Sounds of the city

In the UK I live in a small village where the predominant sounds come from birds and sheep, occasionally interspersed with tractors and the neighbour's lawn mower.

In Uganda I am living in the capital city with all its accompanying sounds:

• The dawn chorus - the cockerels crowing, the stray dogs barking, the call to prayer from the local mosque

• The traffic - the revving of engines, the grinding of gears, the hooting of horns

• The neighbours - the random ring tones, the loud talking, the hammering and sawing as they seek to maintain and improve their homes

• The public address systems - the Friday lunchtime preaching from the mosque, the Sunday morning singing from the church, the indecipherable promotion from the back of a pick-up truck

• The nightlife - the music from the nearby bar, the shouting of people out having a good time, the scuttling and scurrying of animals in the ceiling above my bed.

When I wake up in the middle of the night it often takes a moment to realise that it is quiet - no traffic, no one talking, no other sounds of life being lived in the city. For a short time the world is silent. I turn over and go back to sleep knowing that in just a few hours the cockerel will crow and the sounds of the city will return for another day.