Ladders of sunlight pour down onto the patchwork fields and Wasdale suddenly takes on a gentler aspect: the wet fellsides sparkle in the sharp light and Wastwater turns into a smooth sheet of silver, reflecting the surrounding hills.

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Each enormous block is perfectly cut, polished smooth and fitted so tight not a sheet of paper would slip between them.

BBC: The perfect trip: Egypt

With industry and government singing from the same song sheet, the path ahead may appear smooth.

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