10 November - Cacophony

For those of you who might think that Caroline and I are living in some rustic African idyll, let me disappoint you. I want to describe for you the early morning hours through the sounds around us. Before I start, understand this; the house has no windows. It has large openings where in a cooler climate there would be glass, but here there is only mesh to stop insects. The houses are about 10 meters apart and it has the feel of a cheery campsite, where every sound in one house can be heard in its neighbours- talking, snoring, farting and sneezing. Every sound can be heard.

At 4.30, the first rooster starts to crow, at 5.00 someone starts banging the inside of a pan loudly to call animals for feeding. At 5.30 the first call to prayer from the mosque across the field can be heard. At 5.45, a group of boys starts practising basketball on the pitch, yards from our house, the steady beating bounce of a heavy ball is not rhythmical enough to be soporific, just annoying. By 6.00am, the whole area is alive with children crying, women brushing their yards, and the general hubbub of people rising and preparing for another day. The man next door turns his radio on with a booster bass at 6.20am. At 7.30, the mosque across the field is testing its PA. I wondered why I had only heard a muted call to prayer. I suspect the PA has been broken and this morning, he can be heard shouting, “Testing. Hallo. Hallo Mama. Hallo”, at the top of his voice. Imagine what he’s going to be like at 5.00am tomorrow morning.  There’s actually so much noise, the hens, cows and goats don’t get a look-in.  

On a much, much more pleasurable note, the Vice-Principal  greeted me this morning with urgent news.

“A parcel has arrived.” Actually, it was three small parcels, each containing goodies from home. They made us consider what we miss most. The Italian coffee is still one of my deepest pleasures. The plastic clothes airer contraption solves Caroline’s underwear problem at a stroke. But the chocolate......thoughtful ......lovely..........briefly nostalgic  ......but this country is too warm and WE HAVE NO FRIDGE. I’ve just scraped the last of the Milky Bar from its wrapper with my tongue, but a good deal of the pleasure was wasted. So, please, no chocolate.

Caroline is planning new ideas for meals. I particularly liked this delicacy from the VSO cookbook.

Kumbikumbi (flying ants): Ingredients: flying ants, salt, oil

These are in fact the dispersal stage of termites and can be collected in great numbers at the beginning of the Rains. Once collected, fry the ants dry, remove from the pan and winnow to remove wings. Pick over carefully to remove any stones and remaining wings. Heat the pan with or without oil, add the ants and a little salt. Fry until ready. Serve as a relish or tasty snack.