Juvenilia

Folk here are often childlike at the best of times and during the silly season, kids gallop about in dishdasha and coloured headwear - the most popular being a curly wig in the national colours of green, white and red - waving Kuwaiti flags which one would dearly like to stick where the sun don't shine, youthful ebullience being a national pastime. Liberation Day and National day aren't for a few days yet, but the fever is building and spray can vendors licking their collective lips.

International observations are interesting. Time mgazine did a piece after the death of Benazir Bhutto on Pakistanis needing to develop collective maturity- grow up, in other words - if a coherent Government could be formed after the inevitable farrago of non-elections over the last few days. Musharraf may yet take his ball home, not having a reputation of playing nicely with others in the playground.

And so to Wisconsin. I'm not sure I could find the place on the best day I ever had, but Barak aka Teflon Man 2 evidently did and the population endorsed him roundly, much to the lady from Hope's evident chagrin. So far, it's all been fairly gentlemanly, but it remains to be seen if there'll be blood on the carpet later on.

As for me, I shall spend fruitful hours watching films and gazing stolidly into the middle distance, a placard saying 'feed me at 8 hourly intervals" around my neck. This too will pass.