Hookland Funeral Biscuits

 

Yesterday, I uploaded a story about funeral biscuits for World Storytelling Day. Back when I was originally writing it, my mum went above and beyond with research and actually made a batch! Traditional Hookland funeral biscuits! Apparently they tasted a bit gritty.

Motoing Around Kigali

Hi guys. A non-book, non-writing related post!

I've been spending a bit of time videoing moto journeys around Kigali. It started with this trip:

And then people suggested other places to go.

So far we've been to Rebero, Nyamirambo and Gikondo.

This is mostly what I've been doing instead of writing lately. I try to upload in 4k but the internet can be a bit prohibitive, so the larger ones are regular HD. If you enjoy, subscribe to my channel and bookmark this page. I'll add more trips as they occur. 

Rwandan Dictionary of Sign Language

 

I've been doing a bit of vlogging lately and decided to explain how I ended up in Rwanda in the first place. I came to help research the first dictionary of Rwandan Sign Language, which was published in 2009. There's a bit about how I got here and the process of standardising a national language - you can skip through the timestamps in the description.

 

Mysterious Idjwi Rock

A few weeks back I did a video about a trip I took to Idjwi Island with my friend Maia. Whilst going through the photos, I discovered one I'd taken of a strange rock. I thought it might be some sort of carving, so sent it to the Trust for African Rock Art. It appears it might be Batwa hieroglyphs. The chair of TARA sent back some photos of Batwa rock art in Gabon, and the similarity with Knowth in Ireland really got me thinking. 

80s TV Nostalgia

Wow, what a blast from the past! This was my entire childhood! Although, not to nit-pick, but I think TMNT were early 90s?

Anyway, my favourites in order:

1. Duckula was the greatest TV show ever!
2. Trapdoor had such a cool intro.
3. Dogtanian (I used to have the wallpaper!)
4. Dungeons & Dragons
5. Thundercats (slightly obsessed with Chetara) 
6. Fraggle Rock (*clap clap*)

Fingermouse and Bagpuss are missing, but they didn't have very catchy intros. The one that did was Whizbit ('haha this a way, haha that a way'). Rainbow was also going strong throughout the whole of the 80s. But I think they're only focusing on cartoons, in which case it's pretty exhaustive. 

And kudos for the Poddington Peas reminder, I'd totally forgotten that catchy theme song.

Desktop Tour of Rwanda

In Rwanda, we have recently come out of a third lockdown. To keep myself occupied during the last one, I thought I'd put together a little compilation of places I like to visit when things are normal and we're all free to move about. I realised that I take very little camera footage, so they're not as glossy as most travel videos on YouTube, but they were fun to do and hopefully it's useful for anyone planning a visit. 

I did a short video for each of the five provinces: North, East, South, West and Kigali.

Welcome to my world. 

UPDATE December 2021: I've moved channel, so I've put everything together in one video with timestamps.

Gilgamesh Rolling Pin

  

 

Oh, this is delightful! You can now roll the Epic of Gilgamesh into your pastry in its original cuneiform. Shamelessly shared from this blog here. There's even a recipe for a gingerbread tablet.

Happy Birthday To Me

 

I had a lovely day yesterday. 

Turned 40.

My mum colluded with my friends in Kigali to arrange a special treat. I was only planning to have a quiet day with my friend Jo, sitting in her garden, drinking wine. She said she'd pick me up at 11 a.m. to go to hers, and grab lunch on the way. Only, we ended up at a beauty parlor for manis and pedis instead, joined by close friends, all drinking coffee and eating cupcakes.

 

Lovely friends, Chantal, Solvejg, Jo & Zuba
Also organised by Maia, who is in Spain at the moment.

Then it was home to Jo's place for lots of bubbly and a yummy take-out from one of my favourite restaurants.

It was such a lovely day.

Scoby or not Scoby, That is the Kombucha

 

I have just become a proud scoby momma. 

No, I didn't know what that was until earlier today, either.

Went for lunch with my lovely friend Gerry, and she gifted me a scoby, which is a round, rubbery disk of yeast and bacteria that you pop in a jar of strong, sweet tea. It gradually transforms the tea into a carbonated probiotic drink called kombucha. Rather amazing. More on that here.

