.....Get Set......

It’s been another week of packing and saying goodbye to friends:

The Diocese held a reception for us at the Faith House guest house, and the Bishop presented us with presents to thank us for our work.

The Vocational Training Centre provided a lunch for us and all the students. This included a song and local dances.

When one of the students was asked why he was happy, he said it was because he meal was a change from posho (which looks like very stodgy mashed potato) and beans – their normal daily menu. (Malcolm was relieved he didn't say' because the Crawfords are going!!!!)

And the Senior staff of Potter's Village took us out for our last meal at Traveller’s Rest.



Now, all we have to do is pack up (and start our diet!!!!)

Finally, to complete the series on the local ‘delicacy’, the drink Bushera. Once the seeds of sorghum are dried and left to ferment for a few days in water you end up with the drink. It may look like drinking chocolate, but is tastes like slightly rancid fruit juice. Definitely an acquired taste and a bit of a shock to a mzungu!!!!

This week’s proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from the Gambia: “A thin chicken cooked and shared tastes better than a fat one eaten alone”

A Refreshing View

“Malcolm, could you climb the hill behind your house, and take a photograph of the Diocese buildings?” The hill in question looks more like a climbing wall used by mountaineers rather than a gentle incline. Malcolm had walked (scrambled) down it once over a year ago when he walked back from Lake Mutanda, but hadn’t plucked up courage to attempt to go up it. So packing a spare oxygen cylinder, saying a (last?) fond farewell to Irene he set off.



It wasn’t as bad as he feared. He has to say that as there are houses up the hill where people older than him live, who must make the climb on a daily basis. We are pleased to say he took the photos and returned in one piece. The photos clearly show are house and the other Diocese buildings

One of the houses on the hill had Sorghum seeds drying in the sun. Sorghum is a common plant which is used for a variety of purposes and in particular to make the local favourite drink – Bushera. When we first saw Bushera we thought is was hot chocolate, being a similar colour and consistency. It was a bit of a shock to taste a slightly off, sour, fruity flavour – definitely an acquired taste.



And as for our now regular feature – the earth mover is still there with the signs of other life moving in.



This week’s proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from South Sudan:

“A quarrel is like buttermilk, the more you stir it, the more sour it gets”