Xmas Party Planning

This morning Paul took Abigail and Bradley off for a walk around the golf course and onto the beach hoping to see Adam to accept his offer of Tabasky. I stayed at home and washed some clothes, then managed to get a bit of sun whilst reading in the compound.

This afternoon we have been invited to a bring your own food barbeque at Sokey and Greg’s to discuss the office xmas party. We left early as we wanted to have a look around Serekunda Market for blankets. Parking the car in our usual spot we headed into the main market area, we noticed a stall selling quilt covers so asked for blankets. They didn’t sell them but a young lad ended up taking us past various stalls to one which sold blankets on asking the price we were told 400 dalasi after a lot of bartering I managed to get three blankets for 200 dalasi each half what they were asking. We then asked about groundnut paste and we were taken to another stall which sold it in small fist size food bags. We made for the exit passing chickens in small cages awaiting their fate. Paul noticed some string vests in the Gambian flag colours which he likes so we agreed a price then we were ushered to another stall to be shown more vests which they were hoping to also sell to us. Finally spent up we made our way to the car and started driving away from the market the road went on for ages. The road didn’t end up where Paul thought so we had to turn back on ourselves down another long road. We made it to the main Serrekunda road only to have one side of the carriage way blocked off as is the norm when the president is travelling. So we then had to sit behind Gelleh’s and Taxis at a snails pace waiting for them to drop and pick up passengers before we finally saw the side street we needed for Greg and Sokey’s very frustrating.

We arrived at Sokey’s, Bradley changed into his trunks as they had the paddling pool out so he spent the next two hours splashing about. With the barbeque ready for the meat Paul set about putting on our burgers and sausages as Abigail and Bradley were getting hungry, then others took over cooking their own meat. During this time the girls got together to discuss the xmas party writing down a list of volunteer’s, what food to cook and working out costings. We are looking at hosting it around the 12th December so those volunteer’s who are going home for xmas will be able to attend. With everything sorted as who would be making what we left for home dropping off Emma and Emily on route.

Meeting Jenny and Mick

Paul was having to work today so we decided to have a crafty morning making spiral snakes and making flutter rings which was one of Abigail’s present’s she had received. Abigail and Bradley decided which colour body and beads they would like for the butterfly’s and we set about applying the glitter glue, whilst they were drying we painted our snakes and then left them to dry. With the glue on the flutter rings dry we added the beads and measured them against Abigail’s fingers and tied them in a knot she was really pleased with the end result, we just have another three to make from the pack. Once dry we cut out the spiral snakes and hung them up in the bedroom then it was time for lunch.

After lunch we made our way to Safari Garden as we had arranged to meet Jenny and Mick with their two young children Teo and Mia. They are out here for a year doing voluntary work with organisation’s and local’s on bee’s and are living at a small village called Lamin which is on the way to Brikama. Felix, Sam and Georgia’s sister who is here visiting were at Safari Garden so Abigail ended up sitting with them getting her toe nail’s painted. I then had Lause introduce himself to me as Paul had mentioned I was going there with the children I chatted to him for a while he seems a really nice guy.

Jenny and Mick arrived so after quick introductions we ordered some drinks and sat talking whilst the children played in the pool. Apparently they originate from Taunton which is very near to where Paul’s Mum lives in Devon, however they have lived in France for the last ten years running a small farm with sheep, chickens and cows. Paul had hoped to meet them but the workshops went on until 4.00pm, we plan to meet up again at a later date they seem a really nice couple.

Barbeque at Emily's

This evening we have been invited to Emily’s for a barbeque, at 3.30pm we were changed and ready to go however Paul was still not in from work so I quickly texted Emily to say we would be late. Paul has been in workshops all day with the other lecturer’s, he finally arrived at 4.00pm telling me he had managed to finish early as he gave one of the guest speakers a lift back to Kotu where he was staying. Lause is from Sweden and runs an Art, Graphics and Media College he offered us a visit to the Casamance area of Senegal as he is going to stay with a friend and meet up with some of his students who are also staying there. We had to turn down the offer as VSO do not want volunteer’s going to the Casamance area as there has been trouble there in the past.

