Humphley

The name badge of one of the hotel waiters reads Humphley. Being in Tanzania reminds me of my masters project research which I did in another area of East Africa, Kenya, in 2006. The field guides who came with us into the bush to ward off buffalo could not pronounce the letter ‘r’. Therefore we would regularly spot ‘lhino’ and ‘gilaffe’. My name was ‘Lob’. It created much good-natured mirth. I didn’t realise that words, such as Humphley, were actually spelt to reflect the pronunciation.

The workshop continued in full swing today but I managed to dart out long enough to be reminded that we are actually on the gorgeous Indian Ocean. This hotel complex is being rebuilt after a fire last year so everywhere there are builders carrying bags of cement, carpenters toting planks of wood and labourers pushing wheelbarrows.