Today my headache grew br toothache came to stay, strong br enough to make me call a dentist br my notes resemble those written br by the witches in Terry Pratchett’s br books, their medicinal plant infor- br mation interspersed with notes br on their state of health br br Like my lines jotted down br during an ACALAN conference br writing down the chairman’s words br about a lingua franca for Africa, inter- br jecting my worries about my dis- br integrating hairstyle, my br conclusion is: I really br am a witch… br br [By the way, I recommended Arabic as lingua br franca for Africa, since nobody knows it we’ll br all be equally disadvantaged…] br br 16 July 2009br br Margaret Alicebr br