Oh No!!!

Disaster, sort of.  Late last night I started to feel a bit unwell, which in turn developed into stomach cramps in the small hours.  The upshot was that I didn't get much sleep, and felt decidedly dodgy this morning.  I've no idea what brought this on - I'd assume it must have been something I ate, but I didn't have anything that other people didn't eat, so it's a bit of a mystery.  Suffice to say that I thought it better to stay at home rather than risk infecting the entire office, so I sat at the computer table all morning.

By lunchtime I was feeling a bit better and so decided to risk it and take a stroll into town for some fresh air.  Thankfully there were no problems, and I returned safely to the house to get back to the computer.  By the time the two girls got back, I was well on the mend, courtesy of my travelling medicine cabinet.

One thing I did get done was to set up the tutorial I've been asked to give the team on building a basic website using an application like Blogger.  With the relatively high price of computers and internet access here, the internet is an underused resource for Malawi business.  There's an organisation here called BUGS (Business Growth Scheme) which sits within the Ministry of Industry and Finance.  It is a fund that refunds 50% of consultancy fees to approved projects, and many of our clients make use of it.  The idea is to accelerate the  take-up of capacity-building consultancy services by Malawi companies.  I met with the manager of BUGS in Blantyre a couple of weeks ago, and he mentioned the prices being demanded for basic static website development.  His concern is that BUGS then is asked to pay 50% of a relatively inflated sum.  So I suggested that we could develop a template for Blogger or Wordpress that would in principle give these small companies a route to a free or low-cost web presence.  The proposal was well received, but alas we couldn't go ahead due to issues related to existing contractual relationships.  A shame, but I'm sure the opportunity will come up again.

In any event, all this web-related stuff prompted the junior consultants in the office to ask me to give them some training in how to build a basic website.  So I took advantage of my day in the house to develop a structure, which will be based on a 90 minute walk-through of Blogger, together with some key pointers that they will need to be aware of (e.g. copyright, usability, focusing on the target audience, etc.), after which they'll be asked to go away and build a Blogger site, using one of their client companies as the "customer" for the site.  I'm really looking forward to seeing how they get on.  When their mini projects are complete, I'll post links on this blog.

And another week begins

The week started nicely today, with the sun shining, and a real warmth in the air.  I, for one, feel much chirpier when the sky is clear and all is well with the world.

I had to do a bit more work on the Business Plan for the project I was in Lilongwe for earlier in the month, although the final elements are being handled now back in the UK.  I also had some work to do for a couple of my UK clients, which is always nice as it keeps me in touch with my "other" reality.

In the afternoon I met with Tione, one of the Malawi Junior Consultants, to make some progress on the marketing strategy document which is aimed at putting in place the right processes and goals to undertake a proportion of our work for larger companies.  We're pulling together the output from last week's brainstorming, so there are plenty of ideas, and the trick will be to focus on the most promising.  I've got to make sure that the plan is in a finished form by the time I leave Blantyre.

After work, Nishi and Natasa decided for some strange reason to walk home from the office, so we loaded up their bags in Daisy, and I drove back.  Well, someone had to get the car home!

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.

Veg Delight Night

Dosa at Veg Delight

So come Friday evening we set off to Veg Delight.  It's a vegetarian indian restaurant in the centre of Blantyre and the food is pretty good and reasonably priced.  I had a dosa, but a different one to the one I had last time, and it was really good.

After that, Nataša and Nishi wanted to go for a drink somewhere they hadn't been before, so we drove to the Blue Elephant.  At lunchtime, Rob at Mustang Sally had been a bit disparaging about the place, saying that it was a bit rough - I hadn't been aware of any problems there before, and I've been there with a mixed group, so clearly Rob was being a bit unfair.

So what happens when we walk through the door, but both Nataša and Nishi are approached straight away by a youngish Malawi male (a bit the worse for wear) who looked as though he was about to make an improper suggestion.  The next thing was that several unaccompanied young ladies came into the bar clearly looking for business.  Just goes to show how aware of things I am!  We finished our drinks and left.

Back to the office

This morning I went in to the offfice, and what a pleasure it was to have the network up and running again.  It was great to see everyone after my few days working elsewhere.

We had our usual Consultants/Apprentices meeting, where we review the week, and discuss any and all issues that the group has had over the previous five days (from now on I'm going to refer to them as junior consultants [JCs], because they have made great strides since they first started, and I don't particularly like the term "apprentice" in this context).   It's a useful opportunity to pick up early any concerns that they have so that they can be readily dealt.  Overall, this week has been a good one for them, because they're working on a project to organise a seminar for the hospitality sector.  A new consultant, Julie Stuart, is coming out from the UK this week, and she's an expert in the hospitality sector, so the seminar is being arranged as a marketing device to raise interest from hotels, lodges, bars, tourist locations and others.  It will also allow the sector to get some European insights into how to boost revenues and profits going into the future.

The JCs seem to have really enjoyed themselves on this project, because they've had to work hard to produce good ideas for the seminar, as well as learning about how to develop and market an event of this sort.  Nataša is the "owner" of the project, and my contribution has focused on helping the JCs with understanding the marketing aspects, especially with things like brochure design.  It has also been a good exercise for them in working together as a team, and as such has been a very useful activity.

Alas, I'll be gone by the time the seminar actually takes place, but I'm sure it will prove to be a success.

Nataša and I went to renew our visas this morning - quite a moment for me because it's my last visa renewal in Malawi.  Time seems to be flying by so fast right now as my stay in Malawi comes towards its end.  Every day something happens that brings it home to me that I'll be leaving soon, and that just gives me a whole heap of mixed emotions.  I desperately want to see Jan and David again as soon as possible, but at the same time I know I'm going to miss all the friends I've met here.  I know in a couple of weeks time I'm going to be an emotional mess!

Mustang Sally Club

Still, when the office closed at lunchtime, Nataša, Nishi and I repaired to Mustang Sally's for a quick libation. Rob was desperately keen that we should come back in the evening as well, but we are planning to head off to Veg Delight for dinner, so probably won't.