The token May post

Phew- just made it! A very brief posting on almost the last day of the month to ensure that May 2008 does not go entirely unforgotten.

Today is quite a significant day for us in fact. Yesterday was mum’s birthday- a fact duly recognised by an e- card and a phone call. Obviously, this means that a year ago yesterday was also mum’s birthday (sharp eh!). The significance of this, is that last year we came to the UK to celebrate said birthday, returning to Egypt a day later. Today, therefore marks the one- year anniversary of our last visit to England!

Actually, I was talking with an old friend in England on Skype the other day about our travel plans and our decision to live in Africa. He was amazed, exclaiming “What on earth are you thinking of? You’ve got small children to consider…there are power shortages, a complete breakdown in law and order, runaway inflation, insurmountable gaps between rich and poor and ruling parties in power for way longer than is good. Why the blazes are you thinking of coming back to England this summer?”

Hopefully, the situation back in England isn’t quite as dire as my friend (and the International Mail on Sunday, tragically the only UK paper regularly on sale here) are making out. However, the obvious downturn in the general public mood in the UK has not escaped the attention of the Tanzanian media, though they also recognise a lot of these trends (especially the oil and food prices bit) as being part of a wider global trend (if that makes you feel any better!). In any case, the local press is much more focused on the more immediate issue of how Tanzanian citizens are being treated in South Africa. To put things in a nutshell, people here seem outraged at what they see as a very unAfrican lack of gratitude. Black South Africans got a lot of support during the apartheid era from their neighbours- in cases such as Zambia they even endured SA airforce raids for their pains. It would seem that the black SA community has a pretty poor name across the rest of Africa now.

Anyway, back to the point- we’ve got tickets booked and are looking forward to coming back to the UK for a few weeks this summer- anyone up for an extortionately expensive warm beer?

Anyway, life here in the southern hemisphere is still good. We’re patiently awaiting the end of the rainy season- the real rains ended weeks ago, but we’re still getting the occasional downpour as we head slowly into winter. It is still a bit too cold for the swimming pool (the water temperature plummets with each downpour) and, for some reason- negligent poolboy the most likely suspect, the pool is a worryingly luminous green. This would not normally be an issue but Kieran was hoping to get training for his upcoming swimming gala and has thus been thwarted. To help, I have been given him intensive training on the art of losing gracefully (not to cry or try to steal the trophy).

This is really the calm before the storm- life has taken on a pleasant regularity right now. Soma’s parents will be visiting at the end of June and we’ll be taking them up to the Serengeti. After that, we have a myriad of entries and exits- me off to Nice, followed by Soma and folks to the UK, followed by me to Amsterdam then UK, followed by my folks and the four of us back home- at least I’ll have something to write about again!