I saw the most amazing sight at some ungodly time of the morning flying into Johannesburg. I watched the sun rise as the world wakes.The sky was a deep indigo blue with a line of golden pink on the horizon. We were flying South & I was one the left side of the cabin looking due East. Everything changed as I watched. First a lake of pink, I thought it was Flamingos. Then the sun came up over the horizon as a bright flaming ball of red & gold too bright to look at. The sky changed to every shade from blue to translucent jade. It happens every day- how amazing is that?
Looking down there were necklaces of rivers & lakes, some huge, some very small. Then came long escarpments, mostly seemingly quite shallow, all very straight.They were beautiful shades of greys & blues, shrouded in mist. They looked like wavelets or rippled sand on the beach.
Johannesburg is a vast megalopolis regimented over the plain. There are large delta like areas with houses built on the flood plain. In the distance is the city centre of skyscrapers rising out of the surrounding habitations. It is just like something in a Marvel comic. As we come into land there are huge malls & industrial areas.
Africa awaits.
Sunday 27 August 2017
Tuesday 22 August 2017
Oxford Bubbles
Oxford is many things, but "average" it isn't. The discrepancy between the "haves" & the "have nots" is all too obvious here. It isn't just a question of "town & gown". It's far more complex than that.
The two extremes would be North Oxford where the academics & middle classes live in houses costing millions & the estates where the working & unemployed, who are trying to survive, live. As I have previously mentioned there are many more homeless & Big Issue sellers too, who are even more disadvantaged.
Then you have the tiers of students. At the top of the pile are the ones who actually attend the university. Then come all of the Language students. The population variation in term time & holiday time must be huge, but I haven't been able to find any stats. As a resident you can certainly tell the difference because of the numbers of cycles on the roads & parked. Also the number using the buses.
Then there are the children attending State & Independent schools. The former are here year round. Many of the latter are bussed in at the beginning of terms, often in huge, black 4x4s driven by burly"chauffeurs" or doting mothers. Everyone living here dreads the beginning of term when the road traffic becomes even worse than normal, & that is pretty bad, because of non boarding children being driven to & from Independent schools. Parking rules simply don't seem to apply to these drivers.
On top of all this is the seemingly endless coachloads of tourists who clog our streets & literally make it almost impossible to walk from one place to another in a straight line. Hurrying to get somewhere is almost impossible.The groups are ridiculously large for our streets & are like starling murmurations, swirling at will without regard for anyone else.
Oxford is a small university city, dating back to 912 AD, with narrow streets & pavements & beautiful architecture. It is the oldest surviving university in the English speaking world. It was founded in 1096. Oxford also has the worlds first university museum, the Ashmolean, founded in 1683. All of this makes it a really interesting place to visit.
The income all of this generates for the city & local businesses is important. But Oxford is rapidly becoming a place to avoid if you actually live here. It is in danger of becoming polluted by human beings. How sad is that.
The two extremes would be North Oxford where the academics & middle classes live in houses costing millions & the estates where the working & unemployed, who are trying to survive, live. As I have previously mentioned there are many more homeless & Big Issue sellers too, who are even more disadvantaged.
Then you have the tiers of students. At the top of the pile are the ones who actually attend the university. Then come all of the Language students. The population variation in term time & holiday time must be huge, but I haven't been able to find any stats. As a resident you can certainly tell the difference because of the numbers of cycles on the roads & parked. Also the number using the buses.
Then there are the children attending State & Independent schools. The former are here year round. Many of the latter are bussed in at the beginning of terms, often in huge, black 4x4s driven by burly"chauffeurs" or doting mothers. Everyone living here dreads the beginning of term when the road traffic becomes even worse than normal, & that is pretty bad, because of non boarding children being driven to & from Independent schools. Parking rules simply don't seem to apply to these drivers.
