The Build Up to Christmas?

To repeat our opening comment from last week:

‘We continue to be amazed by African resilience.’.

This time it is how long they (including children) will stay for a church service.

Last Sunday we returned for a service at Mabungo church, where a few weeks ago Jenny presented a drum (see blog of 19th November). It wasn’t the service itself that was particularly long – about 2 hours (partly explained by the baptism of several children and an adult) but it was followed by talks by 3 parliamentary candidates. The national elections are in February and it is customary here for candidates to be able to present themselves in church. That took about an hour. This was followed by the auctioning of items given in the offertory instead of money – including 2 large squashes and 4 chickens – live. We were a bit limited as we didn’t understand the language but it was clear the auctioneer was a bit of a comic and the congregation enjoyed the 45 minute event!

We are pleased to report that Christmas is slowly arriving – we mainly know this because there are a lot more people in town as students return from school and families come home from Kampala etc. However, apart from one music shop which was playing one day ‘O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree’ very loudly, the only other sign is that the ‘supermarkets’ are getting low on some items like cornflakes as more is needed to feed the extra visitors. Apart from that it is getting hotter and hotter as the rains have slowed down – it almost feels like the sort of weather you would expect in Africa.

Malcolm continues to potter around with DIY – this week installing exterior lights. This did involve using a ladder (he’s not very good with heights) and at one point an ’extension ladder’ which Irene called ‘not very sensible’ - he can’t think why. He also discovered that the electrician who had installed some new sockets when we first arrived had, in one of them, swopped the live and neutral wires. We are surprised our electronic equipment still works!

He continues to work a day a week helping the manager of Potters Village with the book-keeping. This week Jan (or Yan?), the manager of the Travellers Rest Hotel, brought some visitors to look around whilst Jan took the opportunity to play with the eldest boy there, Pius.

Irene is helping to make costumes for the Nativity Play at the Cathedral on 26th December. For some reason one of the characters is a bat. We can’t remember Dracula being mentioned in the Gospels – we wait and see.

This week’s sign comes from a shop in Kisoro – we now know where to go if we want to dig foundations!!

You know you live in Africa when...

… you get sunburnt walking to the market to buy food for Christmas

… you open the electric meter box to check the reading and a lizard looks back at you from inside