I dropped Joe off at his Cub camp. I wouldn’t see him, Leo or Cath for three weeks. It has been raining for a week but this morning we woke to a dry day. We spend a few hours up at Rock CC with Leo training. I am leaving tonight on the 9 pm X18 bus to Newcastle but first I have a cricket match v Ulgham. I get 28 not out, 2 wickets and a smart catch. We are still top of Division 3 and Andy sitting top of the batting averages with 103. Cath and Leo meet me back at the ‘Horse Shoes’ in Rennington. I say my goodbyes for now and have a couple of pints. We are soon home with an hour to shower, make some sandwiches and finish packing. Cath and Leo wave me off at the bus station and my journey to Chitipa has begun. The sun sets pink as we pass through Warkworth and Amble. In Morpeth it gets noisy as young drunken party goers get on and sing ‘Oasis’ all the way to Newcastle. It is a drizzly evening in Newcastle as I wheel my cricket bag through the city centre. The National Express bus leaves at just past midnight. The heating is on full and it is boiling hot. I am sweating. I use my last two bagels as a headrest against the window as I struggle to settle. The sun is up at around 4 am and I get a cool few hours sitting at the back near the smelly toilet. I reminded myself that my ticket cost £19 and there was a reason why. We are late into Victoria but I manage to get on another bus. Heathrow is busy and I get a few hours rest before my flight. I notice the heels on my trainers are peeling off. Then realise the floor heating last night has melted the glue.

Turkish Airlines takes me to Dar es Salaam via Istanbul and drops me off back in Africa at 2.30 am. My original connection to Mbeya was a very convenient 7 am but after being cancelled was now a very inconvenient 2.30 pm. I get some sleep outside the departures on the seats. As the sun comes up I search for some warmth. The airport comes alive as cleaners busy themselves and passengers arrive. Time flies and I am soon inside departures having a ‘Kilimanjaro’ beer. Fast Jet takes just over an hour and I am in Mbeya, Southern Tanzania, only two hours from the Malawi border. I need some sleep so decided to leave early in the morning. The ‘White Giraffe’ Lodge has a room and after a shower and a plate of Ugali and Beans I am ready for bed but first I need to fix my trainers.

Mr Nyinza is sitting outside behind his brightly painted ‘Shoe Doctor’ sign under his cowboy hat. I show him the problem and he gets to work with glue and a hammer. I am not expecting much as I pay and thank him. I tell him if it lasts me three weeks I will buy him a beer and give him the trainers on my return. He earns about 8000 Tanzanian shillings (£2.80) on an average day fixing shoes.

I was meaning to have a slow start to the day but was up at 6.30 am. Outside my mini bus was there and at the bus terminal my border bus was there so not even time for any breakfast. It is a misty morning as we head up into the hills that run along the border. There is zero visibility as the driver uses instinct on the windy road. We have reggae and soul on the radio and I have a smile on my face. I am chatting with a very smartly dressed man in his 70’s called Edward. He helped develop Tanzania under Julius Nyerere as a Community Development Officer. He was sent to England in 1979 to study his Masters and knew Newcastle well. We are at the border and I take a walk the kilometre or so to the Songwe River. I hand in my transit visa and leave Tanzania. After a short walk across the bridge over the Songwe River I get some Malawi Kwacha in my pocket and request a visa. I soon have it and am off to get a Karonga bound shared taxi. There are a lot of check points along this 50 kilometre stretch of road. The Malawi Defence Force has two, the Police have two and the Malawi Revenue Authority has two. Nobody is interested in my padlocked bag in the boot and just smile. The illegal sale of maize into Tanzania is more important and a way to make extra money. At the roundabout and find a place to eat. I leave my bags there and set off to find PCB Mkandawire, my old friend and now Karonga Education Manager. He spots me as he is heading for lunch. This year things are better than previous years in Karonga in terms of good harvests and there has been little flooding so people have enough food.

The ‘Chitipa Boy’s’ bus is just leaving. It looks full but I manage to get one seat near the front. I have a big smile on my face as I arrive in Chitipa. It has taken sixty six hours from Alnwick to Chitipa. Actually moving was twenty six hours and forty hours connecting and resting. Well I’m here now. I get a cup of tea at the ‘Aunt Jane’ restaurant and check into the NaChitipa Rest House. This will be my home for the next week. My trainers require urgent attention as the glue and hammer option has failed. I employ Mr Jere who thinks the needle and string option will work as he sets about sewing the heels back on. I was just glad I didn’t need any printing done!!