On top of all this is the seemingly endless coachloads of tourists who clog our streets & literally make it almost impossible to walk from one place to another in a straight line. Hurrying to get somewhere is almost impossible.The groups are ridiculously large for our streets & are like starling murmurations, swirling at will without regard for anyone else.
Oxford is a small university city, dating back to 912 AD, with narrow streets & pavements & beautiful architecture. It is the oldest surviving university in the English speaking world. It was founded in 1096. Oxford also has the worlds first university museum, the Ashmolean, founded in 1683. All of this makes it a really interesting place to visit.
The income all of this generates for the city & local businesses is important. But Oxford is rapidly becoming a place to avoid if you actually live here. It is in danger of becoming polluted by human beings. How sad is that.
Monday 21 August 2017
Terrorism & War - Places I have been.
I have been on mini breaks with my daughter to Barcelona, Paris, Berlin & London. I have also been to Madrid & Brussels myself. My daughter did her degree in Manchester.
I have travelled to Istanbul twice. I have been to Yemen, Syria, Jordan, Israel & Palestine in the Middle East. Also to Morocco, Libya, Egypt & Tunisia in North Africa.
I've travelled extensively in America. I have to say that the USA is a country at war with itself & they have the "right to bear arms", which makes them dangerous.They are also a target for many disaffected people in the world because of their disastrous & ignorant foreign policy.
All of these places have been hit hard by terrorism or war. So much has been destroyed. So many lives have been lost & families split apart by unbelievable suffering. Sensible people would think twice before travelling to so much of the world now. You do have to wonder whether some places are going to become "No go areas" for years to come.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_terrorism_in_Europe_(2014%E2%80%93present)
The destruction wreaked by man is incalculable, both on innocent civilians, property & historic sites. We are dealing, fairly inadequately, with the mass migration of populations. People who are forced to live for years in refugee camps, having lost almost everything. Just take a minute or two to really try to imagine what that must be like from the comfort of your own home, surrounded by all your posessions.
We are allowing generations of children to grow up with total uncertainty, when we know that the one thing children need is security. Goodness knows how many have lost parents, siblings & relatives, when we know that a loving family sets children on the path to healthy adulthood.
Shame on the perpetrators of this mess & shame on us for not doing more to deal with it effectively.
Shame on the so called holy men who peddle a doctrine of hate to susceptible, disaffected, young people, which bears no relationship to the religions they purport to espouse. I'm not just referring to Islam - To my mind any fundamentalist belief has no place in a rational & caring world.
Is it surprising that we have a generation of angry, disposessed, jobless, rootless, young men looking for something & finding it in a disfunctional brotherhood? Anarchy rules - powerless people think this is their opportunity for power & martyrdom.
Where is God - Any God - in all of this?
I have travelled to Istanbul twice. I have been to Yemen, Syria, Jordan, Israel & Palestine in the Middle East. Also to Morocco, Libya, Egypt & Tunisia in North Africa.
I've travelled extensively in America. I have to say that the USA is a country at war with itself & they have the "right to bear arms", which makes them dangerous.They are also a target for many disaffected people in the world because of their disastrous & ignorant foreign policy.
All of these places have been hit hard by terrorism or war. So much has been destroyed. So many lives have been lost & families split apart by unbelievable suffering. Sensible people would think twice before travelling to so much of the world now. You do have to wonder whether some places are going to become "No go areas" for years to come.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_terrorism_in_Europe_(2014%E2%80%93present)
The destruction wreaked by man is incalculable, both on innocent civilians, property & historic sites. We are dealing, fairly inadequately, with the mass migration of populations. People who are forced to live for years in refugee camps, having lost almost everything. Just take a minute or two to really try to imagine what that must be like from the comfort of your own home, surrounded by all your posessions.
We are allowing generations of children to grow up with total uncertainty, when we know that the one thing children need is security. Goodness knows how many have lost parents, siblings & relatives, when we know that a loving family sets children on the path to healthy adulthood.
Shame on the perpetrators of this mess & shame on us for not doing more to deal with it effectively.
