Fish Supper

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKE & ALAN!!

We were up early to make a visit to Africmed, I can’t believe that we are due our one year booster jab for Hepatitis B and Rabies. Abigail was so brave no tears however the opposite can be said for Bradley I am just glad that Paul took him in and not me. With the trauma over we went for a walk on the beach near to the Coco Ocean Hotel and Spa. We noticed a couple of fishing boats bringing in their nets further on up the beach so decided to take a look to see what they had caught. As they were nearing shore locals just appeared from no where a guy came onto the beach riding a motor bike and women carrying buckets turned up. I must say this has to be the best catch we have seen so far. The nets were full of Bonga fish, Cuttle fish, Crabs, Mackerel, Captain fish and a solitary lobster. The women set about washing some of the Bonga Fish and placing them in one of the buckets of which we roughly counted about sixty of them. Bradley was happy watching and poking the fish as they jumped about on the sand. Meanwhile the guy on the motor bike was in deep discussion with one of the fishermen. He eventually loaded up some of the fish onto the back of his bike. During this we decided to ask for a price for the captain fish which looked very much like lady fish. After a bit of haggling we finally got the price down to 125 dalasi for a good sized fish With the fish washed by one of the locals we set off back to the car with Paul carrying the fish by its gills. We managed to find an old plastic sheet on the beach so we wrapped the fish up covering it with some leaves picked from a tree, we must remember to leave plastic bags in the car for emergencies. Once home Paul set about gutting and filleting the fish at the outside tap. I must say he is getting good at this as we ended up with four good size fillets so fish and chips is on the menu for dinner.

Angela's Farewell

This week has proved to be tiring, enjoyable and tearful. On Monday Bradley had a very restless night with signs of a slight temperature. I still sent him off to school asking them to phone me if he was unwell. After picking him up he slept most of the afternoon and ate very little. It wasn’t until the evening that the full extent of his illness showed itself, when I was awoken with him franticly rushing to the toilet with an upset tummy. This resulted in him staying off school Tuesday and Wednesday as every thing he ate just went straight threw him. We decided to give him a course of dehydration salts which proved to be a tearful affair as they are not the best tasting of drinks. Bradley did still manage to accompany me to the school each day for an hour so I could teach Jolly Phonics to year 1. By Thursday he was much better although not happy that I took him off to school after having spent two days with me at home.

Also on the Tuesday Angela dropped in for a cup of tea and was met by a screaming four year old. I can’t remember the last time Bradley had a tantrum but it resulted in me and Abigail going into the bedroom out of his way and letting him scream for thirty minutes. Angela’s arrival seemed to do the trick and he soon calmed down. We met up with Angela again on Thursday at Omar’s before she left for the airport and her long flight home to Australia. Before leaving she gave Abigail a present of her hat which she always wears saying it would have a good home. After a lot of chatting and tears we swapped skype accounts so as to keep in touch. We said a fond farewell with maybe the chance of meeting up in the future if we happen to go to Australia or Angela comes to the UK.

This week has gone so quick and has been very enjoyable for myself at the school and seeing how much the children are enjoying the Phonics has been a big buzz for me. Maybe I’ve missed my calling as a teacher I did always enjoy delivering training courses when working for Bells.

Angela's Leaving Party

Today we spent the afternoon at Kinza’s beach bar as Angela will be leaving for Australia on Thursday as she has come to the end of her VSO term within The Gambia. We set off walking to Kinza’s with John, Bradley however was lagging behind and not very happy to walk. When we arrived there were already a few of the volunteers there so we found some shade as the sun was very hot. Bradley was not feeling well and decided to lay down in the shade he eventually fell a sleep. When he woke up he decided to take a dip in the sea which he enjoyed he seemed much better. Whilst some volunteers had a bite to eat others chatted in between taking dips in the sea to cool off. Abigail and Angela persuaded Sam to plait their hair as they were impressed with her self made plait. We packed up to leave at around 6.30pm once Paul had finished playing his touch rugby and saying our goodbye’s to Angela whom we will all miss. I did ask her to try to call around for tea before she leaves. Once home we quickly ate a late dinner and put the children to bed.

