double edged sword

Back to the Centre, the power was already off.  Really off,.  Gonna be a long, hot, sweaty night

when I got back to the compound last night around 8, the power was already off. And I mean properly off, even the Solar Controller had used up its little internal battery and was no longer alarming, dead as a dodo.

It was going to be a long night, and already a little late for a sleeping pill, oh well.

Practice for my next visit to South Sudan. I would be going to our clinic there in the afternoon, staying over before taking a flight to Juba. At the moment, we still have no power or running water at the clinic, but that does not stop as many as 250 patients a week coming for our help.

Anyway, yes, it was a long and sweaty night. I still ‘sleep’ on top of the bed in my birthday suit, though even with a fan it’s hot and sweaty. Sleep was occasional and short lived. Lots of thinking time. Though I can’t really remember what I was thinking about. Mainly recollections of better days…

Morning finally came so tired and smelly I took a shower. A shower in the morning is always going to be a bit chilly, but I needed it to kick start the day.  And besides which, by the time I had showered there would be life in the batteries again to boil the kettle!

So, in hindsight, do I like a cool day and a fan-less hot and sweaty night? Absolutely not! 

Whilst the day may be hot, and the sweating starts at 9, by the time it gets to 3 or 4 the jerry can has absorbed so much heat I get a hot shower, and the fan will be on (for most of the night anyway).

The weather is a double-edged sword indeed.