A few weeks ago we reported Irene’s once-in-a lifetime experience when a cat gave birth on her lap.
And it has happened again (that’s
twice in a lifetime).
The house cat has been pregnant
and this week lay down on Irene’s lap. After a few minutes she started to
strain and before long gave birth to the first of 4 kittens. I think we have
found a new career for Irene as a birthing partner – but maybe it only works
with cats!!
In previous year’s we have talked
about some of the eccentric electrical arrangements to be found in East Africa.
Malcolm’s problem is he is too accustomed to the safety standards in Britain.
This week there was an electrical supply problem and one of our large carpentry machines was not working. When Malcolm inspected the plug there was what seemed to be a normal 13 amp fuse. Closer inspection revealed that the fuse was blown, and underneath was a spiral of wire.
It seems that fuses are unnecessary
parts of electrical equipment. Malcolm did try to buy spare fuses from a local
electrical shop and the best hardware store in Iringa, but failed. Why use a
fuse when a bit of wire will do?
To be fair plug fuses are a
British ‘thing’ – 2 pin continental and American plugs do not use them.
However, what was more worrying was that the main fuse protecting the building
had also been replaced by a piece of copper wire. This is the large 100 amp
fuse that in UK houses is sealed and should only be opened by someone from the
electricity supplier. This fuse is the
last defence against a major electrical short circuit – or would be if it is in
place.
But then, electrical problems
don’t happen in Tanzania………………..
The final 'shocking' report is Malcolm's latest culinary disaster. You would think even he could manage to use an automatic bread maker. And yes, it tasted as bad as it looks!!
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