Alladin

The image above, from the devasted Kabul of 1992, caught my eye in today's Guardian. Not just because it was a reminder of another long running and bloody mess, but also because of the Alladin paraffin heater. A sort of fire which was once widely used in this country, probably even made in this country. So how did this one wind up in Kabul?

In our case, two heaters which have appeared in these pages from time to time, perhaps for the very first time at reference 2. Heaters which later made it to the tip. A bit of a shame, but that is the fate of lots of fine bits of engineering. I associate to all the carpentry tools from the 1960's and 1970's which one finds in car boot sales. Not to mention the IBM golf ball typewriter, in it's day one of the best typewriters that money could buy, I once came across at one. A typewriter which would have been nice to own, but consumables and spares would probably have been a problem and the space for it certainly was. Plus it was very heavy and we were a mile or so from home.

References

Reference 1: TOPSHOT - Women in purdah with children and possessions are waiting among ruins 30 April 1992 in the Bala Hissar district of the Afghan capital following continued fierce fighting between rival mujahedeen factions. Although an interim government had been established, the fighting went on. (Photo by DOUGLAS E. CURRAN/AFP via Getty Images).

Reference 2: https://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.com/2006/11/odds-and-ends.html.

Reference 3: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/douglas-curran. There seem to be more shots from India here than from Afghanistan.