Shame on the so called holy men who peddle a doctrine of hate to susceptible, disaffected, young people, which bears no relationship to the religions they purport to espouse. I'm not just referring to Islam - To my mind any fundamentalist belief has no place in a rational & caring world.
Is it surprising that we have a generation of angry, disposessed, jobless, rootless, young men looking for something & finding it in a disfunctional brotherhood? Anarchy rules - powerless people think this is their opportunity for power & martyrdom.
Where is God - Any God - in all of this?
Friday 18 August 2017
Malawi - Getting Closer
I've got cash - $ & Sterling. I think I've got all the techie gizmos I need, including a new keyboard for my iPad. I've got all my paperwork together, just need to check in online 24 hrs before I go. Got all my meds & Mozzie stuff.
I've also now got masses of info from the CEO of MicroLoan Malawi - (thank you C - what a lot of preparation work has gone into my visit). 3 sides of A4 on arrival & the first 2 nights in Lilongwe, (which I wasn't expecting). Plus 3 sides of A4 on my first week familiarisation programme. This is also a surprise because I will be going to Nkhotakota & Nkhata Bay on Lake Malawi & Mzuzu. I think I am actually beginning to get excited - well just a bit.
I'm glad I do know, because I will need to take a small rucksack or case for a few nights away.
It's not the clothes that's the problem - it's all the other stuff! Clothes can be washed or new ones bought. It's always a lot easier to pack for a hot climate that you can rely on. Rain isn't a possibility until about December.
I'm reasonably organised at home & my other Volunteer jobs are sorted. Not bad really.
I am looking forward to meeting all the local team in Malawi.
I've also now got masses of info from the CEO of MicroLoan Malawi - (thank you C - what a lot of preparation work has gone into my visit). 3 sides of A4 on arrival & the first 2 nights in Lilongwe, (which I wasn't expecting). Plus 3 sides of A4 on my first week familiarisation programme. This is also a surprise because I will be going to Nkhotakota & Nkhata Bay on Lake Malawi & Mzuzu. I think I am actually beginning to get excited - well just a bit.
I'm glad I do know, because I will need to take a small rucksack or case for a few nights away.
It's not the clothes that's the problem - it's all the other stuff! Clothes can be washed or new ones bought. It's always a lot easier to pack for a hot climate that you can rely on. Rain isn't a possibility until about December.
I'm reasonably organised at home & my other Volunteer jobs are sorted. Not bad really.
I am looking forward to meeting all the local team in Malawi.
Monday 14 August 2017
Relationships
I've just had a couple of days staying with good friends. We have known eachother, on & off, for about 14 years, but only became really close after my husband died in 2009. They are wonderful to be with, easy to talk to about any subject you could mention - we don't necessarily agree politically though. It's always a two way conversation - we listen to eachother as well as being able to tell eachother really intimate details about our lives. There is huge trust that confidences won't be abused. We are very supportive of eachother.
On the other hand I currently have a "working" relationship in a voluntary role which has been nothing but trouble since it started a couple of months ago. I find the person concerned extremely difficult to deal with. I have actually lost my temper with her - I simply cannot remember the last time I lost my temper with anyone - but it must be years. I have really tried hard to be patient & understand her point of view, but the fact is I don't.
Now I can feel the tension physically when I have to deal with her. I have woken in the middle of the night, or not been able to go to sleep, thinking about situations with her. I have reached the point where I am ensuring there is a paper trail of emails / texts etc because she has actually been at least unpleasant, at worst abusive.
My point is what makes relationships work or not work? Is there such a thing as a clash of personalities? Is it because there is some complete misunderstanding which makes people get mired in entrenched positions? Can an off day when something is said completely ruin the possibility of compatibility? I just don't know.
Yesterday I had a conversation with another friend who said that she has reached the stage where if she finds a relationship isn't working & isn't reciprocal in a good way, she just stops being the person who keeps it going. Because it isn't worth the emotional pain it causes. Then it's up to the other party to build fences.
