I got back this morning from my work trip to DRC. It was strange to be back in Africa so soon after ‘leaving’ but a very positive experience in a fascinating country. Was even in Nairobi for a very few hours yesterday. I made a dash from the airport to collect my boxes and baskets but wished I could stay longer to see you.

I’m listening to Jools Holland’s show on my brand new broad band connection - not quite used to having such functional things again. Its great.

See you in February. Come and stay. We miss you.

Speaking of which, there is a very silly TV program on at the moment called “Braniac - Science Abuse”, which usually consists of a bunch of scientists (probably) performing hazardous experiments.

One problem they set for themselves recently was “How to prepare doner kebabs for the entire crew, in the shortest possible time, starting with raw ingredients (including the meat on the ‘gyros’)”.

Predictable but amusing, they each prepared a pitta bread and loaded it with salad.
Then they bored out a cylinder down the centre of the meat and stuffed sticks of TNT in there.
The theory was that, upon detonation, the TNT would instantly reach a temperature of (something very hot) degrees, cook the meat and then distribute it outwards.

And they actually did it! A huge bang, bits of meat everywhere, folk gingerly picking bits up from the ground and loading their kebab.

The meat didn’t look very well cooked though, more like the remains of the whale in the crater from “Hitch Hikers”.