20. May 2026

Popping with Excitement

(NB this was written on Sat 16th but I’ve had power and internet issues since 🫣)

Yep, that's me today as I wait in Lilongwe, the capital, for Harry, Matthew, William and Lydia to arrive. I can't wait for them to touch down and start experiencing the wonders of Malawi! There are a few things to navigate first, not least collecting the hire car from the airport and, no doubt, having to do a Krypton Factor exercise to get all the bags in the boot. They are bringing two cases of donated items for the school and for Open Arms in Mangochi, (the charity I'll be spending time with in August and September) so space is certainly going to be a challenge, especially as our visit to Nkhotakota and the school falls at the end of our trip.

Blackboard Paint Controversies

So after three busy days teaching (and feeling a bit poorly after succumbing to a virus which has been speading around the school), Thursday was a national holiday, celebrating Hastings Kazumu Banda, the first president of Malawi. Who needs a day off? It seemed like the perfect opportunity to paint the blackboards in the classrooms with the paint remaining after last week's unfortunate spillage.

I arrived at school to find two workmen ready to assist (they took the lid off a can of paint they already had and handed me and Madam C the brushes). They then watched for a short while to check we weren't going to make a mess (I presume) then left us to it. After a couple of blackboards were done, we needed to start on the can of paint I bought. This led to much consternation from our 'supervisors', who insisted it was 'the wrong type of paint'. It didn't say 'school' on it, so it couldn't be right. Madam C and I battled on (fingers firmly crossed) insisting it would be fine (although it was indeed a different consistency to the first paint we had used).

As the paint was still wet when I left for Lilongwe yesterda, I haven't yet heard the final verdict...

It'll be fine, absolutely, completely fine!

Dedication from the Form 4 Students

Although I am mostly teaching Form 1 and Form 3, I have been spending time with students from Form 4 who will complete their final certificate exams next month, helping them to improve their skills in writing short stories. A couple of them are super-keen and regularly turn up at the staff room with another story for me to appraise. I am so impressed with their commitment to improving their dialogue, setting and story structure and I'm really enjoying reading the stories.

Age is a Sticking Point

A couple of days after my birthday, news had obviously got around that I had reached a significant age and someone in the village delivered me a present (to buy 🤣) - a very fetching walking stick.

I suggested that it might be a bit too big to fit in my suitcase when I go back to the UK in October but apparently there was an obvious solution to that; cut the bottom off. If all else fails, I suppose I could use it to walk through the airport…

Blogging Off…

The week ahead will involves mountain retreats, safaris, off-grid islands and plenty of time by the beautiful lake with the family. Can’t wait!

Thanks for reading. More next week!

*EDIT I don’t get to post this blog until now for a host of reasons, not least of which was no power and no internet for a few days! Lots has happened since then, but apart from the following photo, I’ll keep you in suspense and post the next one on time on Saturday!