Royal Wee?

The King has a fleet of black BMW Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs). These sinister vehicles transport his family members around the country in style. The SUVs are topped with blue flashing lights and have darkened windows. They are usually accompanied by a sporty police pickup truck in front and behind, for the security detail and…

Asingamhlukubeti: Accelerating efforts to end violence against children

Things are often late in Swaziland. This year, even winter is late (the weather is glorious, cool nights and bright, sunny days). The official invitation to the Day of the African Child Commemoration arrived at the office just twenty hours before it was due to start. A small team from MSF drove out to Swazi…

The Devil’s Eye

These three advertisements appeared in the back pages of the Swaziland Observer this week. Mama Meli & Koffi Specialist offers an array of powders to help you achieve your wishes. Goli stops your lover from cheating on you and Oli will capture the heart of your lover. The appropriately named Bingo powder will “boom your business”…

Emlembe, Swaziland’s Highest Peak

On Sunday, I climbed the highest mountain in Swaziland. I should confess that I didn’t clamber up all 1,863 metres of it. We drove in four wheel drive vehicles on rough tracks through the Mondi forest to 1,425 metres and scrambled up from there. We left the vehicles at an abandoned COIN camp formerly used…

Another week in the clinic

My interpreter was not available this morning, so I struggled when seeing patients. When I ask for patients in the queue who speak English, I get a completely different clientele. They are usually middle class or students. It is almost like doing general practice in UK. We have half a dozen student nurses from Good…

Bring Your Fire – Bushfire Festival 2015

The Bushfire Festival is a must-see. It one of the biggest in Southern Africa, with over 25,000 people attending over three days. Admirably, the profits go to charity. It was really well organised. What could go wrong when the master of ceremonies is called Anacondza? The first act I saw was Nomsa M, a chunky…

Colonial Mbabane

  The Brits set up their capital in Mbabane in 1903 following the Second Anglo-Boer War. Swaziland remained a protectorate until independence in 1968.  This building was the seat of government – twelve administrators ran the country, with four district commissioners. Now it houses the office of the deputy Prime Minister. At the centre of the…

The Gag, Giggle and Grub Dinner and Show

This annual event at Malkerns Country Club was so popular that it sold out on both nights. Judging by the guffaws from the audience, everyone really enjoyed the show. There were twenty-five sketches and musical numbers on the programme, but it felt like more. In many cases, the costumes could best be described as “fancy…

Haircut

I don’t know why, but haircuts overseas assume an importance they don’t at home. Perhaps it is the Forrest Gump chocolate box factor – you never know what you’re gonna get next. One of our drivers, Tyler, recommended a Pakistani barber near the police station. It was easy to find, just around the corner from…

Cinema Paradiso

The new MSF tuberculosis specialist doctor in Mankayane is a film nut. Just like the story in the classic film “Cinema Paradiso”, he worked in his uncle’s cinema in Andhra Pradesh and fell in love with movies. Since he arrived in March, I have developed a serious action film habit. First of all, we watched…