Zambia 2009

Hi everyone - welcome to the 2009 chapter of SPF Zambia - which tends to be the main focus of this blog.

I had an excellent trip over, leaving Edmonton on Tuesday March 31 - to Toronto and then on to London Heathrow overnight. Landed at the new Terminal 5 - very huge and impressive but also somewhat sterile with that. Not a lot of people about - maybe just because it is so vast or because of the down-turn in travel - so one never felt crowded like the older terminals.

I took a quick trip into Central London on the Underground. Had a wander through the daffodils in Green Park and St James, past Buckingham Palace, down The Mall, through Admiralty Arch and to Trafalgar Square where I sat in the sun and watched the world go by for a while. Lots of activity all over the place gearing up for the big G20 meeting - media and security everywhere - but nothing much happening while I was on my walk-about so I was glad not to get caught up in any of the demonstrations and crowds coming out to see Obama et al. It was reported that it was all going to cost about Cdn $ 100 million - a complete waste of money at a time when they are all supposed to be battling the economic woes.

I then had lunch with my niece, Bridget (Brebner) Dale who had an extra suitcase for me filled with clothing to bring over to give away to needy people. On the special charity fare that British Airways had afforded me they also gave me extra baggage allowance for humanitarian purposes.

The overnight flight to Lusaka on Wednesday evening was smooth and I managed to get a bit of sleep. Good to catch up with people in Lusaka and get some logistics sorted out over the past couple of days. I am heading up to our project area, Kakulu, today (Saturday April 4) and am looking forward to finding out what's been happening there in the 7 months we've been gone.

Hope to do update installments - including photos - every few days as I get access to the Internet - so hope that you will check back regularly for those updates.

Gordon