Followers

Tuesday 28 June 2011

In a retro mood!

When I opened the drawer in my old bedroom on Saturday I found an old sewing kit from the '50s and some 'Lingerie Guards', which I imagine is something women used to hold their clothing up in the pre-tit-tape era.

They must have put me in a retro kind of mood, because today, amongst other things, I splashed out on a super-cute green and white candy-striped dress that puts me in mind of my old infant school summer dress (thankfully minus the straw boater with brown and yellow striped ribbon this time!) and a spotty linoleum style handbag.


I actually bought 2 bags - this one sewing inspired!

I also look forward to playing the game of Twister I picked up in a charity shop for 3 quid - all in tact, with the old design on the box. Who's in?

Thursday 23 June 2011

Half holiday!

It's been wind down week in school. A week of cleaning out cupboards, tying up loose ends and sneaking off for long lunches with friends and colleagues. Who knew that whilst we're beavering away in school, being lucky if we have time to shovel in a quick sandwich, that the Kampala coffee shops are buzzing with the office workers, NGO workers and all the ladies who lunch?

I've decided that I'm on half holiday. I treated myself to manicures and pedicures and a facial. After all, these are treats that I can't afford once I go home. The salon, incidentally, was full of teachers doing exactly the same thing!

So now I am rested and ready to go home for the summer. I'm only taking home the bare minimum, so I can shop till I drop! I'm looking forward to catching up with friends and family and having a little peace and quiet, away from the barking dogs and the loud parties that keep me awake at night. Hopefully I can squeeze just a little Ugandan sunshine in my suitcase though!

Sunday 19 June 2011

A couple of Ugandan birds

All the wildlife is supersized in Uganda. The mice are the size of rats, the rats are the size of cats, and the cats are just cat sized, but you get the point.

There are all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures around. This pair of black and white horn bills roost in the avocado tree behind my apartment. I can't tell you how much I hate them. They make a disturbingly loud cackle, usually finding any quiet moments when the mosque isn't blaring out the call to prayer and the nightclub isn't blasting out music, to make their call. From a distance or in flight, they look like giant magpies. Close up, they are like malevolent, ugly parrots. They are supposed to feed mainly on fruit, but they also take small rodents and reptiles as part of their diet. In Kampala, they have become scavengers. Once, when I was out for a run, I saw one tucking into a bit of roadkill that had not yet been removed. Truly disgusting!


They are about 2 feet tall

Saturday 18 June 2011

Boda Polo

Boda polo, billed as 'the quintessential British sport Africanised', involves teams of four participants on the back of a boda (motorbike) using a mallet to hit a banana fibre ball into a goal.

Unfortunately I missed most of the action as the sky blackened and crackled with fork lightning shortly after I arrived. I did, however, manage to catch a glimpse of the match between the Police Force and another corporate team.

This really is a little too bizarre to explain, so I will let the photos do the talking.

The police join in the action

In full swing

Surely all these people can't fit on the bikes!

Help is at hand for any mishaps!

Thursday 16 June 2011

Boosting the UK ecomomy

I saw a report in the paper today that retail sales in the UK had plummeted in the month of May. Well fear no more. Soon, myself, as well as several other retail deprived colleagues will be heading back to Blighty on a mission to reverse the trend and boost high street spending.

I plan to spread my wealth (!?!) far and wide, as I visit friends across the country, spending in every sector of the high street. The list of 'must haves' seems to get bigger and bigger, the closer I get towards coming home. It started out as quite a modest list of new trainers, some new sports kit and a couple of pairs of sandals. Now I am looked at my sad and unfluffy towels and thinking they are ready to be ditched. My face powder is reaching an end and my mascara is getting cloggy, and I am sure I won't be able to resist throwing in the odd lip gloss or nail varnish. Every time I have to get dressed, I stare at the same old selection of worn clothes, many with the tell tale holes created from too much handwashing. I am sick of nearly all my clothes and am longing to go shopping.

Not long now - I will be home a week on Saturday - woo hoo!

Wednesday 15 June 2011

And the winner is ...

Primary Awards night, the equivalent of the Oscars in school, where all the teachers put on their gladrags and celebrate the academic, sporting and artistic achievements of the past year.

Unfortunately I was struck down with a nasty bout of an illness that afflicts me from time to time - verbal diarrhea  (my attempt at spelling this word was so bad that the Spellcheck did not recognise it and I had to Google Imodium to find the correct version. I really should invest in a dictionary). The stage lights blinded me and I was a little overwhelmed at the thought of the end of the year and so forth.

Mistake number 1: accidentally walking across the stage with the glass of wine I had not quite finished during the interval. I am sure that did not look great.

