Jenny & Mandy's Visit

On the Sunday we were in a gelleh heading for Abuko for 9am. We have never seen it so busy as there were a couple of coach parties in, one of which were there only for the birds, armed with their large cameras and birdsong cassettes. When we arrived at the lookout hive we saw no sign of any birds however as we left we saw a group of Red Colubus monkey’s high up in the trees. We also managed to see the bush buck which has now been released back into the forest.

We spent a couple of hours in the reserve and then took the short walk into the village of Lamin where we then made our way to Lamin Lodge. As we walked down a sand track there was a local demonstrating the use of solar ovens to the community hoping that they might buy them. It takes about 2 to 3 hours to cook a meal in them and would save all the use of open cooking on a fire. The walk to Lamin Lodge was longer than Jenny had expected with no shade and with the temperature in the thirty’s it was quite hard going. We finally arrived and quickly organised a round of drinks to quench our thirst before ordering lunch. The food was very good and enjoyed by all even the local monkey was poised at the ready to pinch our fizzy drinks. Whilst there we called Mick and Jenny to see if they were home before then setting off to drop in a medical book for them. They were busy roasting a piece of beef in their underground oven as they were having their Christmas party and waiting for guests to arrive. We had a quick drink with them and then Jenny drove us to the highway so we could catch a gelleh for home.

The Monday afternoon was spent around the pool before making for home and picking up a Chinese takeaway from Bamboo Garden on the way. As for Jenny’s week it has gone far too quick however with no accidents this time.

Volunteer Christmas Party

It was good to have a quiet week at school as the children were sitting exams so it meant no lesson planning. My afternoons at home were spent busy preparing for our volunteer Christmas party which is to be held on Saturday. On Tuesday Paul returned from the office with a cheque for 4000 dalasi which was to be spent on food for the party. We decided to make a start so made our way to Kariba shopping centre to buy some of the party food as well as food for ourselves. We ended up with two trolleys thinking this would be an easier option which it was until Paul paid for the party food and only forgot to get a receipt. Then on the Thursday and Friday I spent the afternoon making shortbread, sausage rolls and individual quiches. Finally Saturday arrived and I busied myself preparing the rest of the food. Jim came along to help with the preparing of the chicken and prawns. With the first batch of chicken in the oven I set about preparing the garlic bread ready to be popped into the oven later. As for Abigail and Bradley they spent the morning decorating the tree with tinsel and baubles so they were kept quiet. The first volunteers started to arrive at 3 o’clock with food which they had prepared for the party, mince pies, coleslaw, rice and cous cous salad. We ate at around 6 o’clock a mixture of Christmas party food and salad dishes. As it started to get dark the unexpected happened the electric went off, unexpected as it has been on every night since Jenny had arrived on holiday. We managed by torch light to play pass the parcel with forfeits enclosed and Jane helping on vocals due to no electric. Bradley unwrapped the first layer and received a forfeit, to disco dance like his dad. Paul got up and helped him do some John Travolta moves. After this Santa arrived with a parcel of presents to hand out. Bradley rushed off to get a couple of pictures which he had drawn to give to him. The rest of the evening was spent drinking and chatting finally ending at around 11 o’clock I was so looking forward to my bed.

Weekending, 4th December 2010

On Tuesday Paul’s mum Jenny and sister Mandy arrived from the UK, they will be here for one week and are staying at Bakotu Hotel again. On the afternoon of their arrival Paul walked to the hotel with Abigail and Bradley and waited for them whilst I prepared dinner. Their flight had been slightly delayed so they arrived back home just after 7 o’clock in the evening. It was really good to see them and catch up on the latest news over dinner. We then looked through the bag of things which we had asked Jenny to bring out for us it was like Christmas come early bra’s, shoes, t-shirts and presents which we quickly hid to name just a few. On the Wednesday Jenny picked Bradley up from school and took him straight to the hotel to play in the pool. An hour later I picked Abigail up however as I neared the school I realised that I had forgotten her costume so had to make a return visit back home. Paul just missed us at home as we had just got into the pool when he suddenly jumped in surprising us all. On the evening we had a nice meal out at the Blue Kitchen. On Friday afternoon I took Jenny and Mandy to visit Serekunda market. I bought some material and a bracelet for three of our secret Santa presents as well as domada paste and wonja leaves to make some juice for Mandy and Jenny to try. Jenny bought some chicken material to make into a quilt, the same material I was trying to find for Paul and Dale’s trousers. When we arrived home we all jumped on a gelleh to Bakau. We sat in the Bakau Guest House which overlooks the fish market and watched as the boats landed their catch. They seemed to have caught quite a lot of fish as men and women waded out with buckets on their heads to then be filled up with fish and brought back to shore and tipped out onto the market floor. The pile of fish was quite large as they set about sorting it into what looked like varieties and sizes all ready to be sold on. On the Saturday we spent a lovely relaxing day at Sanyang, we had arranged with Kebateh to pick us up in his taxi at 11 o’clock. We arrived at Sanyang greeted the staff and found some sun beds. The afternoon was spent soaking up the rays and cooling off in the sea. It was so relaxing with no hustle from the locals although Jenny did get a little as she went for a walk along the beach we noticed a guy quickly trying to catch up to her. We then ate a fish and chip dinner on the beach before Kebateh arrived to take us back home just before the sun was setting. We can’t understand why we haven’t been back before today we will definitely be looking at making a return trip at the end of January with some of the volunteers.