Finally we set off walking to Emily’s on arrival we could see two people on the roof terrace so we shouted to try to catch their attention, unable to we phoned to say we were outside. Emily lives in a small two bed block of flats, we were taken up a private flight of stairs to the top flat and into a small lounge area. We continued up a couple of steps to a passage where two bedrooms and bathroom were situated then leading of to a small kitchen with table and chairs we made our way to the terraced roof which is ideal for sitting in the sun. Emma was there which was a nice surprise as she hasn’t been to the Kombo for the last four weeks.

Emma and Emily were having trouble lighting the barbeque so Paul went to investigate it was already lit and ready for the meat. With the skewers of chicken kebabs and sausages cooking we sat and chatted, Abigail and Bradley amused them selves drawing some pictures. With the meat cooked we tucked into Kebabs, hotdogs and rice we then toasted some marshmallows and ate them between waffle biscuits with melted dairy milk chocolate yummy. Emily had suggested we bring Uno to play so once the dishes were cleared away we had a couple of games helping Emma along with the rules of the game. We left for home at about 8.00pm, the side streets have no lighting so having come prepared we put on our torches and headed for Kariba Avenue for better lighting. On route we passed a van selling rotisserie chickens we have seen the van before but he must only sell them on an evening, we will have to try them sometime.

Sports Day

Last night is the first time we have had to use our bed sheet for most of the night, it is definitely much cooler we will have to look out for some blanket’s. Today is Abigail and Bradley’s sports day which is being held at the stadium. Paul set off walking to the stadium with Abigail and Bradley as we were told to arrive between 8.00 and 8.30am I managed to get a few bit’s done around the house before setting off to the stadium myself arriving at 9.00am, Paul and the children were just sat about outside with all the other children and teacher’s. Finally the children were placed into their house groups and marched inside behind their house flag Quality, Stayfast or Excellence. With the children seated within their house groups Paul and I found a seat with some of the other parents.

We waited and waited for something to happen eventually the first running event started at around 10.00am. Then there were some unusual events mother and baby race, which entailed some young girls wrapping a doll in a sling onto their backs and running to the finish line, very funny. Boys and Girl’s getting dressed event, children had to put on their Zenith Uniform including shoes with the help of parents and run to the finish line. Relay race, sack race and bucket and bean bag race where three bean bags were put onto the track at various intervals by one group of children and then had to be collected and put back into the bucket first to finish won. We then noticed Bradley going down the stairs to compete in an event so I quickly followed him. He was put into one of the lanes on the track with another five boys and the event began. It was so funny he had to balance a blackboard on his head and walk to the finish line. He was balancing the board really well at the start but I think I was distracting him trying to get a photo so he ended up finishing last. He then did a race where he had to find his own shoes which had been placed on the track, put them on and run to the finish line.

Balancing a Blackboard

Finding your Shoe's

By now the children were running riot as how do you keep children sat watching other children competing in events for four hours. They were busy eating crisps, sweets, baguettes, drinking icey’s, pop and running up and down the stadium steps. The few teachers which were sat in the house groups were oblivious to it all there seemed more teachers down on the track interfering than watching the children. Paul and I were getting more and more annoyed, there was just no organisation like back home, we finally took Abigail and Bradley out of their house groups and gave them some lunch and applied some sun cream and let them sit with us. After midday Paul asked Mr James one of the teachers which event Abigail was entered in we were surprised to find out her name was not on the list so Mr James placed her into the spoon and lime event. At 1.00pm Paul had to leave to go to work, shortly after he had left I was annoyed to be told that due to the events running over the spoon and lime event had been cancelled, so Abigail never got to enter any events much to her pleasure.

We decided to leave early as both children were bored and tired of just sitting around and as for myself my head was banging from all the ruckus of the morning. We left by the front entrance as a trade fair was being held within the stadium grounds. We had a quick look around the various stalls which were either advertising or selling things such as cars, food, jewellery, material, wood carvings, lighting, banking or travel. After a quick chat to Max who was also having a look around the stalls we set off back home. On arriving home Awa was busy cleaning, the children changed and I took them out to La Parisienne for an ice-cream as I also needed to call at the bank and get some shopping.

Bird Twitching

We were up early ate a breakfast of pancakes then set out for a walk to Kotu Stream to see some birdlife. Abigail took her bird book so she could record and identify the birds which we hoped to see. The walk took us along the bottom of the golf course were we saw our first bird a Rose-ringed Parakeet and out onto the main road. Walking past the Garden Nursery Centres selling plants and ceramic pots we took a right across the paddy rice and groudnut fields. The local women were hard at work in the fields weeding also some men were busy chopping back the undergrowth. On route we passed some homes of locals which were just corrugated huts in the middle of a field.

