Feck! It's Carnaval

It's that time of the year again when the locals here go a bit crazy and celebrate carnaval. I asked a lot of 'yocals' here why they celebrate it, most don't know, but the basic jist is it's a catholic thing about getting shit-faced before lent, when you have to starve your body of all those lovely things you need after 6 days on the piss.

Anyway so we went out for a quiet meal last night and were already confronted by the 'jollities' (Bah HumBug). So I think I may be hibernating till it is all over on Thursday. No maybe i will make an exception coz i do like to go into town and see the carnavaltjes crying over their mooswief burning or some such crap.

If you didn' get it yet, I don't join in. Nor shall I probably ever. Wierd aswell coz I am very much the kinda guy who would jump at a chance to spend lots of time in the boozer. But the carnaval is lost on me. I think it's lost itself. Last night on the way home we bumped in to three 'Canadians' dressed as monks. Well they said they were Canadian, until they found out I was English they admitted they were American and that being 'Canadian' seemed to make them more popular. Turned out they fly on the AWACS which we see so often circling in and around Maastrictht on training missions to spy on Iraq. etc.

So over the next few days we will be seeing a constant stream of colourful costumed Limburgers on their way to the pub pass our window, and again feel alienated in a 'nice?' way from the whole thing. Waiting for the supermarkets to open again. Oh no wait, they do now open the whole time through. Blimey consumerism has beaten the bugger!.

I feel like a right misery guts but there again that's how i feel about Christmas. Anyway let the 'madness' commence. Maybe like a few years ago i will give in and join in on one night. My mate rings up .
"Hey fancy doing carnaval tonight?"
"But i ain't got anything to wear"
"Come on it'll be a laugh"
"OK I'll improvise"
A black top and black trousers, and off i went and a helpful girl with make-up bag added MIB to my forehead. It was the year "Men in Black" came out. Went down a storm and all for the cost of a black eyeliner.