We were disappointed but not surprised when Prime Minister Tsvangirai's planned address to Parliament on the 13th May was cancelled. By then the deadline given by the MDC to resolve outstanding issues in the very unequal power sharing had passed but, surprise, surprise, nothing happened. Ultimatums and deadlines still don't work against Zimbabwe's old order - everyone knows that, or almost everyone it seems!

Then we were told that Prime Minister Tsvangirai would make a statement on Friday the 15th May announcing what's to be done about Provincial Governors, Foreign Ambassadors, the Reserve Bank Governor and Attorney General, all of whom were appointed unilaterally by Mr Mugabe. That statement also didn't happen and so we are left to speculate and remain stuck in no-man's land as the struggle for real power continues.

Even as the stalemate continues everyone looks at the MDC to DO SOMETHING but no one looks at Zanu PF to do anything. It's like we have collectively stopped expecting anything from Zanu PF. Almost every day Zanu PF wail about sanctions and no one even bothers to correct them anymore and say: sanctions are not imposed on Zimbabwe but on specific, targeted individuals.

'Shall we come home?' is a question some Zimbabweans living in exile are already asking but so far there's not a sensible answer to give them. To people who grow food for a living we can only say: farm seizures are continuing; Title Deeds are still worthless; police still don't get involved because "it is political." To professionals we can only say: government teachers, nurses and civil servants earn just 100 US dollars a month; lawyers get arrested for defending their clients and people go to prison for months at a time for their political beliefs; none of the repressive and oppressive legislation has been repealed and dual citizenship is still outlawed. To everyone we have to say: there are no jobs; the cost of living is crippling; there is often no water and electricity and infrastructure is in a state of near collapse.

Its not all bad though because despite the tragic loss of both his wife and his grandson in the last three months, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is still saying he's not giving up. "There's no going back" is the phrase he keeps repeating and it is the hope that we keep holding on to. Until next week and from under a wide blue sky, thanks for reading