Garden Nursery Centre

Paddy Rice Field's

Hard at Work

We were surprised at the many different types of dragonfly’s red, orange, blue and black in colour which we saw hovering over the mangrove swamps as well as crabs and frogs darting into the pools. Flying overhead we saw Vultures and a large Grey Heron, in total we spotted four different types of Heron as well as Egrets. On exiting the paddy fields and arriving at Kotu bridge there was a Pied Kingfisher sat a few feet away on a post and a Western Reef Heron just stood on a pipe over the stream, mud skippers quickly jumped into the river as we approached. We ate a snack of oranges and drank some water then went on further. We thought it was too good to be true not getting hassled all morning when up popped a couple of Gambians offering us there service for a couple of hours as guides to see the birdlife, eventually Paul had to be quite rude so they would leave us alone. Abigail's bird book proved to be very useful and she was quick to find out which bird we had seen.

Rose-ringed Parakeet

Western Reef Heron

Little Egret

Continuing on our way we arrived at the Palma Rima Hotel and were able to gain access to the Hotel after chatting to the maintenance manager, he took us via the reception and poolside area before we made our exit out onto the beach. We walked back along the beach which was very busy as the tourist season has now started, passing some large artwork made out of sand a mermaid, plane and pyramid. Paul was getting more annoyed with the occasional Gambian hustler asking us to buy fruit, juice or jewellery and even a guy who showed us the best route across the stream asked us for a small payment, what cheek. Finally arriving at the Fajara Craft Market we called to see Adam telling him we would be back down after lunch.

We ate lunch then we set off back down to the beach leaving Paul a sleep on the settee. The walk to the beach at the moment is lovely with the flowers overhanging the path no doubt it won’t last long with us now in the dry season. Georgia and her friend who is visiting from England were there and about to leave so we managed to get their sun beds as all the others were taken. We cooled off in the sea, Paul turned up a couple of hours later and took the children in the sea carrying Bradley on his shoulders. Adam then played football with Bradley and built sandcastle’s which Bradley enjoyed jumping on once he had finished. At 5.00pm Paul went to play touch rugby whilst Abigail and Bradley ate a sandwich before we joined him up at Leybato. When Paul had finished I told him that Adam has asked us to join him and his family at his compound for the festival of Tabasky on the 28th November.

Dunes Hotel

Today we decided to try another wireless internet hotel called Dunes situated at the Palma Rima resort. We jumped in the car and drove the short distance as we also planned to get some shopping on our return trip. After taking a wrong route we finally found the hotel and checked with reception that it was okay for us to use. We changed the children into their costumes as there is also a pool so we thought we could use the internet whilst Abigail and Bradley played in the pool. The hotel was very nice and clean I did take a look at the rooms however the cost to stay was rather expensive. We ordered some drinks then Paul and I answered some emails, whilst Paul phoned Jenny I tried to get in touch with Mum but was told by Lynne that she had just left there house to go shopping in Redcar. Emily arrived so the children were happy to play with her in the pool we finally packed up and made our way home with a quick visit to Kariba Centre.

On the afternoon Awa Paul’s language teacher called around as she wanted to meet the children. We chatted, drank tea and ate some cakes whilst Abigail and Bradley were happier playing in the compound and annoying the rooster which Lucy has acquired. When Awa left we quickly ate tea as we had also been invited for a farewell drink at The Blue Kitchen as Nadia leaves for London tomorrow. We walked to the Blue Kitchen this time remembering to take a torch with us and arrived just after 7.00pm. Nadia was there with some of the other volunteers we ordered drinks and chatted before finding a table, some of the volunteers were staying for dinner. We left at around 9.00pm as Abigail and Bradley were getting tired, deciding to take one of the tarmac roads back home Bradley tripped up over one of the speed bums grazing his Knee. Finally settled and applying some antiseptic to Bradley’s knee they were finally in bed.