It's quite entertaining, but also feels like a huge responsibility. I went out for pizza and came home with this whole other life form to care for. If you leave it too long it turns into vinegar, so you have to keep feeding it. Still, not as bad as the time I went out for Kinyarwanda lessons and came back with four cats.

In the same day, I also bought a yoga mat and I'm considering buying kimchi jars tomorrow. It's also been nine months since I had a cigarette... is this a weird symptom of nicotine withdrawal that nobody tells you about? 

I turn forty in a couple of months. Apparently my mid-life crisis is 'hipster.' Who knew?

Anyway, I've settled the little scoby into its new home, which is only marginally larger than its old home. Hopefully it will be okay in there until I can buy more suitable containers. I'm quite excited to see what happens. 

 

My Bookshelf

After mentioning how hard it is to get physical books here, I thought I'd do a little tour of my bookshelf over the coming weeks. A look at what's on the shelves and how those books came to be here. I'll update the links below as the posts are made...

Top Shelf

Middle Shelf

Bottom Shelf

Shoe Rack

Pretty Lights

I've been spending Sundays over at Kigali Heights lately, researching ancient Sumer whilst watching the lights of the Convention Centre swirl. Taking lots of notes for my next novel. It's going to be a while until I start writing, but I'm looking forward to it.

The only thing that could make this better would be...

Nomnomnom.

Talking of pretty lights, my dad posted these pictures the other day. It's a beautiful display at Gloucester Cathedral in support of asylum seekers. Really pretty. Wish I could have seen it.

 

And, in other news, the gloomy start to the year seems to be resolved. Health is back to normal and patched things up with my fella, who is hopefully returning from India in a month. So, light at the end of the tunnel - and hopefully not an oncoming train. Feel I've got my bounce back.

Sophie-sto-cated

When you try to make a sensible promotional post and cats happen. Sophie, modelling some of my titles. She was exactly the same as a kitten...

Sophie and Howl

A Wandering We Shall Go

Sorry for the silence everyone. My mum and her partner, Merrick, came out to visit for three weeks and we've been touring the country having a lovely time. We've:

1. Been on a walking tour of Kigali and visited the memorial
2. Taken a boat ride on Lake Kivu
3. Visited the tea fields of Pfunda
4. Taken a game drive to see the wild animals of Akagera
5. Visited the royal palace
6. Trekked golden monkeys

Had a mild case of malaria, but all better now. It's been an incredible holiday and so happy my folks made it out here. Lots of lovely memories and photos. 

I'll resume normal programming soon. Few book reviews to catch up on.

Criss-cross

This fascinates me as I'd never thought about it before. I've posted it in a couple of places and almost everyone replies 7 or 8, with 7 marginally ahead. When I draw an X by itself, 5. In a word, such as hex, 6. Only one other person has responded 5 and no 6 yet. I don't think it means anything, it's just interesting because I always assumed we all wrote an X the same way, now I find I'm the odd one out.

Sounding Good

Sitting back with a sigh and trying to decide which take-away to order. Spent the day finishing up the midsection on the first Rwandan piano. Sweaty work, but satisfying. Just got the bass to put on now. You can follow our adventures at the Kigali Keys blog.

BBC World Service Interview

Did a little interview with BBC World Service about me and Dés's piano building project. Starts around 48 mins in. Unfortunately, due to my internet connection at the moment, I can't actually listen to it, so hope it's okay!

If it is no longer available on the BBC, you can listen to it here.

Hollowell Steam Rally 2018

So much fun at Hollowell Steam Rally last weekend. Currently in the UK doing all things British, from cream teas to real ale and pork scratchings. Wonderful summer weather, too. Bit of a write-up here.

Wanderlust

It's been a while since my last update. I've been off doing fun and wonderful things with friends. Headed down to Nyanza Mwami Palace, the King's Palace in Rwanda. Had an absolutely incredible time wandering the tea fields up in Gisenyi. But also want to mention the flooding going on at the moment. Over 200 people have lost their lives and almost 10,000 homes have been destroyed.  We're coming to the end of the wet season, but it's left lasting damage this year.

Didcot Signage

Fictional worlds such as Narnia, Gotham City and Neverland have mysteriously appeared on road signs in Oxfordshire. (full article) 

I suppose the only question is: which exit would you take?

Idjwi

Sorry for the silence everyone. Just been on a mammoth trek through the DRC. Normal programming will resume shortly.