10.10.10 My forty first birthday, and just the kind of stimulus I need for my first blog entry.
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| Twickenham birthday |
Moving between continents has its advantages, especially when there’s a birthday in the offing. First I celebrated in Twickenham, London in autumnal style with aunts, uncles, brothers and cousins the day before my return to Africa. The climax of the party was a rowdy rendition of ‘We plough the fields and scatter’ and a heavenly chocolate Guinness cake rustled up my by brothers, plus a foray out into the dampness of the garden where the ash leaves were already falling. I pushed away the familiar sense of sadness at impending goodbyes and leaving the place where I have my roots.
A week later, a second celebration, this time in ‘les monts bleus’ which encircle Bunia, DRC. Many’s the time I’ve gazed at these hills in the clear air after a rain and longed to scramble up them. I once told myself I would finally feel fully at home in Bunia when I was able to hike in the blue mountains. And that’s what a diverse crowd of thirteen of us did on 10.10.10. The views of Bunia on the plain below were breath-taking, first in intense sunshine, then targeted with precision by torrential, tangential rain which gave the hills a wide berth. Sometimes you can feel hemmed in living in Bunia where there are not many possibilities for easy travel outside the town, nor for outdoor sports! The sense of freedom was glorious. We sang from the hilltop and prayed for God’s blessing of peace and justice for this town that has known horror in its recent past. Our expedition was crowned with a cuppa and pressies on a big boulder before we squashed back into the vehicle that had brought us, unfettered by traffic regulations. A truly beautiful birthday in Bunia, my home.
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| Bunia from les monts bleus |
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| Bunia birthday hikers |
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| rain on Bunia |
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