Moloney years - nothing. You should try Madagascar time. 1.30 we agreed, at the Ministry. 2.45 I got a call Ny Andry's friend. "We are at the Queen's Palace where are you? Can you come here now?" It's a 35 minute walk up hill all the way. I got there at 3.11 in world record time to listen to children from the musical conservatory sing quite beautifully in the Palace of Justice where they used to guillotine people. As Ny Andry's friend said "Now...

Interesting visit to local rugby match yesterday. The friend who invited me understandably had to get there early so told me that someone called Etrine would meet at the ministry gates at 1pm. Predictably I was there at 12.50. Predictably I was still there at 1.25, alone. I had asked how Etrine and I were supposed to recognise each other and was told you'll be the only white man. In fact I recognised Etrine from the fact that he is built like a Samoan prop, able ...

One for you MIKE. From today's BBC website: A newly discovered species of spider living in Madagascar makes the world's longest known web, spanning 25m. The spider also makes the largest orb web yet found for any spider, and constructs it out of the most tough biomaterial yet known, say scientists. Not yet been seen climbing my bed leg, thank god.

The picture was chosen to illustrate waiting around. I did think about buying a cheap camera but when I mentioned it to Ny Andry he shamefacedly said the best place to buy cheap cameras was Place de l'Indepence where my camera was stolen: "because they are all stolen." Think I'll pass.

THERE COULD BE TROUBLE AHEAD - you know the tune...... Got this today from a journalist friend in London: MADAGASCAR RISKS "HUMANITARIAN DISASTER" FROM LOCUST PLAGUE: An estimated 2.3 million people are at risk of a massive locust invasionin rural Madagascar, reports U.N. news service IRIN. Farmingcommunities already struggling to feed their families are likely to bebadly affected unless the invasion is stopped. The best method is tospray pesticides a...