I feel she's right. Life is too short to waste time on toxic relationships which drain your energy. I don't have any to spare. It isn't easy to do though.
On the other hand I currently have a "working" relationship in a voluntary role which has been nothing but trouble since it started a couple of months ago. I find the person concerned extremely difficult to deal with. I have actually lost my temper with her - I simply cannot remember the last time I lost my temper with anyone - but it must be years. I have really tried hard to be patient & understand her point of view, but the fact is I don't.
Now I can feel the tension physically when I have to deal with her. I have woken in the middle of the night, or not been able to go to sleep, thinking about situations with her. I have reached the point where I am ensuring there is a paper trail of emails / texts etc because she has actually been at least unpleasant, at worst abusive.
My point is what makes relationships work or not work? Is there such a thing as a clash of personalities? Is it because there is some complete misunderstanding which makes people get mired in entrenched positions? Can an off day when something is said completely ruin the possibility of compatibility? I just don't know.
Yesterday I had a conversation with another friend who said that she has reached the stage where if she finds a relationship isn't working & isn't reciprocal in a good way, she just stops being the person who keeps it going. Because it isn't worth the emotional pain it causes. Then it's up to the other party to build fences.
I feel she's right. Life is too short to waste time on toxic relationships which drain your energy. I don't have any to spare. It isn't easy to do though.
Sunday 6 August 2017
A Patients Journey - 6
Two months on from surgery I went swimming for the first time on Friday. No real problem, I did half the lengths that I would normally do. I was almost on my knees by the time I walked home though. Now I need to build up my muscle strength & stamina.
My dissolvable stitches didn't. I pulled the last one off last night. Fortunately it didn't bleed much. I think the spray on skin may stop the stitches dissolving.
No infection, just a bit of intermittant spotting.
I haven't heard anything about the biopsy results, so I assume that's good news. Presumably they would contact me if there was anything to be concerned about.
All good news then. Just under three weeks to get in shape for my month working in Malawi & the very long, (2 day) flights.
The miracle of modern surgery shouldn't be taken for granted. We have anasthetics, drugs for pain relief, skilled medics, wonderful hospitals - All free at point of need. But for how long? Privatisation is already worming it's way into state provision at the behest of a Conservative Government who believe that is competetive & will save them money. Instead of looking to the USA & copying, they should look below the surface & interrogate what is really happening to patients there.
It is the patient that matters. Not the medical hierarchy, politicians, or company CEO's. I've been fortunate - A lot of people aren't.
My dissolvable stitches didn't. I pulled the last one off last night. Fortunately it didn't bleed much. I think the spray on skin may stop the stitches dissolving.
No infection, just a bit of intermittant spotting.
I haven't heard anything about the biopsy results, so I assume that's good news. Presumably they would contact me if there was anything to be concerned about.
All good news then. Just under three weeks to get in shape for my month working in Malawi & the very long, (2 day) flights.
The miracle of modern surgery shouldn't be taken for granted. We have anasthetics, drugs for pain relief, skilled medics, wonderful hospitals - All free at point of need. But for how long? Privatisation is already worming it's way into state provision at the behest of a Conservative Government who believe that is competetive & will save them money. Instead of looking to the USA & copying, they should look below the surface & interrogate what is really happening to patients there.
It is the patient that matters. Not the medical hierarchy, politicians, or company CEO's. I've been fortunate - A lot of people aren't.
Saturday 5 August 2017
Malawi - Possibility of non Return
Like I have said - I plan for all eventualities. So I had a conversation with my daughter & son in law about the possibility of me not coming back under my own steam. (I've already mentioned the amount of medication I'm taking in the last Post!).
I obviously didn't phrase it well. She got quite upset. I just wanted to avoid her having to go through the business of going out there & collecting me & dealing with all the paperwork. It's not going to be much fun is it?
