Short post

I feel compelled to explain recent lengthy silences and the perhaps meagre previous post. While I'm very occupied at the moment, that's caused less by work at the bank than by having wrestled my writing habits into order and putting in some serious hours on a manuscript. This is not the best thing that could happen, as it means going from hunched over a computer at work to hunched over a different computer at home. However it's a temporary situation and should be over in a few months.

In the meantime I shall cultivate the art of short posts. Fr'instance.

During regular weekly office devotions this morning the CEO Ben read from Luke about the distinction between material and spiritual riches. It led to a discussion about a sad phenomenon recently observed in Maputo: the theft of metal plaques from graves, presumably so that they can be sold for scrap. This may happen elsewhere, but it's particularly disturbing in Africa, where respect for the dead is such an important part of life, and where a poor family may go to a lot of effort to pay for such a plaque. The thefts could indicate a desperate need for cash on the thieves' part, but even if so, it still means someone else is paying money for the stuff of others' reverence.