Beautiful Sunbird

When I picked Abigail and Bradley up from school we went straight to Safari Garden to use the pool, Paul plans to join us when he gets home and after he has been for a run. Unfortunately the couple with the two children didn’t arrive at the pool however Abigail and Bradley still enjoyed the afternoon. Bradley is now managing to swim underwater through our legs with a little push from us and he is also swimming a little on the surface with his face in the water as it helps to keep his legs up. I got talking to a lady called Nicola who used to be a volunteer with VSO but decided not go back to her deputy head teachers job and sold her house to stay out here. She now works for the British Consulate she deals with people who have been arrested, accidents or death’s out here and quite often has to visit the prison, very different from her teaching job. Paul arrived at about 4.00pm very sweaty as he had decided to go further than usual, I introduced him to Nicola and they chatted before he jumped into the pool to cool off with the children. After lots of trying I finally managed to get a picture of a sunbird, Abigail being the one who alerted me to it you can now all see how pretty they are.

Bamboo Garden

On arriving home we quickly showered and changed as we had promised to take Abigail to The Bamboo Garden local Chinese as an extra treat for her birthday. When we arrived Abigail choose a table outside amongst the very tall bamboo, plants and lantern’s within the restaurant grounds. We choose a selection of dishes from the menu that we thought Abigail and Bradley would enjoy and ordered a round of drinks. When the prawn crackers arrived the children were pleased as they were coloured pink, green, orange and white. The food was very good Abigail and Bradley tried all of the dishes and decided the Chicken and Cashew Nuts to be their favourite. We walked back home through the very dark streets wishing we had brought our torch so as not to trip up over the b its of rubble or pot holes in the road.

This morning after dropping of Abigail at school Bradley and I continued on to MRC to pick up his results from his tests taken on Monday. Bradley was not happy about going as it meant he would miss his school trip out to the Banjul Arch, Post office and Atlantic Hotel. On arrival we handed in our appointment card then took a seat with many of the other awaiting patients some of which were laying down on the bench seats. Bradley amused himself by playing with some of his toys which we had brought first drawing pictures then he sat on the floor and played with a little boy passing his car backwards and forwards to each other. We waited about three hours before we were finally shown in to see a doctor we were then told that his blood, urine and stool tests had come back clear so we will probably never find out what causesd his allergy. We arrived back home and ate lunch before picking up Abigail from school. On the afternoon I received a text from James, Gerri had passed on a telephone no of a couple who are staying out here for a year and they have two young children aged six and four so possibly play mates for Abigail and Bradley.

A BIG HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY TO NATHANIEL!

I woke up feeling very tired as I had a restless night with aches, pains and sweating. I have been suffering for a week with cold and flu symptoms and because I am not any better I thought it would be advisable to get it checked out at Africmed. Meanwhile Bradley woke up with no rash and in a good mood so Paul took him off to school so I could get to Africmed early. They did some blood and urine tests as my symptoms are very much like Malaria however they couldn’t find any malarial parasites in my blood. The Doctor decided to still give me the anti malarial drug Co-tesunate which I take over three days as he was still concerned about my symptoms. On arriving home Paul was just getting ready to leave for Brikama I told him the outcome he was concerned that I had been prescribed the drugs when not showing signs of any malarial parasites. He decided to look in our Travellers Health Guide which we have brought with us, he was happier when he read that not always do the malarial parasites show up in your blood it sometimes needs a return visit and test carrying out so I took the tablets as prescribed.

When I picked Bradley and Abigail up they sat and finished off painting the spots and stripes onto their butterfly’s ready to be stuck up on their bedroom wall. At about 8.00pm Adam arrived from the craft market he wanted to drop some gifts off for us Bradley a tie dyed shirt and shorts and a Giraffe Batik for us, we thanked him and made sure he took some money for his taxi fare home.

Medical Research Centre

We were up early as Paul needed to be at MRC with Bradley early so he left just before 7.00am, the plan was for me to follow after I had taken Abigail to school. I arrived at the MRC gate and gained access by the security guard as he has seen Paul and Bradley earlier on. When I was in the grounds I was surprised at how many people were either sat or laying on seats or on the floor waiting to be seen. Apparently the guards give out 250 tickets each day for new patients however patients turn up from 4.00am in the morning so it is on a first come first served basis luckily we had the referral letter. After asking around I was eventually shown where Paul and Bradley were, we sat and waited. Finally we were taken into the room to see the Doctor, by now quite a lot of Bradley’s rash had gone down so I was glad that I had brought the camera with the photos we had taken. She asked a lot of questions then she suggested they do blood, urine and stool samples and asked us to call back on Thursday for the results. We were back home by 11.00am so Paul quickly changed and went off to work hoping he would make his 12.00pm meeting. All afternoon Bradley showed more improvements and by the evening the rash had practically gone.

