My regenerated sociability is helped by the fact that local TV is so poor. There are 2 channels. At any one time the choice is either a very poor substitute for Neighbours or a third rate American gangster movie. Turn on at 10pm, however, and you will catch the News telling exotic stories such as a man was killed by a hippo on the River Kavango. This hapless fisherman’s canoe was overturned by an emerging hippo and he disappeared beneath the murky depths without a trace. A witness saw everything. The other extraordinary thing, to British viewers, at least, was the appearance of the interviewer’s hand on screen. It straightened the witness’s tie and disappeared (much like the hippo, I suppose). The witness carried on talking regardless. The rest of the news was politics, lots of large men oozing sweat and self-importance looking as though they had consumed more than their share of the gross national product, shouting the odds against poor workers who had the temerity to suggest striking for a subsistence wage.

The best part of the news was the weather forecast. This held no novelty or anticipation as it was the same everyday and lasted for about 30 seconds. Even the presenter seemed bored with it and gabbled her lines shamelessly. It went like this:

“High clouds over the Cape; a light breeze from the south-west; central Namibia will be sunny and hot; very hot in the north.”

The best part came at the end when the presenter suddenly smiled and said, “And God bless you all this evening” as though she meant it. We felt truly blessed.

When you step into Joe’s Beer House you feel as though you are entering a Disney style theme park. Your mind is tricked into thinking you are in an African village with thatched roofs, a stream, pond and many nooks and crannies bedecked with bottles, barrels and other paraphernalia no self-respecting drinking hole would be without. All the new volunteers gathered here to socialise and to eat animals you would only find in a zoo at home. Zebra, ostrich, crocodile and antelope were all on the menu. You could try a chunk of each on a kebab. Some ate this and none died (apart from the animals). Feeling unadventurous that evening I ordered steak. It was the size of half a cow on my plate and it was absolutely delicious. Namibia is big on meat. It’s about all that grows in this desert land. I ate every bit, but some of the zoo animals were found to be chewy and left half eaten. The zebra, I’m told tasted like horse (why would that be?) so I suppose the ostrich tasted like chicken, the antelope like venison and the crocodile like crocodile. I’ll try eating the zoo and let you know. Talking about strange things to eat, Laura, our volunteer from Canada has two beloved dogs which she loves like children. She’s left them in the care of her tenants, who are hopefully not Koreans or other dog eaters. I mention this only because, apparently, they eat dog in Africa. Neighbours will ask departing volunteers if they can look after their pets when they go. This may not be out of affection for the animal but because they want to eat it. Laura’s dogs are poodles. I suppose they taste like dog with a hint of garlic? Maybe with a glass of nice red wine……..?

PS. for David – Winhoek lager is fairly non-descript and has little taste (like most), but is eminently drinkable when very chilled on a hot day of which we are having many.  Give me real English ale for taste any day.  Joe’s beer house is worth a visit and a lot cheaper than the Magic Kingdom.