Tag: Friends

Buttocks and Bouncing Balls

Well, having been here for a while – actually only 3 weeks but it seems like a while. And I guess that its debatable if three weeks is a while or not …… anyway I digress …… having spent every weekend in solitary confinement within my accommodation I was fortunate enough to be invited out by other volunteers who are working in Lilongwe. So in the words of Beverley Knight I decided to “Get Up” and accept the invitations. (showing my Pub Quiz pop knowledge there ! )   The first invitation was to join in a hill climb / walk. The hill in question is called Bunda – a Portugese/Brazilian word apparently that means Buttocks , Ass or Bum – no comment ! (Google it – it is honestly !) Now ‘Bunda’ is a bit like Moel Fammau (I think that’s how it’s spelt. ) because when I used to live in Chester I loved to look out to the Welsh mountains and listen to the Welsh choirs singing ………. ( well maybe not !) and see Moel Famau (Ive checked the spelling now and also started talking with a Welsh lilt – what’s that about  ?) This was the tallest mountain that I could  see from my house.  Well similarly ‘Bunda’ stands in the distance when you are in Lilongwe …….. except it’s steeper. higher , more remote and far far more difficult to walk up.  But not to be discouraged by that fact off we set in two cars to the foot of the hill. There are a number of things you have to understand in trying to envisage what I mean by the foot of the hill.  All around the land is perfectly flat and then like a cone just stuck on the land, Bunda rises up in front of you. There is no road of course that leads to the bottom, but a very bumpy dirt track with numerous pot holes and ridges, On arriving at the foot of Bunda there were a number of adults and children milling around two or three straw thatched houses.
We parked the cars and gave some money to the ladies sat on the wooden bench who said that they would look after the cars.  Now this wasn’t a “Do you want us to look after your cars mate or else we’ll pull your wing mirrors off” which one might find in some certain cities in England , but more of a ” We will look after your cars for you sir” and as we were kind of parked within 2 feet of their front doors – fair enough.

And so began the walk/climb up Bunda. We were joined by a group of 4 or 5 boys aged between 6 and 10 who offered to be our bodyguards, and guided us as to the best way.  This wasn’t like a walk up a  hill in the Lake district, or the Pennines  where you weaved your way through the rocks or at the very least some footholds to aid your ascent.  If you can imagine getting hold of your tiled bathroom floor at one side and tilting it at an angle of 60º, and trying to walk up it with a lean of 45º then the is what it was like climbing up Bunda – smooth granite rock.   Needless to say the boys, barefooted, jumped and danced their way up the slope, clearly knowing every turn. rock, slope that there was.  They had obviously grown up on this mountain and it was theirs. They took great delight in showing off its hazards and wonders.  Even more amazing was that as we were walking up, leaning at an angle of roughly 45º, coming in the opposite direction were ladies, many with babies strapped to them walking absolutely beautifully down the mountain, no panting, no looking that it was difficult, no looking tired, just walking , ………and there is no other word for it … majestically down the slope

It was an amazing walk up and I soon realised that this mountain had  certain religious connotations as at the top were some very crudely, yet beautifully  built shelters for people to go and stay in possibly for 2 or 3 days to pray.

At the top the views were absolutely amazing, due to the flatness of the surrounding land.    

Views that were well worth the climb. In fact it was so calm and peaceful to just sit on the top that there was clearly a danger of staying up there for too long, and let the sun go down behind the horizon, as in Malawi it does tend to get dark around 5:30 to 6:00.  But we pulled ourselves away from the views and set off down, marvelling at the amazing sunset.

Thankful that our guides knew the exact route down as the sun eventually set, and we made it down just as the sun had set and we were in darkness.

