Wed 6 Apr

The day got off to a good start with an SMS first thing from Ms Katy – wishing me happy birthday – that's what I like.

I hastily burn a CD of photos from the previous evening's outing and pop up to college. The students I meet are still discussing the picnic. There are pleased and even more so when I give them the CD. I grab breakfast with a few of them before dashing into town.

At the British Council I find a parcel from a long standing friend. It contained a nice letter and a DVD I'd been wanting to see for quite a while. It's a coincidence it's arrived on my birthday, but brilliant timing nonetheless!

I do another teaching session with the senior Army officers and get the bus home. As I am arriving back in Omdurman there are police everywhere; lining the road and in particular surrounding the headquarters of the UMMA party. It is the 20th anniversary of a public protest which led to a change of government. The authorities today want to make sure that there is no anniversary protest heading the same way. Twenty senior members are arrested. The police are armed; some with tear gas.

I meet later with friends at the Acropole Hotel, a family run place that's been an old favourite of journalists and writers for years. George happily agreed to do something special for vegetarians, but took a lot of persuasion to sit twelve.

My idea for a birthday celebration was that I would like to do something different: to go out for an expensive meal would be a treat and make a nice change. Unfortunately, sharing my life with volunteer workers this put some people off, and left them feeling excluded. I invited three Sudani friends intending to pay for them. Two blew me out at the last minute – obviously with no idea of the trouble I'd gone to persuading George to accept the numbers.

The third Sudani, Midhat, is the first to arrive - bang on time. He is the one who kindly lent me a tent on my previous visits and has helped with travel advice ever since. He is charming and considerate and perfect company. My khawaja friends keep us waiting for a further 45 minutes so let's not have any more jokes about Sudanese timekeeping.

The meal is delicious. There is a soup to start followed by a table full of dishes. Notably the vegetarians tuck into vegetarian moussaka whilst the rest of us have beautiful baked Nile perch. There's a lot of eating to be done. It gorgeous, gorgeous and then we're stuffed. To finish off, there is one of those: dim the lights and embarrass everyone occasions – as a wonderful fresh cream chocolate cake is brought to the table with lit candles and the whole restaurant is encouraged to sing "Happy Birthday".

It's all quite touching and I'm pleased so many Sudan friends and acquaintances have joined me. It is my 46th birthday but I'm also quietly celebrating two years since being made redundant, and six months in Sudan; my official commitment here. In my city days (with a bulging wallet and almost certainly an excess of alcohol) I would treat my guests and take it in my stride. Curiously, I feel the same urge here, but with the bill amounting to two months income it would probably be rather foolish.