Following the news (and sport) in Khartoum

Following another uneventful week at school, this week’s blog will be shorter than usual. However, I have had a couple of interesting encounters this week. The first was when a strange man knocked on my door after school one day. He said he had just arrived from the desert and was clutching a couple of suitcases, hoping I would know the phone number of a previous tenant. He seemed very friendly (as do all Sudanese) but obviously I wasn’t going to let him in! To be fair, he didn’t ask to come in and left after about five minutes, but it was all a bit strange!

The other encounter was when the electrician (mentioned in a previous blog) turned up again clutching a screwdriver and looking very pleased with himself. He explained he could update my satellite decoder box, so I could receive more channels. This he did, but as I don’t pay for my TV, most of the extra channels are scrambled. I have found a new movie channel, but my favourite channel remains BBC World, which keeps me up to date on world events and makes me feel at home! There is even an international edition of Football Focus!

Khartoum also has a couple of English language newspapers, which when it comes to local news, are much more informative than the BBC. I bought an edition of ‘Sudan Vision’ a couple of weeks ago, which contained a detailed report on the official visit of British Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development. I’m sure this would not have been reported back home! In fact, I doubt there are many people back home who even knew such a minster existed! Well, he does exist and his name is Mr Stephen O’Brien. He was in Sudan to discuss UK aid in Darfur and fighting in the border areas with South Sudan. There are many unresolved issues between North and South, which makes the border area potentially very dangerous (it’s not just about oil). Apparently 200 people were recently killed following a cattle raid in the Blue Nile region. However, I don’t want this blog to be about politics, which is always a taboo subject in the Sudan, I just want to reassure everyone back home that these issues don’t affect me. The southern border is a long way from Khartoum, which is very safe (much safer than many parts of London, in my opinion).

Following sporting fixtures in Khartoum is much more difficult. There are no public sports bars or cafes and the internet connection is not usually fast enough to watch live sport online. I normally have to rely on the BBC live text service if I want to follow a Football or Rugby match. However, it is possible to watch live sport in the British Embassy, but obviously you do need to be invited. I was fortunate to watch the Carling Cup Final there a few weeks ago and I was there again last night to watch England beat Ireland in the six nations. Surely, there is no better way to celebrate St Patricks Day!