Back on Berwick Bridge

It is freezing on the bridge but the light is fantastic and Sammy the seal is just in front of me. This posting is a bit late for various reasons normal service should be resumed back in Uganda.
Yes, we are still in the UK but the end of our nomadic lifestyle is in sight. We reluctantly tore ourselves away from our one and only settee, which is carefully positioned parallel to the window to take advantage of the wonderful view of the walled town of Berwick and from there the mouth of the river and out to sea, to travel to London for Chris’ out patient’s appointment. Once again we have Kare and Steve to thank for their generous hospitality. After a brief chat with the doctor Chris was given the all clear to leave. Understandably, VSO require a letter of confirmation and we were a bit disconcerted to learn that at St George’s they send their dictation to India to be transcribed and it returns three weeks later. Fortunately Chris managed to persuade the doctor to hand write a letter there and then. Our priority was then to contact VSO and see when the next available flight would be. We were prepared for anything - my experience in Kampala a month ago has taught me to always travel with a toothbrush, change of underwear and passport as you never know which continent you are going to be whisked off to at a moment’s notice. It seems that the next batch of VSOers will be travelling out to Uganda on the 22nd February and seats are available for us on the same flight. One of the new recruits is a district nurse who will be working along side Chris in Masindi. We have had telephone and e-mail contact with Pam and we’re looking forward to meeting her. Waiting until next Friday to fly out has meant we’ve been able to spend a bit more time with family and friends, although they’re getting tired of saying ‘goodbye’! We really hope that this time we’ll stay put for some time. We haven’t spent more than four consecutive weeks in our house in Masindi. The other advantage of being in the UK is being able to satisfy our desire for comfort food and try and replace some of the two stone lost by Chris. Whilst at Hannah’s house in Sheffield we thought we’d help Chris with his newly acquired phobia of step ladders. For some reason, he can’t even walk within ten feet of a ladder without nervously flinching. Neither Hannah nor I could stop the smoke alarm so Chris had to find considerable nerve and pluck up courage to climb those steps with the two of us tightly clutching the base. Just to complete the therapy session for the day we made him change the light bulbs while he was at it!
We’ve mastered the art of travelling by public transport in the UK; approximately ten train journeys up and down the country and numerous tube and bus rides. I wonder if the concept of buses leaving on time will catch on in Uganda. There the bus will only leave when full of passengers and that can take up to three hours, sometimes never, and then you have to disembark and look for another one! Masindi here we come!!