Sunset jog, the call to prayer and an owl somewhere in the bush, that is rapidly disappearing as they build more houses at Juba 3. For now, there are still only a couple of regulars out on the circuit. Bush fires, and sweltering days the indication that the rainy season is over? Aircon not only welcome, but sanity preserving, essential.

News of Dads mild stroke a shock making the distance that much harder to deal with. Glad he is out of hospital and on the recovery road.

For my painting of the Impala Lilies, I used a green underpaying to give added depth to the flowers. Underpaying is something I’m beginning to use more frequently, particularly as my raw linen canvases are finished. A balance between using less paint to increase the translucence of the petals and getting the intensity of the colour. As the paint dries I may smudge it to soften the lines.

The house shaking under a series tremours. Not unexpected this close the Great Rif Valley, but still unusual. A few early morning shots the aftermath of the protests by street traders at their removal.

Perfect weather for the year end braai. As is now standrad, Sher and Yoga did an excellent job of sorting the food and logistics, with chicken and goat kebabs that were tasty and colourful. Lots of lime and chilli for those who needed additional zing. Reisi marshaled the Christmas gift challenge masterfully, with some of the gifts being swapped multiple times and enough people and gift variation to make it interesting and fun.

Pizza next to the Nile on a very warm Juba Town evening. Service tragically slow, turning a peaceful location into growling discontent.

We have another couple of million allocated to us for work to assist the expected dry season clashes in Jongelei. The difficulty will be getting in early enough to get it all completed before they start without getting bogged down in mud. Interesting to see how the ares of conflict tie into the history of the civil war and how ‘patched over’ problems are resurfacing as they weren’t properly dealt with then.

Amongst the chaos that seems to be building as we deal with the multidimensional challenges of bureaucracy, auditors, year end, budgets, proposals, and egos with a weary team, the unexpected haven of a pond filled with water lilies near to the area that has been allocated to us for staff housing.

Making the most of the cool morning, a jog with the sunrise. A bunch of people out on the circuit which meant I ran quicker than I normally would. That ego thing! There were new yellow and purple summer flowers out. I can only imagine they are short lived in the heat?