Time to slow down

Saturday 11^th May

I have not had formal work now for nearly 23 years!! Yet I am always keeping busy! We live in a world where we are given the message that we always have to occupied. A short time ago I spent 8 days on retreat – no phones, no internet, no television and almost complete silence! Yet as soon as I get back home I am keeping my self occupied. Perhaps coming to Zambia is sending me a message – to slow down.

My relationship with God is very important to me. I believe in a God who is a close friend, who enjoys my company and constantly tries to help me keep to the right path. He (or she!) finds it eassy in Zambia to thwart my plans and slow me down. I try to rush to Monze from the UK and I am stranded in Amsterdam. I try to rush to the Curia to get on the Internet and busy myself and I land at Our Lady of the Wayside with no internet connection! I finally arrive at the Curia and my Laptop stops working. I fix the laptop and can't get internet access! I really believe that I am being given a very powerful message!!

So what have I lost!! I had a lovely restful day in Amsterdam. I have caught up with a lot of friends, I have enjoyed some exercise, covering a few miles each day – in, out and around town - and I have have some time to read, enjoy the sunshine and think about the lives of the people here and how best I can provide a little support. It is clear that it is all gain and not loss.

I often wonder how much of our busy lives is spent being occupied rather than being engaged in the world in which we live.

The projector that I carried very carefully from Cheltenham is still working. Yesterday Diven and his family came around for lunch and a film show. They enjoyed watching the animals in the Frozen Planet and also the cartoons. Mr and Mrs Sianga also visited. I projected the videos onto the wall providing a screen about 6ft x 4 ft. I had also picked up some speakers to enhance the sound. Mrs Sianga said that her children would no longer need to go to Livingstone to see the animals!! Though I hope that the projector isn't seen as a substitute.

After Diven left we caught up on some of the challenges facing the school. It is very hard for people in the UK to understand the difficulties faced by families such as those attending PIZZ School and the impact of a poor harvest. The Siangas have a farm and managed to grow a little maize before the rains failed. In practice they rely on the farm to provide their livelihood and enable them to run the school – funds are always desperately short to cover the bills that arise – many that cannot be predicted. This year they are worried because by December they will run out of maize for themselves – usually there is a surplus that they can sell.

The teachers also struggle to survive on the little they receive and prices – particularly for food are rising rapidly. Some good teachers have left to find better paid jobs. However the main impact is on the children. These children live in households that are surviving on the margins. The fact that they go to school at all is because the school is a social community as well as an educational one. The guardians are making sacrifices to allow their children to go to school rather than make money selling in the streets. However, at this time there is no food at home so most children are having to make money for their guardians. Mrs Sianga says she expects 75% of children to be absent from school because of the crop failure this year. This could have a permanent impact on the lives of these children. If they miss a significant amount of schooling they will have difficulty passing exams and getting decent jobs etc.

Unfortunately there are no easy solutions when famine occurs, but perhaps with more understanding of the impact we can mitigate some of the worst long term effects.

I helped Mr & Mrs Sianga to their car with a variety of goods which had accounted for much of my 54Kg of luggage! As well as the projector and videos, there were three bags of shoes, some hand knitted woolly jumpers and a mixture of art materials and games. I also gave them a solar security light to see if it might help in classrooms where the solar lighting is no longer working properly.

I am keen to hear more about the challenges with the school and to meet some of the staff and children. Although I am not here in an official role I have come to know so many at the school over the past 15 years or so and will continue to develop the relationships!!

Yesterday was the funeral of my friend Maria. I woke myself up at 5.30 in order to attend mass at 6.30. I went to the cathedral where mass is said in English. In the months leading up to her death Maria tried to get things in order. She asked me to scan some photos which covered much of her life. I looked through them yesterday morning. Many are from a time before we met, but there are also a lot taken over the past twenty years or so since we met. It was good to remember her and recall the many happy times during that period. May she rest in peace in the presence of our God.

