That's Amaizing!

Whilst the cat’s away…….

Malcolm is surviving with Irene away  -  in fact he’s getting up to all sorts of mischief.

 

This week he was spotted caressing a ripe pineapple – something which for good reasons  isn’t normally allowed in the house because Irene can’t stand the smell. They are very common and delicious local fruit which cost less than 40 p each.

Later he was discovered sniffing (some might say snorting) some fine white powder which came from some small plastic bags he was holding. Any suggestions what this might be?

 

In the maintain there seemed to be some sort of man-hunt going on in the maize field just at the rear of Irene and Malcolm’s house. You might think Irene is in England, but…..

 

The bug of the week is a spider which seems to have found its lunch.

This week’s African proverb from the BBC website is from Nigeria “You can tell a ripe corn by its look”

P.S. Malcolm would like to thank his many friends here for enabling him to survive by feeding him including Denise, Rory, Corrie, Becca, Mairead, Sarah and Raymond.

Hair today, Gone tomorrow

New Year – Time for a new haircut.

The UK news this week seems focussed on the Prime Minister’s hair. (Can’t be much else happening, then)

 In the past few weeks there has also been some concern at the state of Malcolm’s hair so it is time for his annual shearing.

One of the personal ‘hygiene’ problems of living here is how to get a haircut. The local hair dressers may be excellent at shaving heads, or spending all day braiding hair, but not necessarily so good at ‘4 on top, 1 at the sides’ or styling.

Fortunately Mairead is at hand.

Malcolm wasn’t too sure how it would turn out (nor seems Mairead?).

Having tackled the impenetrable, Mairead enjoyed the easier task of tidying up Irene.

However, the ‘bug of the week’ did not seem too happy.

 This week’s African Proverb from the BBC web-site is from Liberia: “The wisdom of a person cannot be determined by the number of grey hairs on their head”

P.S. Apologies to all her fans, but Irene has returned to the UK for a well deserved 3 week break. So, no more photos of her for a few weeks. Please keep watching anyway.

Free with the Wild Life

This week Harrods Store announced the closure of their Pet Department, which used to sell exotic animals. To fill the gap in the market we have found some wild life of our own.

Following our New Year break in Jinja we went north to Murchison Falls Safari Park, with Rory, Denise and Gideon.

 We will simply leave you with a selection of animals we saw.

 

 

This week’s African Proverb from the BBC web-site is from Ethiopia: “A fool is thirsty in the midst of water”

A Rest on the Nile

For a break we have been to Jinja over the New Year with Corrie.

Jinja is the second largest town in Uganda, at the source of the Nile on Lake Victoria. Our lodge was on a hill overlooking the Nile at what used to be the Bujagali Falls – until a dam was made for a new hydro-electric scheme.

 Malcolm took the opportunity to try out a hammock on the verandah of our room.

He also made the most of the restaurant at the lodge

Irene and Corrie enjoyed chilling out in a local coffee shop.

They also found the weather unseasonably chilly - for Uganda.

We visited a small weaving factory and had a tour of the workshop.

There were a number of new bugs. There were very small ants, and monster ants...

.....and something which may have been a frog

.

This week’s African Proverb from the BBC web-site is from Uganda: “You don't punish a fish by throwing it in water”

A Doctor in the house?

It has been a busy Christmas week.

 

On Christmas Eve a group of us went around the wards to sing carols and give out small presents. Most patients had been discharged, but maternity was particularly busy because most other clinics and hospitals in the region were referring patients to Kiwoko due to the shortage of staff over the holiday period.

It was unusual celebrating Christmas day in a hot climate. The local children, dressed in their best and new clothes enjoyed playing on what was left of a tall tree that had recently been felled.

 

Christmas lunch was shared in the open air, being a mixture of western and local food. 

 

The party games were interrupted by a sudden but brief downpour. Irene joined in a game involving balloon modelling – Dr Peter, the Hospital’s main surgeon, was not quite sure what to make of it.

 On Boxing Day it was Malcolm’s turn to play doctor.

 Dr Corrie wanted a video made of her work in Kiwoko and it was time to record some caesarean sections. 

 A healthy, screaming boy was safely delivered, and Malcolm is recovering well too. 

(Malcolm must have made an impression with theatre staff. The following day they rang him to come to do an operation. They had used the wrong number for Dr. Peter.)

This week’s African Proverb from the BBC web-site is from Uganda ““Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped”

More Festive Activities

It is bright and sunny here with temperatures rising to the 30 degrees centigrade.

 

But we can still prepare for a ‘normal' Christmas.

  

The Christmas tree (branch) has been decorated and the angel put on top.

 

We enjoyed a Christmas lunch with all the trimmings.

 

 

 

 

 

And now its time to open some presents.

 

We wish all of you a very happy Christmas

 

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This week’s African proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from Nigeria: “The chicken does not forget the person who plucked its tail feathers during the rainy season