eclipse

If you read this on Thursday you should take a look at the Google search page, it shows the lunar eclipse, just as we saw it.

 

It started at 8.22 and at first it was hard to tell if it was just another crater or a shadow, 20 minutes later it was clearly an eclipse, it took about an hour to fully eclipse. It’s quite (relatively) cold here so we didn’t spend all evening outside but kept popping out with the binoculars to have another look. I had hoped that I might be awake about 1am to see it go the other way, but we all slept through that bit! It was amazing and the next one won’t be visible in southern Africa until Nov 2030, when it will be warmer but it will be at 3am – not so convenient!

hmmm

This is the doc with a gift from one of his patients. The doc like most of his colleagues goes to work in lightweight trousers and either a shirt or a t-shirt (with collar) this particular patient thought that consultants should dress more formally! The shirt has been given to one of our staff who was delighted!

 

Not much blog action as I am just soo busy. I am trying to finish off things for my exhibition, do some bits for the archives and then because we’re going away I need to organise my volunteers and leave the house and staff for some lodgers. All the bills will have to be paid and some of the cannot be paid in advance so I have to leave little piles of cash and note about what to pay when! We also thought that it would be a good idea to get more eating chickens that will be ready to eat when we get back but again there’s all the food and immunisations to sort.

 

grasshoppers

This much loved Malawian delicacy is plaguing us. It’s the time of year when these insects squeeze through the window frames to leap about the house! Our youngest hates them and will tell of the time one landed on her “spotty dress” the rest of us just find them irritating especially in a power cut when they are attracted by the single lamp. I am assured that they are a very high source of protein and iron, apparently the doc is not prescribing them for anaemic patients!

 

The weather this week is amazingly unpredictable. I spent a chilly afternoon at our only cafe which is outdoor, followed by an evening of cocktails at another outdoor venue where we huddled around charcoal stoves. We have also had some warmer days and hot nights when we managed to have two or three mosquitoes stuck inside our net. I was woken three times by the doc who got bitten.

argghh

Being someone who only does small bits of work I am much less frustrated than many of my professional friends. I am currently doing some editing work and becoming really frustrated. I was asked to check spelling, grammar, formatting and make changes (using track changes) and where there was a query put a comment. I have just had the document returned for final editing to find that the author used their own version (with all formatting errors) and then used my changes sometimes and added other bits in (no tracking) complete with spelling mistakes!! I now have to work with 2 documents to sort out the changes and then proof the whole document again. Arggghhh!! I think that I should just stick to being a lady who lunches!

 

The good news is that my exhibits for my exhibition project have been released from customs after only 3 weeks so we can begin our workshops which is very exciting.

too much

Even after almost 2 years I keep forgetting that there is a limit to how much you can squeeze into one day! I spent the weekend completing some work for a Mon deadline, having visitors, doing Sunday school, then out for the day on Mon (public holiday) Tues am was rush to get kids to school, play some tennis, prepare a bible study, go to a formal lunch for the archives I help with, get petrol, do 3 hour round trip to get maize and have people for dinner. I managed all of that until get petrol (well diesel actually) and after waiting for an hour it was too late for the maize trip.

 

Looking forward to a weekend camping with elephants.

less stuff

This blog began with pictures of boxes and musings about what we really needed for 3 years living abroad. We are now looking at dates for our return to the UK and starting to talk about the logistics. Although we talk about our return we do want to make the most of our time here and enjoy the last year, rather than worrying about the next.

 

Some colleagues of the docs have just tried to organise to ship their possessions back home, to find that for political reasons it is going to be impossible. This means that they will have to sell or give their furniture and belongings away and move back home with suitcases and a few boxes. We always knew that this might be a possibility but it’s quite challenging when it comes to it. We have learned a lot about managing with less living here. Every day I feel extravagantly wealthy when I look at my possessions compared to those around us. I have no idea what our staff think about how much stuff we have, they earn a ‘good wage’ yet I expect that their possessions would fit into 1 small suitcase. Despite all this I feel a bit sad at having to leave some of my furniture behind and wonder how many pairs of shoes will fit into our luggage and what about my books?

 

royalty

Two royal events this week in Blantyre. Many of us found friends who own a TV and rushed to get there in time for the start of the royal wedding last Fri and this weekend we can at last see the King’s Speech at the cinema. I realise that it’s probably out on DVD by now but here in Malawi we will be watching tonight.

 

I don’t think that there were many other people watching the wedding in Malawi. There was a photo of the happy couple that appeared in the two Malawi newspapers which featured a blond bride and someone who wasn’t William! There was a report that was leaked on 1^st April that the couple would be honeymooning in Malawi!