Childhood Days Part 5

Another amusing memory from going to the Lake in Malawi is the breakfast that my friend RP and I had once when we were staying at the British High Commission Cottage. We sat down for breakfast with our mums – no idea where the dads were, I think we had left them behind at work! We were given our drinks – orange squash. Now, it is hot in Malawi, and things tend to go off quite quickly, and I don’t think they put enough preservatives in the Sobo Orange Squash. We took one sip and almost spat it out. “It’s gone off” we said, in the whingey voices that only small girls can perfect. “Nonsense” our mothers said, fed up with us whingeing! “Drink your juice and eat your breakfasts without moaning.” We struggled on with our drinks, which were really revolting and tasted fermented. I told my mum this and she raised her eyebrows heavenwards, said “For God’s sake let me taste it then!” She took one sip, and gasped, “Oh my God – it’s Gin!”
It was a habit in this particular cottage to keep the boiled water in discarded gin bottles in the fridge. Obviously, a still full gin bottle had been put in the fridge, being mistaken for water! Our drinks were 1 inch orange squash, topped up with neat gin!

Our mums felt guilty all day for trying to make us drink gin and orange for breakfast, but I think they soon got over that as they frugally put it to one side to drink themselves that evening!!
Another time at the lake a friend of my parents fell and broke her hip. She was far from being a small lady, and one night she fell on her way to the loo. Her husband came to get my mum. I’m a bit sketchy on the details, but will fill them in later from my mum. Anyway, there was no decent hospital in Mangochi (nearest town to where we were), so my mum and my aunt (I think) drove her back down to Blantyre lying down in the back of an old Marina estate. She was doped up a bit, and not easy to manoeuvre, but they managed it. When they got back to her house on the tea estates down south they then had to set up traction for her. It had been explained by the local doctor how to do it! They found a pile of National Geographics to rest her leg on. Then they had to hang a weight from her leg – once the pain went the weight was right. So, they did it with a sack of potatoes, and when they had enough potatoes in the sack it stopped hurting! I think I’ve missed out a lot of this story, so will find out more details!
NB. Photographs Not My Own Work