JJ day, June, 2009

Today, 16th June 2009 is 105th annual anniversary of James Joyce Day when JJ dated his future wife Nora Barnacle. JJ immortalised that day, 16th June 1904, by making it the day during which the plot of his novel Ulysses occurs. Nora Barnacle, from Galway, was working as a chambermaid at the Finn's Hotel, Dublin when JJ befriended her. Celebrating the centenary of JJ's birthday on 2nd February 1982, the Finn's Hotel bar served beer at the original price of 1882 which was tapence

JJ devotees all over the world usually celebrate every 16th June with having kidneys for lunch because on that day in the novel Ulysses Mr Bloom has kidneys for lunch. I, although, am neither JJ nor anybody else devotee, also celebrate the day by having lunch of kidneys in the tradition of some who have fish on Friday

The wife and I arranged for a kidney kebbab, a mixed grill of kidneys and beef cubes, a delicious treat for those in the know. Son Ali who loathes kidneys telephoned for a fast meal. While the shish kebbab was at the final stage of oozing in the oven, the front door bells chimed. I went to see who was there, and who do you think was standing there! Samara and Tamara, two of Saddam's nieces, friends of the wife's and who are currently refugees over here, while their father Watban is in his Baghdad Central Prison awaiting his trial. My wife, Samara, Tamara and I formed good lunch companions, and we spent afterwards the best part of a whole summer afternoon, what with having dessert of Turkish delight, baclava and kattaefi and drinking three types of tea, amidst a wonderful chat in which we conversed about almost every topic under the sun, except sex and their uncle