This is a tale of how Trade Aid's Tanzanian Manager
\nperceived the UK on his recent and first trip over to
\nEngland. Trade Aid is a UK charity whose aim is to
\ncreate sustainable employment in a particularly lovely part
\nof southern Tanzania, Mikindani, near Mtwara.<\/p>\n
On the 14th<\/sup> June, after a long That night he was taken to the Salisbury Bandari Club, Very, very early on Friday morning, we collected Dennis After another Friday night out boogying, it was all The answer was Mr Tesco, convenience food On the Sunday Dennis went up to London and saw all the
\nwait, our beloved Mikindani leader, Mr Dennis Willy Massoi,
\narrived in England. After Mtwara International
\nAirport, he looked totally shell-shocked at Heathrow,
\nparticularly when it was pointed out that he was only in
\nTerminal 4, the smallest! A quick excursion onto the
\nM25 was enough for him to decide that he didn't want to
\ndrive in England (know the feeling?). Two hours
\nlater, after an M3 experience, he was dropped off in the
\nNew Forest at my home. He did notice that there
\nseemed to be more animals (horses, cows, pigs and deer)
\nrunning around than in Mtwara area.<\/p>\n
\n(also known as The Chicago Rock Café) which was full
\nof drunken ladies dancing on tables and celebrating Hen
\nNights. Dennis said it would never happen in
\nMikindani. On Saturday, suitably attired in an
\nEngland football shirt, Dennis watched the England-Denmark
\ngame in a pub in Salisbury and seemed to enjoy the 3-0 win
\nas much as the locals. After a few days with Jacob
\nAmuli in Taunton, Dennis returned to work at Trade
\nAid. Several exciting things had been lined up for
\nhim, but probably the most interesting was the visit to
\nTony Herbert's apiary in the Chalk Valley. Clad
\nin spacesuits, we were still very nervous of the thousands
\nof bees who seemed oddly irritated at us opening the hive
\nand removing their honey. It is hoped in the future
\nto have a beekeeping trial project in Mikindani under the
\nsupervision of Tony.<\/p>\n
\nfrom Salisbury, along with some former Trade Aid
\nvolunteers, and headed for Stonehenge, to watch the sunrise
\nover the stones on the Summer Solstice. Dennis had probably
\nnever seen 22,000 people all in one place before, and
\nespecially not the eclectic group that gathers there each
\nyear, with music, dancing, drums and fire eaters, children,
\ndogs, colourful costumes and some rather dubious practices,
\nall benignly watched over by the Wiltshire
\nConstabulary. English weather was true to form and
\nthe sun didn't so much rise as ooze into the lowering
\nclouds. When we felt that Dennis had seen enough of
\nthe spectacle, we walked the mile or so back to the car
\nthrough the teeming rain, and headed for Salisbury, and the
\nEngland – Brazil match.<\/p>\n
\nbuilding up to the big Saturday night event at
\nBurgate. We had around 100 guests who enjoyed a
\nmarvellous African Buffet by Pompi Parry, after listening
\nto talks by Tony Herbert and Len Coleman. Ian and
\nNicola, recently returned from Tanzania, were there,
\ntogether with many ex-volunteers and visitors to
\nMikindani. The highlight was Dennis explaining what
\nhe thought of England! Apparently he had been worried
\nat Mrs Brian's absence. “Who will do the
\ncooking?” <\/p>\n
\ndepartment. These totally unhealthy items, pizza,
\nsteak pies, fish and chips, Indian takeaways, combined with
\nthose marvellous machines ' the Microwave and the
\nDishwasher had him wondering “why on earth does anyone
\nin England get married?” Good point Dennis,
\nI'm sure there is an answer to this tricky question,
\nbut we'll have to think about it. An excellent
\nevening raised about £850, which will be spent
\nentirely in environmental projects in Mikindani.<\/p>\n
\nmain sights from the London Eye. On Monday he did a
\nbus tour to have a closer look, Buck House, Houses of
\nParliament, Big Ben etc etc, all caught his eye. By
\naround 4pm though he'd had enough of the culture and
\nwas to be found in a pub near Trafalgar square.
\nBefore he returned to Tanzania on the Tuesday, we asked
\nwhat had made the biggest impression on him, was it the
\nStonehenge Solstice, Heathrow, Houses of Parliament
\netc? None of these impressed him as much as the
\nSalisbury B & Q! So many tools and building
\nmaterials under one roof, he couldn't believe
\nit. <\/p>\n