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/what-to-do-if-someone-dies-abroad/
Ever practical, I thought, have me cremated out there & get them to send me back in a jar, on a plane. Then have a lovely memorial service celebrating my life, with all my friends extolling my many virtues. (Well I can dream can't I - my failings aren't compulsory).
Anyway she thinks that she would want to go out to get me. And I am touched. That is real love & devotion.
It made me think how people differ in how they view death. I don't believe in anything to come. When I'm gone I'm gone. So the funeral service isn't for me, it's for the people I love to say goodbye in the way they choose & close the chapter of their lives that has me in it.
I would like to know how I have impacted on people - what they think of me. But that isn't going to happen. I won't be floating in the ether somewhere listening in, (which is a pity because I think we should tell people, while they are here, how much we love / like them & what they do that p.....us off).
Anyway - hopefully none of this will come to pass. I will return & bore people rigid with tales of Malawi & everything I've seen & done.
Actually that might mean I have less friends when my funeral does arrive.
I obviously didn't phrase it well. She got quite upset. I just wanted to avoid her having to go through the business of going out there & collecting me & dealing with all the paperwork. It's not going to be much fun is it?
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/what-to-do-if-someone-dies-abroad/
Ever practical, I thought, have me cremated out there & get them to send me back in a jar, on a plane. Then have a lovely memorial service celebrating my life, with all my friends extolling my many virtues. (Well I can dream can't I - my failings aren't compulsory).
Anyway she thinks that she would want to go out to get me. And I am touched. That is real love & devotion.
It made me think how people differ in how they view death. I don't believe in anything to come. When I'm gone I'm gone. So the funeral service isn't for me, it's for the people I love to say goodbye in the way they choose & close the chapter of their lives that has me in it.
I would like to know how I have impacted on people - what they think of me. But that isn't going to happen. I won't be floating in the ether somewhere listening in, (which is a pity because I think we should tell people, while they are here, how much we love / like them & what they do that p.....us off).
Anyway - hopefully none of this will come to pass. I will return & bore people rigid with tales of Malawi & everything I've seen & done.
Actually that might mean I have less friends when my funeral does arrive.
First I was dying to finish high school and start college
And then I was dying to finish college and start working
And then I was dying to marry and have children
And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough so they could go to school so I could go back to work
And then I was dying to retire
And now...I am dying .... and suddenly I realize I forgot to live.
And then I was dying to finish college and start working
And then I was dying to marry and have children
And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough so they could go to school so I could go back to work
And then I was dying to retire
And now...I am dying .... and suddenly I realize I forgot to live.
Anon
Not me. This is me living!
Malawi - More Preparations.
In life if you don't know the question to ask it can be very difficult to find the answer.
So - I wanted to get refills for a plug in Mosquito zapper for my room, which I haven't used for a long time. My refills are square, current ones are oblong. To cut a very long story short I have to ditch the old one - fine. However Malawi turns out to be the only African country which has UK sockets. UK electric bug zappers have USA, European & North African fittings to be used with a travel adaptor. A huge amount of time later decided to buy a local one out there - hopefully.
The information is all out there on the web or by emailing companies. It's just all time eating into my life & I have other things to do.
I have retrieved my old phone & charger from my Grandsons to use with a local sim. But the instruction book has gone missing & I don't have a record of the number. I think that the local sim will come with it's own number though if it's the same as Kathmandu.
Every surface in my study is now covered with medical supplies - my meds, malaria meds, anti mozzie sprays & sting relief, sunscreen, anti bac gel, wet wipes..... I'm a travelling pharmacy. I keep thinking how lucky we are that all of this is available to us, whereas the most basic healthcare is denied to so many in the African sub continent.
It's two & a half weeks now till I go. Things are coming together. I am a planner - I do think ahead. Sometimes I wonder if over thinking things is not necessarily a good thing.
