'Tis almost the season to be jolly

It’s hard for me to grasp that Christmas is just a month away when it’s 28°C and shops are still playing Shakira’s Waka Waka (This Time for Africa), rather than White Christmas. Luckily, though, there are some festive events cropping up in Kampala to get me in the mood. At KMS, we - Kampala Symphony Orchestra and Kampala Singers - are rehearsing for a Christmas concert in 2 weeks time, with a programme of Mendelssohn’s Hymn of Praise, and carols. The brass section of the orchestra is made up of MLISADA boys (see post ‘Music to the Rescue’) who have been practising their opening theme so much, that it seems half of Kampala is humming their part. Last week we rehearsed in the concert venue of St. Pauls Catherdral in Namirembe, which proved to be a really magical place, with breath-taking views to match (best I’ve seen yet actually – annoying didn’t think to take camera!)

I have also been rehearsing with KMS vocal group Sauti Ya Africa (Voice of Africa), for their Christmas concert. Not only do they sound brilliant - think Il Divo meets Take 6 - but they are inherently great dancers/ movers, and they perform with such infectious energy. When Sarah from the BBC came to record the KMS radio programme a couple of weeks back, she was particularly blown away by these guys and hopes to make them a demo to pass around the BBC.

Sauti Ya Africa - Francis, Ben, George, and Charles

Last week I moved house again! I’m now living with a lovely Ugandan midwife in Namuwongo (not to be confused with Namugongo, near my previous home), which is just 5 minutes journey from the centre of town. It’s a very interesting area of extreme contrast. We are situated in the middle of Namuwongo, in neutral ground if you like. To the left of our little house is Kampala’s International Hospital, pricey restaurants, and an expat-population overflow from the neighbouring affluent area of Muyenga. Yet, just to our right are 3 of Kampala’s largest slums, home to approximately 10,000 people in each slum (and only 2 proper toilets!) Other mentionable points regarding my new gaff include:

1. I can just see Lake Victoria from my window (!)
2. There are considerable amounts of goats wandering our street

Beatrice, my housemate, took me out for the day on Saturday. We visited the Parliamentary Building and Palace of the Kabaka (King) of Buganda. No, my hand didn’t just slip and hit the ‘B’ key by mistake - Buganda is the Kingdom of Central Uganda, which includes Kampala.

The Kabaka's Palace

This hilltop palace was once the pride of Buganda but it was ruined by Idi Amin in 1966 (on Obote’s orders). Today’s replica palace is just a shell, so it is not being used by the present Kabaka. As you can see from my photograph, the palace and gardens are really very beautiful, but the site is somewhat desolate, tainted by its history... During Idi Amin and his soldiers’ terror reign, underground torture and execution chambers were built here. My guide book states that these cells are not officially open to visitors, but I was immediately offered a tour on arrival. 

Entrance to Idi Amin's underground torture chambers

The torture chambers were unbelievably haunting, especially when accompanied by some far-from-delightful tales from my tour guide, plus wall writings describing some of the horrors enacted!

On our way back from the Kabaka’s Palace, Beatrice took me to Nakasero food market  - another one of those annoying places you want to take loads of photographs, but know it’s totally not a good idea to get the camera out. The ground was completely covered in colourful fresh fruit and vegetables, neatly stacked up to the sky. This is one of the cheapest places to buy fresh produce (huge avocados at about 12p each), but it is a market that is understandably avoided by many.

On Sunday, I joined a group of friends for a day-trip to the beach to celebrate the birthday of Dorothy (pink mask in photo below). It was such a lovely day out! We filled a taxi/ matatu to Entebbe and relaxed on the white-sand beach of Lake Victoria - sun-bathing, swimming, and volleyball-ing.

Entebbe beach, Lake Victoria

P.s. Apologies for the quality of my photographs these days – my camera is rather cumbersome so I tend to leave it at home and just snap away on my phone instead.