As the woodland birds get used to the new surroundings, the feeders outside the bird hide have been getting busier and busier. At times the feeders are covered in assorted tits, with the occasional nuthatch, chaffinch and robin to keep them company. Every once in a while a greater spotted woodpecker has been appearing too, forcing the smaller birds to hide for a short time.

The hide is very close to being ready to open to the public, still on schedule to be open before the end of this month. If you are thinking of visiting, remember to wrap up nice and warm, it can get quite cold in there at times. Even better, bring along a nice flask of tea!

The hide is a great place to get some great pictures of wildlife, here are some that we have taken of birds we have caught feeding outside the bird hide.

Had a strange last week in the office; as my colleague Ediwn was on his course all week it left me feeling a bit at a loose end, despite the fact that I had so much writing up to finish. I was also still very conscious of my host, at home recovering from her car crash, which was still casting a nasty shadow over everthing. Strangest of all, and bitterly disappointing, was that Edwin couldn’t make it to my presentation on Wednesday morning. I was presenting the principles of the strategy to the various member organizations, including board members. In a sense it was the culmination of most of my work. I wanted Edwin there so that he make sure the members were taking it all on board, but I also wanted him there to support me, and for everyone to see that it’s his strategy too.

Anyway, true to form, we kicked off 30 minutes late. (Apparently to a lot of people ‘9am’ means anytime that starts with ‘9’, so, basically I suppose it can mean any time up to ‘9.59am’.) Still a couple of people wandered in half an hour or so later, and I also broke off a few times as people took phone calls. However, I think I covered everything I’d meant to, to a full board room, and in the planned 2 hours. I finished by throwing it open for discussion, including getting the members to help draw up the Civic Forum’s tagline.

I don’t think I’d realised how nervous I was: I’d taken the Civic Forum’s old logo, which was actually quite new, scrapped it and come up with something radically different. I told them that just because they’re NGOs doesn’t mean they’re amateur. I said the strategy means that the Civic Forum has to live its values: if you say you’re inclusive, then you must communicate in relevant language via a relevant platform; you make your offices open and welcoming – right down to having clear signage to the toilets. Given the immense constraints and challenges these people face, I’m pretty lucky that the strategy was received on the whole with enthusiasm (if also at times with some mild confusion!)

Technicall I'm on holiday now, but I'll be returning to Lusaka in a couple of days to the handover I couldn't do lsat week. I've also got a couple of last-minute jobs: after the presentation I was asked to write a brochure for one organization, who do rights awareness with people facing forced eviction. I was also asked to design someone a logo! Luckily, it was one of the easiest things I've had to do here - explaining that no, I can't, as I'm not a graphic designer!

This is us interviewing the Residents' Development Committee at George Compound in Lusaka. They were the most articulate and motivated group of people I've met. The house is an example of what people are living in.

Also, here's me with the RDC in Kawala Compound, 200 miles north, in Kitwe in the Copperbelt Province.

Just a quick post to let you know that our first ever Liturgical Re-enactment at St Teilo's is now online.

Lead by the Centre for Research in Early Music, University of Wales Bangor and Exeter University, this was an attempt to see if the rites of pre-Reformation Wales could be performed in our day today. They were interested to see what kind of questions and problems came up, as well as testing their theories on how Christians worshipped in Tudor Britain. We hope you like the outcome:

You can find more information on the project here.

By some miracle we have half-decent internet connection at the office. Actually it’s not a miracle, as I happen to know that the server providers were working on the problem over the weekend. I guess I just didn’t believe it would make any difference, any more than I believed that the designers I was supposed to be seeing on Friday would turn up, or that my ‘office’ would really only take a day to ‘decorate’ (the day in question being last Monday) or that my mail will ever turn up.

Ooh, all sounds a bit harsh I know. But I’ve just had my third frustrating visit to immigration, thinking I finally had everything I need to renew my permit, only to be told I have to return on Thursday, after ‘the boss’ has had time to check my file (so what have they been doing?!). Was also sheepishly informed by my colleague that he won’t be here most of this week as he’s on and M&E training course; this is my last week of working with the organization, and I should be crossing every t and dotting every single I with him.

But what really set a bad tone for me this week – while also putting my whinging right into perspective – was finding out on Sunday evening that my host had been in a car crash. She, some colleagues – and her baby – were travelling to Livingstone. Seeing as she was being made to make the 8-hour journey, on a Sunday, she’d decided to treat the time there as a couple of much-needed stress-free days out of the office. Instead, they drove through a downpour for about half the journey until the car slipped off the side of the road and flipped over. I don’t know who I felt more sorry for, her in Livingstone with the baby, suffering from shock and fright, or her poor husband at home waiting and worrying until the next morning when he could travel down to join them. They’ve all been discharged from hospital with, apart from the shock, nothing more serious than cuts and bruises. The fatality rate for road accidents in Zambia is notorious, partly due to the driving in the cities and partly due to the terrible condition of the roads outside the cities, especially now that the rains are here. The fact that they escaped with nothing broken – or worse – really is a miracle.