Blood and coffee

I've spent the last hour trying to down loads photos, but to no avail. You'll just have to make do with text for now. Quite a tiring week. Bethany had an ear infection, or so I think. I took her to the doctor who agreed it was probably an infection but had no medical instruments so was unable to look in her ear. Not sure whether I prefer the NHS where you have doctors who have medical equipment or the doctor here who has nothing, but you can walk in straight away, no appointment necessary!!

The next day the lady who I've been helping sell paraffin and matches came to tell me her house has fallen down. I was so at the end of my emotional energy that I told her to come back next week after I'd discussed it with my husband. So many people's houses and outside toilets have fallen down because of all the rain, but there's not much point re-building until the rain stops. It makes you feel awful living in your own nice, fairly leak proof house when so many other people are suffering. If you think about it too hard it makes you go mad.

We drove down to Dar on Thursday in order to pick up Rachel Marks from the airport. We played a DVD for the children in the car and that made the journey go more quickly and they enjoyed the treat of eating pizza in a restaurant in Dar.

Unfortunately Rachel's plane was two hours late, but she arrived eventually and we drove straight back here. That evening Bethany had a really bad nose bleed, probably due to the pressure change between here and Dar. This freaked her neurotic mother out no end, but it was nice to have Rachel here for emotional and practical support.

I think I was probably always fairly neurotic, but Daniel thinks maybe I should stop the Larium (antimalarial tablets) Anyway you could pray for peace for me and release from the fear that I seem to be currently consumed by and for Bethany, that she'll be fine.

On a lighter note I came close to actually having a Cappuccino on the way back from Dar. 'Cockroach Cafe' (my name for it) where we stop at the roughly halfway point between here and Dar is under new management and has installed a huge cappuccino machine. It is now on the menu for 25p a cup. Very excited about this I ordered one. No problem until the guy realised he had no coffee and the shop where he normally bought it was shut for the next hour. I just happened to have bought a packet of coffee that morning in Dar (actually a present for Margaret Becket!!) so offered this to the man so he could make me a cappuccino. Watching him out of the corner of my eye, thinking I was unlikely to get any chocolate sprinkles on the top, that would just be too much, I was pretty sure he didn't know how to use the machine. I was right because the result was a cup of black coffee and later on when I asked for it a cup of milk to accompany it. At least they didn't charge me for it, but I think they should take it off the menu (at least until they learn how to make it!!)