It’s a regular annual event at Bingham to tell our bemused non-British staff, especially the new arrivals, that every year for the last 400 years or so on 5^th November the British burn effigies of a Catholic terrorist, set off fireworks and eat soup.

One of the essentials each time we return to the UK has been to visit our dentist and hygienist to give us the best possible chance of getting through six months without the need to consult either in Ethiopia. Imagine my consternation when I bit into a soft bread roll in August a few weeks after our summer break and broke my tooth. A sizeable piece of filling came away too. Now what?