Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Michuru Mountain Hike & Blantyre Musical Society Christmas Chorale
Michuru Mountain, Blantyre, Malawi
On Sunday, I hiked the Michuru peak with the mountaineering expats, Esther, Martin and Lindsey. This was a tougher hike for me, the incline was steeper and terrain was rockier. I huffed and puffed my way up to the lesser peak.
On the descent, the rain caught us and we finished the hike in the steady cool, clear rain. Although all of us got soaked, it was a refreshing respite from the continuing heat here.
Don't the treetops look like broccoli crowns?
Martin had us at his apartment for brunch, and then Esther, Davina and I went to the Christmas Concert at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Blantyre. The choir, accompanied by the orchestra of varying degrees of skill, sang some carols that I had not heard: Mary had a Baby [Negro spiritual (tho' the program called it "West Indian traditional" - my favorite!)], While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night (Nahum Tate), The Shepherds' Farewell (Hector Berlioz, from L'Enfance du Christ), Jesus Christ the Apple Tree (Elizabeth Poston), O Magnum Mysterium (Morten Lauridsen), Unto Us is Born a Son (Piae Cantiones, 1582, arr. by David Willcocks), and Good News (Jonathan Moss). Terry Callaway and I went to New York one Christmas and from under our hotel window on Christmas Eve, we heard the strains of a lone trombone wafting "Oh Come All Ye Faithful." I would like to resurrect the lost art of carolling next Christmas. Or at least join the choir.
Well, anyway, when I come back in my next life if I am not a graceful jungle cat, then I am going to be able to sing.
On Sunday, I hiked the Michuru peak with the mountaineering expats, Esther, Martin and Lindsey. This was a tougher hike for me, the incline was steeper and terrain was rockier. I huffed and puffed my way up to the lesser peak.
On the descent, the rain caught us and we finished the hike in the steady cool, clear rain. Although all of us got soaked, it was a refreshing respite from the continuing heat here. Don't the treetops look like broccoli crowns?
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| From lesser peak, Mt. Michuru, Blantyre, Malawi, December 5, 2010 |
Martin had us at his apartment for brunch, and then Esther, Davina and I went to the Christmas Concert at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Blantyre. The choir, accompanied by the orchestra of varying degrees of skill, sang some carols that I had not heard: Mary had a Baby [Negro spiritual (tho' the program called it "West Indian traditional" - my favorite!)], While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night (Nahum Tate), The Shepherds' Farewell (Hector Berlioz, from L'Enfance du Christ), Jesus Christ the Apple Tree (Elizabeth Poston), O Magnum Mysterium (Morten Lauridsen), Unto Us is Born a Son (Piae Cantiones, 1582, arr. by David Willcocks), and Good News (Jonathan Moss). Terry Callaway and I went to New York one Christmas and from under our hotel window on Christmas Eve, we heard the strains of a lone trombone wafting "Oh Come All Ye Faithful." I would like to resurrect the lost art of carolling next Christmas. Or at least join the choir.
Macaroni Castle & Mr. Patel's Museum
On Saturday, November 27, I toured this Italian castle with the Society of Malawi. It is located on the grounds of the Mapanga Girls Training Base of the Malawi Young Pioneers. The Young Pioneers provide training for Malawian youth, and they help to maintain the peace by assisting in crowd control at national celebrations. The Sabbatini castle, its official name, has fallen to ruin since there is no organization responsible for its preservation.
The castle took seven years to build. Sabbatini had a large tobacco and mixed farming estate at Mapanga. He was a genius at invention, but unfortunately, was unable to develop many of his ideas. The castle eventually passed into the hands of the wife of a textile manufacturer named Sauze, who gave it to her husband in exchange for a hotel that he owned in Britain. She came out ahead in the deal. During the Second World War, Mrs. Sauze negotiated a contract to run an internment camp at the castle for enemy aliens. The castle was used for women internees, among them a Mrs. and a Miss Sabbatini. After the war, the castle stood empty until 1976, when the Malawian government bought the grounds.
After the short tour and historical presentation, we were invited to cross the road to Mr. Patel's museum, where everyone was invited to view his African art, map, coin and book collections, and to have a quick snort with Mr. Patel who confessed that he was nursing a scotch hangover from the night before. Below is another museum visitor who asked me to take his photo with Mr. Patel.
The castle took seven years to build. Sabbatini had a large tobacco and mixed farming estate at Mapanga. He was a genius at invention, but unfortunately, was unable to develop many of his ideas. The castle eventually passed into the hands of the wife of a textile manufacturer named Sauze, who gave it to her husband in exchange for a hotel that he owned in Britain. She came out ahead in the deal. During the Second World War, Mrs. Sauze negotiated a contract to run an internment camp at the castle for enemy aliens. The castle was used for women internees, among them a Mrs. and a Miss Sabbatini. After the war, the castle stood empty until 1976, when the Malawian government bought the grounds.
After the short tour and historical presentation, we were invited to cross the road to Mr. Patel's museum, where everyone was invited to view his African art, map, coin and book collections, and to have a quick snort with Mr. Patel who confessed that he was nursing a scotch hangover from the night before. Below is another museum visitor who asked me to take his photo with Mr. Patel.
And below is probably the most interesting artifact of Mr. Patel's entire collection.
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