I am surprised how few birds I have noticed since I arrived. The pied crows are around, I have seen one or two swallows and swifts (not the European ones that have returned back home), there are a couple of pied wagtails around the Curia – I have also mentioned the house sparrows. I saw a bulbil yesterday and a couple of blue waxbills at Our Lady of the Wayside and a pretty dove. Oh and a small flock of egrets flew over! Ok I have noticed a few birds since I arrived after all! I intend visiting the small lake just beyond PIZZ School this afternoon – a pleasant stroll of a couple of miles I suppose. (each way!)

Take care and slow down!

Chris

Catching up with Friends

Thursday 9^th May

It feels like only yesterday that I arrived and yet on another level I feel I have been in Zambia for weeks.

On Monday morning I strolled into town – I wanted to make contact with a few friends. I decided to pop into the hospital and say hallo to Sr. Juunza - the Hospital Administrator - who I have known for a number of years in her current role and other roles. She told me that Teddy was around so I headed to his office. Teddy is the Acting Information Manager who has in this position since Bentoe - a good friend to both of us - died tragically in a car crash in 2006. Teddy tells me that he expects to continue to be acting until he retires in a couple of years.

Teddy wasn't at his office but arranged to meet at the Tuck Shop. As I approached Sebia ran towards me and gave me a big hug. We first met many years ago on the high street and she helped me find a bus to go to Pemba to visit Jennipher. It was good to see her again and to receive such a warm welcome.

I chatted for a while with Teddy.

As I left the Hospital I rang Mrs. Sianga to see if she was around. She was and we agreed to meet. I credit Mrs. Sianga for giving me the inspiration to return to Monze again and again. I have seen her school grow from a single class to an impressive operation with over 400 (or possibly 500) students with a 100 former students gaining a secondary education, two students at university and more in nursing training. Although this year I am not formally representing Hands Around the World, this will not diminish my support for the school and I will still do everything I can to ensure that it continues to thrive. Over the 16 years that we have known each other we have come to understand each other quite well. I have met her family, been to her farm and visited the area where she grew up. She has met Dilys (my wife) and Amy my granddaughter. It was good to say hallo and chat with her and her husband. I also met Killian who has been providing a lot of support over the past few years.

I returned to Our Lady of the Wayside for lunch and afterwards moved to the Curia.

Somehow between morning and afternoon the adaptor for my laptop ceased to work! Hence one reason for no recent posts.

Eventually I found out how to get the cooker to work so I could make a cup of tea – well I could if I had some tea bags! At least I was confident that tea would soon arrive and I felt settled!

Time to go into town and buy a few provisions. It takes me a while to remember how things work in Monze. I headed to the market where I met the lady who sells me spices. She greeted me warmly with another hug and said that she had been thinking about me! The market has many temptations for me – chinese cabbage, spring onions, aubergines, sweet peppers, impwa ( a cross between a pepper and tomato!) and many other interesting fruits and vegetables. I had promised Gertrude – the cook at Our Lady of the Wayside that I would show her how I cook Lusala (a root vegetable) on Tuesday – however my friend from the parish, who usually sells it in the market, told me that it wouldn't be available till the end of the month. I was accumulating plastic bags and realised that I normally go around with a backpack to help carry provisions. I was a bit weary by the time I made it back to the Curia. Tomorrow I would remember.

I won't bore you with the details of the past couple of days, but here are the highlights!

I have been walking around meeting old friends.

At the bank I met Luke – a past colleague of Teddy's and a friend I got to know well in 2004 when we were developing a stock control system for the hospital. He now lives in Chikuni 20 or 30 Km from Monze. At the same time as meeting Luke, Captain came up to me to say hallo. Captain was in charge of making concrete blocks for the hospital ICU in 2003 – he is still in Monze and says he is busy.

I bumped into Brian – a Rasta friend who I have known for many years. I had a woollen hat at home which I picked up when we visited Jamaica in 1996! I have never worn it and brought it out to Monze because I thought Brian would appreciate it. Next time I saw him he was proudly wearing it! Along the road was a man whose name I can never remember. He has a wheelchair and some scales – as usual I weighed myself and gave a donation! He has a daughter at PIZZ School – he told me that his wheelchair was giving problems and it was difficult getting around on the rough tracks in Monze. I am amazed that even with the best wheelchair it is possible to get around!