The next excursion the following day, was completely different – a football match between two of the biggest teams in Malawi – Bullets v Silver  Now Bullets who have no sponsor,  apparently are ‘The People’s Team of Malawi and Silver do have sponsorship.  They are two rival teams who are from Lilongwe. Walking to the stadium was very much like a football match in England, crowds, people selling souvenirs. food etc.  We went into the expensive seats because this was the only side with a roof..  When I say seats it’s actually steps that you sit on, but everyone sits on the steps and no-one stands up on this side at all.  Whilst on the other three sides it’s all standing with no cover at all. The stadium probably holds about 15,000.  The pitch showed a few signs of grass but was extremely hard which meant the ball bounced excessively.  This bounce invariably meant that tackles were occasionally high and a number of injuries were sustained.  Whether this was normal or not I’m not sure but at least 8 players were taken off by stretcher during the game. There were various dances and considerable cheering as Silver took the lead 2- 0.  Two highlights of the match occurred towards the end of the Game, some stones were thrown at a player from The Silver team.  This resulted in the players and the referee standing around while the armoured car, throbbed into action and sped around to the far side of the pitch.  Now at this point I was going to take a photograph, but remembering my previous interaction with Officials within Malawi, I slid my camera back in to my pocket, as these guys in the Armoured car clearly meant business and I didn’t fancy explaining that I had just arrived and was unaware of anything at all !!!!!!.  The crowd who clearly were the target of the armoured car quickly disappeared, as the armoured car carried on its way around the pitch trying to spot the stone thrower – thoughts of Life of Brian came into my head ……….(Im not going to explain you’ll just have to watch the film and look out for the stone throwers !) –

Whilst all this was going on the referee restarted the game, and Bullets scored a goal but it was not acknowledged as a goal until at least 4 minutes after it had been scored ! The crowd needless to say were not happy with the result and as the match finished there were various ‘discussions’ going on between supporters.

 

 

To round the day off we visited a bar on the way home.  With iron bars on the counter of the Bar you had to pass your money through the bars and receive your drinks in a similar manner.  With our drinks in our hands we no sooner had put the drinks to our lips than all the electricity went off, and we were plunged in to the dark. Fortunately I remembered where my mouth was and it didn’t stop me from drinking a ‘Green’ , the local ale.

The electricity and hence the lights stayed off for the rest of the evening – drinking to the light of the torch on the iPhones – just a normal evening in Malawi, but a great one at that.

One week in ……… well almost!

Well, been in Malawi now for almost 1 week – only another 51 weeks to go – doesn’t time fly when you’re enjoying yourself!  That sounds negative and I don’t mean it to be at all but actually when you say you’re going somewhere for a year it sounds a very long time but with only 51 weeks to go somehow it seems different.

This week has been all about ‘In-country orientation’ to use the correct terminology ( actually it’s probably not but I’ve lost count of the number of new phrases I’ve had to learn – and that’s just in English – Liquidation  – basically when you ask for money that you may need or alternatively claim money back, or hand in receipts for food bought, but you need a pritt stick (forgot to pack mine !)  and a piece of paper and an amazing capacity to keep every single receipt – simples ! So in the midst of trying to learnEnglish I’ve also had to begin ( and the emphasis is on begin !) to  learn Chichewa – Zikomo (thank you) and Moni (Hello) and Muli Bwanji? ( How are you?) Trouble is with the last one they tend to reply with something that I haven’t got a clue.  So I fall back on my usual Language trick of nodding and smiling and uttering the occasional sound which agrees with what they say.  Well it always worked for me in France that is except when we got a plate of uncooked meats and cheeses and I thought I’d ordered 5 omelettes ! So meal times are still interesting.

The staple diet is either chicken (in all forms) and Nsima.   This is cooked, ground white maize flour that is used as the stodge ( and I mean that in the nicest way) for the majority of malawian meals.  Eaten with your fingers this was my introduction to Malawian food. But to eat it you have to wash your hands first.  I walked over to the sink and turned the tap on but no water.  Fortunately my ‘minder’ while I’m country orientating was with me and asked them to turn on the water. Apparently it is turned off to save for when there is a problem with water supply.  As I don’t have a big appetite I only managed one Nsima. As people had previously told me it has no taste at all but is very filling. So filling that I haven’t eaten another one – yet !

My home for the next few days is  the Country Office in the guest house. I’m staying here until accommodation can be found for me in Mangochi.  I guess at the moment I’m very lucky as I do have a fairly secure wifi access something I won’t have when I go ‘into the country .  We  have guards on the gates and it does take some getting used to them letting you out and then knocking on the

gate when you come back, even when you’ve just popped

out for a yoghurt ! ( not that I used to eat yoghurt but you get the gist  …………..and I do now! ……..)

