Dusty days

We had a dust storm yesterday, the wind was whipping up what seemed like pebbles and sandblasting everything. The wind died down overnight, but all the fine dust hasn't settled.Woke up this morning with a fine layer of dust all over my face. What's left is a murky brown fog of dust that gets in everywhere. Took this pic this morning from one of the barges

I wonder what happened to the corner office with the pretty secretary and the thick carpets and the golf on Wednesday afternoons and the mansion on top of the hill overlooking the ocean??

Iraq, pizza, and elections

I finally received my MNFI card from the American Army yesterday after numerous bouts of form filling, retina eye scans and security interviews. The card enables me to move freely in and out of Iraq, and also within the country. So if you thought Iraq was an independent country - nope it's not. It's controlled by the US Army.

The card has other uses too. Important ones. It lets me buy pizza at Camp Bucca. At one stage the camp housed 28,000 prisoners. They have no more prisoners and the camp is being broken down, but at least the Pizza Hut is open. The food in our compound is good, but once in a while junk food is necessary.

Election fever is building up in Iraq. Camp Bucca and North Port in Umm Qasr was mortared, and a bit more worrying, an arms cache was found in the Iraqi Navy area where we work. Not sure if democracy is ready for the Middle East yet.

The pic isn't mine

Pebbles

The compound is just over a kilometre from the workplace, and although I have an old LandRover I can use, I usually walk to get some exercise during the day. It adds up to 6 or 8km by suppertime.

The dirt road turns to snot when it rains, so they've dumped a load of river gravel on it to manage the issue. To keep myself occupied I choose a pebble in the road and then kick it ahead of me as I walk. Sometimes it goes in an unexpected direction, and then I get another pebble and off I go again.

The last pebble I had lasted almost a week. I'd kick it to work, them kick it back to the compound at lunchtime. The same in the afternoon. But the fucking thing bounced strangely this morning and I lost it. I was getting quite attached to it.

This is my new pebble. I'm calling it Fred and we'll see just how long Fred will last...

Garden of Eden

One of the few advantages of starting work at six in the morning is that you get to see the sunrise.

You want the definition of bleak and desolate? Come see this place. Yes I know the garden of Eden is just up the river, but either they set their benchmark very low, or things get very different upstream of Basra. But at sunrise it all changes. For a brief moment every day, I actually like the place.

Taken on the way to work from the little Iraqi tugboat.

Prague

Prague has become a city where British lager louts go for their stag parties and find a pub with bangers and mash and why the fuck do you want to travel to a beautiful exotic place and then go and eat somewhere so you feel like you're at home?

Prague has a brothel. Yes, I know, it has a lot of brothels - to cater for all the stag parties. This one is different. It's very upmarket. And it's free. It's called Big Sister. You go there, pick a girl (or three) and have the night of your life. And they're happy if you brought your partner/wife/girlfriend along...

The catch? They have cameras in every room. And your activities get streamed live over the internet.....

Would I do it? Well, if I ignore the fact that spousoid would bobbitt me.....
The internet part of it wouldn't bother me at all...

Would you?