And today's air quality is.... crap again

In the 1990s or thereabouts, petrol in the UK went unleaded, thanks to the environmentalists! Woo, score one for the greenies! Incidentally, I was the proud owner of a green Blue Peter badge when I was wee until I lost it at a gig.

All the leaded stuff all got shifted to Kampala, and now I've discovered why it was banned in the UK.

As you breathe in the morning (pretty much all day actually) rush hour air, you pick up scents of red earth dust, unburnt petrol and probably loads of lead.

(The guy in the picture - tired after a long day? Or lack of oxygen from breathing in fumes all day?)

I certainly breathed a lot this morning as I commuted from the Chili to Tank Hill across town. This is where a lot of NGO offices are based. On my walk from Tank Hill Parade, complete with its own Italian gelateria - pronounced helataria (mispronunciation pisses me off), I passed little dented signs for Oxfam, MSF, Marie Stopes, and GOAL.

Wow... it's really amazing being here with all these people doing humanitarian work. Commendable for sure. I won't declare my reservations just yet.

All the work I've been putting into this research project led up to the moment I knocked on the massive iron gate that opened up into the GOAL compound. Storm clouds still loomed from this mornings downpours which added to all the other things that was making me feel nervous (or perhaps it was the espresso at the gelateria...).

The initial meeting with the Emergency Programme Coordinator went well. I met a few of the other staff, including the Assistant Country Director. No names I'm afraid. Not sure how they'd take it. Bad experiences of mentioning names in blogs before so I'll tread carefully.

(Oh crap, 15 minutes of battery left)

I feel really energised for this whole project now! What with the possibility of meeting Ministry of Health officials too. I sat down to work in the thatched, open walled hut in the compound, replete with replete large solid table and an ethernet cable. Free internet is a joy. I'm such a geek.

Well, best wrap this up before the battery dies and I lose the message.