Kanyindo's Random Ramblings

Day 1 Fort Portal We arrived in Fort Portal on Thursday evening. The journey was good, apart from the fact that our coaster broke down several times. But the view more than made up for it.  Once we entered Kabarole, I was totally blissed out by how beautiful it is. Nothing but luscious green everywhere. Once again, I found myself holding back from screaming ‘’STOP THE BUS!!” and running out to inhale the delicious air. The sight of the tea fields is one that everyone should experience at least once in their lives. Once we arrived, we checked out Garden Restaurant, where the auditions were to take place, and then made our way to Travellers’ Inn where we would be staying.  I had been here two years previously, so was confident that my stay here would be much better than in Lira. I wasn’t disappointed. The rooms here have an old colonial feel to them. Little balconies, carpets, bathtubs. It’s so old ...

I never met Rosemary Nankabirwa. But I feel so sad at her passing. I feel sad that she succumbed to a disease we are still trying to beat. I feel sad that whoever took the time to announce her death on Twitter couldn't take the time to spell check. I'll put it down to grief. I feel sad that people tried to gain cheap popularity off of her illness. I hope she knew how many people turned out, in their own small way, to help. I hope she knew she was respected and admired. I hope God hears our prayers for her and for her family. I hope. When you lose someone, the world falls out from under your feet. I hope her family is given the time and space they need to grieve and remember her, away from the media, away from those who want to use this to their own advantage. I hope we all learn more about this terrible disease. I hope our government does more to make treatment available for all, regardless of social status. I hope. Rest, Rosemary. You fought your fight.

You'd think that people would have had enough of silly love songs. That's the opening line to Silly Love Songs by Wings, one of my all-time favourites. Apart from the fact that I love the melody, it is such a true statement! Love songs are responsible for too much heartache and longing in this world. I've written about them before ( see Don't Take That Love Song Literally ), so I won't ramble on too much here. I grew up listening to music.  Music with themes far beyond my years, describing experiences I had no business singing about. I remember the days when I'd be listening to a song about missing the one you love, or having your heart broken.  And I would long to have someone to miss, or someone to love, or someone to break my heart so that I could actually fully empathise with the pain in the singer's voice.  In those days, my closest experience to a boy expressing even minor interest in me was that shitty kid at school who would trip me...

Day 3- Second Day of Arua Auditions So, today was D-Day for our 3 finalists from yesterday.  They were pretty good and really brought it today, dressed like the stars they are determined to be.  At least the girls were.  The one male contestant is a mellow fellow, but has a unique rasp to his voice that Esther, Ken and I were all more than impressed with. I'm trying to avoid posting spoilers, so you'll just have to watch the show when it airs on Urban TV soon. My wardrobe malfunction aside (managed to splash myself with water before going to the audition room and had to do a last minute change.  This is not a wet t-shirt contest, after all) everything started off well.  Bush made the judges do some interviews, and then we were good to go. To be honest, I don't have much to report on today because it all went by so fast and without incident. No wait, I lie. Two guys came by and begged to audition even though they had missed the first day and we don't ...

Day 2- First Day of Auditions Arua We had an early start today. After a delicious but slightly rushed breakfast washed down with copious amounts of coffee, it was time for the judges to sit in front of the camera for their Q&As. I normally dread sitting directly in front of the camera, but there was so much joking around and photobombing by the crew that it was over before I even knew it.  After explaining what I personally was looking forward to on the first day of Arua auditions, I found a quiet corner and called the Xfm studio to deliver my Luganda tweet.  My co-hosts Rudende and Libolo clearly thought they would get away with it, seeing as I was in another part of the country but no chance. Once I had successfully translated my Luganda tweet to the benefit of the nation at large (ahem) it was time to head to Arua 1 for a quick interview.  I am happy to report that I learned how to say 'good morning' and 'my name is Siima' in Lugbara! Don't ask me to pr...

Day 1- Travel to Arua Finally the day we’d been waiting for was here! I woke up bright and early as usual, having packed the night before. I got to the office at the agreed time, to find only one other person there… and no coaster. Coaster eventually arrived, after several slightly irritated phone calls, and those of us who were on site got in. I picked my usual spot by a window (easy access to breeze, wistful gazes out the window and elephant spotting- more on that later) and went through my iPod playlist to ensure my #RoadTripMusic playlist was set (more on that later too). I would name and shame the late-comers, but I’m feeling kind today, so I won’t. We finally set off almost two bloody hours late, by which time I was already bored and feeling the beginnings of pins and needles in my bum. I figured that Jesus would come back before we reached Arua, but he held off his return. Thanks, JC. I can’t report much on the start of ...