Sanyang Beach

Bradley woke up still covered in a rash and itching we cooled him down and went for a walk turning in land towards the mangrove lagoon. We saw a number of birds however we were unable to walk around the lagoon so we headed towards the beach for a walk. Arriving back at the resort we were given a breakfast of fried egg sandwich, bananas, toast and coffee or tea. We gave Bradley some more steroids then Emily suggested that we take some photos of Bradley’s rash as she is concerned that the rash hasn’t got any better. When finished Bradley wanted a sleep so Paul took him to the room and sat outside reading in the sunshine whilst myself and Abigail had a dip in the sea and then I sat and read for a while.

I went to check on Bradley a couple of hours later he was just stirring and very uncomfortable so we changed and set off for home planning to call at Africmed on the way, Emily said she would come with us to advise. We bought some butter fish from the market before we left then set off unfortunately the car was stuck in the sand so a couple of locals helped to push us out. Arriving at Africmed the Doctor decided to take some blood tests so we had to go to the laboratory. The nurse was unable to get any blood from Bradley’s veins in his arms so tried his hands finally Emily had to assist by squeezing some blood from one of the cuts and scraping it into a tube. The results showed that his haemoglobin levels were low so the doctor decided to refer us to MRC (Medical Resource Centre) for them to carry out more tests, also we had to stop all medication except the piriton syrup. We arrived home after thanking and dropping of Emily and set about making some dinner as we had not eaten all day. Bradley settled quite quickly in bed no doubt he was so tired from his two restless nights sleep.

Felix's Birthday

We had a well deserved lie in this morning as Bradley had had another restless night we gave him some more of the steroids. The morning was spent cooling Bradley off in the bath, playing with some of Abigail’s toys and painting butterfly’s with the help of Bradley. Bradley seemed to be a lot happier this morning so the steroids may be working. After lunch we called at Le Palais which is another internet café, we have been told it is very reliable however we found it to be not as good as La Parisienne maybe because it was a Saturday afternoon. Paul managed to get a little bit done and even had a short conversation with our neighbour back home as he was using skype. He did tell us our article had been in the paper so we managed to load it up for a quick read. Meanwhile Abigail did some colouring in her new book whilst Bradley just fell a sleep on one of the settee’s his rash having reappeared. When it was time to go we woke Bradley up and Paul carried him jumping on a Gelleh Gelleh back up to the traffic lights.

I picked up Felix’s cake which Georgia had asked us to get then we changed to go to uncle Felix’s birthday party at Sanyang a resort called Rainbow Beach. With an overnight bag in the car cake and beach toys we set off leaving quite late as I didn’t want Bradley in the sun as I thought it would irritate him. On route we stopped at a toy shop to buy Felix a little present from Abigail and Bradley. We arrived at Sanyang and took the turning to the beach resort driving down a never ending very sandy road with the odd pothole. We reached the end of the road and asked for directions to Rainbow Beach, we were sent half way back up the road to a turning on the right the sign had been hidden in the undergrowth. Passing through the local fish market we arrived just before 6.00pm, we ordered some drinks before happy hour finished then put our luggage into our room. The room had another small bed and a mattress on the floor so as to sleep four it was basic but very clean and situated virtually on the beach. Paul went for a dip in the sea with Abigail while I sat and talked to the girls with Bradley sat on my lap. As the sun set we were served a dinner of fish and chips at tables placed on the beach, such a lovely setting. The fish was gorgeous on asking we were told it was butterfish, Abigail ate all of hers Bradley just picked at his and then laid down on my lap. When we had all sang happy birthday and tried some of the cake I took Bradley off to bed whilst Abigail and Paul sat around a bonfire which had been built on the beach. A very tired Abigail was brought up to bed at 10.00pm and quickly fell a sleep, however Bradley woke up an hour later scratching so I had to put him in the bath tub we had brought and try to settle him. When Paul came in just after midnight he was just starting to settle and eventually went back off to sleep.