Zenith Sports Day

The Sea Snake I caught on the fishing trip.

Zenith Sports Day

On Wednesday it was Zenith’s sports day which was being held at the stadium. I had managed to get the day off work so at 8 o’clock we walked to the stadium making our way to the front entrance. Most of the children and teachers were already there waiting to enter the stadium. Paul went off looking for the PE teacher as he has been helping to organise the day’s events. Finally at 9.30am all the children were asked to get into their team houses, they then walked into the stadium behind their house banner singing the Zenith song as they went. They then had to do a small circuit of the field singing their house song as they marched. While this was happening Paul was busy putting out equipment around the field for each of the events. Eventually over the loud speaker the teachers were asked to get their classes assembled ready for their first event. Paul had organised eight events so each class would be participating at the same time before then moving onto the next event. Also Vicky had organised some of the stadium staff to help collate the event results with the teachers. Bradley’s first event was to throw a tennis ball underarm as far as he could. As the children were throwing I helped to take measurements and return some of the balls back to the children (whilst one teacher stood doing nothing). We then moved onto the next event which for Bradley’s class was the sack race. It was now after 10 o’clock and starting to get hot, I quickly ran back for my bag to get some water for Bradley who was saying he had a headache. Luckily I just made it before it was his turn for the sack race. He was doing really well until the two other boys decided to cut across the lanes and head towards the teacher. So Bradley decided to follow them however he was in the lane furthest away so had further to run hence he came last which did upset him a bit. Bradley moved onto the next event where they had to sit and throw a football over arm as far as possible. At this time I decided to check on Abigail only to find she was in between events and standing around. Paul was busy controlling the high jump as one of the stadium staff had disappeared, I quickly gave him a drink. I was then shocked as I watched a teacher giving some children glucose powder. Paul spotted this and took the powder off him saying it was not good for them. This became a heated debate with them saying it was bought by the head for the children. The next event for Bradley was a team event where they had to move a ball from a cone and then run to the next cone and swap over balls. Bradley enjoyed this event and his team managed to finish first. At the same time Abigail was doing the seventy five metre run I just managed to catch the back of her as she ran passed. She then had the high jump whilst Bradley had another team event where they had to pass a ball through their legs to the back and then run to the front. It was now past midday and the children were hot and thirsty so we broke for a quick lunch. Up to now everything had gone really well with all the children involved in some activity, most of the events after lunch were running events for the older children. The last two hours were pretty much like last year very disorganised with children running around dropping food and annoying Paul by standing on the track whilst he was trying to organise a baton race with the best runners from each class. I could see him getting very wound up this resulted in him shouting at the teachers asking them to organise their classes by getting the children off the track and back to the stands. Finally the day ended at around 2 o’clock with the house team steadfastness first, quality second and excellence taking up the rear. Abigail and Bradley enjoyed it much more than last year however it was still very tiring for them in this heat. I think it would be much better with less events for the children then maybe they wouldn’t get so hyper.

On Friday I had my hair highlighted at Yok Salon by Miranda who is Suelle’s sister, I was very pleased with the end result. Suelle had flown to Germany with his mother as she had fallen and broke her hip so needed a hip replacement. Paul on the other hand was due to play a rugby game at MRC with his Gambian team. The Gibraltar regiment are currently out here training the army so he had managed through the British High Commission to organise a game with them. He arrived home just before 7 o’clock saying it had been a very good game and all seemed to enjoy it however no one from the commission had turned up.

