To die for...

I’ve lost quite a bit of weight since I’ve been here. My stomach appears to have shrunk dramatically and while not quite a washboard yet girls, its probably the flattest its been in thirty years. I put this miraculous transformation down to a lack of Guinness and walking a good half hour every morning, trudging through sandy soil in the bush. (According to Elle, walking through soft sand tightens stomach muscles!)

Meanwhile Elle claims to have put on weight, although quite where I’ve haven’t managed to figure out, as she has a well toned and muscular physique which most women would die for and most men would kill for. She’s very conscious of this supposed 'weight gain', proving that women everywhere, share the same concerns, real or imagined.

Once a week, usually on a Saturday, we drive an hour to Katima Mulilo to shop for food and essentials. It's a little dusty frontier town, with a mix of local businesses and a couple of big supermarkets. Africans throughout the continent, choose oddly endearing names for their shops. Katima has ‘David Shop’ which sells clothing and ‘Happy Shop’ which while I’m not sure what is sells, looks very popular.

You can buy most things in the supermarkets, most of which is imported from South Africa. Food is however expensive and a weekly shop for two of us costs an average of eighty euros not including the booze. (Elle has the odd glass of Chardonnay while I have developed a taste for G&T‘s. Tonic water contains quinine which is anti-malarial. Purely medicinal, you understand, old boy!)