You do feel like saying ‘ it’s ok I’m only popping out for a few minutes, just going round the corner I won’t be long – leave it open !!! but of course you can’t and on return – knock 3 times ( another cue for a song !) and the guard opens the gate – as I walk past the guard  ‘Zikomo’

( see even you’ve learnt the language now ! )

As well as meetings on Finance, I have meetings on Safety and security, naturally,  which was really helpful – what to do if …………… ( I just hope I can remember it when “if ‘ does happen or even if  ‘if’  happens – what?)

For my VSO Card I had to go and have a passport photo taken – No sitting in a booth, feeding your money into a machine and click its done – in Malawi you get the personal touch.  A lovely photo shop with a pulled curtain and a chair at the far end of the room.  A gentleman with a camera appears and takes your photo – telling me head to the left, no thats too much, not enough – ( I really couldn’t do a photo shoot. ) And then hey presto in a few minutes you’re given your 2 Passport photos.

 

 

Visiting the market in the city was a fantastic experience.  Although as in many markets around the world the sellers really want to sell you their goods, and when I say they want to sell you their goods – they really want to sell you there goods, a simple no thank you is all that is needed and you move on to the next person who wants to see you their produce. Really lovely people . The vegetables and fruits, looked truly amazing and again everyone was extremely polite

 

As I travelled to my next part of the induction, I travel along a route off the tarmac road and into other parts.  The roads are a kind of sandy grit have a number of holes and bumps all along the route, where occasionally the bottom of the car does meet the road surface.  The shops and houses along these paths/roads are very different to the area where the Country office is , where local people and businesses are selling their wares in what we would call very impoverished conditions. It does make you stop and think very hard about people and hardships. Just driving though these areas and I’m sure there are many around the world very similar and even worse but when you think of what ‘we’ have it does make you think ! I know I’ve repeated myself but it’s worth the repetition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My journey was of course to the land of the cones ! which if you’ve read previous blogs you will know that this is devised by people who just want to create patterns with cones and make you drive around them on a two wheeled vehicle that was never made to go round cones spaced only a few metres apart.  So here we go again and according to local legend (or so I am told) if I’m ok on the bike then I will only need 5 days of training to be ready for the Malawian roads and if  I hit the cones or don’t manoeuvre in a figure of 8,  6 times successfully I’ll need 15 days !!!!!!!!!! I can’t wait ! As I write this I am awaiting to hear the full verdict and the sentence !

Just as a useless piece of information do you know if you look up to translate English into a language for Malawi it doesn’t exist !

Killed my first mosquito tonight withe ‘Executioner” – zzzzttt there it was gone – great feeling of triumph but still trying to suss out how to get into bed once the mosquito net is tucked in.

And here we go …………

As I sit here in Johannesburg airport waiting for my final flight, I look back on the last 2 weeks and just go – WOW!   They really did just fly by – I am the world’s biggest Procrastinator – ( a brilliant talk on TED on Procrastination – if you haven’t seen it it’s well worth a watch ) –  “Don’t do things today when you can always do it tomorrow ! ”   The trouble with that is – I did have an end date – i.e. 26th ! and with so many things to do and so many people to see I give myself an impossible task.  There were people I didn’t actually get to see before I left. And I really did want to see them but for some reason my brain seems to work on a different time scale to  GMT !  (so my apologies ) I think I can do things when I actually don’t have the days or hours to do it!  Its the same philosophy as ‘it’ll only take 5 minutes to get there when in reality it’s a half hour drive ! I didn’t get the nickname for nothing – and those who don’t know it you will have to guess !!

A huge thanks to all those friends who wished me well, sponsored – me and VSO,   and who follow this blog. And of course to the family ensemble.      It really brings in to focus the saying that you may not see someone but you know they are there for you ( or words to that effect !)

Not only did I run out of days to see people, but the eternal question of “Have you packed yet ? ” brought the inevitable answer  – “Not yet, but there’s plenty of time. 

Have you packed yet ? Must rate alongside, in the taxi world, “Have you been busy?”  Or “What time did you start? ”   If after overcoming the Wow factor of “You’re going to Malawi – Conversation dies and you get – “Have you packed yet?”

