Coming and Going

We’re hitting the middle of another year and things have got rather busy. To be honest, what with the tasks piling up at work and the MBA needing ever more attention, I’m surprised Soma hasn’t walked in to our room and found me gibbering away in the foetal position. There’s still time, mind- July isn’t looking promising, so a dribbling Chubb is still a very real prospect!

There have been quite a few comings and goings in the past month. I’ve done both, with a trip to Kenya followed by a short visit to the UK for an MBA course. I do like coming back to the UK every so often, if nothing more than to see what is going on- the BBC news website only gives a glimpse of what is going on at home.

So what is going on? Well first of all it seems that a new law has been introduced requiring every TV programme to consist of a group of morons stuck together trying not to get voted off the show at the end. Switching on the TV, the first few programmes that came up were as follows:

The Apprentice- a group of people I wouldn’t let past any first round interview all trying to learn about business from the chap who did such a great job with Tottenham Hotspur all those years ago
Britain’s Got Talent- some form of 21st Century bear baiting where you find out that plain looking people can sing competently and that if you put enough pressure on kids they cry on stage
Some weird programme about socially inept people sharing a coach tour of Europe trying not to get slung off.

I hate to disparage UK telly, but I think I got more in depth entertainment from my newly purchased tongue scraper.

So what else? Well politically, everyone was going mad over MP expenses. Enough said about that one- when you get (not entirely serious) Tanzanian newspaper columnists suggesting that they should send anti corruption officials to help educate UK MPs on ethics, you know something is up! To be honest, people here view the whole issue with amazement and admiration, for the sheer outrage over what over here is viewed as fairly petty offences. In this part of the world, people are not likely to overstate a plane fare- more likely they’ll claim for a plane instead!

Anyway, the week in the UK passed uneventfully enough and I found myself back home pretty quickly, followed in short order by Phil and Daniella. It’s always good to have visitors, especially those who have never been here before. I do my best with this blog but unless someone visits us, there’s really no hope of getting them to understand exactly where and how we’re living.

They have just departed now having had what seemed to be a good time. They managed a few days in the Selous followed by a quick trip over to Zanzibar. Phil managed to strike gold by getting what seemed to be a nasty insect bite. When it was still pretty livid a few days later, we paid a bit more attention to it. Apart from getting some treatment at the pharmacist we discovered the truth that the nasty insect concerned was actually a nasty arachnid. It would seem that Phil has managed to secure bragging rights at all future parties by getting himself bitten by a tarantula!

Otherwise, life here has got easier as of late, especially in terms of commuting. The main reason for this is the start of the annual budget season. In fact the top level budget was released this week to general consternation. Two features jumped out at us. Firstly, there seems to be about $45m of revenue the source of which nobody has a clue about. Secondly, a staggering $3.9m has been allocated specifically for the provision of biscuits at meetings. Bet they don’t have a budget for moat cleaning though!

There are other consequences to the budget process. Every year around this time, the mass exodus of the public sector is accompanied by a huge reduction in traffic. Coincidentally enough, a substantial drop in the number of ladies of the night plying their trade along Ghuba Road has been noticed too. I try to look for the best in everyone but I’m sure the same happened this time last year! Work may not relent but at least I’m happy in the knowledge that the drive there and back work is going to be pretty easy from now until September. As for the Ghuba Road situation this of course is entirely moot for me- honest, Soma!

Another exodus, this time on a sadder note, was the departure of our neighbours Koji and Kasuko. This Japanese couple have been good friends to us in the time we’ve lived here. Equally importantly, their two young girls- Mimi and Migumi- have been good friends and excellent role models to our two boys. They had been hoping for another year here but, sadly, Koji’s employer decided to redeploy him back to Tokyo. I hope we’ll see them again soon- we’ve a trip to Japan in mind for sure.

Anyway, no house stays empty for long here and, sure enough, we met Koji’s replacement a week or so ago. Watanabe came up to introduce himself to us while Phil, Dirk and I were loitering over a braai. He seems like a nice chap- we’ll have to make sure he stays entertained ahead of his wife coming out to join him in August.

We’ve had a lot of ins and outs these past few weeks. We’ve enjoyed them all I think. Having said that, I think a short period of calm won’t hurt anyone!