Nairobi, Feb. 24 -- Strictly logical people are difficult for us poets to handle. I was complaining to an associate about the heatwave and how this year is surely the longest and hottest summer on record.

She brought me up short by remarking mildly that the temperature charts hadn't shifted all that much in the past couple of years, as far as the data seems to show. Her scientific rigour had me stumped: Yes, arguably a quick google might prove her right.

But it was the principle of the matter! Every summer is officially the hottest and longest summer on record in Dar, that's baked into our social contract for small talk.

Likewise, the matter of the electricity shortage. Who would have imagined it would last this long? Surely, this is t...