Actually what I meant by my response was I haven’t got a clue what to take, how to take it or what I need to buy to exist for 12 months in a country that I had no real knowledge of or had visited before. A small shopping spree was called for, and what would we do without Internet shopping !  Apart from the clothing which had it’s own challenges, there were the electrical items, which could well prove to be totally useless in a country that only has 4 hours of Electricity a day, and then that’s not always guaranteed so first purchase was a  small portable Solar Panel.  I have no idea if this works as it wasn’t very sunny in the last few days so fingers crossed.  If this is the last Blog post you see – the Solar Panel didn’t work ! Mosquito net, although one should be provided, its kind of belt and braces –   ooooh that reminds me ………….. where did I put them ???     Not sure if I can survive without music so how am I going to listen to my music  ? So the iPads, iPods Laptop all go in, Head Phones, Hard drives, mobiles both locked and unlocked !   All may be totally useless but we will see.

Oh then of course like a centre piece on a table – sits the Motor Bike helmet,  In pride of place in the baggage – smack in the middle! Surrounded by clothes of all descriptions  Fortunately this was a good container for the sun tan lotions, creams and everything else that people say – “Oh you must take this tablet, that potion, !  A very useful container to keep them all together Not an easy item to pack in the Hold luggage it has to be said, but that’s where it has to go and be part of the total weight allowance of 30 kg

Carrying on this blog post I am now sitting on the South African Airways plane flying to Malawi, having genuinely interesting conversations with the nun sitting next to me and the American lady who is helping support a High school to encourage girls to attend school past the age of 11.

I have to say the journey out here has been relatively flawless – I may be speaking too soon as I’m still mid-air and obviously need to collect my bags in Lilongwe, collect and pay for my Visa, then meet someone (?) who will take me to the country office. Besides for that all 3 flights, Dubai, Johannesburg and Lilongwe have gone well.  Through the dreaded passport controls and searchers with laptops and electricals which were spread throughout my carry on bag, now sit all together as it’s easier to take them out in one go.

I was slightly confused in Johannesburg when arriving, I stopped to check my ticket.  A fatal mistake as when I looked up everyone else had gone, no others to follow ! Walking down airport corridors totally on your own is very scary  With no real idea of where you are going you just keep walking and hope for the best.  Come to the sign Connecting flights ! Well thats me, so you dutifully follow

but in the back of your mind you also read the sign that says “Collect your bags for connecting flights”, but you remember the lady at check in in Manchester saying your bags went all the way on the journey, so you ignore the signs and cross your fingers while you’re walking.  Still totally on your own you see the sign Connecting flights – International and Connecting flights Domestic ! Decision time – based on lack of geographical knowledge –  is travelling to Malawi from Johannesburg, international or domestic – Snap decision as no-one else to follow ! Domestic  – based on It’s in Africa and not out of Africa ( good title for a  film !) …………….. wrong ! But was directed towards the correct place after queuing for 30 mins, by a very polite Customs guy !   Again the long walk, on your own, through the detectors which I set off 4 times as I forgot I was wearing a belt !

Suffice to say caught the connecting flight and landed in Lilongwe, Malawi.  At Visa control the queues were enormous ! One desk to collect the Visa application form, another desk to stamp the Visa form, another desk to check the form and stamp, another desk to pay for the Visa, another desk to receive the receipt and stamp it, then a final desk to look at the Visa and ask all the questions which have already been answered on the form to thankfully allow me through !

Walk out into the Greeting area and tick a little box in my head as I look up and see someone standing there with a sign with my name on it !!!!!!! Love it !   I always wanted that !

Journey by car to my initial place to stay in Lilongwe.  We pass crowds on the road selling

all sorts of things, from Vegetables, to holding up live chickens by the claw, to a young boy holding a rack of mice held by their tails whichI am told are delicious – I’ll take his word for it !

First night in Malawi, I undo the Mosquito net, tuck it in and then think maybe I should have got in first !! I’ll work that one out in the days ahead !!!!!!!

Monday June 26th and counting !

Another 10k ticked off ……

………..and one more day closer to going out to Malawi. I knew that the Great Manchester Run would be different to Blackpool but I have to say it was absolutely amazing.  Definitely something that I will always remember.  The crowds and the atmosphere were something that I wasn’t quite prepared for.  The support that came from the crowds really did make a difference.

