Kampala to Gulu: A Journey In Signs

Through a screen of splattered insects (pic: SAHIP)

The narrative of the road between the Ugandan capital Kampala and the city of Gulu, four hours to the north, is best told in the words you can read on the way, be they on fly posters, sign posts, banners, or adverts painted on to shops and houses. Though of course that's only a partial reflection of a world merely glimpsed from a passing car:
Hips and Bums (plus tel. no.)
MANHOOD - Enlargement and power (plus tel. no.)
BRILLIANT HIGH SCHOOL
Voice of Restoration and Revival Church
Cadbury Eclairs - Discover My Heart
MERCY UNISEX SALON
NICE INN For Accommodation Away From Home
Quicky Picky Supermarket
HOTEL NET WORTH
JoyJoint Pub and Restaurant
SOS Sufficiency of Scriptures Ministries
DIVINE KIDS NURSERY SCHOOL
Mosh Restaurant and Takeaway 24/7
OJ - ARTIST AND HOUSEPAINTER
Accident Ahead (sign periodically stuck in tyre in the middle of the road - there is no accident, it just means 'Please Drive Safely Through Our Village', and is ignored by all drivers) 

Roadside baboon, just north of
the Nile (pic: SAHIP)

Meditex Medicated Soap
True Light Primary School (can you graduate to the Artificial Light Secondary School?)
Uganda United Against Measles and Polio (ahead of a nationwide drive this weekend to vaccinate all under-5s against these two diseases)
TRUST JESUS SALOON
God Alone Bookshop and Technical Services
THIRSTY MOTEL
Barclays Premier League LIVE
Bwyele Town Council Wishes You A Safe Journey
SUPPORT TO THE LEAST ADVANTAGED PERSONS
Exodus House of Cement
Original BISMILLAH HOTEL
Do Not Step On Or Touch Any Unknown Objects

My main regret is that we didn't have time to stop and get utterly hammered in the Trust Jesus Saloon. It's just one of those life experiences I'll have to imagine instead.

Perfect White Teeth For Jesus

Jesus Christ, what a smile

You can sense when someone’s got Jesus by the way they smile at you. When I walked into the dentist’s waiting room yesterday I could tell that the girl sitting on my left had got Jesus, because she opened her lips and flashed her teeth at me in a way that could only mean one thing. I want to save you. And at the very least I want to talk about Jesus.

I checked in and sat down. I couldn’t help but glance at her again, and she sensed my interest. She smiled at me a second time, bigger and even more Jesus-y than before. She wore a name badge that announced she belonged to an organisation called JesusCristo. She had a bible open on her lap, in which she was highlighting passages in yellow, and a pad for taking notes, but her epic smile and the way she caught my eye made it clear she would eschew her studies in an instant to talk about only one thing with a waning soul like mine. Jesus. Baby Jesus. Miracle-touting Jesus. Big grown up Jesus nailed to a cross. Jesus: the comeback.