Global Freezing

You can forget this global warming stuff.  It's really cold here.  Really cold.  Very cold indeed.  And I don't want to hear how hot it is in the UK, thank you very much.

Last night the wind got up, and it started to rain heavily in the early hours.  It carried on raining just about all day.  It stayed cold all day. What is more, my cold/flu/man-flu has worsened significantly.  So both Nataša and I stayed at home all day whilst Nishi took herself off to the office.

Nataša confined herself to bed with her computer and phone, surfacing from time to time for some tea and lemon.  I sat in the lounge on the computer desk, with pills and tissues never far from my side.  You may have gathered I am now officially feeling sorry for myself!  Still, I got a lot of work done again, and there are indications that the office comms situation may now be resolved.  I'll wait for confirmation of this in the morning before I actually venture in, but fingers crossed.

The Flames

It was apparently very busy in the Chichiri area (where our office is), because we are close neighbours with the national football stadium, and Malawi played Botswana this afternoon in a qualifier for the 2012 African Cup of Nations (Malawi are known as the Flames).  Sitting here with the sniffles, wearing the thickest clothes I've got, I felt a pang of sympathy with the football fans sitting in an uncovered stand as the rain bucketed down.

The match, I gather, ended in a 1:1 draw, but I gather that many of the Malawi supporters were less than pleased with the result.  The other teams in Malawi's group are Chad and Tunisia.  Alas there isn't another game before I leave, so I won't get to see the Flames play.

This evening I'm "looking forward" to watching the England v Hungary match, and just hoping that there's an improvement in the performance from the rubbish served up in the World Cup.  At least it can't get much worse (..... or can it?).

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!

Is winter coming to an end?

Today was the warmest day since I've been in Malawi.  Absolutely lovely.  I had a very nice stroll into town to pick up something for my lunch, and it was so nice to feel the warmth of sun.  I'm told that we're likely to see some unsettled weather for the next couple of days, but I'm assured that it will then start to warm up again (hopefully in time for me to have a bit of sun before I depart.

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart

24th one of these - the girl deserves a medal and an OBE.

Two Lovely People

I've just finished a Skype call with Jan.  She'd had a really nice day with lots of phone calls with friends, and then was invited round to neighbours Bob & Barbara - I gather there was a delicious steak & kidney pie on offer, so I'm now really jealous.  I've been so pleased that all our friends have taken the time to look out for Jan, so thanks to one and all.  Cheers Bob & Barbara.  I'll be round for my slice of pie in a month's time!