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Wednesday 31 August 2011

Tourist Tat!

Today's blog is inspired by this article in The Guardian today.

There are few certainties in life, but here is one. Where ever you may roam, from Paris to deepest, darkest Peru, there is sure to be a souvenir shop by the exit. South America probably has the monopoly on cheesy, shining Jesus paintings, sculptures and key-rings, whilst Africa has no end of masks, drums and wood carvings.

Over the years, I have inflicted a fair few little treasures on my nearest and dearest. Sometimes, I have to confess, it is fun to buy a present purely to watch the receiver's look of confusion, laughter or fake appreciation.

My favourite tacky present of all?

An 'up the revolution, Che Guevara Communist' baseball cap from Cuba for my Gran!

What is YOUR favourite tacky souvenir?



Monday 29 August 2011

Help yourself ...

One of my Ugandan colleagues, who has a great sense of humour, told me this joke the other day:
In Japan they invented a machine that catches thieves;
 They took it out to different countries for a test.
 In U.S..A, in 30 minutes, it caught 20 thieves;
 In UK , in 30 minutes it caught 500 thieves;
 In Spain , in 20 minutes it caught 25 thieves;
 In Brazil , in 10 minutes it caught 6,000 thieves;
 In Ghana in 7mins it caught 20,000 thieves,
 In Uganda , in 5 minutes the machine was stolen without trace!!!
Over the past few months, I have been hearing stories about friends and colleagues being the victims of theft far too often for my liking. Friends have lost cameras, money and even a full size, desk top computer, including monitor and all the paraphernalia. Laptops, phones and i-pods are easy pickings for these urban predators. It is unsettling to have to put so much time and effort into safeguarding my belongings - carrying my handbag everywhere I go, finding safe hiding places for anything of value every time I go out and the constant locking and double locking.
I understand that times are hard right now. Last month, inflation hit an 18 year high of 18.7%. Wages have not risen by the same proportion. However, these facts do not make the victims feel any less violated. Most of us don't have any insurance here, so once something has been taken, it is pretty much gone forever. 
To be honest, it's getting beyond a joke.

Saturday 27 August 2011

Back on 2 wheels again!




This morning, Dora the Explorer and I took a leisurely bike ride. The phrase of the day being "I'm sure well end up somewhere that we recognise!" Yes ... eventually we did, but not before being nearly knocked to the ground by errant runaway trucks and squeezing our way through 'da jam'!

Thursday 25 August 2011



Oh dear - I'm still struggling to get going on the old blogging. I could blame being ultra busy at the start of a school year or the notorious power cuts, but ultimately I am out of practise and feeling a little uninspired. As I enter my fourth year in Uganda, I find it hard to see anything new. I could tell you about the 'Pothole Tourette's  Syndrome' that we're all suffering at the moment (it is impossible to drive over the one at the end of the road without saying 'bloodyhell - I swear it's getting worse', or an hour's wait for a coffee, but then I feel it's all been said before! 

So I have decided to adopt the same 'get it over and done with' approach that I used with running. I hadn't dealt with the heat or the hills throughout the summer at home, where I happily trotted along the smooth, flat roads in a temperate climate. I knew the first run back here would be sheer hell, but after a few outings, it's getting easier. If I could just apply the same tactic to writing ... but unfortunately it's all too easy to hit the delete button!

Maybe it really is the return to school. I am exhausted, mainly from the anticipation of the new school year. The first couple of days are always fuelled by pure adrenalin (yeah - it's extreme teaching you know!), the following 3 being a sledgehammer comedown.

Right - enough for today. Hopefully normal service will be resumed soon!


Thursday 18 August 2011

Glitter

It's funny how a few simple pleasures can boost your spirits; a little music, light so I can finish my book and a hot shower after an invigorating bike ride.

Yes - you guessed it - the power is on tonight and my inverter has FINALLY been fixed!! I am a much happier bunny.

Oh - and you can never get enough glitter!




Tuesday 16 August 2011

Speechless

Well I haven't had much to say since I got back to Uganda. And even if I did, I don't really feel like writing in the dark. The power cuts have been every other night since I got back, but the pattern now seems to be breaking and they are becoming even more frequent. My inverter is broken and I only have an electric stove. Except, apparently, there is nothing wrong with my inverter (according to the electrician) so I must have been imagining sitting in total darkness and living off cold cereal with slightly iffy milk due to the lack of refrigeration.
Humph - will try to write a more positive post next time if I have not died of scurvy ...

