Back home
on Rob Wootton (Zambia), 13/Sep/2011 13:19, 34 days ago
I have been home in the UK for the last few days, only a short visit, back to attend the funeral of a good friend, huge Watford and general football fan, and my brother-in-law; rest in peace Andrew, you will be greatly missed. Coming back under such circumstances has been a strange mixture of sadness but also enjoyment in catching up with family and a few friends. It has been lovely to see them especially some of the kids who have grown and changed much since I last saw them over 18 months ago; apologies to others who I did not have time to fit in. But due to the circumstances much of the time has been tinged with sadness. Unexpectedly coming back has been interesting, maybe things have not obviously changed since I left in Feb 2010 but the contrast between home and Zambia is stark. The differences are many but here are a few thoughts: the gadgets which everyone seems to have at least one of; the volume of people and also the number of cars; the busyness of the country (all rush, rush– got to get somewhere); smooth roads without large, deep potholes; the choice in the shops from food to shoes; spending money is far too easy (given the aforementioned choice); the grey skies in Somerset; people can be friendly, just a different style to Zambians . . .