LOCAL COLOUR EARLY IN THE MORNING

I came onto the patio to get some cool and watched the women doing their washing opposite: you get your item on the front stone step and rub a big bar of soap on it and a small bowl of water taken from the outside tap - then you throw the item down with full force and hit it with a piece of wood - then you pour copious bowls of water over it on the front steps so the water runs down the street.  The women of the different houses meet outside as they do their chores.  One lady spent ages bending over outside one house and eventually I craned my neck to see her laying something out in the middle of the road outside a threshold - she then did it at the next house and so on all up the street - I thought maybe drying seeds or chickpeas... anyway once she had moved you could see each area had an intricate geometric pattern outside - obviously an auspicious act to welcome in the Gods or keep away evil spirits - John went down to photograph one - he reckoned it looked like rice flour or crushed chalk - It is still there this afternoon and I suppose tomorrow they will wash water down the street again and start all over again -

One slight worry is wondering what our clothes will come back looking like from our landlady and her laundering techniques - Moira reckons optimistically she'll have an automatic washing machine down there....