Myth number 2 – McDonalds is a global brand

Not long after I arrived in Malawi, I realised that I’d not seen a McDonald’s. I’m not a great fan but I was surprised that the golden arches were nowhere to be seen. My curiosity got the better of me and one day  in the office I asked if there was a McDonald’s nearby. The answer came back “what is McDonald’s?”. Sorry Ronald, you’ve no fans in Malawi!

On the other hand, the famous red logo of Coca Cola is here although, not as obvious as I have seen it in other countries. What makes me chuckle is that one of the mobile provides – Airtel – uses the same red colour in its logo and can be seen on every street corner. People selling the pre-paid vouchers are usually sitting under a big red umbrella or the shops selling vouchers have big red painted signs over them advertising Airtel. In some areas it feels as if every shop is painted red.

There is no denying that the many of the English football teams are known and loved in Malawi. Ask any of the chaps in the office what they were doing over the weekend and watching football is bound to feature. Again, lots of the colour red and many many people supporting Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal then the blue of Chelsea but , sorry Adam, I’ve never heard any talk about your beloved West Brom so I've added the link to keep you happy and to make others check out The Baggies!  The national football team in Malawi is known as The Flames and they play in … you’ve guessed it ….red. The local team is the Silver Strikers and their home strip is very similar to WBA's - who'd have believed that! If you're a real football fan and are fed up with the Premier League, check out Football Association of Malawi. (I can't believe I have just written a whole paragraph on football. That's what having nephews and Godsons does to you!!)

While we’re talking about colours, the Carlsberg green is popular here and when you’re ordering a drink if you simply ask for a Green everyone knows what you want as Dad found out when he and Mum were here on their African adventure recently. If you like your lager a bit stronger then ask for a Gold.

Sunrise on my 50s

Ok – I confess, I wasn’t up to see the sunrise on my birthday but one of the girls was so here is what the dawn of the new decade looked like.

I do typically wake up much earlier these days (please no comments about “don’t all old people”!) but not early enough to see the sunrise that day.

It was weird to wake up on my birthday to hear monkeys jumping on the roof. Thankfully they were just nosing around and  then went off on their own merry way.   It’s fair to say I had a very very lazy birthday. The agenda went along the lines of – open pressies, eat, drink, read, sunbathe, chat on skype, read, eat, chat on skype, drink, …..blow out candles on birthday cake, go  to bed! An excellent birthday.

As you can see from the badge, there was no denying my age! 

The day after my birthday we went on to Pumulani which very aptly means place of rest. We had another day of rest and relaxation and took a speedboat around the Lake. The boat driver bought some fish from a fisherman on the Lake to entice the fish eagles out of the trees. Their eyesight must be amazing! Then a few crumbs of bread to tempt the cyclids in the water. They almost come to the surface of the water. They’re very easy to spot as the water is so clear. The day ended with a sun downer sailing slowly round the Lake when we were lucky enough to spot hippos. 

The fish eagle was too quick for me to photograph. Here's the fisherman in his traditional wooden boat.

Sunset on my 40s

When I came to Malawi I was hoping/planning that my 50^th birthday would just be another day in the calendar, no big fuss, no public announcements of this mammoth event in my life. My colleagues here in Malawi had other ideas and especially those who had already passed the milestone. There was also collusion between colleagues here and friends at home (thank you Audrey and Linda!) to make sure the day did not pass by quietly!

We went away to Lake Malawi for a long weekend – Friday 10^th through to Monday 13^th. For the first two nights we stayed at  Madzi Kumala which means light water (or something very similar). As you can see, it is a beautiful house. It was an ideal spot to say goodbye to my 40s. Or, as I prefer to say, to see the sunset on my 40s.

Pictures of me at 50 to follow another day!

I'm back!

I seem to start each post with an apology for being so behind with the blog. Today will be no different! The months are zooming by and yesterday it was a year since I went for the interview for this job. How time flies. In September I will be half way through my contract and wondering what to do next.

All sorts of things have happened since I last wrote

1. I’ve reached the half century mark. Thank you for all cards, emails and pressies. I had a very relaxing time celebrating this milestone. More news will follow. Wonder who will be on the throne when I receive my telegram from Buckingham Palace in fifty years’ time? Will there still be telegrams?
2. A new farmers’ market has opened in Lilongwe and is held on the last Saturday of the month. Lots of interesting food, crafts and even a lady doing reflexology! Everything is made in Malawi by Malawians. Some goodies are made by small village groups and sold through this cooperative.
   
   http://www.ovop.org.mw/
   
   OVOP has a shop in Lilongwe so guess where I’ll be buying some of my Christmas pressies?
   
