Oh, the Places You’ll Go The wise traveller leaves his heart at home – African proverb The last post, The Act of Giving, focused on giving time, our experience of working for a charitable organisation in Zambia. Thinking back, VSO sent us on a weekend training course called ‘preparing… Read More »Travel
The Act of Giving What you give, you get ten times over – Youraba proverb Our first bit of travelling together was in Southern Africa while we were working for a charity. When it comes to aid, governments can or will only do so much. That’s where charities… Read More »SLOW
Love and Affection Love has to be shown by deeds not words ~ Swahili proverb On February 1st I received an e mail declaring ‘It’s A Month of Love’! It’s no longer a day, it’s a whole month! The company was offering ‘Sweet February deals’ so we could ’shop smarter’… Read More »Travel
Chow mein in the pouring rain If you give bad food to your stomach, it drums for you to dance. ~African Proverb We just got back from Singapore. We were visiting cousins who recently relocated from Sydney. The city reminds me of Dubai in many ways. Both are efficient,… Read More »Food
‘What not to do’ All creatures great and small tsika (‘ethics’ or ‘morality’) Shona, Zimbabwe Haana hunhu (“He has no character”, “He is not moral”, “He is unethical”) Are you the kind of traveller who has a ‘to-do’ list when you go? You know the type! They can… Read More »Travel
Happy New Year! “Where there is hope, there is no darkness.” ~ African Proverb All over the world, people will be engaging a range of traditions and superstitions on New Year’s Eve (NYE). Surprisingly, even after all the excesses of Christmas, many of these customs involve food! My first NYE away… Read More »Food
Time and Mistletoe ‘A family tie is like a tree, it can bend but it cannot break’ African proverb We have been lucky to enjoy Christmas in many places. One of our happiest ones was shared with my parents when we first went to Cape Town 16 years ago.… Read More »SLOW
Amazing Mother Nature Travelling is learning – Kenyan proverb We’re due to fly to Bali tomorrow. However, the mighty volcano, Mount Agung may have other plans for us. It started to erupt a few days ago. It is emitting ash and according to the Indonesian alert system, is currently… Read More »Travel
Food, Glorious Food! One shares food not words. ~ Somali Proverb Nosh! Tucker! Grub! Everybody loves food. Everyone I know, anyway. November is World Vegan Month and this year I took the vegan pledge. I have dallied with veganism. I say dallied because pieces of cheese still magically found… Read More »Food
Mother City time ‘POLE, POLE NDIO MWENDO’ Slow, slow is the way to go Time – ‘A stitch in time saves nine’, ‘time is of the essence’, ‘time is money’ – These are some of the attitudes towards time that many of us grew up with. And yet I… Read More »Slow