Weather and other bits and bobs...

Weather

When we realised we were coming out here in wet season we had mixed feelings. It was a time of year that neither of us had seen in Africa before but it also wasn't considered the 'best' time to come. My dad told us that the electrical storms would be amazing and that would make up for the need to pack wellies. I kid you not, we have our wellies here. Geoff's are currently full of lizard poo - I haven't told him this but I'm sure he'll work it out eventually. Although, perhaps I should mention it given that I have to clean his socks!

We were promised the rains would start at the end of October. It's now the end of November (I can't believe this - I feel like it's still August - probably because it's so hot here) and the rains are coming. Something has changed in the weather this week. On Monday we went to watch the sunset only to discover the hospital was surrounded by electrical storms. We sat and watched the lightning all around us. It was amazing, light up the whole sky sheet lightning interspersed with some forked lightning. Fantastic viewing. And, although the electricity went on and off, we didn't see a spot of rain.

The week got really hot again. I ditched my run on Wednesday morning in favour of weights and press ups in the house. It was just too hot even though there'd been a bit of rain in the night. There was rain for half an hour last night too. But this morning was hot and dry.

Then this afternoon the clouds closed in and we've had light showers on and off. There must had been a storm somewhere relatively close by because Geoff's admitted people from a house fire caused by lightning.

It's going to be interesting for the next 3 months. Every time the weather is even vaguely stormy within 50km the lights go out. This could a little trying, especially at meal times! I think we've been very lucky to have 3 universally hot months so far - it's only fair that we should join you guys in the UK in needing wellies.

African DIY

When we returned from watching more lightning after dinner on Monday we discovered we were locked out. Turning the door handle did not do anything any more. We got Rory's tools and managed to break ourselves back in. Then it became clear that we weren't quite going to be able to fix the door ourselves and we were loathe to shut it just in case we couldn't open it again - there's no other way out because of window bars.

Thankfully there's someone on call from the workshop all the time. I found him at the hospital entrance and he was soon on his way with me. 'I'm the door and lock doctor' he said to Geoff. He made a repair but said he'd be back at 10.30 the next morning to fix the fact that the door is mostly hole around the handle.

Just after 11.30 he came back with a friend. There was quite a discussion before he asked me whether I'd been planning on going anywhere. I had been planning to go to the market to buy things for Geoff's lunch in an hour.

'I don't think it would be a good idea for you to leave when you have no door.'

I agree. That would be a very silly idea, but I have a door.... OK, now I don't. They pulled it off its hinges and took it out with them. When will you be back? 14 hours.

Right. So not only could I not leave but I also couldn't prevent the sun coming in and heating up the inside of the house. I did an experiment to see how long water took to evaporate off the concrete floor some time after 14. Less than 5 minutes for a whole handful. :) I was bored, what else would you do if you didn't have carpet at home?

Don't worry, I managed to feed Geoff, just!

I could hear a kerfuffle outside at 15.10. 'We are back just like we said we would be!' 'You are an hour and ten minutes late!' 'No, your watch is wrong. We are on time.' I pointed out that they were making themselves have to work for an extra hour with that line of thinking.

They had removed our creepy crawly proofing, saying they would replace it with rubber. This rubber happened to be part of an old car tyre. And they put it on with the door open. The only problem is that the gap between the door and the floor is greatest when the door is shut.....

Pets

I don't consider the cockroaches we've been getting pets - mostly because they all die of their own accord over night. Or perhaps I only see the dead ones.

We had a run of bad luck with pets. I'm afraid that the frog died some weeks ago. I only confirmed on our return from South Luangwa. Unfortunately it's stuck so tight to the wall that I broke its back trying to remove it - and still failed. Natalie finds this hilarious for some reason. :-p

Then the little lizard we had in the bathroom disappeared. He was about 2 inches long and you could only spot him by looking for 2 black dots (his eyes) because he was exactly the same shade as the concrete of the floor. He did a good job of eating ants but then he went AWOL.

Now we have a praying mantis. He's brown and about 3 inches long. He doesn't like getting his feet wet. He turned his head right round to stare at me this morning. I don't think we'll have him long but he's good fun for now.

We still have a pet bigger lizard in here somewhere. I saw him on the bedroom wall the other afternoon but he tends to hide in the roof during the day.

And then there's Tiger, obviously.

Film night

The more childish of my colleagues openly sniggered when I mentioned long dark nights to fill with entertainment. (It's OK, I know that Keckers is too busy to read this - aren't you?) Right back when Fi and Rory came we set up Film night. The idea was that we'd each pick a film to watch, put the name in a hat and pull one out each week. We haven't quite hit the frequency or stuck to the list.

What we have found out is that we are very good at picking exceptionally weird films. If you like the idea of locking someone in an oven then pick either Case 39 or Project X. If you want to hide a Dodo in a beard then 'Pirates in an adventure with Scientists' is for you. [Note: it really really isn't!]. Generally if the film starts with female nudity it's going to be awkward to watch in a group (Chloe).

Last night's film was no exception. Will had downloaded Killer Joe. It was supposed to be great. Any film with a lady opening a trailer door naked from the waist down as its opening sequence is probably going to be alternative. If her stepson is at the door it's weirder. And if the excuse for her opening the door like this is 'Well, she didn't know it was you' then you can probably happily stop watching. Actually, it was a little intriguing to see where the whole plot was going. I'm afraid that I still can't answer that. There was a lot of mindless violence and gratuitous nakedness.

In the middle I spotted Tiger arriving at the screen door. He scared Fi and Gemma by pawing at the  door to make his way in. After inspecting the whole house (everything was in order) he came back to find a seat. First he thought he'd try my lap. He put a paw on each of my thighs (I was wearing light coloured newly cleaned trousers - grrr) and panted in my face. It took me and Nat to remove him. Then he spotted a small gap on the sofa next to Will. He made out he was having difficulty getting up onto the sofa so Will stood up to help him. Immediately Tiger jumped up and settled himself down next to Nat, leaving no space for Will. He he he he he. Will managed to reclaim some space eventually. That dog is smart!

Next time we are picking a film that someone has seen in advance..