I am in a jam...

I tried to have a long break from blogging I nearly ended up having a breakdown instead...
I am going through something, which no Mediterranean macho man would ever confess to having: Depression! I'd always thought it was something associated with PMT...

This morning...

"Moi, depressed? Are you joking?
So, why do you say you keep bursting into tears for nothing?
Well, pressures from here and there! But I can cope!
So, why do you sometimes think about driving into the marina?
I wouldn't do it. It's just a daft thought. And anyway, the marina is so full of crap, I'm sure the car wouldn't sink...
So, why did you come to see me then?
I just wanted to talk to someone. I feel I am in a jam, Doctor..."

Talking of jams, my mother made many delicious varieties.. Home from school. A slab of home baked bread, fresh butter and copious amounts of quince, apple or fig jam. Ahhh!

At boarding school, coarse marmalade was always on the breakfast menu. Some of us gobbled a couple of spoonfuls, squeezed the juice out of the shredded zest and then spat the rest out. That tasted something like a sweet Orangina! Heaven!

While at Algiers Uni, I often visited my brother. Once, raking through his cupboards, I came across a jar of my mother's grape jam! Wow!
I opened it and nearly got knocked back by the alcoholic fumes oozing out of it. I had a few spoonfuls, no bread! And I can assure you, I got a bit tipsy...

Nowadays, I am no longer a great lover of jam really, although I have often been caught spooning some out of the jar after a few glasses of red wine... Brings back memories...

I am still in a jam...but I'm glad I'm not having such a bad day after all...

Having a break...

Business before pleasure...
Work is the curse of the drinking classes!

This is my Virgin....

Kitty roared...
So this is the Virgin of my story...

Laugh or cry, it's my party!

An interlude from the Republic of Boredom...

Why did the chicken cross the road?

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road .

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road or not. The chicken is either with us or against us.
There is no middle ground here.

DONALD RUMSFELD: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together - in peace.


Ever fancied playing chicken? ...Close your eyes and pray!

Talking to a brick wall...

The Vagina Monologues was created from over 200 intimate conversations award-winning playwright Eve Ensler had with women. These exchanges were funny, poignant, unusual and sometimes tragic. Women talked about their relationships, their sexual experiences and said things they never dreamed of revealing, even to their closest friends.

I haven't seen it and I doubt very much whether I'd ever have the guts to go and sit among parties of women proudly screaming the C... word!
At last performance I am told that only half a dozen men were in the audience! Masochists! One was heckled by one of the performers and laughed at by the audience as he headed for the toilet!

It prompted me to think of "witty repartees" like...

"Does yours fancy a dialogue? "
"Out of 8000 vaginal nerve endings I always manage to hit the wrong one!"
"Can't talk with my mouth full!"

The show has been banned from many countries.

I wonder whether a man will rise to the occasion and write something on the same lines...

Penal Chronicles?

Dick Tutorial?

Can you think of any more?

Rien ne change...

My home town at the turn of the last century. Rien ne change...

I think the life cycle is all backwards...

You should start out dead and get it out of the way.
Then, you wake up in an old people's home feeling better every day.
You get kicked out for being too healthy; go collect your pension, then when you start work, you get a gold watch on your first day!

You work 40 years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement.
You drink alcohol, you party, you're generally promiscuous and you get ready for College.

You go to primary school, you become a kid , you play, you have no responsibilities, you become a baby, and then...

You spend your last 9 months floating peacefully in luxury, in spa-like conditions; central heating, room service on tap, larger quarters every day, and then, you finish off as an orgasm.

I rest my case.

More Algerian Scenes...

I think "higglety-pigglety" is an Algerian architectural style that has total disregard for urbanism!



















This is not a queue! Just men doing nothing, waiting for something to happen...















A quiet town square...















A quiet street...














A quiet street leading to the Old Mosque...



















This is not a pedestrian street!!! Eden? Definitely not!!!




















Strange building!



















The noisy mosque and Atlas mountains in the background...















The mosque between services...















Hurrying home from school...















"CLICK" on photos to enlarge them.

Images of Algeria...

At over 85, Papa is still going strong!



















A very beautiful but noisy mosque...
Six massive speakers calling the faithful to prayer at 4 am! Come on!











Refrigeration repairs Algerian style!



















An old Andalusian style house...



















A tree-lined avenue in my sister's town.

My old school...

The public park across the road where I spent many dreamy hours...
















Fashion styles...



















Men scrutinising coriander for the daily soup...

Blogging...

Tired of running...














In need of a good drink...

I might head for the bush...

Or just try to stay on my feet!

...