Jolly Phonics

This week has been another busy week, on Monday Cathy was back at the school teaching the final part of Jolly Phonics to myself and the teachers. We spent the first couple of hours finishing off our resources before revisiting the previous letter sounds taught and then moving on to the final set of letter sounds. We also covered the teaching of the tricky words which are unable to sound or blend to make a word. We finally finished at around 2 o’clock so before leaving to pick up the children I quickly checked that Adja had photocopied the workbooks which I will need tomorrow to start my training of the Phonics to year 1 children.

Friday and I have completed teaching letter sounds s and a to the children in year 1 which they have thoroughly enjoyed especially the Jolly Phonic songs which they are even singing to me in the playground. The lessons ran smoothly partly due to the preparation before hand and the children being very receptive to learning the sounds, songs and actions which accompany the Phonics. Mr Jadama supported me within the class helping the children with their letter formation however he was a little shy when it came to singing the songs and was happy for me to take the lead in this. The children were pleased when they could see their work displayed on the wall as I have set up an area in the classroom just for the Jolly Phonics. Overall this week has been very enjoyable and I am looking forward to teaching next weeks letter sounds.

After a late breakfast we headed out for our usual Sunday stroll we decided to try to walk to Bakau along the beach. On making our way passed Leybatos and starting to walk down the steps towards the beach I slipped and ended up tripping and falling flat on my side, winded and a bit shook up I got my breath and managed to sit up whilst Paul went off to get some sea water for the cut to my knee. I was fine just pleased that I had not knocked over Abigail and Bradley as the last step was quite a drop to the beach through the erosion of the sand so could have been a nasty fall for one of them onto the rocks. We continued on along the beach collecting shells and picking our way between the rocks and ebbing tide. We even saw what looked like small Portuguese man of war jelly fish washed up on the beach. Finally we arrived at Bakau fish market with many of the brightly painted fishing pirogues out at sea and moored up on the beach and a lady squatting down between the rocks I can only guess what she was doing ur yuk. We took the road to the fruit market and had a quick look around buying some vegetables and a couple of bags of groundnut paste for Domada. We set off back home by now I was feeling a bit battered and bruised from my fall. We finally arrived home just after 1 o‘clock with two very tired and hungry children, I quickly made a chicken and squash stew for dinner. The rest of the afternoon was spent at home with Paul cutting some of the tree branches for Aunty Lucy and Abigail and Bradley playing with some of their Christmas toys whilst I made a chocolate cake for tea.

Dunes Hotel

This week has been a busy week preparing the children for their return to school as well as myself. On Monday Paul returned to the college to only half a class of students. Myself and the children set off early to walk to Dunes Hotel so I could use the internet to update my blog whilst Abigail and Bradley played in the pool. The walk took us past the Golf Course with a couple of pigs in the grounds then to the beach passing Fajara Craft Market. We took the road to Bungalow Beach Hotel which is now very much a small tourist resort as there were plenty of coaches, taxis and bumster touts offering their services. We then walked along the road and crossed over Kotu Bridge where we saw some more bird life luckily the bird guides left us alone. We continued on in land until we joined the small path which runs parallel with Senegambia highway before turning right down a sand track back towards the beach and Dunes Hotel. The walk was a pleasant stroll which took us just over forty five minutes. On arrival at Dunes the children quickly changed into their costumes to test out the water which proved to be rather cold at this time in the morning. I found a seat in the sun and managed to upload a good amount of my blog before joining the children for an afternoon around the pool. At 4 o’clock we packed up and walked up to the main Senegambia highway where I quickly called into Kariba shopping centre before jumping in to a taxi. Balancing Abigail and Bradley on my knees whilst holding on to two bags wasn’t easy, fortunately the driver didn’t complain when I produced the 5 dalasi for only one fare.

Wednesday morning was spent making one of Abigail’s Christmas craft presents painting on glass. The paint proved to be poor quality it just wouldn’t go onto the glass we eventually finished only for me the next day to knock it onto the ground which resulted in the paint falling off Oops, Abigail was not amused. After lunch we spent the day at Safari Garden bumping into James, Sam, Felix and Georgia who is currently off work as she has hurt her back yet again since returning from the UK. She had pulled a disc a month ago before going home for Christmas.