At the Curia I met Fr. Milimo, Fr. Raphael and Fr Kenan in swift succession – all priests I know quite well. Fr. Raphael used to be at Our Lady of the Wayside Parish – a lovely, quiet man. He told me he was now in a parish bordering Zimbabwe – I asked him what he had done to deserve being banished there! He laughed! Fr. Kenan is still at Chilimantando, not far form Choma – about 100Km from Monze. He asked me to visit him there, though I doubt if I will have time this year. I first met Fr. Kenan in London and he stayed with me one weekend in Cheltenham. He returned the favour and I spend a wonderful weekend in the bush at his mother's home. No water, electricity but a solar panel to charge mobile phones!! His mother died while I was here last time, but I had a chance to visit her in hospital and remind her of that visit.

Another friend who suddenly appeared at Our Lady of the Wayside was John. I haven't seen John for a number of years so it was a a delight to meet again. He is a bit of a rogue who I met years ago. He wanted to dig himself a well and told me all he needed was a pick and shovel. A friend from the UK funded these items so John got to work. Eventually the well was dug – though by the time we had finished, in addition to the pick and shovel we had borrowed a windlass and bucket – and replaced fraying ropes at least once, provided food for a friend who raised and lowered the bucket with either soil or John inside!, bought bricks and mortar to line the well to stop it collapsing and provided a rope pump which was never used!! John told me he had now left his wife and children because she was seeing another man!!

As I walk along the road to the Curia people greet me – some marketeers know me because they are parishioners at Our Lady of the Wayside, some priests stop their cars and remind me of games of pool or other occasions where we previously met– an example was Fr. Victor who was staying at the cathedral one year that I visited, a keen Liverpool supporter, I gave him some pictures I had taken outside Anfield Stadium.

Lashford bumped into me down the road – he was responsible for building the ICU and the first PIZZ school building funded through Hands Around the World – he tragically lost a very young child some years back. Ireen, my tailor, called to me from her sewing machine and gave me a huge hug as usual. She showed me documents relating to her child's nursing training at a local private school. I was surprised by the costs - £500 - £600 per term. I will by some material for a couple of shirts and pay her a decent price!

Yesterday I tried to reach Charles but failed. Since I was passing his house after cooking my Lusala (I found a stall along the street leading to the Curia selling Lusala) I called around and we caught up with politics etc. for a couple of hours. I enjoy our chats. I have known Charles for many years. He is an interesting guy, a very good listener and interested to get another perspective on the world. Unfortunately most of his projects have hit with disasters of one sort or another!

My laptop is now back in action – fortunately it just had a damaged power cable, which was diagnosed by a guy down the road recommended by Teddy.

The internet is another issue. I have had some access but it is very hit or miss – and more miss than hit at the moment!! I might need to invest in another means of access.

Best wishes,

Chris

MY BACK GARDEN AT THE CURIA

Now I have really arrived

Sunday 5^th May

I think that today was when I really arrived in Monze!

I started dropping off to sleep during the football – so I gave up at half time, had a shower and went to bed. I slept deeply until awoken by a call from Diven at 7hrs. I turned the phone off and went back to sleep. Breakfast was laid out and I helped myself.

After breakfast I went for stroll in the church grounds. It suddenly became very familiar and comfortable. Large Swallowtail butterflies flew around, as did the house sparrows, which are plentiful here. I think that our shortage in the UK is caused by the sparrows flying to Africa for a holiday and deciding they liked the place so much they stayed. The sky was cloudless blue and I again experienced the power of the African sun.(Just glancing at my arms now I see that already they have turned a few shades darker!) Some trees are in flower and I noticed some new banana plants in what is now the presbytery garden.

