Kevin & Rob's Party + Sunshine

Last night there was a party at Kevin & Rob's house just along the way from our place.

Carlsberg Green

The usual suspects were there, and a good time was had by one and all.  I met a couple of really nice guys who are Malawi musicians (plus their manager) and it was neat to hear about what they were up to. They'll be getting me some of their music which I'm sure to treasure.

I had a few bottles of Green, and so slept very well, waking up at around 9am this morning. Nishi and I drove up to the bakery at the Malawi Sun hotel to get some comestibles, and Nishi popped in to the Blantyre Sports Club to pick up some information about the facilities there.

Pouring Rain All Week

The two girls then headed off towards Mulanje whilst I stayed at home to do some work and bask in some glorious sunshine.

Yes - it's SUNNY and WARM today. Brilliant (literally). I've been able to watch the monkeys playing in the garden, and even make a belated start on the tan so that people at home will believe I've been in Africa for three months.

Sun Through The Palm Tree

It's so nice to get a bit of warmth on your back and be able to relax without having to wear every bit of warm clothing you've brought with you (which frankly wasn't much in my case!).

I've definitely learned lessons on this trip.

Happy Birthday to Clem and Jen

Due to problems with the office network and internet connection, I worked from home today.  It's not ideal to be away from the office, but as my big project is finishing this week, I can't afford to be out of email communication with the project team, some of whom are in the UK.  So until it's sorted, I'll have to sit it out in the house.  On the upside, I managed to get loads of work done today, and made good progress, including getting another consultancy proposal out.

Towards the end of the day, Arthur came out to the house to pick me up as I had to get some kwacha, because I was rapidly running out. Nataša, Nishi and I then popped up to the supermarket to reprovision the house with water, and for Nataša to pick up something from the pharmacy to help with her developing flu symptoms.  I have a great deal of sympathy with her because I'm feeling a little under the weather as well (sigh).

But there was no time for self-pity, because at 5.30pm I went round to Clem and Jen's house for a sun-downer get-together to celebrate their birthdays. They'd prepared various nibbles and dips, and there was plenty to drink as well.  They've got two dogs that were so well behaved - didn't even try to take a sniff of the food, and just wandered around looking for people to stroke them.

A good crowd turned up and we chatted outside (while the wind started to get up).  A number of people there had gone to Mulanje last weekend and walked up, staying overnight in a hut at the top.  Apparently a fine time was had by all, except for the porter who got to carry Kevin's bag (the one with all the booze in it).

Doogles

Eventually we moved on to Doogles for another beer, and then homewards.

Good news too that Kevin invited me to his party on Saturday night, so that's the weekend sorted!