Although I still didn’t manage to crack the 60 minute barrier, and I was following the 60 minute ‘banner guy’ all the way until the last couple of kms but never mind as they say it’s the taking part that counts – guess I shouldn’t have stopped to take a photo !!

But this race was something special following the dreadful happenings earlier on in the week. Puts everything in to perspective and whatever we can do to help each other, no matter how small or how big;  no matter what race, creed or colour; is so important – definitely taking my medal and t-shirt with me as a reminder.

On the Malaria tablets front, I have already bored people with the story so to précis  ( oh how clever is that – accent acute – Grade 8 O’level French all comes flooding back !) Choice of 3 types of tablets – I chose  one particular type – costed it out by asking the local Pharmacy.  Comment from pharmacist – “That’ll be £1,400 How long you going for ??? ” – I replied  – Errr – 12 months.  ‘This prescription is for 8 years !!” – ooops –  Suffice to say that I now have a new prescription for just 12 months. Anti rabies only one more to go, all other injections now received.

I was originally told that I was to work in Mangochi, which I believe is a largish town with over 100km between schools and training institutions. …… ‘Sorted’

Last week I heard that I was to be placed in Salima, a slightly smaller town on the shores of Lake Malawi.  I could stay in an apartment block that had various provisions including bars on the windows  and  Night Guard – … is that the same as Night Nurse ???? – ……… ‘Sorted’

Yesterday I was told that I am now back in Mangochi and at the moment have no accommodation but am assured that something will be found for me –  This way of organisation I am beginning to think is synonymous with the Project  …..  Anyone possess a tent with a mosquito net ? ……….. ‘Sorted ?’

Not sure about Man Friday’s footprints – haven’t found him yet !
I absolutely know where everything is or Just in case I need it for an Assembly

 

On a personal level, I had a number of tasks to undertake before I embark on the adventure.  Probably the number one was to clear the garage of all the years accumulated items since moving from Essex. Although of course I knew where absolutely everything was – no I did, honestly I did ……..  and could quite easily put my hand on any item within seconds, ….. well maybe minutes… there was a request that this be made a little simpler for others.  So last week I set to and with the help of a rather large skip, sheer ruthlessness and a few tears, I cleared the garage of some 25 years of ‘ I’ll just put that there as you never know it may well come in handy !” syndrome.

 

 

Still have the ‘Suzuki 100’ motor bike in there, which was my solution for getting to a school as an ‘Associate Head Teacher’ as it was the only way of getting there as the car was otherwise engaged.  It hasn’t seen the light of day for the last 22 years.

 

I’m told it’ll stand me in good stead for the Trials Bike that I’m going to have to learn to ride on the roads of Malawi to go and visit the schools – not totally convinced !

 

 

If anyone wants a Suzuki, please let me know. But for the first time in my life the car actually fits in the garage !

Again I have to mention the generosity of the people who have donated to my Just Giving page ( links at the side of my blog) The amazing generosity of you all has been absolutely brilliant.  A special thanks to Inglewhite Congregational Church where I gave a short talk about my proposed visit.  The generosity of the congregation was fantastic, as well as the verbal support in thoughts and prayers.    Also to the Freemasons, in particular the Capper Chapter, who although operate a considerable way from where I live,  were kind and generous enough to donate to my adventure with VSO.   Your generous donations are very much appreciated.

This Saturday is the village Whitsuntide Festival.  After more than 20 years of being the MC for this event – this quite definitely is my last

( I say that every year but this one definitely is !)   I love doing it but it really is time to let someone else have a go. You can’t get to me in Malawi – although knowing Mr & Mrs Butters I’m not convinced !!

 

I have now received my flight tickets so it is  all seeming very real. Important questions are starting to build.  Ive actually started putting a few clothes to one side thinking I wonder if I’ll need that ? What clothes should I take?  Now where did I put my suitcase ?  Can you buy fish and chips in Malawi?  What books should I take to read ?  ( alright alright I know I don’t read but I’m there for 12 months !!! ), How am I going to play my music ? Can you get Netflix in Malawi?      So many questions and so few answers ! ………

 

 

The next couple of weeks as you can imagine, are quite full with preparations and courses.  I won’t deny that I do have thoughts that go along the lines of ….   “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh oh ‘my goodness’  (radio edit!) but I can’t tell you how much your support and words of encouragement mean to me – thanks x

 

 

A 10k, a Birthday and amazing friends !

or You really should know better at your age ! 