There is only one priest now serving Our Lady of the Wayside and today Fr. Clement was saying mass at a couple of “Out Stations” so instead of mass there was a Eucharistic Service. Although feeling a little guilty at not attending a mass on a Sunday I felt that I should join the community here for their service. The Deacon who presided over the service stays with Fr. Clement here at the presbytery.

Before, during and after mass parishioners greeted me. Everyone I meet here in Zambia tells me the same thing – people are struggling, they are hungry. It was good to see again some very well known faces.

Diven's early morning call - which I returned at a more decent hour – was to invite me to his place for lunch. So after my service I made my way to his home. I asked a parishioner the best way, but unfortunately – as well as other things - mentioned the crossroads. There is a place called “The Crossroads” so she took me by an interesting route through the compounds to “The Crossroads” - unfortunately this didn't help me reach the crossroads I needed to find! Those who know me are aware that my sense of direction is not the best. So not only did I not know where I was but I had no idea which way to go!! I headed off and found someone who seemed to know where I wanted to be – to be honest the person I asked passed me on to someone who spoke English who directed me back in the direction from where I had come.. I wish I could learn Chitonga and be able to converse with those around me. (Although to be honest here in Monze I would also need to learn, Nyanga, Bemba and Losi.) I can easily get by with English, but at least half the people I meet cannot speak English and there is a barrier between us. Anyway I found my bearings eventually and found Diven.

Since I last visited, Diven has a new baby – in fact now a small toddler called Ireen or her Chitonga name Lwendo – meaning more problems!! Paul is a big lad now but still very unsure of me. I tried to approach him and again he started crying. Lwendo on the other hand was happy to play games – we copied each other clapping and shaking our heads – I think we have hit it off. I hope Paul will come around eventually and realise I am not really very frightening.

Delia is not very well and is in a lot of pain walking. Diven has taken her to hospital both here and in Lusaka. He is now employing some help to clean and cook. Diven joined me in his house for a meal that had been prepared for me. We then both headed for Our Lady of the Wayside church and I passed on a few items that I had brought for him including a few photos.

Jennipher was due to meet me at 15hrs, but it was about 16hrs when she rang. I told her where I was but she misunderstood. It is easy to forget that Jennipher's first language is not English – it is probably her fifth or sixth!! and our accents are very different. Eventually we met. She had been both to the Curia and Cathedral before finding me here!

Her tale was similar to others and she admitted that sometimes she pretends she is out because she has nothing to offer the hungry people who knock at her door. I shall have to go to Pemba soon and hear first hand the challenges people are now facing.

After supper Fr.Clement took me, the Deacon and his brother to St. Kisito's where we were challenged by the local people to a pool competition. I think that the final score was Manugu 6 St. Kisito 4. We arrived back home just before midnight!

Best wishes,

 Chris

4^th May

Yes I am now in Monze!

The last stage of my journey – from Lusaka was the one I dreaded most, but it turned out to be the easiest of the lot!

Yesterday in Amsterdam – or perhaps the suburbs was a very life-giving time. By the time I was settled in the hotel and ready for sleep it was 1 am, The hotel was very acceptable and after breakfast yesterday I went for a stroll to see if there was anything worth investigating. It was reasonably interesting – and Dutch! - but it didn't seem to lead to anything promising. I wanted a pleasant walk and somewhere to pick up a snack for lunch.

I checked out of the hotel just before 12 noon and the receptionist was happy to look after my 11.5Kg cabin baggage which I didn't fancy walking around with. I asked if there was anywhere worth visiting within walking distance and she told me there was a shopping centre if I turned right at Macdonalds and walked straight for about ½ hour.

I thought it was worth a try. The hotel is sited in an industrial area without shops or cafes (other than Macdonalds). The road was a major one, but the Netherlands has a character of its own. Trains and trams are numerous, well used cycle paths line the roads and the bikes are unmistakably Dutch – unlike the racers and mountain bikes we use.

