-shirts for a complete football team.
The souk alleyway does eventually lead out into Jemaa el-fnaa – the city’s main square, where there are yet more buying opportunities. A shop owner takes everyone inside for more T-shirt fittings and I am left hanging about in the shop front. A French lady thinks I’m the shop owner and asks me the price of a shirt. I’m half inclined to play along – it could be fun and even profitable – but meekly I admit that I’m just another tourist. Still, interesting that I was mistaken for an Arab stallholder.
Thursday evening and it’s our final dinner on the veranda at the hotel. A lovely evening with time spent chatting to our friendly waiter about food, football, and other parts of Morrocco to visit. It’s the culmination of a very memorable holiday.
Then it’s Friday. Our airport taxi arrives perfectly on time, and the lovely receptionist rushes out to wave goodbye and give Savannah a final hug. The staff here have been absolutely delightful and I think we all have a feeling that we’ll be coming back!
We’re on the flight home and I’m on to the next chapter of ‘How AI will change your Life’. This one is about how AI will be increasingly used in banking and finance, and it gives the example of relying on AI to check out requests for personal bank loans. Again, the interesting thing is that in many cases it won’t be known why AI is refusing a loan. Yet at the same time, democratic governments are insisting that people are given a reason for loan refusals so that they can take action.
There are going to be lots of interesting challenges in our Brave New World – I’m beginning to see the attraction of the traditional way of life in Marrakech!