Rash

Bradley had a very restless night scratching at his rash he will definitely not be able to go to school this morning . I took Abigail and told the teachers that Bradley would not be in then we quickly called at the bank, ordered Abigail’s birthday cake for Paul to pick up on his way home, then picked up the chicken drumsticks from the butchers. After settling Bradley by cooling him down in a tub of water I set about preparing the rest of the items for Abigail’s party. Picking Abigail up from school all that was left to do was a quick sweep and mop, rearrange the furniture in the lounge, put up the party banner and balloons and set the table with party tablecloth and paper plates etc. When Paul arrived home at 2.00pm he set about chilling the bottles of soft drinks and lager in one of our wash tubs by adding some water and ice which we had made.

Party Party!!

We showered and changed into our party clothes and I was just plaiting Abigail’s hair when our first guests arrived Cathy and James. Cathy had also done some lemon cake for the party and bought Abigail a little bag purse which Abi was pleased with. By 5.00pm most of the guests with presents in hand had arrived including Doctor Emily. We asked Emily if she would have a look at Bradley as his rash was not improving if anything it was worse. She diagnosed an allergy or Hives and on looking at what he had been prescribed she said he really needs a course of steroids so she went to the chemist to buy them for us. With Bradley’s drugs administered I set the table with the party food and everyone helped themselves. Paul had organised a couple of party games, treasure hunt (the treasure being sparklers as couldn’t find fireworks or what we did find was 400d per item) and pin the tail on the donkey. Abigail and the girls set about with map in hand finding the treasure with this all found and time ticking as it was already 7.30pm we played pin the tail on the donkey. Everyone was given a tail (no one spared) and Paul made us go around a broom three times then find the picture of the donkey all I can say what a laugh some of us were so far of the mark.

Pin the Tail on the Donkey

Abigail & Andrew

Pass the Parcel Dares and Sparkler's

At around 8.00pm Adam from the craft market turned up and gave Abigail a lovely African dress far too generous with his gifts, we introduced him to everyone and got him a drink. We then played pass the parcel which Amy, Emily and Sokey had made only we had two parcels which were played together in opposite directions just to make it more interesting. With Paul in charge of the music (Disney CD) the first layer of paper was taken off by Bradley and Sokey, chocolates fell out and on paper were written a couple of dares Bradley was to give someone a hug, Bradley came to me which was really sweet. With the final layer left we made sure Abigail and Bradley unwrapped the parcel’s containing crayons and colouring book and a skipping rope.

With guests still here Bradley was the first to go to bed shortly followed by Abigail, everyone finally left around 9.30pm and thanked us for a super fun evening. Adam sat and chatted with us until around 11.00pm we made sure he ate some party food and gave him a plate of cakes to take home for his daughter to enjoy. By about 12.00pm we had washed and cleared everywhere and I was shattered definitely a lie in tomorrow.

Abigail's 7th Birthday

A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ABIGAIL!

We had set the alarm early this morning at 6.00am so Abigail could open her presents before school. She was very excited whilst opening her presents and was pleased with her Bolt DVD from Auntie Lynne, Dolphin Nintendo game from Gran and craft items which we had mostly bought her as well as a bird spotters book. When she had finished opening her presents we told her there was something else in the compound for her, we all put on our shoes and went outside she ran over to the swing which was secured to one of the branches of a tree jumping on it to have a go with Bradley eagerly awaiting for his turn.

After dropping Abigail and Bradley of at school I called into the Fajara club to see about the membership fees, unfortunately they are not doing the volunteer rates anymore so either we don’t join or only I join with the children and Paul can gain entry as a guest a few times a year. I then went to the VSO Office to check if there was any post, Abigail had received a birthday card and a letter from Grandma. When I arrived back home I set about baking butterfly cakes, caramel shortcake, sausage rolls and cheese and onion quiche. I then put a jelly in the fridge to set and finally made donkey plonk (cherry roll) so all that will require making tomorrow is rice, coleslaw, tomato and cucumber salad, garlic bread and some chicken drumsticks to cook.

At 2.00pm I received a phone call from the school to pick up Bradley early as he was unwell. When I arrived he was scratching at his legs and had a rash over most of his body we waited for Abigail to finish and on arriving home I put him in a cool bath and gave him some piriton. I phoned Paul to say I was taking him to Africmed luckily he had brought his last lesson forward as another lesson had been cancelled so he had finished for the day so he set off saying he would meet us there. Abigail quickly opened her card which was from Uncle Alan and Auntie Julie then I read her the letter from Grandma also just before we were about to leave John turned up with a present of crayons, stencils and drawing paper further delaying our departure.