After about half an hour I hadn't found a shopping centre, but I did see a sign pointing the town centre. Not deviating from my path, I headed straight ahead until I could go no more and was drawn to a small lake in from of an office building. I sat briefly to admire the diver high on the top board – an interesting artwork! A heron landed on the opposite bank and coots swam to and fro. I continued on my path which swung around into another industrial estate. I was then attracted by a canal and decided a small detour was ok as long as I was sure to be able to retrace my steps. The canal footpath led past a park with goats and other attractions for children. Eventually directly in front of me was a parade of shops, again largely Dutch – though usually named and described in English – but not the standard big brands that adorn our High Streets. One shop called Athlete's Foot did stand out in my mind!!

I found a bank and a cafe to refresh myself after the walk. For the next hour or two I explored the wonderful park criss - crossed with canals and full of birdsong and walked along another canal enjoying the trees and flowers both on the banks and in the houses surrounding the canal. It struck me again how most things demonstrated a particular Dutch characteristic – very few standard boxes or items. I also wondered about Global Warming and the impact it will have on the Netherlands where so much of the land is below sea level.

A beer in the hotel was just the job before getting the shuttle back to the airport. Navigating security at Amsterdam Airport was not too bad – a doddle after Heathrow!! My plane to Nairobi was a little late taking off but made up time en-route with a tail wind most of the way. I was initially concerned, but hadn't read my boarding pass correctly and had more time in transit than I realised. Still all was irrelevant since the plane was held up waiting for another connecting flight for over an hour! We landed just before 11hrs at Lusaka Airport and was sorted and in the taxi by 12 noon.

I caught the 13 hr Mazandu bus which left soon afterwards and Diven joined me on the journey to Monze having made a fruitless trip to Lusaka to get Delia some medicine.

Fr. Clement picked me from Tooters Road House and brought me here to the presbytery at Our Lady of the Wayside where I will stay for a night or so before moving to the Curia Guest House. I might just watch the football – Liverpool v Newcastle before turning in!!

Greetings from Amsterdam

2^nd May

Yes! Greetings from Amsterdam.

My trip to Monze has not got off to the greatest start!

I had no problem getting to Heathrow Terminal 4 – in fact I arrived about 4 hours before my flight was due to leave.

I dropped off my bags as soon as allowed without problem. At security however I realised I had made a big mistake packing the projector in my backpack. I was told I needed to take out the projector which meant virtually unpacking my backpack.

Apparently I needed separate trays for laptops, projector and the remaining contents of the backpack - i.e. 3 trays. Needless to say I was by now pretty flustered. I then apparently walked through the scanner in the wrong way! My punishment was a full body scan. However, I had to do this again because I had things in my pockets – e.g. tissues! This was followed by a couple of physical body searches and finally having to put each foot on a wooden block for some unknown reason. By this time I was more than flustered and I wasn't sure what had happened to my luggage. I felt like I had found myself in a Mr. Bean sketch!! I tried to find my trays of luggage – by now I had taken my coat and jumper off, my belt and my shoes. Apparently I shouldn't have gone to find my luggage carrying the two new black trays which I acquired during the scanning process and the security guy was agitated because my 3 grey trays were holding up the system!! Eventually I poured 4 trays into one and tried unsuccessfully to repack. Admitting defeat I dressed myself and carried my worldly goods to a quiet area where I could regroup in peace. I decided that I wasn't prepared for a repeat in Amsterdam and Nairobi. So I am now carrying my projector separately.

Fortunately the Lord is good to me and I found myself in a very quiet area, where I had a great view of the planes landing and taking off – somewhere I hadn't realised existed – and somewhere that very few people seen to have found! I was able to calm down during the next couple of hours.

It was about ¾ hr before the flight that the gate number was given. On arriving at the gate I was told I was too early. I managed to get labels to allow me to keep my hand luggage with me – people were being persuaded to check their luggage in the hold because of shortage of storage space. I didn't fancy the chances of my laptop and tablet arriving safely if stored in the hold – not to mention the projector surviving being thrown around between planes.