I'm reading "The Shadow of the Sun" by Ryszard Kapuscinski - published in English in 2001 - A really great insight into Africa from a journalist who lived there from the 1950's for about 40 years on & off.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryszard_Kapu%C5%9Bci%C5%84ski
In the book he says Africans live in the moment - literally. "Africans apprehend time differently - it is much looser, open, elastic, subjective. Time vanishes when we neglect or ignore it. If you go to a village where a meeting is scheduled, but find no one you ask - When will the meeting take place? The answer - When people come".
I think I need to embrace that concept.
So - I wanted to get refills for a plug in Mosquito zapper for my room, which I haven't used for a long time. My refills are square, current ones are oblong. To cut a very long story short I have to ditch the old one - fine. However Malawi turns out to be the only African country which has UK sockets. UK electric bug zappers have USA, European & North African fittings to be used with a travel adaptor. A huge amount of time later decided to buy a local one out there - hopefully.
The information is all out there on the web or by emailing companies. It's just all time eating into my life & I have other things to do.
I have retrieved my old phone & charger from my Grandsons to use with a local sim. But the instruction book has gone missing & I don't have a record of the number. I think that the local sim will come with it's own number though if it's the same as Kathmandu.
Every surface in my study is now covered with medical supplies - my meds, malaria meds, anti mozzie sprays & sting relief, sunscreen, anti bac gel, wet wipes..... I'm a travelling pharmacy. I keep thinking how lucky we are that all of this is available to us, whereas the most basic healthcare is denied to so many in the African sub continent.
It's two & a half weeks now till I go. Things are coming together. I am a planner - I do think ahead. Sometimes I wonder if over thinking things is not necessarily a good thing.
I'm reading "The Shadow of the Sun" by Ryszard Kapuscinski - published in English in 2001 - A really great insight into Africa from a journalist who lived there from the 1950's for about 40 years on & off.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryszard_Kapu%C5%9Bci%C5%84ski
In the book he says Africans live in the moment - literally. "Africans apprehend time differently - it is much looser, open, elastic, subjective. Time vanishes when we neglect or ignore it. If you go to a village where a meeting is scheduled, but find no one you ask - When will the meeting take place? The answer - When people come".
I think I need to embrace that concept.
Wednesday 2 August 2017
Man at War - Women Weep
Happy 98th Birthday, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who decades ago wrote:
“Pity the nation whose people are sheep,
and whose shepherds mislead them.
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars, whose sages are silenced,
and whose bigots haunt the airwaves.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice,
except to praise conquerors and acclaim the bully as hero
and aims to rule the world with force and by torture.
Pity the nation that knows no other language but its own
and no other culture but its own.
Pity the nation whose breath is money
and sleeps the sleep of the too well fed.
Pity the nation — oh, pity the people who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away.
My country, tears of thee, sweet land of liberty.”
― Lawrence Ferlinghetti
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpQhO35P5W8
How many countries are mired in fighting & wars?
How many people are suffering famine, torture & pain?
How many children have to be traumatised, injured & die before sanity returns to the world?
Why do men torture & kill populations to get power & territory?
How many people flee in a desperate search for safety?
I despair - we have lost our humanity & allow this to happen. Empathy has died.
“Pity the nation whose people are sheep,
and whose shepherds mislead them.
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars, whose sages are silenced,
and whose bigots haunt the airwaves.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice,
except to praise conquerors and acclaim the bully as hero
and aims to rule the world with force and by torture.
Pity the nation that knows no other language but its own
and no other culture but its own.
Pity the nation whose breath is money
and sleeps the sleep of the too well fed.
Pity the nation — oh, pity the people who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away.
My country, tears of thee, sweet land of liberty.”
― Lawrence Ferlinghetti
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpQhO35P5W8
How many countries are mired in fighting & wars?
How many people are suffering famine, torture & pain?
How many children have to be traumatised, injured & die before sanity returns to the world?
Why do men torture & kill populations to get power & territory?
How many people flee in a desperate search for safety?
I despair - we have lost our humanity & allow this to happen. Empathy has died.
http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/
Look at these pictures & weep.
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