Sand in the Sandwiches – Ba, Bob and Rose

 So Mauritania was the first time I really saw a working locust centre.  Ould Babah commanded an impressive set up, with field stations out in the desert hundreds of miles from Nouakchott.  Ba, the data officer, would take coded radio messages that would relay all the information from the field teams, coded to condense and standardise the way the data were transmitted over the crackly airwaves.  We then showed him how he could not only record the data in our database, but how that would then produce automatic maps for him for whenever the data needed to be shown – by day, ten day period (or dekad) or month.

 Bob oversaw a research project in Nouakchott for FAO on control methods.  He spent days at a time out with field teams looking for locusts and testing all manner of sprays on them.  He also ran a sizeable laboratory in a shady villa in town.  He took Judith and me up on their roof one day and showed us cages full of locusts.  They had hoppers at different stages and I looked at hundreds of these miniature locusts bouncing around in cages and crawling up every twig, netting or other locusts they could find.  He showed us solitary locusts, a dull brown colour, and he took us into a shed where artificial light and high densities of locusts had forced them to gregarise into the bright yellow phase.  He had a fantastic set up there, but this was after several years patient work.  He said it was fine for us consultants to come rushing in and complete a job in a couple of weeks, but if you had to work out here long term, you learnt to slow to the correct pace that not only suited the locals but also ensured you did not overheat, exhaust yourself in the burning sun or go completely potty trying to finish work.

 Bob and Rose were fantastic hosts all week – Bob and I would retire in to their house and I would enjoy beer.  I had not liked the prospect of two weeks without a single drink, but Bob had special dispensation and a duty free allowance to import whatever he needed, as long as he consumed it inside his own compound.  In fact, at the end of the trip, I think I drank more than I usually did on trips.  One night when they invited us around for dinner, there were beers before dinner, a couple of bottles of wine and then Bob and I managed to demolish the best part of a bottle of malt.  I was rough that night and struggled into work manfully to complete my tasks – several glasses of mint tea helped regain my energy and constitution.