SATURDAY 20.10.07
We Arrived at Lusaka airport about 8am and were met by a contingent of Anglicans and had VIP treatment, bypassing the long queue! We sat in the VIP lounge while our passports were checked. I think having the Bishop of Taunton with us wearing his purple shirt helped! Ken and I tagged along with him!! Bishop David Ngovu ( Bishop of Lusaka), Rev Rodgers Banda ( Administrator of ZAC – Zambian Anglican Council), Rev William Vwapu ( Subdean of Lusaka cathedral) and Rev Charley Thomas ( he will be installed as Dean of Lusaka cathedral tomorrow morning), were all there to greet us! They were all so welcoming.
We piled into 2 vehicles, Bishop Peter and his wife Liz (Bishop of Taunton from Bath and Wells diocese) in one and Ken and I in another. We went to the ZAC guesthouse with Rodgers Banda and Bishop Peter and Liz went to Kainga Lodge (two of the Cathedral congregation own the Lodge and are very generous in letting it be used). Ken and I met Esther, Rodgers wife and we were shown to our room where we had a nap until lunchtime.
After lunch, having contacted Mulilo, we met up with my 3 cousins, Malele, Mulilo, and Chiko. It was wonderful to meet up with them again as it had been many years since I’d last seen them, when they were no more than children. Now they are in their 40s and have families. Mulilo came and picked us up and we discovered we were staying only about 1 mile from his house. Their house is in quite a large area of land, and they have a swimming pool, swings, trampoline etc. We sat on the veranda and met everyone there. Chiko was there with 2 of his children, a girl and a boy, Luka. There is a baby girl who wasn’t there – they have a full time nanny, as Chiko’s wife, Sam, works full time with the British Council and is often abroad. She is in Senegal at the moment. Chiko works as a lawyer. We also met Mulilo’s wife, Donna. She is English – they both met when Donna was renting a room at 65, Birdhurst Rise, Croydon, where Mulilo’s smother was brought up. They have 2 girls about 9yrs and 6 yrs. Donna’s Mum, from Bexhill was also there visiting them for a month. Her name is Noreen and she was originally from Ireland. Mulilo and family are due to travel to Tanzania tomorrow for a few days holiday.
Later Malele arrived straight from work. It was so lovely catching up with her and her brothers and families. She works for an advertising magazine that also has interesting articles. She wants me to write an article for the magazine on something like ‘First impressions of Zambia’!! We gave them all love from Mum and Dad and gave each family a ‘London bus’, full of toffees, which when empty becomes a moneybox. Mulilo runs a ‘dial a cab’ taxi firm. We spent about 4 hours with them – it was so lovely to meet up with them again after so long.
Mulilo dropped us back at ZAC about 6pm and then at 7pm we had supper with Rodgers and Esther in their home next to the guesthouse. Some of their children were there, so it was lovely to meet them. The 2 girls, one a niece cooked a delicious supper of chicken, cabbage a bean mix, nshima (the staple maize food), pumpkin leaves with peanut butter (delicious!). This was followed by ice cream with fresh pineapple, and the final of the World Cup Rugby!! Soth Africa against England. Soth Africa won 15-6. It was a late night. I felt quite exhausted from the plane journey, and lack of sleep, and had swollen legs. We slept under a mosquito net, but didn’t actually notice any of the nasty creatures!!
We Arrived at Lusaka airport about 8am and were met by a contingent of Anglicans and had VIP treatment, bypassing the long queue! We sat in the VIP lounge while our passports were checked. I think having the Bishop of Taunton with us wearing his purple shirt helped! Ken and I tagged along with him!! Bishop David Ngovu ( Bishop of Lusaka), Rev Rodgers Banda ( Administrator of ZAC – Zambian Anglican Council), Rev William Vwapu ( Subdean of Lusaka cathedral) and Rev Charley Thomas ( he will be installed as Dean of Lusaka cathedral tomorrow morning), were all there to greet us! They were all so welcoming.
We piled into 2 vehicles, Bishop Peter and his wife Liz (Bishop of Taunton from Bath and Wells diocese) in one and Ken and I in another. We went to the ZAC guesthouse with Rodgers Banda and Bishop Peter and Liz went to Kainga Lodge (two of the Cathedral congregation own the Lodge and are very generous in letting it be used). Ken and I met Esther, Rodgers wife and we were shown to our room where we had a nap until lunchtime.
After lunch, having contacted Mulilo, we met up with my 3 cousins, Malele, Mulilo, and Chiko. It was wonderful to meet up with them again as it had been many years since I’d last seen them, when they were no more than children. Now they are in their 40s and have families. Mulilo came and picked us up and we discovered we were staying only about 1 mile from his house. Their house is in quite a large area of land, and they have a swimming pool, swings, trampoline etc. We sat on the veranda and met everyone there. Chiko was there with 2 of his children, a girl and a boy, Luka. There is a baby girl who wasn’t there – they have a full time nanny, as Chiko’s wife, Sam, works full time with the British Council and is often abroad. She is in Senegal at the moment. Chiko works as a lawyer. We also met Mulilo’s wife, Donna. She is English – they both met when Donna was renting a room at 65, Birdhurst Rise, Croydon, where Mulilo’s smother was brought up. They have 2 girls about 9yrs and 6 yrs. Donna’s Mum, from Bexhill was also there visiting them for a month. Her name is Noreen and she was originally from Ireland. Mulilo and family are due to travel to Tanzania tomorrow for a few days holiday.
Later Malele arrived straight from work. It was so lovely catching up with her and her brothers and families. She works for an advertising magazine that also has interesting articles. She wants me to write an article for the magazine on something like ‘First impressions of Zambia’!! We gave them all love from Mum and Dad and gave each family a ‘London bus’, full of toffees, which when empty becomes a moneybox. Mulilo runs a ‘dial a cab’ taxi firm. We spent about 4 hours with them – it was so lovely to meet up with them again after so long.
Mulilo dropped us back at ZAC about 6pm and then at 7pm we had supper with Rodgers and Esther in their home next to the guesthouse. Some of their children were there, so it was lovely to meet them. The 2 girls, one a niece cooked a delicious supper of chicken, cabbage a bean mix, nshima (the staple maize food), pumpkin leaves with peanut butter (delicious!). This was followed by ice cream with fresh pineapple, and the final of the World Cup Rugby!! Soth Africa against England. Soth Africa won 15-6. It was a late night. I felt quite exhausted from the plane journey, and lack of sleep, and had swollen legs. We slept under a mosquito net, but didn’t actually notice any of the nasty creatures!!
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