taroudant: Knifegrinders, perfume and socks

The run-up to Eid seems to have been slightly less frenetic this year. Whether that is because Eid is on a Monday and the returnees from Casa had longer to stage their journey or whether I just have adjusted to the chaos I don't know, but I don't think I've seen one single sheep in a bicycle basket this year.
We went and got our knives sharpened on Thursday. When I was a child in the 50s the rag and bone man used to come round regularly with his horse and cart. The clothes went for papermaking and the bones for glue and the attraction was that he may give you a goldfish in payment. (Beloved ,being a city boy, will see this as further evidence I lived in the sticks.) Synthetic fibres put an end to him and now our old clothes may well end up on the 2nd hand stalls which spring up prior to the holiday. Sometimes the rag and bone man would have a knifegrinder with him but I can't remember whether it was at any particular time of year. Here it definately is so and several knifegrinding stalls appear round one entrance to the souk. The grinders are electric these days. You hand the knife over and are given a square of card with a number. Come back an hour later and your knives are wrapped up and tagged so you get the right ones back. They are now very very sharp.
Thursday was relatively calm, as was Saturday although there was a proliferation of stalls selling the good old festive gift standbys of perfume and socks. Yesterday was bedlam. both Place Tamoklate and Place Assareg were wall to wall stalls;largely clothing, some knives and grills still, although that was mostly last week, and lots and lots of exrtra fuit and veg. It was impossble to belive it could all ever be sold let alone eaten.
The exit from Place Tamoklate towards Place Assareg was entirely blocked. Vehicles and bikes were entirely stationary and the crowd could hardly move -I was reminded of the fatal stampede at home just before we left. Still every one was very good-natured and in holiday mood. Beloved dropped his wallet and everybody pointed this out and even managed to squeeze enough space for him to bend down and pick it up, intact of course. Only the caleche drivers breached the spell desparately trying to get their frightened horses out of the melee and in one instance using his whip on the crowd in the attempt.

Today of course it is the complete opposite. Town is deserted apart from a few confused tourists sitting in front of the Hotel Roudani wondering what happened to the promised souks and if lunch is going to be obtainable

EID MBOURAK