Some work for camera equipment makers and suppliers suggested a trip Egypt. Egypt and the Middle East seemed to be opening up more for tourism. I had spoken to the Jordanian authorities and also had contacts in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE – over the years I made many trips to all these countries. My last visit was to Bahrain in July 1990.

As it happened I was working, as a photographer, on a secret air base in the south of Bahrain when two Saudi jets landed – curiously the pilots were American USAF people. I met them and innocently asked (as a joke) when the war would start – they answered, very seriously, “Next Tuesday” – I got the quickest flight I could back to Europe – the War “Desert Storm” started on the 2nd August 1990. I have not been back, I lost many people I loved in Kuwait.

When I was in Saudi Arabia I met the King twice on the same day. Out of politeness I had to refuse accompanying a friend to dinner with the King, so I went to see another friend who happened to be the captain and Vice President of the National football team – the taxi driver gave me a free ride if I would introduce him. I suppose it would be like meeting David Beckham – I met my friend Hassam Abu  Dawood and we sat in his place at the football stadium for tea and food late into the evening. I as sitting on his right hand side as his guest and we talked about our crazy time in London. Around midnight there was a commotion outside and he told me I would have to move down one place as the president of the club was visiting. In walked King Fahd and I was introduced again – King Fahd said “Yes I know Mr. Tony, he helped a friend of mine” – I had tea with them but politely made an excuse and said I had to leave.

The war, price of oil and many things have since changed the world so I have never been back to the Middle East, Egypt or the Sudan, although my heart is still there.

I have little of the good work I did of this time – I write on other pages about the photographic agent I had at the time, Tony Stone, being bought out by Getty Images and that I cannot get my work back from them, A lot of this work was the travel and political images I made though North  Africa and the Middle East but they cannot take my memories and I do have a few snaps

The net mender is shown as an Orotone, a carbro print onto glass