The streets are full of peroxide blondes in pink satin - and that's just the boys. It’s Purim, and some people take very seriously the custom of dressing up.

Purim is also the time to drink until ad d'lo yada - until we can no longer distinguish between good and evil.

Personally, I can take or leave the fancy dress, but for some time now I haven’t needed the excuse of Purim to enjoy an alcoholic beverage. Most days, quite honestly, happy hour can't come soon enough. I’ve just come back from this morning’s Megillah reading and perused the newspapers over breakfast. Having read about Iran, Gilad Shalit, rockets falling in southern Israel, the economy etc, etc, I’m already wondering if it’s not too early for a tipple.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Make mine a double.

Purim Sameach.