Christmas Day

For Christmas Day… White egrets perch atop the papyrus at Kamuzu Academy’s ornamental lake. They are the harbingers of rain. White lilies spread over the waters of the lake. Cyperus papyrus

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The Immaculate Conception

For the Immaculate Conception… Two bead trees (Adenanthera pavonina, also called false red sandlewood) flank the entrance to Kamuzu Academy’s library. They are native to India. It is alleged that their seeds were used once to weight gold: 30 seeds = 11.5 grammes. A. pavonina

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Our Lady’s Birthday

Today, in honour of Our Lady, a tree currently in flower at the Four Seasons Nursery in Lilongwe: Tabebuia aurea, aka. Yellow Tabebuia vel Caribbean Trumpet Tree. It is, in fact, S. American, like J. mimosifolia, aka. the Jacaranda, whose dusky purple, for this brief season, transfigures Capital City. T. aurea J. mimosifolia

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At Dedza Pottery

It seems appropriate to write the first of these Respites at the conclusion of an Ulendo on which I have sought recreation amidst what is done well in Malawi. I would not be the first to comment that it is a particular quality of the country, different from others in this part of Africa, that…

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