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.