We’re getting to know where most things are in our ‘new’ house, and the kitchen especially has been much easier to adapt to because a multiplicity of cupboards makes a logical choice of location for everything more straightforward (and gives Andy a good excuse for not putting things away). We've had to purchase a couple of saucepans due to the buckled bases of the two old ones we brought with us not connecting properly with the solid electric rings of the cooker supplied with the house. I flattened the base of one of them with a series of thumps, but I fear the moment when it may ping out again and launch itself off the stove.
The small tomato seedlings (in a pot) that I've been nurturing have survived both the house move and even 2 days and nights of neglect out in the back yard while we were away. There’s a small patch of soil in our otherwise paved back ‘courtyard’, from which I removed thick, tough grasses using my little trowel and a strong arm. With a bag of compost it should be ready for the seedlings and some beans and spinach. Some rain is expected in September they say, so with that and the rising temperatures I’m hoping for a smidgen of horticultural success.
We did mention previously what a performance it can be buying a kettle at the supermarket here….appliances once paid for cannot be released until they have been tested, so the shop girl finds a tap to fill the kettle, trots along to a far corner where there’s a socket, we watch the kettle boil AND switch itself off, then she empties it and we depart clutching a hot damp appliance and a soggy till slip. The iron, bought later from the same shop, suffered a bit of a meltdown when tested because the shop girl had forgotten to remove the plastic covering from the base plate.… she kindly swapped that one for another, successfully tested, and although it goes very cool when trying to maintain a constant temperature, at least it works if you wait for it to heat up again (and it’s guaranteed to do that for a year). There’s hardly anything electrical here that isn’t from China, as we may have mentioned before.
A little light laughter from the front page of the Botswana Advertiser – a nice smiling lady is advertising printed name badges, but unfortunately the large capitals say NAME BAGDES. I phoned up the manager and asked if he really expects to sell his goods in the circumstances, but he claimed he hadn’t seen the advert, although he expressed gratitude at being advised of it.
Andy: Work at the hangar has been slowed down a bit this week by a team of auditors from the national aviation authority checking our maintenance department for it’s final approval under the newly introduced array of regulations. Flying has also been less busy than in previous weeks, though we can’t tell whether it’s because there are just fewer serious cases needing medical emergency flights or the health department’s flight budget is getting depleted towards the end of the month.
