Greetings from Bamako, on an unpleasantly hot and sticky evening. We have now been here for four weeks and you may be wondering just how long we will stay. Unfortunately the situation in Côte d'Ivoire is largely the same as when we left. The rebels and the Ivorian government have been talking about peace for weeks but there seems to be no real breakthrough.

It has been difficult to live without a clear idea of where we will be from one week to the next. We finally reached the point where we had to know for sure where we would spend the coming months. A decision was especially important in the light of our exciting BIG NEWS. In case the grapevine hasn't yet grown in your direction, we are expecting a baby in May!