Jack's House

The "grand international" surf competition has started: actually a marketing enterprise by the Quicksilver brand.

How can you judge surfing? Is the winner the one who takes longest to fall off the board!?

All white people.  Local youths come down to the beach wanting to take part. After all, they are the best surfers around here.  But there is a registration fee: 25 guineas, or whatever.  Of course, they don't have so much money.

"It's God's ocean. God's surf. Allah doesn't ask us for money."

The white people don't relent or relate. They only relate to their smartphones. They can't see real people.

Disclaimer: i'm white: if being Welsh counts as white!

Yes, I know, I know! I've gone native, prejudiced against European visitors.

Winter days are quite long here at 30° north . Sunset tonight is at 18:45. Nevertheless, it's good to know the warming sun is on his way back to us from his present station over Johnno's house!

From now on a couple of minutes more daylight every day. Alhamdulillah.

Tonight we look left to see the sun setting into the ocean at west by south-west. By the time of equinox, he sets due west right opposite my balcony. I'll need a curtain.

Anyway, Happy Solstice!

The sky is clear tonight so I put on my warmest jellaba and went up the stairs  on to the roof.

 Should I explain that roofs are flat around here?  I remember a story - Daoud the Beloved - set in Morocco I wrote many many years ago on mmsa where I described  caning activity on a roof. A helpful reader suggested I should have made it clear that it was a flat roof.  It just hadn't occurred to me that many readers might imagine the roof was sloping.

Anyway, as I was saying. They say you should wait thirty minutes to get your night eyes and scan the sky near to Castor, or is it Pollux. They're not far apart anyway. I would have been happy to see just one or two meteors. But nothing, zilch, wallo.

Oh well, maybe tomorrow night.

I dare say I caused the confusion by forgetting that in French one doesn't pronounce the consonants at the ends of numerous words.

According to AI Overview, which seems to  have taken over from Professor Google as the font of all knowledge, the French stopped pronouncing consonants at the ends of many of their words gradually between the 1300s and 1700s. So now it's correct not to pronounce the t at the end of "quart" and "port".

A similar change is happening much more rapidly in English. Young Ahmed, whom I help improve his English, is convinced it's correct to say such as firs' an' las' or eatin' an' drinkin', because that's what he hears, even on the BBC.  I suppose he's right.  "Correct" English pronunciation has changed rather suddenly.

Another true story:

Many years ago in Juan les Pins, I was in a restaurant where they served the "house" wine in jugs - quarter litre or half litre.

I ordered "un quart de vin rouge".

They brought me the "carte des vins!"

Yes, one sometimes meets interested recipients when travelling.

Ah yes! This is the country for leather..  But this town speciialises in baboosh which are made from soft leather.

Anyway, life is long.  I'm very happy sitting here in the shade beside the swimming pool with some cheese and fruit and a bottle of rozzay. I've done my twelve lengths. 

Now there is just one little boy in the pool wearing my goggles, which he politely asked to borrow using signs.  Is there a tashelheit word for goggles?

His mother comes occasionally to check on him.  But who would ever harm a child?