The debate is flagging

Not the new dawn any more?

A hot discussion topic in the country this year has been the plan by the Government to change the design of the national flag, replacing the one that has been in use since independence in 1964.

The two designs are shown on the right (current version at the top).  The Flag Bill passed in Parliament this month, in part because of a series of opposition boycotts and walk-outs during the last Parliamentary session after the budget and some other bills were allegedly rushed through.

The Government's argument, as reported in the press, is that the original depiction of a rising sun was fine for its time (reflecting the exciting new dawn for the country), but Malawi has moved on since then and so a full sun would be more appropriate.

The opposition says that this is not a sensible use of resources when the economic situation is not strong, and so many Malawians are living on less than US$1 per day.

The impact, hassle and cost of the change will be significant.  Time alone will tell when the debate and argument will die down.

New Arrival

This morning, Chris Farrance, the new consultant to join us here in Blantyre was due to arrive by coach from Lilongwe.  It was due to arrive at around 11.30 this morning, so before that Peter and I set off on a further orientation journey around Blantyre, so I could see where the key areas and places in the city are located.

The coach trip from Lilongwe should take around 4 hours (police road blocks  permitting).  Unfortunately, at around 11.15, we got a call from Chris to say that his coach had broken down just 3.5kms outside Blantyre, so we decided to go and pick him up.  We stopped for petrol, which was just as well because we then got another call to say that he was in fact about 30 minutes outside Blantyre (clearly had got some duff information from the coach driver).

So off we went (I was driving) to find the coach.  Along the way I saw a second "instant demise of goat" incident, this time meted out by the minibus in front of us on the road - I reckon the goats of Malawi are going to start watching out for me and running away.  Eventually we found the coach parked up with all the passengers standing around on the side of the road.  I turned Daisy around and pulled up behind the coach.  Chris was distributing sweets to the kids from the nearby village.  We extricated him and his luggage, and set off back towards Blantyre.

We got back into Blantyre, and decided to go to a vegetarian Indian restaurant (Veggie Delight) for a spot of lunch.  I had a masala Dhosa [see left] which was very acceptable indeed, and only a couple of quid.

We then took Chris on a quick tour of Blantyre including where the office is located, the supermarket, and the sports club.

We also popped into Club Mustang Sally for a beer.  I introduced myself to the owner, Rob - I mentioned him in Friday's blog.  It seems Rob used to own a couple of clubs in the Manchester area and came out to Malawi some time ago.  His story is that where the bar is used to be his house, and his mates used to come round and drink his beer, so he figured he might as well set up a bar and charge them for it!  I took a couple of pictures to give a feel for the place, including the entrance (above), and the upstairs bar & pool (below).

I've not actually seen anyone in the pool yet, but I'm told it does happen, although it may require several drinks to make it seem a sensible thing to do.  Rob was keen for us to stay for his regular weekend barbecue (I quote "big steaks at cost price") but as we'd already eaten, we politely declined, but I will try and do one at some point.  You can see the pool in the picture here.  The disco is to the left of this shot, and the upper bar is in the background.

After a quick beer, it was back to the house so that Chris could settle in.  This evening, we're planning to go to TJ's bar to watch the Brazil vs Ivory Coast game.

That's all for now.