Madelaine was complaining of headaches now and again, and we also discovered that she found it hard to read things which were far off.

So yesterday we took her to the opticians and had her eyes checked (although they’re actually brown - old joke!) It turned out she needed glasses, with -2.00 in one eye and -1.75 in the other (if that means anything to you). That’s fairly strong for a first pair - not as strong as Rob’s, but stronger than Lois’!! Amazingly, we chose the frames on Tuesday after the test, and they were ready Wednesday evening. 24 hours - wow, must have been the African equivalent of Vision Express!! They’re cool glasses, with the word ‘Astérix’ on the side:

Of course, her siblings weren’t about to miss out on the fun, even though theirs had no lenses in:

Other News…

* We’re having our first ‘Yard Sale’ tomorrow, to sell things we don’t want to keep when we return in July.

* Cotonou traffic is in chaos (what’s new, I hear you ask!), even more than usual, as its first two fly-overs are currently being built.

* Lois’ birthday is at the weekend - her age is a prime number the digits of which total 5 (that’s for those who came to the Ampthill curry!!!)

* For Lent, Rob is giving up cakes, biscuits, cheese, all drinks but water and…Facebook!!

How people (over?)load their vehicles in Togo/Benin is always an interesting subject.
(Click here for previous blog post on this subject).

Here’s a truck with at least a year’s supply of bananas on top:

However, that’s not as ‘bananas’ as the following picture, which I took on my latest trip to northern Togo. There are a good couple of dozen folk sat on the top of this lorry, for cheap transport and free air-conditioning:

Eeek! Perish the thought of the vehicle having to break suddenly!

Notice, by the way, the Harmattan in this picture. It was especially strong ‘Up North’ (ee by gum!), so much so that I was actually cold in bed. Waking up to 16 degrees C outside may not seem cold to you, but after the 28-30 of Cotonou, it was FREEZING! Also 10% humidity did not help matters, as my feet and lips started cracking and my eyelashes felt like they’d been super-glued together!

Still, back in steamy Cotonou now, so I shouldn’t complain too much!

Cheers!

(trivia question of the week)

Q: On the gravestone of which late comedian are written the words: “I told you I was ill” ?

Last week’s answer: They wear yellow shirts in Thailand

Last week’s winner: Rachel Lewis, but thanks also to Clive Anderson for this concise explanation:

“Every Monday most people in Thailand wear their special Yellow King Shirt to show their affection for the nation’s leader.
And yellow is the King’s favorite colour.”

Here are Sylvia and Jann with their assistant, Yendukwa. They are about to open the first ever box of Moba New Testaments to arrive in their town:

These two amazing women have been working in Northern Togo for 30 years, and this New Testament in the Moba language has taken the last 12 years to complete. Up until now, the Moba people have not had the Bible in their own language. Here they are looking through the pages for the first time:

Whenever a new Bible translation comes out, it is customary to have a dedication ceremony and the Moba one is coming up soon. Rob was up there last week for a music seminar to encourage the use of traditional Moba rhythms, melodies and instruments. Part of this included composing songs for the Moba New Testament dedication. Three groups wrote a song each and one will be chosen to be sung by a choir at the ceremony! Exciting stuff - more on the workshop in a few days’ time.

Of course, Rob had to get in on the action and be the FOURTH person in Moba land ever to touch a New Testamant. Have a butchers:

Other News:

* The Harmattan is almost over, and the hot, sticky weather is on its way back (but we shan’t miss all the dust…)

* Madelaine is getting used to her new 3/4 sized violin, which Rob brought back from the UK (she was still on 1/4 size at 10 years old!!)

* Ruth’s class is selling jewelry to help poorer villages have wells.

* Micah is half way through ‘The Prisoner of Azkaban’ now and is enjoying it. Here he is, ready for another match of Quidditch:

* Lois is looking forward to half term (only 2 weeks to go!)

* After two crazy weeks of traveling, Rob is hoping for a few days’ sanity in Cotonou!!

* No more mice in the house - not since Rob nearly stepped on a dead one when getting out of bed!!

Bye for now.