Pussies Galore…

This week I have been treated. One of the LSPCA’s trustees, the lovely Tracey and her husband Richard, offered me use of their plush pad to housesit while they went back to South Africa for a week. My one and only responsibility? Play with the kitten, Jerry.

So, while Jerry has been a handful at times - has shut down my computer on several occasions, sent typos in emails, shredded my arms, weed on my laptop bag and smeared shit on my skirt - it’s been a small price to pay for spending the week in a quiet, relaxing house with a pool (uh huh!) and a coffee plunger (uh huh!!) and ice (uh huh!!!). The cats (all five of them) have been very welcoming and Tiger has taken to sleeping on me bed with me, which is of course no substitute for Paul but at least he doesn’t snore. And working from the veranda in the morning sun has been great.

Plus Janet, the wonderful housekeeper, has given me my first taste of nsima, made from maize and water, served with pumpkin leaves mixed with peanut flour and tomatoes. Both are national dishes of Malawi – kind of like BBQs are essential to the Aussie national identity or a cheeseburger is life affirming fare for Americans.

The only downside to living in the lap of luxury is the creeping feeling that I am slightly removed from the whole reason why I came here – snarling dogs, half cooked chooks and bedraggled goats. But although I haven’t been ‘out in the field’ at all this week, I know that there will be plenty more opportunities to hack away at reproductive organs of the local dog population over the coming months. And I’ve also managed to get lots done on a copywriting front for the LSPCA including an article for a local magazine and newspaper, working on the charity’s volunteer pack and writing the script for the upcoming (no doubt Oscar nominated) film that we will be editing together for the LSPCA and showing the kids in the local schools and before our free movie nights.

And nothing will top that first cup of coffee in the sun with the cats.

I am eternally grateful to Tracey and Richard for trusting me with the house, the pool, and most importantly, the cats.

What's in a name?

For those of you looking to name babies anytime soon (Neil & Hannah take note) why note consider some African gems. Sure there are the feel good ones like Charity, Hope, Patience or Grace (any of those kicking around the mean streets of Dapto?). But then there are the gems: MacJustice, Millions (who is an accountant by the way), McDonalds, Harrods and Fingers.

Reading a local newspaper is like trawling through the best baby name book you will ever find. Not that I’m looking. And, as mentioned in my Facebook post, if I come across the name McLovin, Africa will have given me so much more than I could ever have asked from her.

Landed in Lilongwe!

So I have arrived in Lilongwe Malawi, the Warm Heart of Africa, and since landing a week ago it’s been an exciting week kicked off by my first dog bite within 24 hours of landing!

The first morning here we all packed up and rode Wagga style through the streets of Lilongwe in the back of the LSPCA ute to run a Spay & Neuter clinic in one of Lilongwe’s poorer suburbs, Kawale. When we got there, a dozen boys were waiting with their dogs – the numbers grew steadily throughout the morning though until we had to turn some away and tell them that we’d be back next Tuesday.

Key point to note: Malawian dogs aren’t Labradors. Sometimes they bite. Especially if you’re coming at them with a needle (yes, I even got to do some injections!). It’s not like there weren’t warning signs from the dog in question – the child gingerly holding the dog’s leash, the emphatic shaking of his head as I asked him to help me unwrap the chain from around its legs, and the sharp intake of breath when I reached out to do it anyway. Thankfully the dog had already had a skin-full of sedatives so the teeth didn’t actually pop my skin and I was saved from another five rabies shots….It was with a certain sense of satisfaction that I dropped his testicles in a bin five minutes later.

On Wednesday and Thursday I got to accompany Joe, our Education Officer, on a trip to Kawale School to talk to the kids about various animal welfare issues. The kids were amazing and really enthusiastic about the ‘Chicken Lesson’ when they were asked to come to the front of the class and demonstrate how to carry a chicken. They loved the prizes of sharpeners and pencils and I’m sure all will get put to good use, since the schools don’t have desks or chairs let alone a surplus supply of materials for the students.

We went back on Saturday for ‘Farm Day’, when kids were asked to bring along their animals for our vets to have a look at. A few classic moments – the kid with a wheelbarrow full of chooks and ducks who fell over and spilled his load, followed by much laughter from the other kids. And a boy with a bucket full of rats, including one with a pierced ear?!