Thursday was back to school day for Abigail and Bradley and as suspected proved to be another tearful morning for Bradley. However when I picked him up he was full of beans as he had enjoyed playing with his friends Cediff and Patrick. As for myself I was also back at school, after a warm welcome by the year 1 children I joined Mr Jadama in year 2. The morning was spent with the children building sentences and drawing, I also spent some time getting together the items I had asked to be photocopied as I am hoping to teach some Jolly Phonics next week to year 1.

On Friday the morning was taken up with myself in year 1, Mr Jadama in year 2 and Mr Jow in year 3 as all the French teachers where away for the weekend on a training workshop. Mr Jadama prepared a few tasks for the children in year 1 to complete with myself overseeing. The morning was going well until Omadi decided to start fighting with Abdoulie who he sits next to. This resulted in some disruption to the class once separated and after a quick chat I told Omadi to stand outside the classroom until he had calmed down. After picking up Abigail and Bradley from school and lunch we made our way back to Dianna Mariam to meet with Cathy, she has agreed to come in to help with the teaching of the Jolly Phonics structure to the teachers and myself. Cathy started with teaching us the first group of letter sounds, actions and songs. We then made our own set of resources to help us in the classroom flash cards, jolly clock face and a set of family cards. We finished off around 4 o’clock with the view to return for workshop 2 tomorrow.

I was up early cooking our usual Saturday treat of pancakes, after breakfast I quickly had a very cold bucket bath as the water was off before leaving for the school. Cathy was all prepared with the day’s workshop, for the first hour we continued with the making of our resources until all the teachers had arrived. Eventually the workshop commenced with the next few groups of letter sounds being taught by now we were all enjoying singing along to the songs and doing the actions. Mary was busy in the corner putting our attempts onto film for further training opportunities. We then acted out the roles of children and played some of the games which complement Jolly Phonics. We broke for a turkey sandwich lunch provided by Mary and then we were back in the class room to make more resources, string joining, missing sound game, apple and fish game. We ended the afternoon with more letter sounds and revision of the previous letter sounds and songs. The day has been very enjoyable not only for me but I think also for the other teachers who were still busy making resources when me and Cathy left for home.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

The children were awake as usual at around 6.30am Paul dressed them and took them off for a walk whilst I tried to get some much needed sleep as I hadn’t slept all night. I was up and dressed laying in one of the beachside hammocks when they arrived back for breakfast. Whilst eating breakfast we saw numerous bird life Abigail keen to impress Sarah with her knowledge. Abigail then sat as a member of the staff called Abi plaited her hair, it may be sometime before she gets it done again as it took her over an hour. We changed into our costumes and had a dip in the sea, unfortunately there were no sun beds on the beach to lay out on. Whilst Bradley set about digging Abigail went further on up the beach she suddenly cried out, she had only stepped onto a washed up sea urchin so some spines had gone into her foot. With Paul carrying her we went to the restaurant and managed to get a needle and safety pin from one of the staff which we then sterilised with a lighted match. Alf had arrived back by this time so with Abigail laid on her tummy on a table and me trying to console her Alf and Paul set about trying to get the spines out. With the task completed and some tea tree oil antiseptic applied and Abigail a lot happier we ate a late lunch of fish benechin. By now it was passed 3 o’clock so we quickly changed and packed up and with Alf accompanying us we set off back to the car. Safely across the lagoon we got to the car only to have a flat tyre, luckily Paul had brought the pump so it was quickly sorted. With fingers crossed Paul turned the ignition key and the car spluttered he tried again and on the third try hey presto it started we all climbed in Alf sat in the front to give directions. On the way back he did comment that he thinks the tyre may have been let down on purpose which were also our own thoughts. Just before the main road we stopped as Alf wanted to show us his Batiks and we thought it was only fair after all his help. We were introduced to a couple of guys and offered Atiya tea and peanuts and shown the batiks and ceremonial Kankurang head dress which Bradley decided to put on, they also entertain the tourists with music and dance at the centre. We parted company and set off for the ferry terminal buying our ticket we managed to get straight onto a waiting ferry and across the river all within an hour would you believe it after yesterday’s performance my faith in Africa was restored. We had a nice surprise when we arrived back home as Tom and Lynne had cooked us a chicken casserole for dinner before they left John’s house to stay at Mariella’s.

What a Journey to Jinack Island

A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KAYLEIGH!!

