We'll call this one "Three Banana", shall we?  

I was with a friend who was visiting Mainz to experience the madness of our Fassenacht (carnival).  We'd got a little stuck earlier, having thought we'd just drop her luggage at the station and move on to a planned meeting with friends, and got into interesting logistical difficulties involving curtailed bus routes, multiple parade crossings and lack of any blasted left-luggage capacity actually left at the station.  Fortunately I am in possession of a key to a friend's flat not far from the station, so we went and deposited the baggage there, and then set off for the intended meeting-point.

It wasn't quite that simple!  Because of the delay, we found we couldn't cross several of the streets in town.  Tried, tried, tried, tried again; and eventually thought, oh well, it's a decent day (first of spring, methinks), we'll just circumvent the city via the Rhine, and rejoin my party from the other side.  We had sensible footwear on, being singers. 

Two hours, just about, it took us.  En route, my friend was inspired to take a slew of photos (she is also a keen photographer).  This was just after we'd finally indulged in a refreshing (translation:  much needed!) beer.  In the interests of safety, I took her beer in my unoccupied hand.

Haha, she thought, a mezzo with a beer in either hand - photo opportunity!  She duly snapped away.  At which point there appeared a banana demanding to be included in the photo.  Um, OK.  One banana.  Then another leaped into shot.  Two banana.  And at last, laughing happily, a third.  Three banana...

Absolutely glorious for the spirit!  I mean, who wouldn't want to be photographed with three happy unknown bananas?  It really exemplifies the carnival spirit for me, though.  Stay positive - who knows what's going to turn up in the near future (I am hoping that the portents are less than literal, mind, as bananas tend on the whole not to advance one's career as an opera singer...)?

Long live the carnival spirit!!