The first guests of the new season having breakfast at Hotel Djenné Djenno last week: a nice Belgian couple, here seen with Adama, their guide.
The generator is behaving itself and all is well here, well, sort of...
Having a hotel is a demanding excercise in wisdom and diplomacy, neither of which I possess in any great measure.
The latest is that Boubakar the night watchman has accused Papa the chef of stealing potatoes. He said he saw him leaving the premises the other night carrying a plastic bag full of potatoes. Meanwhile Beigna the barman has found another plastic bag in the store room, full of rice, wrapped up in Ali's jacket, presumably ready to leave the premises.

So a meeting was called with the concerned parties, and I demanded an explanation, at the same time as I said that if anyone had financial difficulties and needed an advance they had only to talk to me. Both Papa and Ali said they knew nothing about anything. I said that under the circumstances I would confiscate the keys of the store room for the moment, and oversee the distribution of the daily food stuff myself.
The next day Papa told me that if it wasn't for his great regard for Keita he would have resigned there and then. How could I possibly believe that he would steal from the store? I want to believe Papa rather than Boubakar- my night watchman is more easily replaced than my chef.
Having mulled over all of this, and feeling thoroughly miserable about the sitation I called a meeting again last night, and I told the staff that I would not hear any such accusations again against anyone if there were not at least 2 witnesses.
At the same time I am wondering if the whole thing wasn't quite silly in the first place? Perhaps I shouldn't even worry if Papa takes a few potatoes?

And finally, after a year as a blogger, I have just passed the 1000'th visitor to the site!