3. The first batch of vegetables from the garden have been enjoyed. With all this sunshine, carrots, lettuce, beans and peas seem grow all by themselves with just a bit of watering.
   
4. Winter has arrived and although the temperature is still good during the day, it can be very chilly at night. I now have a duvet and a blanket on my bed, wear socks all day, and am back in cardigans/jackets in the office.
   
5. The biggest news of all is that Mum and Dad have been over for their first trip to Africa and what an adventure it was!

Hopefully, I;ve now restored all  the photos in earlier and more will follow very soon.

Anyone know what's gone wrong?

Hum! I've been wondering why none of you have guessed at what the picture is in challenge 3. Now I see that all the photos on the blog have a big no entry sign on them.

Anyone have any ideas how that has happened?  What button have I pressed without realising it?!

Help!

For now I've reloaded the picture in challenge 3 and will come back tomorrow to see if it is still there! Any techies out there, please let me know what you think has gone wrong with all the other pictures.

Challenge 3

This post is to make you do some work for a change! On a TV quiz they would call this the picture round!

What do you think the wooden boxes in the picture are? I'm tempted to say, as they used to in the days of Blue Peter, ..."answers on a post card, please" but in this day and age with all the technology we have, just post your answer in the comments box. As yet, I've not decided what the prize for the first right answer will be. What I do know is that I am looking forward to all the wrong answers which are bound to make me giggle.

All creatures great and small

This post has been a long time coming and there is lots to tell and lots of photos so that should keep you all very happy. The list of creatures I’ve seen and which I am now getting used to is a pretty long list!

1. Cockroaches – it goes without saying! The first time I tried to spray one with good, old faithful Doom, in my panic I held the can the wrong way round and managed to spray myself on the face. Boy, was I glad I wear glasses. The cheekiest roach was hiding in the bathroom sink overflow hole (sorry there must be a technical term but I don’t know it). I was busy cleaning my teeth and thinking of nothing special when I spotted the antennae peeping out!   On that occasion the roach lived to tell the tale.
2. Spiders – (Laura – look away now!) not many to report but I did jump back in shock when I spotted this fella first thing one morning next to the washing up. Luckily, it was a day when Felix was around so he sorted out him out.
   
   
   
3. Ghekos – these little creatures are good news as apparently they eat mosquitoes. There is often one little chap on the walls at home. The very tiny ones are almost seethrough. When I went up to Salima recently  there were lots of blue tailed ones. They rush around so are not easy to photograph. (Bonnie – I’m sure you’ll love this photo)
   
   
   
4. Frogs – the funniest one was hiding under the washing machine which was in the patio at Joseph’s house. I’m not sure who was more shocked when he croacked and hopped out – me or him! Yes – you did read correctly, the washing machine was on the patio! (Ok - I admit the frog isn't in this picture but at least you can see the patio)
   
   
   
5. Monkeys – I had a wonderful weekend up in Salima Bay and couldn’t believe how many monkeys were living in the trees right next to the beach. (The joy of zooming in. I wasn't quite as face to face as this picture suggests)
   
   
6. Dogs – lots and they wander around the road at night which I’m not too keen on. Thank goodness I’m the car.
7. Chickens – one of the neighbours keeps chickens and they are often walking in the road as I’m driving to work
8. Hedgehogs – just like at home they are slow creatures who don’t seem to notice or hurry away from cars at night. One had a very lucky escape a couple of weeks ago.
9. Grasshoppers – big green grass hoppers! Somehow they have been finding their way into the kitchen in the last week or so but can’t find their way back out so I come home to find them on the kitchen floor exhausted from los of flapping. Poor things.

I’ll keep my eyes peeled and let you know what else I spot

PS - how funny! As if to say "what about me?" an enormous ant ran across the kitchen floor as I press the "publish" button! Then two minutes later a very long millipede slithered across the floor

PPS - I can believe  forgot these creatures when I wrote this yesterday - maggots! That has to be my worst experience to date. As I cut open a butternut squash I thought the seeds looked a bit strange and before I had time to work out why, they started jumping out of the squash. The inside was full of maggots which started hopping skipping and jumping at great height and great speed out of the squash. I suppose they were glad to see daylight. Thankfully my emergency brain kicked in, I threw the squash into the kitchen bin, put the bin outside, sprayed it with Doom, then sprayed the floor and the worktop to zap the escapees. Then out came the bleach and any other cleaning chemicals I had to wash down the whole worktop. Thankfully there was no uncovered food on the top at the time. To say I felt sick is an understatement and dinner was just a good strong cup of tea for me that night. This is a Malawian experience I do not want to repeat.