Back to Mzuzu!

Hello everyone,

it is great to be updating my blog from Malawi where the sun is shining and it is quite warm today. The lovely blue skies and sunshine of April in Northern Ireland were good preparation!

I am now safely back in my house in Mzuzu and getting settled after my time in the UK. My journey was good and I made it along with all my bags and this time there were many!! It was lovely to be greeted in Lilongwe by one of the Synod drivers who brought me home to the North on Saturday.

I had been wondering what I might meet in home especially as it had been closed up for quite a few months... Let me introduce to the orb spider that had made its home in a large web in the rafters of my verandah. It pays to look up as well as down!! Part of the web was attached to the inside washing line and as I pegged up some cloths the line moved and disturbed this beastie. It moved very quickly... I may add so did I!

After being away there are many jobs that need to get done around the house. Some are quite obvious such as cleaning out cupboards but one that I did not expect was having to replace the poles of my washing line. They are wooden and had been chewed away around their bases by some kind of beastie and then they fell down. This is the best excuse I have ever had for not being able to hang out the clothes! Busy has been well, busy today first going to the wood market to buy the poles and then putting them up.

The other evening I had Sara and Matt, who are currently staying in Mzuzu, round for supper and we enjoyed a good game of Chinese Chequers by candlelight as there was a power cut!

I have had lots of visits from my small neighbour Pemphero who makes makes me smile lots as he tries many new ways to ask for biscuits from the biscuit box. Today he gave me a written request for a biscuit or maybe a sweet, it's hard to say no!

Here is Busy who helps me at the house. He was very glad to see me home again and wanted his photo taken with his bike. It now has a new tyre and a new saddle, another repair that needed some attention on my return!

Many of you have told me how you enjoy to see some of the sunsets I get here so here is the sun setting yesterday evening at about 5.45pm. The photo just doesn't do it justice.

And finally here's a special picture for all my Portrush friends - yes it's one of the BB tea towels on my washing line here! They have even made their way to the 'warm heart of Africa'. One day they will be in every continent, I believe there are actually still enough of them to make this happen!

I hope you enjoy a good week wherever you find yourself in the world.

love and blessings

Fiona