Monday 8 August 2011

You know you're back in Uganda when ...


  1. The guard greets you on arrival back home and helpfully carries your heavy suitcases up 6 flights of stairs.
  2. Cash not cards - no more chip and pinning for a while!
  3. You invest in a serious amount of candles in preparation for the power cuts that are planned to take place every other day until the water levels rise in the Nile so that enough electricity can be generated to meet demand.
  4. The house is spotlessly clean when you get home from work because the magic washing up and cleaning fairy has been in.
  5. You are told that you are looking very fat by a colleague - and this is meant to be a compliment. So glad I bothered to run 4 times a week throughout the holiday ...
  6. You don't recall adding black pepper to your meal ... then realise that's because weevils took residence in your bag of opened pasta during the holidays.
  7. It takes over half an hour to drive a 500 metre stretch of road to the shopping centre.
  8. The shower of rain at lunchtime is so heavy that 5 colleagues prefer to stay squished inside a tiny Rav 4 rather than risk a soaking.
  9. You have to slam on the brakes whilst driving on a roundabout.
  10. The screech of seagulls has been replaced by the incessant howling of dogs and the cacophonous caw of hornbills!
Oh Uganda!

Wednesday 3 August 2011

Summer days, drifting away ...

Sadly and unbelievably the summer holidays are drawing to an end for me and on Saturday morning I will be heading back to Uganda. It's funny how when you are in one place for a while, it seems hard to believe that other places exist at all. Uganda is all a little fuzzy in my head at the moment, but I am sure I will be hit with the sensory overload as soon as I step off the plane on Saturday night.

Today I headed off for a final day trip with the oldies (since they are abandoning me tomorrow and buggering off to Prague for a long weekend tomorrow!) We stopped by the Lowry Centre in the morning, then went to Lyme Park for a pic-nic. Sadly there was no sign of Mr Darcy, but I heard he got older and greyer and speaks with a stutter these days! I have to say our pic-nic was the envy of many and that only my mother would think of bringing a tablecloth and matching plates. However, trumps go to me for thinking of the wine and delicious lemon meringue pie made by yours truly!

I think you're supposed to share the tablecloth with everybody Mummy dearest x

Cheers!

Yes - that's it!


Searching for Mr Darcy!





Lytham st sunset


The Lowry

Tuesday 2 August 2011

People Watching

You learn something new every day and one of our lessons was that cocoa cola is more expensive than wine, so we quickly nipped that costly habit in the bud and stuck to the wine and cervezas!


With its grand open squares and long, balmy summer evenings, Madrid is the perfect spot for a glass of vino and the spectator sport of People Watching.The entertainment never seems to run dry - whether it's the super cute little girl playing with bubbles, THAT perfect couple who live the perfect life in the perfect apartment above the perfect plaza or the Spain's Next Top Male Model moonlighting as La Policia!


I could share all the photos and stories we invented, but then where would be the fun in that? Maybe we were the subject of other peoples' People Watching ... now that's a scary thought!

Madrid

I had no real expectations from Madrid, only to catch up with a great friend I don't see often enough and of course a few glasses of sangria. I wasn't disappointed! Perfect days were spent relaxing in Parque de Retiro (for relaxing read eyeing up hot runners, laying out on the lawns to read our books and gossiping over afternoon cervezas in the cafe by the lake), wandering through the beautiful streets and a little retail therapy.

We ticked the boxes for the major sites: El Palacio Real, El Prado Museum and Plaza Mayor. We got ridiculously lost on the first day, turning a twenty minute walk into a two hour mission, proving that despite appearances we are both still very blonde! I loved all the fairy-tale like buildings, the intricate detail that was everywhere you looked and the city's sheer grandeur! 

El Prado


Lovely fairy tale buildings



The Post Office is simply stunning


We basked in the sun, took long siestas, dined late at night in the beautiful square and danced into the wee small hours of the morning ... but we don't need to put up photos of EVERYTHING!!