I have been back three weeks and written nothing on this blog. My how time flies. That is not to say I have been idle. Since returning I have been organising electricians to resolve issues, yes, still and again. My internet and monitor were previously connected to the inverter but after the work was done they were not... don't ask why... so the only way I could work was to put the generator on. Sigh. Anyway, finally they came last week and that is sorted. There is a list of things they were meant to do but did not do and they will be back in three weeks.
I have been talking to a painter about repainting a wall at the guest house and the bathroom and also painting the guard's house and the staff quarters for Limited and Andrew. That should be happening soon.
We have been racing around sorting diesel and diesel containers because the new system seems to be more power cuts for longer - 13 hours one Saturday which was a first - and now cutting us down to one phase, not three most nights for six hours. So keeping the generator full of diesel and having diesel on hand is a must. Greg found some great containers at Game which makes the process of filling the genset less messy and wasteful. Needless to say, of late, diesel and petrol queues have literally been a mile long.
And poor Limited is having the hardest time of it because one phase and power cuts means he has no lights because until he told me the other day, and yes, he is patience itself, I did not realise that his house was not connected to the inverter while Andrew's house is. That's another job to add to the list for the electrician who is due the day I go away again for two months!
On the plus side I finally managed to find a carpenter, Mr Chapu Chapu, pronounced Charp-charp, who came and fixed our wardrobe doors which have refused to close and have been tied in place with string half the time. What a joy to close a door and have it remain closed. He also replaced the laundry door lock because the old one was catching and we need to keep the laundry closed when Limited is not around as I discovered the other weekend when, in laziness, I left it unlocked and we discovered the next day that we had an iron cord and no iron! Someone had cut off the cord to steal the iron more easily.
Suspicion had to fall on the relief security guard on duty that day because no-one else was around and while I felt bad reporting the theft because he would lose his job, I had no choice. It doesn't achieve much but it still needs to be reported. Someone came around and took notes and said we should not have touched the cord because they could have checked it for fingerprints but I doubt that would have revealed much. Anyway, note for next time, hoping there is no next time... don't touch the evidence.
We have also been trying to finally sort an insurance claim for our dryer which has not worked since arriving. The insurance is doing what they do, being unpleasant and unreasonable, and saying it is much too late and why did we not claim before and then when we sent a copy of an email saying we had raised it with Miele a week after unpacking they changed their tack, as they do, and said we have to prove it was damaged in transit.... what!!!!
It has taken us more than six months to get advice on what might be wrong and to try to fix it and this is Africa after all and still they are trying not to pay. I don't think I have ever dealt with an insurance company which knew the meaning of the words responsible and honourable. They reap massive profits, no doubt because they spend their entire time cheating people.
Actually, to be fair, we use Elders in Australia for our farm insurance and they have always been excellent. They are however the exception, not the rule. Although I suspect the more personal relationship with the agent helps. So much of insurance cover is completely impersonal with little or no contact between human beings.
And we have had internet issues, again, still, so waiting for people to come and fix them and still waiting as they are not fixed......everything here is such a process.The MTL people are very nice and they do come when asked but somehow things never seem to be really fixed. Why should this surprise me? It shouldn't after so long living in the Third World.
And we have had a string of people staying at the guesthouse which has meant more entertaining, cooking, feeding, sorting and planning.We don't have all guests to dinner but do try to make the effort when they are people who are new to Africa, don't spend much time in Africa or who have spent a long time in Africa like the young photographer who was here on Monday night. He does a lot of work in Africa but has been here for more than a month and has a couple of months to go and looked what I call 'Africa-shattered.'
He had a hearty appetite but I don't think it was from physical hunger so much as deprivation.... normal, home-cooked food as opposed to endless rice, chicken and maize! He spends a lot of time in the Congo which is seriously challenging compared to Malawi.He must love his work and if his photos are anything to go by, he does love it. So the sacrifices are worthwhile although I suspect within another couple of weeks he will be wondering if that really is the case.
Where do the days go? On all of it and my writing, and my work, and trying to sort out a holiday in South Africa...
But beyond all that life is good and busy and rewarding. The avocadoes are finished. The days are sunny and the nights are cold which means less mosquitoes but they are still around. We had one buzzy night after the electricians had been here and had kept the kitchen door open for long periods. But mostly, at this time of year, mosquitoes are not a problem and for that one is grateful.
The herbs in the courtyard are abundant but I still need to buy some big pots and soil and transplant them. The complex seems awfully quiet with our Danish neighbours gone. An Indian from Malawi, based in London, has taken the house but it remains empty and we have been told he plans to visit occasionally.
The change hits the guards and Fred hardest of all because our new neighbour is not here enough to participate in our salary top-ups so they are down to two top-ups not three. No doubt it is better than nothing. K4,000 a month instead of K6,000.
But I have been busy baking biscuits and cakes and filling the freezer. It always seems to take a few weeks to get things organised again when I am here and then usually, within a couple of weeks, I am off again.
I was meant to be here for longer but plans have changed and we will now spend a couple of weeks in South Africa with our son, his new wife and our little gift grandson. It's all good and all just a part of the moveable feast which is our life and to some degree, life in Africa in general and Malawi in particular.
On the plus side, there is a new and very nice cafe at the Buchanan's complex although the coffee is truly awful. Still, it is a pleasant place to sit and somewhere to go if I need to get beyond four walls. It's a sign of desperation if I am prepared to drink foul coffee. Can't have it all.
And there must be a mouse plague at present because the kids are out on the street selling char-grilled mice on sticks... or 'bush sausages' as the Malawians call it.
No comments:
Post a Comment