There is a saying that I have often heard, and indeed I have often used it myself  – “In this life you can count on the fingers of one hand ( why they don’t just say 5 or strictly speaking 4 fingers plus a thumb I have no idea !) the number of absolutely true friends that you can totally rely upon when you need them!   This may well be true for a majority or even a minority of people. At our front door we have a sign which says ” Friends welcome, Family by appointment !” Hopefully “The family” know me well enough to just go – ‘Yeah yeah – whatever ! ‘ We don’t mean it really 😉  Family of course are very important but  since starting out on this ‘Mad Malawian Adventure’ the friends element has been put more into focus.  Those ‘four fingers and a thumb’ have now increased to at least 2 sets of gloves and a couple of mittens !

If you’ve read the previous post on this blog you will know that there were two additions to ‘The Family’ very recently.  And I make no apology for adding another picture of them in this post ! – there has to be some plusses for reading this drivel !! ……………………..

…………… as well as making no apology to those of you who are teachers for starting a sentence with ‘And’  and all the other grammatical errors that I make – It’s written exactly how my brain thinks which has never wanted to conform anyway,  let alone conform with any SPAG rules  !!

Following their arrival I had loads of messages from friends congratulating and commenting on their birth  And for all of you I really thank you.  (oops done it again ! – just plain wicked !) I have passed on all your wishes and comments to their Mum and Dad

 

Then last Sunday of course I took part in the Blackpool 10K Fun Run. A slight misrepresentation of the name I feel – it was set in Blackpool and it was 10k but as for the last part ………but we will let that one go. It was an extremely warm if not hot day.  The atmosphere was as usual really good and very supportive of all the runners.  Despite looking ‘like I was the grim Reaper’s stand in’ as one kind friend put it, I managed to complete the course in just over the hour – which was about what I thought I would do but sadly not what I wanted to do ! One of the reasons I took part was to raise money for VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) and my forthcoming work in Malawi.
I also took part to prove how fit I was – failed; to beat my time for last year – failed; as well as to smile for the whole of the 10k – failed, although I did manage to put my 2 thumbs up when told to ! ( I do sometimes mix up my fingers and thumbs  – my apologies to the little old lady who shouted “well done  – Two thumbs up” !)
But as far as raising money was/is concerned I am absolutely in awe of how generous people are, even so far as the guy called Alan who donated to my JustGiving page by adding,   “Im the guy who passed you on the Trinity 10K on Blackpool prom. Keep up the good work.” (Did he really have to get in the dig about passing me ? ) – just amazing. All of you who have donated I am really touched by your generosity and actually all your comments have really made a difference.  Some of the donations are from people I have known for a long long time, some are from ex pupils of schools where I have worked, while others are from people I have really only just got to know.  Actually it’s not just the donations but also the comments that people have made to me  (ignoring the ‘You must be absolutely off your rocker” and that of course is the Radio Edit version ! ) that have really made me think how lucky I am to know such a great group of people.  Rightly or wrongly all of these people I now feel have become even stronger friends. I just hope that this ‘friendship’ will continue in a ‘communication’ form over the next 12 months when I absolutely know that I will need all the support that I can get.  Your support will now mean such a lot to me.  Thank you

My next 10k is on May 28th in Manchester.  For those of you who haven’t donated yet but would like to do so my JustGiving page can be accessed by clicking on the JustGiving links on this blog.   I’m 83% of the way to reaching my total  Thank you all so much

To emphasise this friendship support, the following day after the 10k I had my birthday. I had more e-wishes for my birthday than I have ever had; no cards though but maybe that’s a sign of the times ! …………………  I did really just kidding !  Witness the one on the left with the inside inscription – “Saw this card and thought it was totally appropriate !”    …………..  I don’t know what they mean !

 

 

 

Again thank you all so much for your thoughts,  generosity, conversations, messages  – really touched.   Next Post – the malaria drug quandary !!!!!!!

Don’t forget add any comments below – I love to get them