I finally meet Rowland and we go back to his house for some tea and a chat. The equipment is in his house. He told me that in the end he hadn’t needed the waiver from the National Sports Council but there had just been some confusion at the Malawi Revenue Authority. No customs duty was levied on the goods but it did cost 300,000 kwacha to get the stuff out of the airport. Rowland said he had help from the local council and they would cover these costs. I wasn’t arguing. We estimate about $750 will cover the course costs. We agree to meet at the office at 9 am in the morning.

When I arrive Rowland is busy printing the course manuals. The first twenty were fine but as the toner died you could hardly see the words but he persisted. By the end of the day we had fifty copies. I got some money from the bank and we paid the school for the accommodation and food they would provide. We got a call saying they had forgotten to budget for breakfast but we just asked them to manage. I saw a man yesterday dressed in a black suit, purple shirt and black bandana. He is in the room next to me at the rest house and is Chief Mulambiya, staying here in Chitipa to adjudicate on a few issues. At 5 pm we are at Chitipa Secondary School and welcome about thirty of the participants. We will meet at 9 am sharp in the morning.

There is some confusion to start the day as my watch is still on Tanzania time so I am an hour ahead. No sign of Rowland at the office so I leave a note on the door and go to school. No teachers are around and breakfast is not ready. Then I realise my mistake and leave embarrassed just in time to take the note off the door. By 8.30 am all forty two participants are in kit and at the field. We have a quick group photograph and get started.

In hot, windy and dusty conditions the participants were brilliant throughout the whole day. I was really proud of everyone and had a big smile on my face all day. I felt strong as I kept up a strong tempo all day. The emphasis of the day was delivering quality sessions with relevant warm ups, good progressions and teaching points. I recognised two teachers who were present on the FA course sixteen years ago. ‘No training like this since 1999’ they told me. I was sad and proud in equal measure. We covered passing/control, dribbling and turning, running with the ball, heading and goalkeeping. While relaxing I hear that eight people were killed and forty two injured today in a stampede at the national stadium. Today is Independence Day and people were celebrating fifty three years of it.

We began the second day with shooting. Then the pace slowed a bit as I introduced two sessions which use passing and control to raise awareness of transmission of and protection from HIV/AIDS. The teachers were fully engaged and agreed it was something they could use to educate their children, alongside techniques they already use. After lunch each participant had to lead a twenty minute session. I watched, applauded, cringed and enjoyed their efforts. The only time in the two days when things got a bit unfocused was when the prisoners came to the field for their daily session to find us there. Two onlookers today were friends of mine all those years ago. Tamsen Phiri, then of Chitipa Model Primary is now PEA for Kaseye zone. Mr Nyasulu, then of Chitipa SS is now retired. It was great to see them so interested. After our efforts we sat under a tree and chatted. I noticed the teachers arguing about something. They were pointing over at Rowland and Tamsen talking and writing on the far side of the field. I got the gist of it quickly. They were convinced that their transport costs were being reduced. I told them what they were actually doing and to have more trust. I finished with a few well-chosen words about hoping the teachers would use their new skills and help train others. The course was not dominated by talk of allowances which pleased me. We provided the participants with exactly what we said we would and they appreciated this.

By 8.30 am next morning when we arrived at the school, most teachers were up, packed and ready for our closing meeting. The District Education Manager is coming at 10 am to close the course and hand out the certificates. We review the course and get some feedback. The participants appreciated being well looked after and felt they learned a lot but requested for a longer course next time. It took an hour to get through all the speeches but by 11 am we were through. My words lasted ten seconds as I had said it all previously. The forty two participants proudly wore their T shirts, appreciated the football and showed the certificates Rowland had managed to print in colour. We said our goodbyes as the teachers left to find their transport back to rural Chitipa. I was 99.9% confident that the course had been a very positive experience for all. One male teacher from Chisenga who had arrived a bit late on day one said to me as we discussed about his transport refund, ‘did I seriously believe that these teachers would roll out the course to the other schools?’ ‘Yes’ I said ‘even you’. Now the trained teachers have been challenged to roll out the course in their zones for the other schools and hold a football festival before the end of the year. If successful I will try and fund a higher level course next year, to further enhance their skills and develop coaches at ‘grass roots’ level. Now it is over to the teachers and Rowland to implement phase two of the project.

