A different perspective...

I’ve always been a bit cynical about the prevailing attitude to car (& aeroplane) maintenance here – it seems to rely a little too much on prayer for my liking. I tend to prefer mechanical intervention first and foremost. But we suffered a burst tyre on the road to Kabba (it was a rear tyre & we were moving slowly on a bad road so the danger was minimal) but it did dent my smugness a little. Once the shrieking stopped the praising began. Four of the women in the car ran up and down the road singing psalms – it was a combination of genuine relief and gratitude and helps me understand a little better why the passengers set out “covered in the blood of Jesus” (a popular car sticker and pre-journey prayer). That said, I’ll be checking cars a lot more closely now for bald tyres…