I've Joined the Society of Malawi

This evening I went back to Mandala House to join the Society of Malawi.  It's run entirely by volunteers, and so is only open on weekday mornings and on Thursday evenings from 6pm to 7.30pm.

For the evening opening hours, access is only via the rear door, so I had to go into the car park within the adjacent car dealership.  Then up the stairs, where I was greeted by Dora again, and was ushered into a room where I met her husband Stephen.  They were working on the Society's absolutely amazing photographic collection.  It has thousands of really beautiful images, dating as far back as the first half of the nineteenth century.

The collection has been digitised, and I'm talking to them about how best they can commercially exploit it to raise funds to support the Society's work.

Whilst viewing some of the pictures, my subscription payment was taken by Dora, and I received my first Journal of the Society (Volume 62 ,Issue 2).  By the way, they are currently looking to sell a complete set of Journals, starting in 1946 if anyone is interested (offers over USD 1,000 I'm told).

On Saturday, I'm going on my first Society Field Trip to the Lower Shire Valley.  I quote:

"We will give a perspective on the recent history of the river particularly on events of the early 1860s. We will stop at the tombstone markers of Henry Scudamore and Dr John Dickinson (UMCA missionaries) and of Richard Thornton (one of David Livingstone’s party), and stop at other places of interest on the way. We intend ending up late morning at the new Ngona Lodge, formerly Marshall’s Camp, on the Shire River.  From there people can either proceed into Majete Game Reserve or return to Blantyre."

So a diet of history and culture for me at the weekend (but with a bit of footie thrown in at the end!).