I went to Casablanca and encountered an extremely Ugly Fish today. It was, in fact, a Monkfish but it was most definitely ugly. Even upside down there wasn’t an attractive part about him. Its underside was white and flabby, its topside, with its squashed features, was a murky brown. Maybe in the ocean it has an elegance and grace that it loses in death. But then that, I imagine, is the same for all of us creatures of this planet.

It’s funny, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a monkfish whole before; only their tails, carefully displayed on ice. I found this Ugly Fish (known to the French as la lotte) in the Marché Central, just across from the box of tortoises whose legs were slowly wind-milling as they made futile attempts at escape from their lettuce lined cage. It was a good thing I saw the fish at this stage of the day, as only an hour or so earlier a delicious looking plate of la lotte had been served at our lunch table, grilled with courgettes and large wedges of lemon. It was excellent. But now I know what it looks like in the flesh, I will always think twice before tucking in. Possibly.

Oh, the purpose of our trip to Casablanca was to visit a Moroccan property development exhibition, but there wasn’t much of interest to report on that front. Nothing to rival the Ugly Fish at least; or L’Amandier, come to that…

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2. Back to basics in the bathhouse
3. Meet the team