When I lived in Tobago, in 1998, there was a bar where we used to sit towards sunset- it was precariously perched on a rock overlooking the Carribean at some height. We called it the ‘Reality Check’, because if you sat there for half an hour or so everything would miraculously fall into place. The trifling problems of the day which had loomed so large shrunk into proportion once more, and what mattered came into focus. My sunset terrace overlooking the Mosque of Djenne is my Reality Check. The dramatic rainy season skies soothe my soul, in tatters from the mundane tribulations of daily life. It is the best time of the day, now enjoyed alone, but often in the past in the company of friends- known or just passing by once, perhaps never to be met again.