Saturday 26th. Personal tour of Mulanje Hospital with Roland. See the maternity where 250 kids a month are born (with a vast proportion more in the villages) and the Kangaroo Baby Unit (right) which, in the absence of incubators (or reliable power) saves the lives of tiny babies by constant maternal contact. Hear about the dilemmas of who gets retro viral drugs for HIV and fears about the carnage if the government's new cheaper supply doesn't materialise. Charts show swelling incidence in the rainy season - Malaria, diarrhoea, pneumonia, malnutrition.

In the dorms, nurses are practising a song. In the garden, women are washing clothes. 'Guardians' are cooking in the smoky kitchen sheds. Builders are at work on the new out patients unit (with consulting rooms and theatre) and new women's ward. New staff apartments and renovations are planned. (They have accommodation now for 75/105 staff.)

Work done here is only the tip of the iceberg. Most of the hospital's work is done in outreach to 72 surrounding villages which are visited every month for health education, ante-natal, post natal, viral testing and anything else that's possible.

Sunday 27th. Rev. Dave is preaching at Mulanje CCAP. Try to sneak into the 7 a.m. English service but am ushered to the vestry, and 'asked' to pray. In the Chichewa service I am knocked out by the singing, both the ethnic variety and the old Redemption Hymns sung with a precentor giving out the line. There are 5 choirs, a duet by two elderly men, a quartet and a solo, before the preaching (translated) after which we have the Harvest offering. This is week 2 of 4 opportunities to bring gifts. Forward they come - Buckets of maize poured out on the floor, sugar cane, nuts, pineapples, sweet potatoes, bananas and a live hen!

In the afternoon I drive up to the forest and buy a few wooden gifts. I wonder what Auntie Joyce would like?

Monday 28th. Manage a flying visit to Tiyanjane clinic in Blantyre to meet Dr. Jane Bates and a few of her team who are working with terminally ill patients and others in need of support at home after discharge from Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

After a quick visit into town to pick up something specific for Alan I'm on the long road back to Lilongwe, this time with more daylight and time to take some pics. The sun is setting on my visit to Malawi. Smoke from cooking fires is adding to the hazards as I reach the edge of Lilongwe. Farewell to the fascinating landscape, the peculiar trees and bushes, the black bikes and their eccentric loads, the roadside piles of fruit, the coffin shops, the deadly overloaded vehicles and to all that makes this country such a wonderful place to visit and such a desperate struggle to live in.

Wednesday 30th. Heathrow. The final indignity. British Midland sting me £50 for excess baggage. No surprise there. Hope Auntie Joyce likes it.