We finally arrived at Africmed and Paul arrived just as we were being admitted to see the doctor he diagnosed Bradley as having what looked like an Allergy to something. I couldn’t think of anything unusual that he had eaten that day he prescribed a course of penicillin and piriton.

A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO NAOMI!

Batik's

I had a bad nights sleep last night and for the first time had the cotton sheet pulled up over me and I appear to have come down with a head cold. Paul, Abigail and Bradley called at the VSO Office this morning to report the broken fridge/freezer, whilst I was trying to freeze some water in carrier bags yesterday they leaked so don’t know if it has fused something Op’s. I set about washing the settee throws and then called at the shops to get some plates and forks etc for Abigail’s party. On my way home Paul phoned to say a new fridge was getting delivered at 10.00am and he was calling into Safari Garden to invite Maurice and Gerrie to Abigail’s party. When Paul arrived home the VSO driver was just arriving with a new fridge for us, so he helped carry it in then we quickly transferred our food across to the new fridge. On the evening Paul hung up the Batiks I am very pleased with how they look the bamboo has made them hang much better.

Fajara Club

This morning Abigail and Bradley wanted to make a candle stick holder for Amy, so whilst I applied the polyfila they set about sticking on the shells, finally finished we cleared away and called at the bakers for some bread. Then after lunch we decided to visit the Fajara Club to use the pool and hopefully to join which we will know by Thursday if they are keeping the cheaper volunteer joining fee going otherwise it will be double the cost and too expensive for us. We were the only ones at the pool so the children enjoyed jumping in and playing with their woggle float. I managed to do some exercise by swimming twenty lengths of the pool which is a start although the pool is only about a quarter of the size of a standard pool back home. At 4.00pm we set off back home to have dinner, Paul arrived home then he quickly got changed as he has joined a running group called the Hash Harriers. The plan is for us all to go as a social evening as they meet each week at one of the bars or restaurants in the area sometimes for a meal, and the men go off for a run whilst the women and children chat and play. Paul is looking much trimmer with all his sport activities and the fact that he is not eating as much as usual, he has gone down a trouser size and has lost about a stone in weight. As for me my skirts are fitting me much better and I have managed to get into a dress which was too tight for me. When I last called at the VSO Office I jumped on some scales and it did show that I had lost about twelve pounds so life out here is doing us both some good.

We called at La Parisienne this morning to make our usual phone calls and emails, Mariella arrived so we chatted for a while before leaving for home. As we walked home it was funny to see a car on it’s side jacked up with a gas bottle whilst a couple of guys were working on it. After a late lunch we spent the afternoon on the beach arriving at 3.00pm. Abigail and Bradley played in the sea body surfing in the waves, the sea was very rough with a strong back current. Bradley and Paul decided to burry Abigail in the sand then they started to tickle her toes being helped by a couple of Gambian girls. Adam his usual friendly self chatted to Paul and gave him a necklace he had made (Paul doesn’t do necklace’s) and Bradley a Hippo wood carving which he was pleased about. At 5.00pm Paul made his way further down the beach to play touch Rugby whilst we got everything together and followed on behind. On arriving midnight the lifeguard was running along the beach so he stopped and chatted for a while whilst Abigail and Bradley played in the sea. Then Adam joined us and sat watching Paul playing Rugby, we decided to invite Adam to Abigail’s party which we are having on Friday with some of the other volunteer’s as he is so good with Abigail and Bradley. When we arrived home we had a late supper then it was off to bed, Bradley with Hippo in hand finally decided to put it on the window sill making sure it was far enough back as not to fall off.

National Cleaning Day

Today is national cleaning day so I set about washing the bedding, sweeping and moping whilst Paul did some work on the garden area we are hoping to plant some veg in. After lunch we called at Timbooktu only to find it doesn’t open until 3.00pm on national cleaning day. We walked on further and noticed the Art Café was open so we called in to have a look around. It was full of African paintings, dyed fabrics, metal and wood carvings. The owner then came to say hello he works downstairs as a hairdresser and he let us have a look around the Café Restaurant area which is still not open for the season it was set with draped curtains, artwork and lots of plants and an area where he is in the process of building a botanical garden. Then back to Timbooktu to have a look around and buying a few more presents for Abigail. On the evening I set about sewing some tie backs for the curtains and also sewing a hem on the batiks so we could place a bamboo stick through to enable us to hang them better.