On Saturday morning I went with Lynn to Serrekunda market. She was looking for material as after borrowing my traditional dress she decided she would like the same style of dress making for herself. We had a good morning also managing to buy some material to make trousers and tops for her son and boyfriend who are due out here in the new year.

Tobaski Celebrations

On the Sunday we had a pleasant lie in. We finally got up and Paul set about washing some clothes and sheets whilst I started making pancakes, this has become a bit of a weekend treat for us. We then walked to Kariba shopping centre at Palma Rima for a bit of shopping before returning for lunch. On the afternoon Paul decided to check out the tent which Sukey and Greg had passed onto us. The tent was quite large and we were all able to fit in as long as Abigail laid at our feet. Abigail and Bradley spent the rest of the afternoon playing in it. On the evening they then asked if they could sleep outside in the tent, I was a bit reluctant however I finally agreed making sure we left the door open for them. Abigail slept on Paul’s Mattress whilst Bradley slept on the cushions off the chair, along with pillows and a blanket it was quite cosy. We sprayed some fly killer in the tent and then settled them down. Within an hour all went quiet I was expecting them to come in around 10 o’clock. I finally took myself off to bed and spent a night waking up and listening every couple of hours. Paul checked on them before he turned in and all was quiet. At around 3 o’clock in the morning I heard Abigail at the front door. When I opened the door here they were with lantern in hand, Abigail was remarking how beautiful the stars were and gazing up at the sky. They quickly climbed into bed and fell a sleep. The next morning they said they weren’t frightened however Bradley had remarked that a scorpion was scratching the tent.

This week is the Tobaski Muslim holidays I am off all week however Paul and the kids are off only Tuesday and Wednesday. We had arranged with Mick and Jenny to have our own Tobaski celebration to avoid having to spend a boring day in someone else’s compound. We were going to their compound at Lamin as they have recently moved in. We weren’t sure if we would have trouble getting taxis so Mick was on standby just in case, however it proved no problem. Once we were dropped off at Lamin we walked down one of the sand tracks and headed in the direction of Lamin Lodge. We then new we had to turn right so started walking down another track none of which looked familiar. Finally defeated Paul asked a young boy if he new Toubab’s Mick and Jenny, he did and gave us directions. We had to cross a football pitch, then someone’s compound and then down a hill. We new we were close when we spotted some bee hives within a wooded area. We continued on a path through what we later found out was the women’s gardens. Finally we arrived at their compound complete with traditional hut houses three of which have the thatched roofs completed. The shower, toilet and second storage room are still to complete. On the right as you went in was an open kitchen area the hut on the left is used as storage and straight a head is an impressive hut which they are using as a bedroom. Inside there were steps up to a loft area where Mick and Jenny sleep in a double bed with Teo and Mia sleeping downstairs. The toilet is a hole in the ground toilet with cesspit, it would take me some getting used to having to squat all the time. We unloaded the cake and wine which we had brought and then had a tour of the grounds. Ten years ago the area was used for holiday lodges however most of it is now ruins or just disappeared. In one of the ruins Jenny has made it into a chicken and duck coupe, there were a couple of eggs which the chickens had laid waiting to be collected. We then went to an area which they call the big tree here they have some of their hives suspended in the air. From here we could look right across the river to Banjul, what a view. We then looked in a circular roofed structure which they are hoping to refurbish into their own living quarters at some point. The ceiling of which had tiny coloured glass lights very pretty with the sun reflecting through it. We made our way back so Mick could check on the meat. They were roasting a couple of pork legs in an underground oven, very impressive set up. An oil drum was dug into the ground and then poles suspended so there were three levels to suspend trays on. Mick took the lid off and checked on the meat it looked and smelt very good. The potatoes were placed in first so they could roast up, then the meat and finally the vegetables before recovering. We then opened up one of the bottles of wine which we had brought and chatted whilst the children played. Danny and his girlfriend Jenny who is out here visiting arrived at around 2 o’clock then one of Mick’s Gambian workers who had completed the thatch to the roof of the huts arrived. Lunch was finally ready at around 3 o’clock the meat had been in since 10 o’clock that morning. It was well worth waiting for even the pork skin had crisped up nicely, Albeno tucked in with relish he is a Christian so no problems eating pork. We had a lovely day and at around 7 o’clock Mick dropped us off on the main road where we quickly managed to get a taxi to take us all the way to the traffic lights. The roads were busy with Gambian children dressed in their finest clothes for the Tobaski celebrations.