By the time the Year 6 awards come around it is very difficult to find anything original to say about the award winners. I heard myself saying that the maths award winner had a brain quicker than a computer, but am not sure whether my aside about it not being that difficult, considering the appalling state of our computers, was noticed. My next clanger was that the art award winner was not only great with a paintbrush, but also had a true artistic temperament. I then jibbered on some complete nonsense for some time, before handing over the microphone to somebody with a modicum of professionalism.

Oh dear! I conclude that I am far too tired to enagage in any form of public speaking. Never mind though, I can probably have a lie in tomorrow as I probably don't have a job to go to!

Monday 13 June 2011

Sandcastles and dolphins

This time last week, I was swimming in the crystal blue waters of the Indian Ocean ... this week I am just about managing to keep my head above water in the sea of paperwork and endless tasks that mark the end of the school year.

The long awaited Zanzibar trip lived up to all expectations. I had worried that some of the children would get homesick, but in the end, we had trouble dragging them away.From the moment they spotted the famous 'Blue Beach' it was clear that this was going to be a week to remember. The kids loved their little beachside abodes, adorning them with flowers on the beds and welcome mats for the daily room inspections. One group even tried to bribe us with welcome snacks on arrival for extra points, but unfortunately their method of melting the marshmallows by dunking them in the kettle did not put them in good stead!

I'm beginning to think that the animals of the African continent must be having a good giggle at my expense. In the past three years, I have trekked through almost impenetrable forests to spot gorillas and chimps, driven around fig tree circles in search of tree climbing lions and spent hours on safari seeking out lions and other majestic creatures. This time, it was the turn of the dolphins. Now swimming with dolphins is one of those activities that is somewhat over-romanticised. What they don't tell you, is that you have to get up at the crack of dawn, to board a vessel that does not look worthy of the village duckpond, let alone a tumultuous ocean. A few of my group, who had better sea legs than I did, dived in at every opportunity to swim with Flipper and friends. Meanwhile, myself and a couple of the girls turned an insipid shade of green and I was little comfort to them as I hurled over the edge! I was relieved when somebody else decided the white horses were too big and that we should head back to dry land.


 The final day's visit to Stone Town was a little hurried for my liking. We spent some time in the former slave quarters and learnt about Zanzibar's colourful history. However, we barely had time to get lost amongst the maze of ancient alleyways and I was too busy helping the girls decide what they should buy for their little brothers and sisters to have any time to shop myself. I will have to book a return visit sometime!

The trip marks the end of Primary for these children, many of whom I have known for 3 years, having taught some of them twice. Soon they will be teenagers and will leave behind the fun of building sandcastles and peering into rock pools. I will miss them next year, but they are ready to fly the nest.





Sunday 5 June 2011

Busy, busy , busy!

Phew - what a day! Have been running around like a madwoman, trying to finish reports, grab time for a swim, brunch at the Serena, get a pink pedicure (very important of course), buy Tanzanian Shillings and of course, packing.

So it's a 5am start at school so we can jet off to Zanzibar. I am a very lucky teacher indeed! If anybody needs me in the next week, I will be here...

Saturday 4 June 2011

A quiet weekend in Kampala

I'm enjoying another of Uganda's long weekends - it seems that barely a month passes without a day off for something or other. I believe Friday was Martyr's Day. I had to change my plans at the last minute as although I have more or less recovered from last week's unwelcome feature of 'Malaria Returns', I am still in no fit state for the 60km bike ride to Lake Albert that I had hoped to do. Especially since the planned 60km bike rides are notorious for turning into 80 or 90km epics!

Instead, I rose early on Friday morning and drove across town for a healing yoga session. Afterwards, I promptly undid the morning's good work with a yummy pain au chocolat from the Belgian patisserie. Apparently I should be avoiding wheat in order to detoxify my body. Sod that! I am a firm believer in 'a little of what you fancy does you good'. And anyway, I needed the energy for the big sunscreen hunt - 6 shops later and I found some. By the afternoon I needed a nap, but I'm not sure whether I was tired from the yoga or just exasperated by the fact that in a city with some 40 000 Muzungus (I may be plucking that figure from mid air, but am sure I've heard it before) it is still a mission to find sunscreen.

Today I headed to the LaBa Street Art Festival. It's one of those lovely Kampala events that brings everybody out . I enjoyed browsing through the art on display, mentally spending a few hundred dollars, but actually walking away with a few candles and postcards.

My day of culture continued in the evening at the National Theatre. Originally written as a radio play, The Cow Needs A Wife, is a Ugandan comedy about a man in a village who gets his girlfriend pregnant, so raises the cash to buy a cow for her dowry ... only for her to reject him. My favourite part was when they try to organise a highfalutin party and the biggest status symbol they can think of is hiring 60 white plastic chairs brilliant! Click on the link above for a listen - it had me and the audience giggling along!