Waiting

There is a lot of waiting at the moment in all areas of my life

 Waiting for the sun: there has been nothing but rain for the last few days in Djenné and the yard outside the studio where we stretch out our fabrics to dry when they have been dyed or painted has turned into a soggy mud bath.

Even the donkeys are turning their noses up at this tiresome situation and joining us under the shelter of the studio verandah. It is quite an achievement that we have managed to send off a shipment of cloth to an important interior decorator in London against all these odds. Here in Djenné it is a valid excuse if nothing is done when it rains, but I have tried to explain that in London no one will have the slightest interest in Malian weather conditions or want to listen to any quaint tales about African rainy season  if the shipment is late. 

 

Waiting for the decision of London: any moment now the Endangered Archives Programme at the British Library will send me their final decision on whether we will have another major project : two more years of funding at the Djenné Manuscript library for more digitization. If we do, the library will be quite a hub of activity with ten people working full time with both the new conservation and cataloguing project and a new major project with London too! But lets not count our eggs quite yet…

 

Waiting for Velcade. That is the drug that we have ordered for Keita which we hope will bring about a new remission and give him another few years. It has been ordered from France and should arrive in a couple of weeks. The treatment will take about three months, but already within a couple of weeks it should be possible to see some results if it is going to work. Meanwhile Keita is in Segou now, resting, waiting and taking painkillers. Not too ill to play cards and drink sweet Malian tea with his friends though! He was quite pleased to have beaten Khalifa just now when I spoke to him, so clearly  has  no  immediate plans to leave us just yet…

Waiting for my peanuts and whisky on the sunset terrace in an hour or so – although of course there will not be any sunset to talk of. But the approaching rain storms often give very dramatic and beautiful skies. I will be alone tonight but strangely quite happy.