Christmas in Malawi

Hello all
Hope you all had a very merry Christmas full of joy and love and all things nice.
We did, in a low key sort of a fashion, here on the lake edge. Had a delicious Christmas eve dinner at Liinu's (the Finn) house. Much planning went into it (on her part I fear, I just followed orders and sent shopping lists with the drivers when they were going to the city). We asked one of the chefs who was off, Guy, to cook for us and he cooked up a storm all day - what a calm and capable chap he was. I was very relieved to have nothing to do with that side of things, but for Liinu it is a big part of the celebration to bustle about and cook and decorate. I suppose it is for us too, but for myself, it's my least favourite part and if I can leave it to others, I fear I am only too happy. Not a single Nigella cell in this frame...
But I provided Port for Glogg (! Finnish gluwein, isn't that a lovely name?) and Amarula for the Amarula Carrot cake we ate for dessert, and Brie and Camembert all the way from home, and crackers from Woollies - so I felt I did a small bit. I also provided the children who are essential for a Christmas spirit! " Where are the presents? When can we open the presents? Is it time? Is it time???"
Anyway, it was a lovely evening.
The next day Bush was mystified as to why he felt nauseous... lots of beer and rich food perhaps? But apparently, in his favour, sometimes the beers are not so good at Christmas time here as the brewery is working overtime. Beer does seem to be a huge factor in the celebration for Malawian men - who seem to stay up all night drinking it and then stagger along the beach the next day looking bleary and beery. But, unlike home, noone seems to get aggressive and horrible, they all just stay benign and cheerful.
Then hoards of children in their best clothes also run up and down the beach asking for sweets. We were prepared with 2 huge bags but it was a bunfight of snatching and grabbing and I felt like a terrible colonial because the only way to distribute evenly was to throw handfuls. Aaargh - the old prototype. But what else to do? Certainly noone was going to line up!
My own offspring were finished by the late night before, and so they were lolling about like little full sloths after eating all their Christmas chocolate interspersed with mangoes by their anxious mother.
Bush took to his bed at every opportunity and I drifted about from hammock to couch and dealt with the few office tasks of the day. The main thing was to send the local choir out to sing for guests on Mumbo. They went down a treat and managed to also sell 9 of their CD's which was nice.
Otherwise I haven't actually set foot off the property since I got here - other than to go to the Monkey Bay market twice. Can't face the village full of tourists and the heat out there. Bit antisocial and no-one really expecting me to socialise so I can give in to my more misanthropic self.
Kayak Africa is a mini ecosystem. There is a whole forest canopy happening here - mainly a huge tamarind tree which over-arches almost the whole property. It's about 10 degrees cooler here and if you lie in the hammock outside you can see all sorts of birdlife going on. Mainly Heuglins robins bringing up a baby who got lost in our bathroom this morning but found his way out again without mishap.
Off to Mangochi metropolis in the morning to shop for chitenjes and go to the even bigger 2nd hand market at a village en route. Terribly exciting to get to Pep stores these days too!
After all that festive stuff, I have been taking a quiet back seat while I gather together the things I love that are made or sold here to stock the new shop that Belinda and I are opening in February. I have been 2nd hand shopping in the markets with a fervour, and I have commissioned the carvers for special things and I have bought lucky bean necklaces and phone wire chokers and ebony pendants and chitenje cloth clothing and special tea and all sorts of delights from tropical Aahfricah. I only hope now that we get some customers in our shop who will also love these things!
I think I am going to just love having a space in which to hang all the clothes I have gathered over the years and also to have a little studio space (a tiny table) on which to put my laptop or my sewing machine or my drawing book or even just my notebook of lists and ideas....
So exciting to have a new project to get excited about!