Simplicity

It's sometimes the most simple and humble things in life which can bring an extra smile to my face in Dodoma! Take, for example, the story of my simple peg-bag.

Normally, the humble peg-bag would not be worthy of a blog post. But this is Dodoma and life is different. Things which I would never normally give a moment's thought to can become a reason to celebrate!

I had been aware for some time that my English peg-bag was slowly disintegrating before my eyes. Normally, this would not be of any concern- in the UK, I might just pick another one up during any shopping trip, either at a household store or in the Household Goods aisle of my local supermarket. However, I have never seen a peg-bag for sale in Dodoma! This fact is no surprise in a country where many people dry their clothes by draping them over bushes rather than hanging them out on washing lines. Just another cultural difference.

So, when a good friend in England asked me what I wanted for my birthday earlier this month, I requested a new peg-bag! A practical gift, easy to post and a good replacement for the bag which was starting to shred and fall apart after 4 years of hanging outdoors under the scorching African sun. The sun is so strong here, it doesn't just fade the fabric, it starts to destroy it over a long period. I know that my request was bizarre, but  I believe that practicality is the key to simple pleasures!  I was frustrated at the prospect of carting loose pegs outside with my laundry and the hassle of trying to peg up washing with constant bending to retrieve random pegs tangled up with wet clothes in the laundry basket! If I could get a new peg-bag, this frustration would cease to exist...

My Dodoma friends roared with laughter when I confessed my birthday wish! However, they soon changed their tune when I opened my birthday goodies and discovered not just any peg-bag, but a designer peg-bag!

As friends admired my smart new bag, complete with its trendy designer name of Cath Kidston from London, it transpired that several friends here use old margarine tubs to take their pegs out to their washing lines. You can't hang an old margarine tub on a washing line to conveniently locate your pegs! Now I was the one laughing, with the most practical, smartest and most trendy peg-bag in all Dodoma!! :-) All this banter gave me an idea....my much-admired bag could be an inspiration...I had some material in a drawer- it could be put to good use...

A few days later, I took my peg-bag to town and paid a visit to Philippa, a seamstress who works at her sewing machine on a pavement on one of Dodoma's main streets. She laughed when I explained to her what  wanted- it was a concept alien to her Tanzanian experience, but she was happy to oblige. And here is the result:

Now I have some gifts ready for upcoming birthdays of friends in Dodoma... no more margarine tubs for their pegs- we can all enjoy the simple gift of a practical, domestic tool- a peg-bag!! Who ever would have thought that it could bring so much joy..??!!