While Richard, the LSPCA vet, and the other volunteers got down treating the animals, I got down to some serious business of my own – blowing bubbles with the kids. I’m convinced that I had way more fun than any of them but it was brilliant to see how excited they all got about it. And what I loved most was that amongst the riot of the ones shouting ‘Me! My Turn!’, there were others holding up smaller kids so they could have a go too.

Though it is a bit bizarre to see them attending school in the world’s clothing cast-offs - one girl carrying a chicken in a mesh and velvet evening dress and a skinny seven year old with huge teeth wearing a big ‘Hunk of Burning Love’ tee.

But my first week wasn't all bubbles and bollocks. I even managed to squeeze in some play time including a few beers with the other volunteers at Mbuyo Camp and a night of clubbing. The DJ was pretty dire but it was brilliant to boogie to some African reggae, although my bum just didn’t match up to some of the mamas shaking their thang on the dance floor.

So that’s it from Lilongwe this week. More tales of animal mayhem to follow, so stay tuned. Until the next update, tsala bwino (stay well)!

Much love,

Meegs x

Last chance saloon

So donations have been rolling in from some very generous friends and family over the past week and I would like to thank everyone who has given money to a great cause.

Funds will be used to help maintain the health of animals (farm, stray and domestic) in Malawi, to run education programmes in schools, orphanages and with local villages and to buy a local orphanage some things to make life a little more enjoyable & educational - balloons, facepaints, books, pencils, sharpeners (so they don't have to use razor blades!) and toys/footballs etc.

Most of the population in Malawi live on less than $2 per day so any donation is a fantastic bonus.

In would especially like to say a special thanks to Anna & Andy who donated £500 in memory of Matt (my cousin) who would have celebrated his 21st birthday last week.

The butterflies have well and truly kicked in this week, although I made a very important discovery of an extra week this month (hurrah!) which has meant that the butterflies remain butterflies and not huge dive-bombing moths...just yet. Lots of advice has been rolling in over the past week and some great pep talks over (copius amounts of) wine from some friends who have already done some work in Africa. It's all very exciting, but I maintain that anything featuring the words 'impregnated' (as in, mosquito repellent impregnanted clothing) just sounds plain disgusting.

Hope to see some of you at The Eagle on the first for drinks. In the meantime, if you'd like to contribute to the LSPCA and directly impact on lives in Malawi, please visit www.justgiving.com/lspcamalawi. Any donations raised will be directly spent on equipment coming out with me.

Megs x

Gearing up to go

Dearest Friends and Family,

Welcome to my new blog. This is the first time that I have tried to do anything so technologically advanced (apart from setting up my iPhone) so please bear with me if there are a few 'admin errors'.

So the flight leaves for Lilongwe from Heathrow on April 3rd and I am officially bricking it. I have so much to try and organise before I leave, though today I got the last of my rabies and Hep B injections (the nurse distracted me with a squirrel) and against my bank's advice, a 5-month subscription for Malerone (anti maleria tablets). At the price of these babies they should not only protect me from Maleria but provide me with my daily vitamin dose, improve my eyesight and do wonders for my bum. Sadly not...

I won't bore you with the details but the shopping list for the equipment grows ever long...which means that I have turned into that malicious money grabbing, charity championing 'friend', hitting you up for your hard earned cash so I can earn karmic points. The difference is that I'm shit at running, so won't be doing a marathon.

Picture my earnest expression though as I tell you how well your donation will be used. I will personally be spending your input - don't go jumping to any conclusions though!

I will be taking a bevy of useful stuff over for the LSPCA including office equipment, torches, water bottles, watches etc. And I will also be taking over things for the local kiddies seeing as Malawi is about the second poorest country in Africa and little things make a big difference.

Anything I purchase prior to the trip will be used to help the LSPCA deliver vital healthcare to Malawi's animal population - including keeping the instances of rabies down, helping farmers maintain their livelihood and chopping the nuts of stray dogs so they won't breed out of control and bite the many small kids in Malawi.

If you would like to support this wonderful cause I will be collecting donations via the LSPCA's JustGiving site until March 20th. Please donate if you can at www.justgiving.com/lspcamalawi.

Anyone donating will go into the draw to win your choice of Finlandia Grapefruit Vodka or Gentleman Jack Tennessee Whiskey.

And finally, for those of you in the UK, I'll be having my last pints of real ale on Friday 1st April at The Eagle in Brighton's North Laines from 7pm. Come and join me for a few drinks if you're in the mood!

Stay tuned for news and pics from Lilongwe...

Much love, Megs xxx