20th September: Saturday to relax.

Tony, Ann & I had breakfast at 0730, and Becky took us to Dreamland Hospital shortly after 0800. Bjorn and Anne-Marie took a later breakfast, and we met up at 1130 after we had planned Monday's ops, cleaned up five faces, and discharged them. It was fascinating to help Ann as she Q-tipped the suture lines with saline then dried them clean. Although I have anaesthetised over 100 clefts for Tony, this was the first time to witness this discharge rite of passage. They have healed up faster and better than the RVTH, Gambia patients. Fucidin instead of metronidazole for antibiotic cream, clean mountain air to seashore dust in Banjul, clean theatre and wards in Kimilili in comparison to the Royal Victoria (or Edwin Frances Small Teaching Hospital 2013), and Mums sitting in the shade of a garden, rather than taking the newly operated babies into the market area! So we have discharged on 3rd and 4th day, when 5 days was the rule in Banjul. It's great to have some empty beds!

On our return with Becky, we changed to go trekking up towards Mount Elgon. Jo and Lambert guided us straight up the road, past the new waterworks, up to the Rock. Tony & I didn't go to the very top due to the height. From the Rock we could see the waterfall and a young lad led the way. Anne-Marie and I had thorns make holes in our trousers. There were three varieties of plants  at least with significant thorns! The waterfall was not huge, and it was muddy brown colour! It was about 40 foot high, and the spray and wind around its base was fun. We then were led by four boys back to the main road which circled round the Rock, back to the crossroad to Dreamland or Kimilili. We got back to the guesthouse after a walk from 1150-1520. At 1540 the rainstorm swept in with a lightning hit less than a mile away. Our electricity has failed, and Becky suggested the local transformer may have taken a hit!

After a shower during the storm, I have taken my Dad's Daily Light which he annotated with family events and started to date his travels. January 1951 he reconnoitred Western Kenya for a few days, taking in Eldoret, Kitale and Kisumu. March 1953, my brother Ian had measles, then I was born, and two days later Jill ( my sister, now known as Richenda) went down with measles, while we were all in Kenya. I don't know if they were in Kisumu while I was born in Nairobi.

Becky has been busy with the XRay machine; a Kenyan technician from Nairobi has come 8 hours journey from Nairobi, and hasn't managed to fix it yet. He needs to return back tomorrow, so Becky will be up at 0500 to take him back to Dreamland to see if he can fix it early in the morning!

With no electricity, folk are heading to bed early. This Morning I moved my bed so the mosquito net is better placed over the bed. I shall see if it works!