T-minus One Month

15^th August – also my brothers birthday – is when we set foot back in UK soil again. How scary is that. A year gone just like that. I say just like that but the amount we have crammed into it is quite impressive. Experiences, achievements, failures, and a whole lotta fun.

Don’t worry this isn’t the big – The End – blog post, although that one is coming. I just haven’t decided when it is going to be. Our few remaining weeks are turning a bit hectic to be honest. Three weeks left in work – including this one – then we are hopefully –still haven’t booked it – going to Mozambique. We also need to fit another trip to Liwonde and another trip to Cape MacLear in that and a couple of leaving parties and braais. Going to be tough but I think we will manage it.

And didn’t ze Germans do well! Hello to my German cousins if you are reading this and if you care about football. I am claiming German allegiance on your behalf. Also it is amazing how many closet Germans you find in Malawi, especially when they have just won the world cup. In fact a lot of the looked like the closet Brazil fans – until they got absolutely Mullered by the Germans (see what I did there!) Wow that was a night. We were in the local – Infuse – and wow it was kind of embarrassing. We were also in the pub on Wednesday night for the other game – I kind wished that across the tow games the goals had been shared as it would have made both semis more interesting but never mind.

African Selfie - this is from the back of the work truck whilst moving!

Thursday was rugby and that was a nice break from football. It was also a late night – or early morning depending on how you look at it, but with nothing planned for the weekend it was allowable.

Met our niece on Saturday night. Very cute and cuddly, although she was asleep for most of the skype, but I imagine it is hard work being that small.

For some reason, I don’t know why it was sunny maybe, I decided to go swimming Sunday morning. Wow that took my breath away. Woo wee! Then we went, yep the pub, for a lovely roast dinner. Beef, roast potatoes, veg and YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS!!! It was delicious.

Work wise it is a case of tidying things up. The football field is done to the best of my ability and I will be leaving instructions for when I leave.

The solar canopy is complete and I am being shown how it works tomorrow – others are as well as I won’t be here clearly – still exciting.

Our MDC site is starting to gather pace though. In order to carry out the cut and fill operation we need to construct a retaining wall. Now you may think that this is an easy task, it is 600mm wide, 24m long and 3m deep but this is Malawi. We mix our concrete by hand! But I am trying to arrange a mixer for this as lets be honest that would be silly. So we have installed a French drain in to try to alleviate some of the water. For those that don’t know a French drain is very similar to an English drain except it is called Le Royale Drain With Cheese (popular culture reference there for those that get it – Mum ask Simon!) and it only works four days a week, it goes on strike the other three!

Le Drain Francais

So the cheese eating surrender drain is installed. The soil is drying so this week we will set out the drain, dig the trench and hopefully if we can find someone selling enough aggregate build a wall! Once that has happened we can cut and fill the site.

How we have been breaking rocks - burn them then hit them with a hammer.

A lot of rocks

a lot of breaking!

In other news I have join the construction team for our lunch time training sessions in preparation for the Beehive Cup on Friday. Live streaming can be found on ESPN and the BBC world service….not really, please don’t go looking for it. It went well although I do not understand how the Malawians can scoff all there dinner and then play half an hour of football. Tomorrow is Nsima. There may well be issues!

Thought I'd throw this in there - my desk at work

In book news I have finished the 6^th draft. And I got to interview a real life Doctor of Rhinos. He is doing a PhD in all the plant life that Rhinos eat. It was very interesting and enlightening and I really really wish I had met him about 6 months ago as now I have to start work on the 7^th draft as most of the rhino section is wrong!! Grr.  But useful nonetheless. He also invited me to go and see the rhinos so hopefully that will happen!

And that people was the week that was.

STATMAN

Days left – 30

Days of work left – 8

Malawian Germans I have met – 46

Age of Phoebe Grace – 6 days (when we saw here)

My arrival back home Friday morning – 5am (shhhh)

Teams in the Beehive Cup – 4 – Construction, JPII, Torrent Vehicle Hire, Mother Teresa Children Centre

Number of Words in 6^th Draft – 101,833