Thinking of Peaceful Poppleton!

Poppleton is generally so quiet and peaceful, especially at night. There are the occasional parties or people getting home late at night from York, or very occasionally a house or car alarm goes off, but generally you can pretty well guarantee a peaceful night.

Not so in Kampala, even in a relatively quiet suburb like Muyenga. Luckily it's amazing what we've learnt to sleep through. Or we wake up but quickly get back to sleep again and it's only later that we realise just how many different things we heard in the night! In general the challenges are:

1) The gate to the compound. First there is a car hooting, or the sound of knocking and a boda driving away, then the rattle of the gate as the night guard opens and then closes it. Plus of the course the loud greetings and thanks. No one seems to consider people might be sleeping and speak at the same volume day and night.

2) Music. Luckily we are not close to any nightclubs or bars so music is usually at a distance. However, it is normal to go to bed with background music at various levels and also to hear it up to 3 or 4 in the morning.

3) Stray dogs. There is a real problem in Kampala with packs of stray dogs roaming the streets. Not so much of a problem during the day, apart from avoiding them when you are driving, but at night the barking and howling can be very annoying.

4) Cockerels. I thought cockerels only crowed at dawn! Well if so no one has told the ones in Kampala. Nearly every family will have several chickens roaming around their land so cockerel's crowing comes from every direction.

5) General wildlife. Crickets, birds, frogs etc. everything is more prolific and noisier in Africa!

Last night was particularly bad. In the last couple of weeks some builders have started to build a house across the track from the compound where we live. Our landlord has agreed that they can use the compound, which of course has a security guard, to store some of their tools and materials. Builders here work dawn to dusk 7 days a week.

So last night:
Music in the distance until about 2
Midnight - loud banging on the gate, a rattle as the gate opens and a loud conversation in Lugandan
4am - booming music and then hooting as a car arrives and then the rattling as the gate opens and closes
4.15 - An alarm going off in the distance
5.30 - The call to prayer across the valley
6.30 - A very loud preacher with a loudspeaker in the grounds of the international school across the road. We couldn't even understand him as he was speaking in Lugandan, but at least he stopped after about 15 minutes!
7.00 - The builders start work by fetching their wheelbarrows and a barrel full of water out of the compound, with much banging of the gate and conversation in Lugandan.

I wonder how long it will take when we get home before we start taking our peaceful nights for granted again?