Amy's Compound

Today we were up early as we were getting a lift with Paul to Brikama as we had arranged to spend the day with Amy. On passing through one of the villages on route I noticed a girl sat at the roadside who I thought looked like Soukey so we turned around and went back. Realising it was Soukey we pulled up and on getting out of the car she started crying saying she had come of her motor bike I gave her a cuddle and got her a drink of water as she was very shuck up. She had avoided a young girl who had ran out across the road and had come off her bike skidding on her side down the road luckily her jacket had protected her however she had a rip in her jeans and a graze to her knee. She had contacted VSO who were sending out a driver and her boyfriend Greg. Greg then turned up along with Andrew one of the other volunteers who had also recently come of his bike with Courtney who was riding as pillion passenger. We chatted and waited for the VSO driver to turn up eventually Soukey and her bike were loaded into the truck and she was taken to the Africmed centre to check nothing was broken.

We finally arrived at Brikama college and met up with Amy in the staff room, she took us to the VSO Office where she did a little science exercise for Abigail and Bradley which they both enjoyed. We then had a walk around the college grounds buying a Baobab Icy to drink they are made from the Baobab seeds by adding sugar and water so they produce a milky drink then freezing in sandwich bags which you bite the corner off and drink as it melts. Bradley ended up having Abigail’s as well as his own I must admit they are very sweet. We visited the poultry farm were they sell a tray of 30 eggs for 110 dalasi which is 40 dalasi cheaper than the markets so I will have to get Paul to buy them when we need any. We then set off towards Amy’s compound picking up some coloured card to make a birthday card for Felix on the way. On arriving she showed us around her compound and house, Awa was there with Louise cleaning so the children had a little play before we ate the sandwich’s I had brought with us for lunch. Paul turned up so we got ready to leave for home as Amy has offered to look after the children this afternoon so we can go present hunting for Abigail.

On arriving back in the Kombo we called in to the VSO Office to pick up a parcel and dropped Amy of at the bank. We then left the children with Amy who set about drawing pictures to go on their bedroom walls also Emily was going to call around and help later. We first called at Kariba Centre and got a few bits then on the way back looked into Mina’s by this time it was past 5.00pm so we headed for home. On arriving home Emily was laid on cushions on the floor with Abigail and Bradley jumping on her also they had wrote VSO on her back in felt tip pen I only hope it comes off. They showed me the pictures Amy had drawn for them and the card she had made from us all to Felix with the help of Bradley and Abigail. On the evening we received a text message from Greg to say Soukey was okay nothing broken just a bit shaken.

Parrot's

Abigail and Bradley are now off school for a week so after a late breakfast we decided to spend the day at the beach. I set about making a picnic lunch of baguette fruit and crisps whilst Abigail sorted out the towels, buckets and spades. We finally set off walking and met a Gambian guy who we usually talk to he now lives in London however he is back visiting family for a few months. The children like to stop and chat as he has a pet parrot which sits on his shoulder however today he had two parrots. He took one off his shoulder and placed it onto Bradley’s cap so I could take a couple of photos of him.

We then continued onto the beach and found a couple of sun beds we had a quick dip in the sea to cool off. On exiting there was a cuttle fish which had been washed up, Lamin came over to talk and he then took the cuttle fish to the craft market as someone he knows likes eating them. When Adam arrived he gave the children a necklace each and a bracelet for me which he had made then he set about building sand castle’s with Abigail and Bradley. A couple of children called Alex and Mia played with Abigail and Bradley in the sea jumping over the waves. With the sea being very rough I went in to watch them and I was shortly joined by Alex and Mia’s Scottish father, their mother is Gambian. We ate our picnic lunch and the children played a bit more before we packed up to leave for home.

The Walk to School

After picking Abigail up from school we walked to the market to get some fruit and veg. On the way Abigail pointed to the electricity cables as something was hanging from it as we got nearer we realised it was a dead fruit bat. We arrived home and the children played with Louise for a while then Abigail completed some of her maths homework.

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