I love the sounds and colours of the small creatures in and around my Ugandan home particularly the numerous lizards and the colourful geko with their nodding heads. I brush my teeth each morning behind the home and beside the sugarcane field and love to watch the geko racing from the field and up the brick walls stopping, I like to think, to nod a good morning to me! And at night under clear starlit skies I brush while listening to the Cicada singing away in the trees. Sometimes Innocent and Judith have come out to see what is taking me so long and find me just stood absorbing it all.

So, OK I love love love my Uganda home but there are limits! I found a mosquito floating in my tea! I’ve had a stubborn cockroach in my room. First time Innocent came and rescued it then four times I have captured it under the jug I use for bathing and with the help of a piece of cardboard I have taken it outside. One night I found it or one of its relatives sat on my camp loo and had to ‘deal’ with it and left a bit of a mess in my ‘bathroom’! I’m not scared of these creatures but I just would rather they went elsewhere and last time Judith was busy cleaning my room while I was sat typing on the laptop and one raced across in front of her which was very stupid of her as she immediately ‘disposed’ of it!

Then I was eating my supper the other night and one of the flying monstrosities flew into my mouth, see photos. They are 2-3 cms long and sometimes have a female attached! Fortunately I didn’t bite down on it! BUT mosquito in my tea no no no! Love Uganda! X

I got this explanation from the internet: Most people

who see Africa’s “sausage flies” wouldn’t pick that they are actually ants. In fact, these monstrous insects are males of the common Dorylus driver ants. They fly at night to gain a chance to mate with a queen from another colony.