It's getting hot down here

Pheweee, so no where near where it will get to, but I'm already panicking about it! The jacaranda trees have bloomed, great crests of beautiful lilac flowers and when the wind picks up they sprinkle all over the streets like confetti. Reminds me of the white and pink blossom trees that line Musters Road, the street in Nottingham where my primary school was (is?).

I'm told that once the wind has blown all the pods off the flame trees (which are now regularly falling onto the roof of the hut with a great clatter) they'll also come out in a blaze of red – will definitely post good pics of that!

Anyway, once all this lovely colour is over the heat will build and build and build until it breaks into heavy rain around Christmas. Probably only in the mid to high 20s at the moment but the air has changed, it smells hotter. The steering wheel is sometimes too hot to touch when I get into the car so I'm becoming obsessed about finding shade to park in. There are more flies as well, a sure sign it is getting warmer and so people are burning rubbish like there is no tomorrow – lots of smoke and dust.

This is also the time of year for circumcising all the young boys (and some of the young girls!) - a ceremony which seems to be performed in the night to enormously loud drums. The folks of Nbayani (the township on the other side of the wall) are really going for it so some nights all I can do is doze to the sound of drums until about 4 in the morning when they finally stop.

Yup, its pretty African right now.

Hope you are all well (and a radio 1 style 'big shout out' to my Gramps as he prints this out and to my Granny as she reads it, comfy in her armchair!)

F x