Up at 5.40, since cycling today..my morning routine includes filling the water filter, and turning off the guard light. The night watchman we have leaves about 6 or so. We've no gate or walls, so he sits below the tree in our garden beside the car. Before we got married, it was below Patricia's window...they don't seem fierce, but it seems to work so far. My muesli is home-made - you only can get cornflakes and so on at extortionate prices.
Out of the house about 6.30 , with sun just rising. It's the hotter part of the year, waiting for the first rains so I ride in my shirt sleeves. At 3600 ft in July, I'm wearing a fleece...
I live across town from the airport with my wife Patricia and we take turns to have the car- Patricia also has a scooter I borrow too, but today I'm being healthy and pedalling the approx 5 km to work - it's nice that it's down hill in the morning. I try to get off the main street through town before the first spurt of dala-dalas head back out to the suburbs. They're a bucaneering bunch with road manners to match. Not healthy to be around on a bike for any length of time.
As I pedal I see streams of pedestrians of ages 5 to 85 walking, taking the most direct route, whether that's around the wrong side of a keep-leftie (roundabout) or straight across a road 20 metres from the zebra crossing... I also see Toyota pickups, laden almost till their front wheels are in the air with men and women standing in the bed. A local security company collecting night guards in their black uniforms, shades etc begins to reminiscent of something you'd see in Chad or Afghanistan, especially since a lot of guards carry home-made/antique guns...Then there's someone's cows being driven to graze along a road verge - or anybody's garden - I know, it happens to me!
I get into work early, change into a dry shirt, and try out my nice new fine tip marker Martin Ekholm brought me from South Africa. You can't get anything under 2mm here - and the quality's a complete lucky dip. Folk can't afford the good stuff, and often don't know what it is anyway, so all sorts of goods are a disappointment from corned beef to marker pens... After that it's studying the manual for a Engine Condition Trend Monitoring program I'll be using soon.
It's my turn this morning to speak at devotions - a bit tricky since my swahili's lousy and my translators' English doesn't stretch to the sort of word pictures I like to draw.
From then on it's a quick discussion with Heri the chief engineer about home assignment dates, - 6 months away but we need to give that sort of lead time, before helping Tim Derbyshire with a flap transmission hours investigation (lots of old logbooks, reading upside down in a mirror in a corner). Then creeping off to study some airlaw for an impending exam.
At about 2.30 Heri finds me in my corner, and asks me to change an artificial horizon instrument in a newly arrived 206 which needs a fast turnaround, while 2 others work on other issues on it. 2 and a half hours later and some solid scratches on my forearms (the last guy didn't trim his cable ties nicely) the aeroplane takes off and I start to pedal home - uphill.
In about 5.30, and between catching up, discussing the home assignment, getting washed, and just living, it's 7 pm. So supper takes precedence over a prayer meeting, and after some swahili study (we hope to go on a course relatively soon) it's bed. Tonight the dogs aren't howling and the local wedding venue isn't booming. Great. G'night.