Festive Season

I had to come into the office today (to be online) as I just had to post something about yesterday evening. I am at long last on the British Embassy list of Dakar residents, and so was invited to an evening at 'The Residence' yesterday, for festive season mulled wine.

It was a good evening, I managed to make a couple of new friends (a girl working at Oxfam and a staff member from the Embassy) which will enlarge my social circle enormously! It was nothing like I expected, however - there weren't many guests, the ambassador himself was serving the mulled wine for part of the time, and he and his wife led us all in Christmas Carol singing, photocopied wordsheets handed round, accompanying music on a CD played on the laptop which didn't have enough volume for any of us to hear it. It was all wonderfully amateurish! Made me realise I have not sent any Christmas cards - and probably won't have time to now - sorry...

It will also be the Muslim festival of Tabaski here on 20 December, so the streets are starting to fill up with sheep, being fattened up for the grand slaughter. This is the current view outside my office.