Kitchen and Storage Hut

Bedroom

Paul Wathcing over the Pork

Underground Oven

Do you think he's missing Pork.

The children were back at school on Thursday so I took myself off to Timbooktu to see if I could get on the internet to update my blog. I spent a good hour trying with no luck what a waste of a morning. On Friday the children were at the new school site which is at Kannifing they are practising for their sports day which is to be held next Wednesday. Paul has given them some advice on what events to do so hopefully it will be a bit more interesting than last year. As for myself I went off to Le Palais to use the internet. I was there for 8.30am and had a very clear phone call to my mum. The internet was also very good at uploading my blog photo’s that was up until I went to post one set of them and it showed up with a url error so I had to start all over again. It was then time to pick up the kids from school I asked if I could leave my laptop behind the counter as I would call back on our way home. Bradley was grumbling about having to walk back to Le Palais however the promise of a cake did the trick before heading for home.

Good Housekeeping Guide

This week was very exiting as we were sent a copy of the December issue of the Good Housekeeping guide. They have written an article about us living in the Gambia however on reading it all I would say is how untrue some of the statements are.

The rest of the week was spent with Abigail colouring the fish on one of her t-shirts in permanent crayons (another birthday present) you then have to iron the shirt so as to set the colours. Bradley on the other hand not only coloured his pirate t-shirt but also decided to draw love hearts on his white underpants oh bless.

Coco Ocean

The highlight of the week was on Saturday, we had promised Abigail a birthday treat so she decided that she would like to spend the day at Coco Ocean Hotel and then go out for a pizza on the evening. We arrived at Coco Ocean just after 10 o’clock and walked through security into the lovely grounds. We thought it wise to make our presence known at the reception also we wanted to check if we could use the internet at the poolside. The hotel is set on a slight hill so you have a lovely avenue of shrubbery to walk down. We set off walking down the avenue at various points there were wicker settees set out for you to relax in. First off all you arrive at a courtyard around which are various rooms, reading, breakfast and pool lounge all set around a small fountain and pool. You then can go around or through the pool lounge to another pool and sun bed area. The pool is over three levels each running into each other with sun beds dotted around. We found ourselves a couple of sun beds and took ourselves off to the changing room to put on our costumes. Paul tried to get internet access however the signal was very poor so he went back up to the reception area even this wasn’t very good so he finally gave up. Abigail and Bradley played around in the pool whilst I sat and read. The hotel was holding a large fundraising dinner on the evening (some volunteers had paid for the privilege to go) so they were busy erecting a stage and setting out tables on the lawn. Abigail and I decided to explore the rest of the grounds first taking a walk to the beach. At the beach more sun beds were set out under their very own little marquee, very nice. I took a few photo’s and we then headed back up the hill arriving at the spa and salon, Abigail wanted to have a nosey so we had a quick look in. We then made our way back to the pool. The rest of the day was spent in and out of the pool we finally started to get changed at about 3 o’clock to set off for home.

Avenue to the Courtyard

Poolside Lounge up the Steps

Pool Side

To the Beach

Fundraising Dinner Preparations

Beach and Sunbed Marques

Reading, Breakfast & Pool Lounge Courtyard

Yes it is a hairy caterpillar on Paul's lip for Mo-vember, I carn't wait until December!

Once home we washed and changed before jumping in a taxi to Palma Rima junction as we have been recommended a pizza restaurant there. The restaurant was small and more like a coffee shop however the Italian owner seemed pleasant. He had decided to leave Hull and come out here as he has recently married a Gambian girl. We picked a couple of pizza dishes and a pasta dish to share between us all of which were very tasty. The only down side was the owner was a born again Christian so he had decided on a policy of no booze. As we were leaving he gave the children a couple of doughnuts as he also supply’s bread and pastries to some of the restaurants in the Senegambia area. We decided to have one drink in the Commin to see the end of the Liverpool v Stoke game (shouldn’t have bothered), once over we jumped in a gelleh for home. When we got out of the gelleh there was a lot of commotion, across the road one of the electricity cables had caught on fire however it soon went out on its own, ugh would this mean no electricity for us tonight, yep.