There didn't seem to be a hurry to get people boarding. Eventually the preferential customers were allowed to board – these seemed to be about half of the travellers. Eventually the rest of us were allowed to move – but not far!! It was about 200 metres from the gate to the plane and we never moved more than 10 yards before stopping! It seems that all the preferential customers were seated at the front and hence blocked the passage for the rest of us. The stewardess was busy unsuccessfully loading luggage in the overhead lockers, but successfully blocking the aisle. So we we already 15 mins beyond departure time by the time everone was settled onboard. We then had an announcement that there would be a delay because of traffic control in Amsterdam.

We took off over an hour after the scheduled departure time – I had precisesly an hour between flights at Amsterdam! Needless to say by the time we arrived my plane to Nairobi had already left.

I was rescheduled on a flight to Kigali (Rwanda) tomorrow late morning. When I checked I was told I would arrive at Lusaka at 1.30 am. (I was then offered flights via Dubai or South Africa still arriving in Lusaka at the same time). After some discussion I persuaded the desk clerk to book me a flight on Kenya Airways to Nairobi tomorrow evening arriving in Lusaka at 9.30 on Saturday.

So now I am in a hotel in Amsterdam instead of being halfway to Nairobi!! I hope to have a pleasant day here – I am sure it will be better than a night at Lusaka Airport!!

Best wishes,

Chris

Wednesday 1^st May

On Easter Monday Maria eventually gave up her fight. Dilys, myself, her son Joseph and some other friends spent most of the day with her until her death at about 11.30 pm. The staff at Sue Ryder were very good looking after Maria and ourselves up to, and after the end.

Unfortunately I will miss the funeral as I leave for Monze tomorrow.

My packing is complete – I think!! I nearly forgot my binoculars and bird books, which for me are more essential than almost anything else I take for myself. As usual I have used up my baggage allowances. 2x 23kg cases and cabin baggage of 12 Kg is soon accounted for! I have second-hand shoes for the children at PIZZ School and a good supply of woolly jumpers for the young ones. There are art materials – also for the school. I have a few cameras, a couple of mobile phones, pairs of sandals for friends, reading glasses, soap for Jennipher etc. My cabin baggage is mainly a projector for the school, a laptop for a friend, a tablet for Jennipher. Yes and I have a box set of the Planet series – the Blue Planet, The frozen Planet and Planet Earth, plus another box-set with Top Cat, Wacky Races etc. to go with the projector! It's just as well that my clothes only weigh 3-4 Kg!!

Over the past few weeks I have been reading a Neville Shute trilogy. The first book was No Highway about an engineer testing an aeroplane wing that he predicted would fail through metal fatigue after so many hours flying. It becomes clear that a plane crashed having exceeded the relevant number of hours and the engineer becomes responsible for severely damaging another plane to prevent further loss of lives. I read this soon after they realised that the crash of the Ethiopian Airways plane was caused by the same issue that previously brought down an Indonesian Airways plane. Perhaps someone should have had the courage to sabotage one of these planes!

A few years back, I flew on Ethiopian Airlines. I remember how cheerful and pleasant the Stewards and Stewardesses were. I particularly remember that as night-time arrived they produced cots for the babies and toddlers. These were hung in front of the front seats where the parents were seated. What a difference this made for the families. I haven't known any other airline to provide similar facilities.

The second book was A Town Called Alice – again Neville Shute introduces us to some inspirational characters. The main character first overcomes terrible hardships during the Second World War to enable a group of women to survive and then ends up transforming a small town in Australia. It is good to believe that we can all make a difference. I like to believe that I have been able to make a small positive difference in Monze. I like to think that a few friends have a better life with my support and that I have been able to make a positive difference to others. I feel very fortunate to have been given the opportunity.

So tomorrow I will set off on my journey and I look forward to seeing my friends again.

I will be staying again at the Curia Guest House.

Next time I write no doubt I will be back in my second home.

Best wishes,

Chris

Dog Sitting

Saturday 6^th April 2019

Last year was the first since 2003 that I have not visited Monze. However the call of Africa is too strong and I have arranged a short trip during May – OK, I will spend virtually all of May in Monze.

