Once again dear readers, I put metaphorical pen to metaphorical paper to fill you in on the latest in downtown Kabul.
You have probably guessed from the title that your humble scribe and hero has been down with a bit of tummy trouble. As is always the case, or so it seems, on the one day off we get, I am a sick bunny. I will not indulge you with the details, but sufice to say I spent nearly all of Friday in bed. I was only brought round by a large bottle of coke to kill the bugs and a large bar of chocolate to give me the energy to bring back the "will to live".
So that makes today a Saturday and a work day. Off I went this morning and spent the day locked in my office with my team of finance assistants keeping the books and doing accounting sort of stuff. All I can say is "monty Python was spot on". Acountancy is boring, boring, boring. Tomorrow is the monthly programme meeting where we discuss where we are with the projects, donors etc. It is boring but I am looking forward to it because boring is a great improvement on boring, boring, boring.
While I am writing this I am switching to the BBC text service to follow on the "updated every 2 minutes" screen the progress of the mighty CAFC. We are 2-0 up against Leicester, but I remember last week we were 0-2 and drew 2-2 so anything can happen (particularly in the 2 minute gaps!!!) Now I have lost my thread.
What I set out to tell you was about Kabul. I thought I would try to describe it to you as best I can. Only the main roads are tarmaced, with all side streets being dirt tracks. Along the side of each street is a concrete gulley that is about a foot wide and deep. This is somewhere you should never go as most of the houses water waste feeds into this. I dont think the toilets do, but the baths/sinks etc appear to. Everywhere there is building going on with piles of cement, sand/dirt, bricks and rubble dumped all around. walking can be a bit hazardous.
The Afghans are big fans of walls. In the city every house is surrounded by a tall wall, or a wall of the house faces the street with no windows and runs into the wall of the house next door with just a mall doorway or a drive with a large, impeneterable gate. Even the villages are like little mud walled citadels with only a solid mud wall facing the outside world and a small alley between the houses.
The Afghans do not really venture out at night, and with no street lights the street are dark and gloomy. The odd car will go by and light up the way, but generally you have to tread very carefully to miss the holes, piles and gutters.
Well the game has finished with a 2-0 win, so I will quit whilst I am ahead. Take care. "I'll be back".
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2 comments:
Hello overseas person
A message from an instrument of the fascist state! Have finally found your blog. Brill. No doubt it will be published at some later date and make you a very rich (and thin, if your diet and tummy bugs are anything to go by) Quinney.
I told you all I knew about Kabul was what I gleaned from 'The Kite Flyer of Kabul' - sounds like it was spot on from what you say.
It should be noted that if children played in the streets here they would no doubt get run over by motorists such as myself.
Must go and work
Wasn't that the Bookseller of Kabul?! Possibly to be confused with the Kite Runner...
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