We gave a quick interview on Livingstonia Radio that would hit the airwaves later that day with a story in The Daily Times promised.

In the afternoon I had the pleasure of spending some time with Wachisa Munkhondia. The ‘Rasta’ football coach had attended the course and had stood out. He was in charge of Chitipa District under 16 today against Nkhata Bay. The game ended 1-1. This is a Football Association of Malawi organised competition. They support the teams with transport but nothing else so Nkhata Bay had travelled all night and played an hour after arriving in Chitipa. Marshall Mwenechanya’s son Peter was playing at right back. He looked and played like his dad. After the game we had a chat with the boys and gave Wachisa the football boots that had been donated by Paul Yeadon from Active Northumberland. Wachisa is 100% committed to developing sports in Chitipa and exactly the person we should be supporting in his efforts. He proudly wears his ‘Manchester Utd, Malawi, Rasta and Emperor Haile Selassie’ colours alongside each other. He helps Rowland a lot in and around Chitipa with anything football related and I really warmed to him. He explained all about my trip and my history in Chitipa to his players. They seemed a bit unmoved probably tired after the game but gave me a round of applause and a few smiles. Hopefully there will be more smiles in the future.

Tonight I sat in the ‘Boader Friends II Bar’ and drank Carlsberg ‘Green’ until the electricity went off. I think it was supposed to read ‘Border’ but it really didn’t matter by the third beer. It was time alone sitting back listening to the music with my thoughts. In my head were so many thoughts about my life in Africa and reasons to be proud. Back in my room by torch light I finished of ‘The Greatest’ – the story of Haile Gebre Selassie, Ethiopia’s greatest long distance runner.

It is Sunday morning and I jump on a ‘Cargo’. The name used for the bicycle taxi’s that get people around town. My destination is the ‘New Apostolic’ Church. Rowland has invited me and I feel I can’t let him down. A big soft chair is put in front of me but I chose the wooden benches. Rowland is a lay preacher and to be honest looks more like a preacher than a sports officer. Rowland was a student at Rumphi Secondary School at the time I was there in 2000. He has a community development background and worked at a private school. In 2012 the government advertised for twenty six district sports officers nationwide. In 2004 when Bakili Muluzi left power the ministries were reorganised. Sports left Education and became Sports and Culture but no officers were appointed. In 2012 sports was moved again to Labour, Community Development, Youth and Sports. Rowland got the job and was posted to Chitipa. His office has a budget of three million Kwacha a year (£277 a month). His program is a bit ‘ad hoc’ and I want to try and suggest ways to structure it a bit for him. At church I was introduced and it was explained why I was in Chitipa. Beatrice, Rowland’s wife is in the choir. Her father is the preacher. He made a joke at the end in Tumbuka as he talked about me. I thought I got the gist of it. He had said ‘this is my daughter, take her to England.’ I was right. Sunday lunch back at Rowlands is nsima and chicken. ‘Exotic’ chicken Rowland tells me not our local one with the black flesh. Beatrice has been looking after me very well with lovely food and an instant coffee before I head home at night. They have a year old daughter called Rosa. Beatrice is from the Misuku Hills and when growing up knew John Kayange, the runner who is now in the army. Staying with them in their rented house is Rowland’s younger brother and sister from Chiweta. They have also made room for Emmanuel, a player from Chitipa Utd. The team has no sponsor and is being funded by well-wishers and the Chitipa diaspora around Malawi. He is from across the border in Tanzania and has been brought in to ‘beef up’ the team as they say around these parts.

Chitipa hasn’t changed much in seventeen years. Apart from the Bingu Highway built with a grant from China that now links Chitipa with Karonga. The road hasn’t brought much development to be honest. The daily search for bread, football and miracles dominates life. ‘Peoples’ supermarket enjoys a prime location on the main street. The basics made in Malawi such as cooking oil, biscuits, bread, washing soap, tea, sugar and salt fill the shelves. Luxuries like peanut butter, Blue Band margarine, toilet roll and a selection of plastic things have made it from Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. The only national newspaper that makes it Malawi wide every day is the ‘Nation’. Not a sign of the ‘Daily Times’ and our story. The search for miracles, bread, haircuts and phone charging and football make up most people’s daily diet.