Get Ready. The Mangos are Coming.

Hallo from Kampala. The rains have come, the chickens are scratching and life goes on.  Farmers are out there clearing, sowing their seed, planting, hoping for a bountiful harvest. A lot is happening. Lots of work, lots of rain and hopefully in a few weeks...  lots of mangoes. Season gurus predict a bumper harvest of mangoes in Kampala. They say a big harvest follows a long drought such as the one we just had. I hope they are right.
The mango-rightness sensors that reside in the lower corner of mine and some mango savvy  persons' ears and can feel whether the mango is ripe or not, can tell whether it fell ripe from the tree or it was ripened under ashes, also hope the gurus are correct.

On the way to our bookshop in Ntinda today, I saw a tree laden with still green mangos. Some men and boys were trying to hit some of the few hanging low enough to reach. I felt like eating one of those raw mangos; cut up with paprika and salt.  Yummm.
My neighbour has fat purple ones the size of  a small footballs hanging out of his trees. His mangos are not ripe yet.  In the past, he has run races with little children in our village who have taken a liking to his garden right around this time. A little girl named Molly ( not her real name!)  has been caught trying to make three of the happy mangos her own without growing them herself. 

Another Day in Paradise

Paradise Is Waiting...For You

Early morning view from Sunrise Hotel, Fort Portal, Uganda

When we think of paradise, what do we think of? A place of peace, tranquility and of course love? Some would think of beautiful scents, fresh air and taking deep satisfying breaths. For others, a cappuccino, yet others, a cup of hot chocolate. A cup of warm milk? A glass of wine with goat muchomo. A family meal around the table. A calm lake in the warm evening. Oft times people have indeed said  ' This is Paradise'.

In many ways, we would like to live in a paradise, we long for it and look forward to it.  Paradise is coming but what about now? For now, we can try and create earthly paradise around us and in the places we live; by not building in the gazetted swamp and forest land even when we have the council, power and money in our hands. By planting more trees and flowers even when the dogs dig them up and only one rose bush out of five survive Kampala's hot sun. By not throwing trash out of moving taxis, not leaving bags of trash on the road! By cleaning our rooms and offices and sitting down to read to our children. By actually talking to our children and spouses and letting them talk... We can make lives better by reducing our plastic trail; buying groceries in one kikapu or two. By Voting with a conscience and as a parliamentarian, setting a law against the burning of plastics and tyres, indiscriminate release of factory waste, hospital wastes and diesel oils. Making sure that we have working government hospitals with well paid doctors  and nurses before making a law to  buy a new SUV and sleeping comfortably knowing that if you are sick you will be flown to Nairobi for care while the rest of the people who voted you die on Mulago's floors after being knocked down by a reckless lawless boda-boda and transported to hospital on the back of a police pick up truck rther than an ambulance.  You create paradise when as a magistrate, newly graduated and promoted,  you refuse to set confessed child defilers free because it is too bothersome to ask some tired and underpaid policeman to do the correct investigations. Maybe this and other cases will come back to haunt you in your ?paradise.
So I would say to all of us, on a given day, prepare yourself a hot katogo* and invite a friend or a relative to share it. Be kind to all those in need of succour, starting with your nearest and dearest; your spouse, children,  mother, father, the lonely and poor...Love does begin at home, it will spill over to the others.

Sunrise In Ntinda, Kampala Uganda

When we consciously make the effort to do some of these things and more similar, we bring a hint of heaven on earth around us. Paradise is waiting, for you.


muchomo; roast meat; tasty , grilled over charcoal in kampala style, can be bought off the road or made at home
katogo; a mix of boiled cassava pieces with beans (commonly), tomatoes (more commonly), or meat (rarely). Cheap and easy to cook.
kikapu; a bag made of  dried palm leaves

Where Have all the Pink Geckos Gone?

Where Have all the Pink Geckos Gone?

Have you read the Book titled; Down Under by Bill Bryson?
If you have not done so, borrow a copy or buy one; read and have a good laugh.
It is full of the most hilarious and penetrating observations ever, about travel through Australia and a number of encounters with the flora and fauna there; including lizards, komodo dragons and geckos.
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Talking of geckos, I know most people in Uganda have had an encounter or two with geckos of all types. There are quite many about. The brown ones you are sure to find behind a potted plant. The blue and green big ones that live on our walls. When I was growing up they told us that if the blue nodding head gecko ever bit you you would not survive. I dont know anyone who was ever been bitten by one. A man recently told me that if you get bitten by one of those blue-green ones; the only one person that can undo its teeth from your skin is the uncle of your uncle's aunt. Really.

Other geckos live in windowsills, or sneak into bedrooms, hiding under the bed,  scuttling out as you sweep. The quiet geckos find a home in the back of the curtain, falling out to the floor,to your slight shock as you clean. You will note however that many people do not want to kill geckos, even though they scream about them.I have never heard anyone bringing in pesticides to kill geckos. What is this I wonder? Where do all the geckos go? 

Have you had the shocking shouting experience of a gecko falling on you? The pink type of gecko that is becoming rarer these days and used to go tick, tick tick with its tail from the ceiling in the middle of the night? It makes a noise with its tail surprisingly loud for its size.  A friend of mine used to shout and scream and would not go to bed in our boarding school for fear of geckos but would not hesitate to cut a frog. One day a gecko fell on her. You can imagine...She later said gecko's feet are cold.

Scientists say geckos like the pink ones have suction pockets on their feet to help them walk upside down on ceilings, like Spider man. Imagine cold suction pocket gecko feet on your skin for a second..."Not so scaredy.... Screaaam..."

I am seeing less of the little old pink geckos in Kampala these days. Geckos in Kampala may be changing due to the extreme smog and pollution from all the second hand cars and myriad boda bodas imported to run and cough uncontrolled poisonous  gases all over our beautiful seven hills (Kampala City Council's Musisi and Lukwago take note). Suddenly I dont see the pink ones a lot, I see more of  the grey ones that seem to love the light and gather round the bulbs outside. Are the little pink geckos soon becoming moths? Have you noticed that they seem to be getting rougher skin and congregating around light bulbs more of late? We may be the silent witnesses to the rapid evolution of the Ugandan pink gecko.

I will keep you posted.