Of course I am in contact with my Zambian friends on a very regular basis. I doubt whether a week has passed without a call or two.

Oh except for last month when I spent 8 days on a silent retreat in North Wales. There is a special freedom gained from turning off mobiles etc., having no television, radio or newspapers and to top it all living in silence, except for gentle music during meals. A little glimpse of Heaven!

Ignatian retreats have been very valuable for me over the years. I hadn't previously visited St. Buenos where the retreat took place and was a little apprehensive. In fact it was a very rich and rewarding experience and a much needed opportunity to spend some time with my God. I now feel refreshed and ready to see how my friends are facing the challenges of life in Zambia.

Once again the weather in Southern Zambia has not produced a good crop. Rain started in November/December on time, but instead of continuing until March/April it stopped early in February before the maize was mature. The result is that the harvest in this area will be very small and there will be hunger again.

Two years is a long time and there will be many changes – not least in the children I know. Selina for instance is now a mother! I look forward to catching up.

When in Zambia my blogs often start one day and finish a day or two later.

It is now almost two weeks since I started this blog. I think the real value of a blog is to record life as it unfolds. This is probably why a blog about my life in Zambia is difficult to write from the UK.

As I write I am sitting in my daughter's house in Naunton – a beautiful village in the Cotswolds – where we are dog-sitting. Fortunately she has a large field at the back of the house where the dogs can get plenty of exercise.

My packing is on hold, but having ordered some items online and not been at home for deliveries, I am having to find ways of collecting my goods. One delivery was for three solar security lights.

Some years back I visited the clinic at Chilimentando. This is a village which is remote apart from a tarmac road which passes nearby. I spent a good day meeting some of the people and hearing some of the challenges they face. At the clinic one of the main issues was that women would come at night in labour and forget to bring a candle! It struck me that there must be something that could help. The next year I brought out a solar security light. I didn't know whether it would work, but I felt that it might help and it would be far brighter than a candle! Some months later I asked Jennipher whether it worked and how long the light stayed on – of course it is designed to be triggered by movement, not to be left on continuously. Jennipher told me that the light stayed on all night! What is more one of the women was so grateful that she named her child after me!! So some poor lad in Zambia is called Barrell!!

I now try to bring out at least one solar light each year.

Although based in Naunton we have been travelling back and forth quite often. More important than collecting parcels is visiting my friend Maria. Maria was diagnosed with a form of breast cancer about 6 years ago. After declaring various treatments successful, 2 – 3 years ago the health professionals agreed that her cancer was still around – had progressed and was now terminal. Over the past year or two Maria has spent time at Sue Ryder. The hospice has been very important in helping control the symptoms and pain and has allowed her to spend periods at the hospice where they have adjusted the medication etc. For the past 3 or 4 months she has been able to live at home and a few weeks ago she came with me and her son, Joseph, for a pleasant meal at a local pub.

However, she was admitted to Sue Ryder quite suddenly about 3 weeks ago. In recent days she has become more or less bed bound and sleeps most of the time, requiring more pain killing drugs and responding very little. Dilys and myself have made a number of visits to sit with her and keep her company during this important time.

The weather here has been quite cold, but today has warmed noticeably and temperatures up to 25°C are expected in the UK this weekend. It has been reasonably dry so, with appropriate, clothing I have been able to sit outside while the dogs amuse themselves in the field.

The politics of Brexit have been interrupted over the past few days and replaced by the climate change protests. My friend Charles from Monze sent me a text a few days ago in reference to Teresa May and Brexit – no doubt we will catch up on everything when I get out to Zambia.

Climate change is still not being treated seriously by politicians around the world. The cyclone in Southern Africa is something that is happening more often as our climate changes. If more than 700 people in the western world were killed and millions affected would more notice be taken? It is cruel that western greed so often results in disastrous consequences for the poorest in the world. At the moment people in Zambia are hungry because the rains have failed yet again. The irony is that heavy rain has been falling in recent weeks – too late to save the maize crop, though helpful to fill the reservoirs.

Best wishes,

Chris