We had to go to Lusaka recently, to collect our renewed work permits. Here are some pictures from my phone:
 |
| Choma bus station |
 |
| Lusaka Intercity bus station |
 |
| Ditto |
 |
| The back of the Supreme Court (not a good idea to take pictures at the front) |
 |
| Out and about in Lusaka |
 |
| Crossing the railway line |
 |
| The Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Cross |
 |
| Cathedral grounds |
 |
| It rained a bit. This car park was dry 10 minutes ago. |
 |
| Pizza |
 |
| Levi Junction Mall |
I thought I'd show you some of the birds we've seen around the house and garden over the past few months.
 |
| Paradise Fly Catcher |
 |
| Plum-coloured Starling |
 |
| Meyer's Parrot |
 |
| Lizard Buzzard |
 |
| Black-chested Prinia |
 |
| Fork-tailed Drongo |
 |
| African Grey Hornbill |
 |
| Little Bee Eater |
 |
| Trumpeter Hornbill |
 |
| The trumpeters sometimes came in a huge group, (upwards of 30 on a couple of days) here are 3 of the ladies |
 |
| Masked Weaver Birds |
 |
| Lilac-breasted Roller |
 |
| African Hoopoe |
This morning I (Bridget) went for a bike ride so I thought I'd take some pictures and show you a bit of what it's like here.
 |
| Through the market |
 |
| Quick stop for a bottle of water because I forgot to bring one. |
 |
| Past the new bus station |
 |
| Onto the tarmac road, which lasts about 300 yards! |
 |
| Past "ma sewage" |
 |
| Past the fire station |
 |
| And out of town onto the open road. |
 |
| A short pause in the shade |
 |
| Past farm land. The stalks of last season's maize still standing. |
 |
| And bush. |
 |
| And back through the market to buy veg. |
Before the break for the long Easter weekend, the school children gave us a display of traditional dance. Enjoy..
Well, it's been a long time, sorry about that.
I thought I would chat about a baby shower I went to recently. Here in Zambia, the baby shower happens when the baby is about a month old and marks the day when the baby is taken out of the house and seen with the mother out and about. It is an opportunity for the mothers of the community to get together and give the new mother advice about taking care of the baby, the other children and her husband, as well as bringing gifts. It is a very joyous occasion and is very much a party. The men are excluded.
This baby shower was for the grandchild of a friend of Amos. I was invited, and the grandfather appealed to Amos to escort me there so that they could spend the afternoon together, exiled from the house!
It was a lovely party, lots of talking, sharing words from the Bible, praying and singing. After the gift giving the baby was taken out of the house and the ladies sang and danced in celebration. You will see from the video that the baby is handled very vigorously and doesn't seem to mind. This is the way it goes at all the baby showers I've been to. However much the baby is tossed into the air, I have never seen one complain!
We've just had the opportunity to spend a couple of days in Livingstone. This included a boat trip on the Zambezi, some relaxing by a tributary river and of course, animals. And meeting some friends returning from the States.
Here are some of the animals:
Elephants, some young mothers and their babies coming down to the river for a drink
And a beautiful sunset
One of the things about being here that is the most different from being in Wales is the seasons. Here we have hot, wet, and cold. The boundaries between them are blurred and the seasonal markers we have in the UK don't seem to apply.
The cold season is just finishing. Leaves have been falling from the trees and at the same time new leaves are growing. No months of naked trees here, take off one suit of clothes and put on the next. Here are some examples:
 |
| Some trees are in their fresh spring attire while others still stand naked |
 |
| Some are still wearing last year's leaves, brown and crisp and ready to fall |
 |
| The mangoes have their fresh leaves and flowers above the dark green ones yet to come down |
 |
| Some are still changing colour. This one is always the last to change, when the new leaves begin to show here we will know that the hot season is well and truly upon us |
