THE THIRD POST on Sunday 27th April.

Janine is still sick - I think she overdid it last Saturday when we went to Mirya Kalwa and Bweyale before she was fully recovered from flu...........Anyway  I  tore myself away from  attempting to chat with three deaf and dumb young men. It seems that Sue had met one of these  in Masindi and brought him back to the hotel for me to  say whether or not he was the guy I had met working as an Instructor  of carpentry at The School for the Handicapped.  He is not that guy. Sue had hoped that her protegee had got a job at The School for the Handicapped because he is lonely in Bweyale where no-one knows how to sign. He lost his hearing as a child when he caught meningitis. He was so delighted to meet up with Isaac who Sallie feeds and his friend. They were all three beaming as they communicated by sign language.
I tore myself away when the samosas Janine had fancied were ready and I asked Moses Taxi  to drag himself away from the Chelsea v Liverpool match  to take me to Janine's. She is actually a bit better and had showered and dressed, We sat in her Living Room drinking tea and eating  biscuits (and samosas in her case!) and watching, through the fly screen, 3 or 4 vervet monkeys chasing each other and coming up quite close to her front door. I love them but they are a terrible pest for Janine as they eat her mangoes and maize and  steal her chicks. The monkeys have been driven near Janine and The Cathedral by the draining of the swamp between the Cathedral and Sallie's hotel  plus more people have cultivated land up from the swamp and chase the monkeys away. I don't think they are endangered yet but it is a big tussle between people and animals...............
To go back to Friday, when I woke up in Kampala, I had a lovely day! Dorothy Mugenyi had  met me at The Bus Park in Kampala, when I arrived at around 4pm on Thursday and we jumped in a Special Hire Taxi which took us to the computer shop "New Feathers" to buy the printer I had promised Kabalega  Primary School. We carried on to Doctor Margaret's and after Dinner of matooke and chicken stew we chatted quite late until young Doreen arrived home from work around 10pm. Dorothy had invited me to her middle son's Graduation at Nakawa Vocational School the next day Friday, so I was quite tired when I got up at 8am ready to accompany Dorothy to Nakawa. We travelled by "matatu" minibus taxi- squeezing in and paying sh .100 each or about 30 pence!The Graduation consisted of many long speeches , ones by The Japanese Ambassador and the new Minister for Education included but  we were all given a bottle of water and later a bottle of soda plus a bun!There was a interval of traditional dancing but it was cut short by an imminent thunder storm. Dorothy's son, Bruno had graduated in electrical engineering. The college offers courses in such practical  skills as plumbing, welding, carpentry and brick laying , all vital in a developing country such as Uganda. Bruno looked very handsome in his cap and gown and we had both professional and amateur photos taken! We then jumped into another matatu and rushed to a restaurant in Centenary Park where I treated us all to lunch! Bruno had to report back to work so Dorothy and I walked back through the park to Kololo and Doctor's place where I promptly fell asleep ( they teased me that the beer I have been drinking - Nile Special  - is too strong and I should revert to Bell or Tusker
 which have a lower alcohol content!!!!!) I woke up in time for a little dinner of rice and beef  and more gossip with Doctor Margaret and her friend Jean,  retired Resident District Commissioner. I should add that Doctor Margaret' own children are married ( one son was killed during the Idi Amin years whilst a schoolboy)but she continues to look after several nephews and nieces such as Doreen.