casios and bombs

Detonation of seized weapons in Afghanistan, via militaryvideos.net – by the troops, for the troops...

Last night I went to the Dalston Superstore for a Diesel U:Music party (my brother is a sometimes radio presenter there). I got talking to this one girl, about the relative efficiency of various makes of timepiece (fascinating) and she said "you ought to get a Casio, like me". I looked at the watch and had a sudden flash of recollection.

"When I was 15, they invaded Afghanistan" I said "and of course I watched it live on TV. About a week into the war I remember seeing a heap of dead bodies – the first enemy victims of the invasion. At the bottom of the pile was an arm and a hand sticking out, and the camera zoomed in on his watch – the same Casio you've got there – and I thought, how poignant" I paused for dramatic effect "how poignant that this watch keeps on ticking, probably for years, long after the man that owned it has ceased to be."

I got a bemused, if somewhat cold, stare. I needed to turn this one around, and fast.

"So what I'm saying is, they're pretty reliable, and if you get American's all up in your business, invading and shit, well... you know what time it is."

A chuckle. Saved. Barely. Still, funny the things that obviously mark you but lie dormant, a silent bank of influence.