The starry nights are pretty spectacular, even with the amount of dust that is in the atmosphere, the nights are crisp. Down at the bottom left of this picture is the Big Dipper, or Ursa Major, or the Giant Saucepan in the sky, and the left hand bit of it still points towards the Pole Star, or Polaris. You will notice that the Big Dipper is upside down by Northern Hemisphere standards, but it still points to the tail end of Ursa Minor where sits the Pole Star which isn't visible in the Southern Hemisphere. But there is the Southern Cross which provides a steady signpost for navigators: although one can be fooled by the False Cross which looks similar but points randomly elsewhere. Instead of aiming for the South Pole, you could end up in Brazil or Melbourne.
With some luck, this may be visible on this tiny computer screen after Blogspot has processed it somewhat.
The picture below is of the shamba. The papaya will be ripe while we are away. This is a pity, because they are good food, make good jam, and are very delicious with a little sprinkle of the coarse brown sugar and a big squeeze of lemon or lime.
We have about fifteen papaya trees in the shamba, which is the garden or allotment, and most of them are producing quantities of paw-paw such that we wouldn't be able to eat it all. The building in the background is one of the dormitories. The school is a boarding school, with a very few students who live locally. There are about 650 students, not quite half are girls.
The school is linked to and more or less controlled by the Diocesan Church of Tanganyika, and although it is denominational, it takes students from all backgrounds. It has a good reputation.
Just up the road is the Mvumi Mission Hospital, also part of the Diocesan Church of Tanganyika, and a training centre for nurses and doctors. It is the local clinic as well.
The biggest diseases are malaria and HIV. Other infections such as typhoid, cholera and trachoma can all be dealt with, although cholera can sometimes develop too quickly for medical intervention to save the patient.
Yup. We be back on the 3rd June, another sleepy dusty delta day, I was out picking cotton and my brother was bailing hay…
Anyway, hot diggety. The above reference is to a song by Bobby Gentry about a young man and a young lady who got into a bit of trouble. Listen to the song, called Ode to Billy Joe, nothing to do with Mvumi.
The attached video is a video because blogspot doesn't like audio files, it seems, so I have to make a video. If you last all the way through it, well done, but it is a soundscape - and it omits some significant sounds, such as the Muezzin who can't sing in tune, the Church that blows out its bass reflex speakers, and the crows that haunt the rooftops and the phone towers. Haven't been able to capture the sound of mosquitoes landing for a snack, although I could get some effects of ourselves slapping ourselves. It is quite amazing how a tiny insect vanishes and reappears, and provokes action which bends spectacles, bruises one's arms and generally makes one feel inadequate.
Be patient with this soundscape. It is in stereo, and turn the volume up.
