Ruth's talent for doing things first struck again yesterday morning.  She woke up to find an inch and a half big cockroach looking down on her from inside her mosquito net.  If it had been me you'd have heard the shriek in the UK but Ruth just came through to the kitchen and announced there was something large and unpleasant inside her net.  Perhaps if it had jumped down on her the reaction would've been different.  I failed to catch it, it scuttled off down the side of the bed so I resorted to my preferred means of chemical warfare.  Baygon is great.  Within seconds the beast was writhing on its back ready to be wrapped in newspaper and incinerated, a job well done.

Today's been somewhat frustrating.  The power hasn't been on at all and most of the gadgets have run out of charge (hooray for solar panels that can keep phones going).  Of course it's the day I need the electric blender in my attempt to make masa (I put the rice to soak last night when we had electricity - you have to plan ahead with this recipe).  I tried grinding the rice in the hand blender but it set like cement and I've now broken the blender so my first attempt is not going to be successful at all.  On top of this the roofer has been around all day replacing the mouldy ceiling panels which is allowing a whole heap of unidentified droppings to fall into the house. He assures me they're old and he's seen nothing living up there since he killed a large creature which had taken up residence in the roof before we moved in and I've decided to believe him, it's better for my peace of mind.  His presence means we haven't been able to relax and the prospect of clearing up in the dark or by candlelight is not one I'm looking forward to but perhaps we'll have power by then.

As if all this wasn't enough, today we brought home our new puppy, Luach.  Toby our other dog is lovely but he's old and scared of thunderstorms (a huge disadvantage in the Nigerian rainy season).  Luach, we hope, will not be so handicapped and will be happy to stay outside and watch the house whatever the weather.

Toby & Luach

The rains seem to have arrived properly now.  Yesterday afternoon I was in the BRICC office as the conversation ranged from Scottish soldiers wearing "skirts" to the ins and outs of Hitler's death when the heavens opened.  After about three-quarters of an hour I decided I'd better make a dash for it - I didn't want to be trapped by rising water.  Most of the streets in that part of town have deep drainage ditches along both sides but these were already full to overflowing and in some cases gushing over, flooding the roads.  It was an interesting drive back, illuminated by lightning with a crashing soundtrack but I overtook the storm on its way from Jos to Bukuru and got to experience it all over again, this time from inside the house but with our own personal stream coming down the wall and across the floor from another hole in the roof.