Ahem There is a village close to the Toleza Farm in Malawi that goes by the name of Nzengheza, a Chichewa word that translates as: “Don’t outstay your visit here [or you’ll be in trouble]”. This seems extreme, but many names of Malawian villages and people have literal meanings or messages. One man told me […]
Tag Archives: Toleza
2026 Ahem
QUOTIDIAN HAMMERHEAD HIPPO: February 2026
Ahem Rain and colder weather in southern England dominated the first few days of the [...]
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02
Mar
Mar
2026 Ahem
SCUDDED PROPRIETORIALLY TRIMMINGS: January 2026
Ahem, During this interminably long month of heaving weather, our far south-east corner, ancestral home [...]
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02
Feb
Feb
2025 Ahem
QUERYING PAKKELEG CONVULSED: December 2025
Ahem Our Christmas celebrations normally start after we celebrate Gwen’s birthday on the 12th, when [...]
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01
Jan
Jan
2025 Ahem
FOODELICIOUS WASHBOARD BELEAGURED: November 2025
Ahem, Richard and Marie, from Cholsey in Oxfordshire, where Alli and I lived just after [...]
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01
Dec
Dec
2025 Ahem
HYENA FUNGI HALLOWEEN: October 2025
Ahem There is a village close to the Toleza Farm in Malawi that goes by [...]
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01
Nov
Nov
29
Jun
Jun
Ahem The weather, previously sunny, had suddenly turned windy and wet as I took the coach for Heathrow to get the flight to Malawi. Was this a harbinger of the following fortnight? Well yes, it was. At the Toleza farm it was cool, windy, and cloudy enough to merit the lighting of a fire in […]
30
Mar
Mar
Ahem The Malawi weather improved considerably in the first week and by the time of our departure the farm was experiencing some classic crop-growing weather: a couple of hours of determined rain and several hours of sun each day. On our last night we finally managed to witness a sundowner – watching the sun go […]
31
Oct
Oct
Ahem Ten minutes of light drizzle fell on the dusty ochre fields the morning after my arrival at Toleza Farm in Malawi, where I spent most of a month that is normally the hottest and driest of the year. Farm records show that virtually no rain had fallen there for nine months. However, gusts of […]
02
Aug
Aug
Ahem, The simple scoreline did not truly reflect the embroiled imbroglio of the football match. It was a game of two halves: the post and bar were each rattled; there were fouls, handballs, swallow dives, hospital passes, and theatrical agony all over the pitch; six players were booked; two were sent off; two goals disallowed, […]
05
Mar
Mar
Ahem, On the ninth day of the month, I travelled to meet my sister-in-law Julia and her long-time friend Christine at Heathrow to spend the rest of the month with them at the Toleza farm near Balaka in Malawi. Hitches, snafus, and hassles from previous similar journeys were much reduced, and we were driven to […]