On Christmas Eve we go over to Katy's (the other side of Khartoum) for (non-alcoholic) "mulled" karkaday. It takes all evening to get there which I find embarrassing and quite disrespectful. By the time we arrive most of the other guests have gone, but there are still a few home-made chocolate cookies and of course the promised beverage, which is actually quite convincing.

Sat 25 Dec

Christmas Day is pretty pleasant. Neil, heroically, got up at first light (literally) to buy fresh fish down at the Nile.

Tom and Eleanor went off to Soba (displaced people's camp) to clap hands with the Christians. For their own amusement Eleanor took a blue shawl and Tom a jalabaya - there are photos somewhere of them posing briefly as Mary and Joseph.

Through the morning Neil and I do some last minute food shopping and a lot of preparation. Katy and her brother Stu arrive, and Katy sets about making two trifles whilst Stu leads a further last-minute shopping expedition.

Early afternoon we make phone calls to our families and friends; it is strange hearing voices of loved ones and their reports from another (generally wintry) world.

At some point Natalie and I try to catch the service of carols from Kings College on the BBC but we've confused the broadcast times and miss it.

Today is a public holiday so we have Sudanese friends joining in too. Elham and her mate show me how to roast and grind coffee. Maryam (the student doctor) chops up bananas, watermelon and grapefruit for a fruit salad. By late afternoon at least 20 guests have called to share our Christmas meal. By the time everything and everyone is finally ready I am exhausted but I think our efforts are much appreciated. There are certainly lots of admiring comments about the Christmas Cake.

Shortly after dark the Sudanese women make their excuses and leave; the men need a little more encouragement.

Later, with just a few "hard-core" friends we exchange our "secret Santa" gifts. Great fun is had trying to guess who has given Katy a Sudanese house-dress, and a vase of artificial flowers. Stu seems to be pleased with the lute. I wonder how he's going to get it home - but he's only here for a fortnight so perhaps he hasn't accumulated too much baggage. I've "won" a potted plant and a tub of Cadbury's éclairs.

Much, much later, with the chores all done and only overnight guests remaining, we finally feel free to unwind. It may be Christmas Day but it is also Neil's last night with us; some date juice appears, we wish him well.