Today we are setting off for our stay on Jinack Island, we were up bright and early hoping to avoid the ferry crossing rush, we bought our ferry ticket just before 8.00am and were told we would have a twenty minute wait so we pulled up behind other queuing vehicles. As we waited some 4x4’’s were waved a head of us through the terminal gates and onto the ferry. By 9 o’clock Paul asked some of the terminal staff what the hold up was and he was told that they were cleaning the ferry so there would be a slight delay. Then a 4x4 cut in front of us in the queue Paul went to challenge the driver upon which he produced an official document stating unhindered passage to Senegal. The three vehicles in front of us were waved through the barriers and terminal gates along with a few lorries and gelleh’s, we were now at the front of the queue so we thought hey we will be on the next ferry. No such luck the time went by as other official cars were waved through. Midday came and went with us still waiting at the terminal gates Paul went to investigate again and he was told a ferry had broken down so only two were in use. I was getting very frustrated and thinking we should maybe turn back for home, we made the decision to sit it out. We witnessed more heated arguments as official vehicles continued to queue jump, we were told it is useful to know somebody at the port who can help you to get on the ferry quicker. Paul spoke to a guy who was the assistant manager he was very apologetic that we had waited so long and said he would get us onto the next ferry. He then waved through another couple of official cars one apparently was late for his flight from Dakar and the other was attending a funeral yeah right. Finally we were waved through the terminal gates to the dock side where again we had a thirty minute wait. We watched as the cargo was unloaded by the porters onto carts, woman balancing three to five litre tubs on their heads with babies tied to their backs, cows and goats and finally the vehicles. We were waved onto the ferry after a six hour wait and set off only to be stopped to re dock to pick up a guy with a briefcase, unbelievable. After alighting and stopping for water we set off on the Senegal road only to miss the turning for Jinack Island as it wasn’t signposted. A young guy showed us the road for Jinack Island I jumped out and Paul took the guy back to his friends. The road was very sandy however Paul and the children were loving it you would think we were in a rally car race with blind corners of undergrowth and the back end of the car skidding out. We suddenly hit a very sandy area and the car stuck with the wheels spinning however luck was on our side as in the distance a land rover came into view. Three guys jumped out and with the driver behind our car wheel he got us out of the sand by driving through the undergrowth, good job the car is an old banger. Then one of the guys Alpha offered to show us the way to the island which we accepted in case we needed another push out of the sand. With Paul again behind the wheel and Alf showing us the best tracks to take we rallied around the bends with the accelerator on and the front end of the car hitting sand bumps which was coming through the air vents. We suddenly came to the end of the track at a small lagoon, Paul parked up then tried to reverse for a better position, the car had died on us he couldn’t get any gears engaged, what a day. We decided to sort out the car tomorrow and Alf offered to call the guy with the land rover to meet us and take a look as he is a mechanic. Whilst I chatted to some local children who were collecting what looked like whelks from the lagoon Paul agreed a price for us to cross the Niji Balon lagoon to the island in one of the canoes which was an extortionate 100 dalasi each way.

At the other side we then had a thirty minute walk to the lodge which took us through a couple of villages, ankle deep through a dirty stagnant swamp and fields of Marijuana. Apparently it is grown here quite openly as the main crop and because the island has a history and folklore of spirits and taboos officials don’t visit. We arrived at the beachside lodge and collapsed into the chairs and asked for a couple of julbrew's and soft drinks for the kids and Alf. We arranged to meet tomorrow with Alf so we could sort out the car situation. We were shown to our idyllic reed walled lodge consisting of a double bed and two singles, no electricity and attached outside washing facilities which consisted of a bucket of water and drainage hole. The shared flushing toilets were situated in another area of the grounds however there was no water facilities so you had to use a bucket of water. After a quick bucket bath, change of clothes and walk around the grounds passing the chef who was of for a swim we went back to the restaurant to await our evening meal. Then Sarah one of the three guests who were staying at the resort appeared with first aid kit in hand, apparently the chef had stepped on a weaver fish and had spines in his foot very painful, you have to laugh or cry what else can happen today. With the spines out of his foot and pain killers taken our limping chef managed to serve us our dinner. As night time came the staff lit halogen lamps and situated them around the grounds which looked very nice. We even witnessed a partial eclipse of the moon through Bob’s telescope and he then aligned it to show Abigail and Bradley Jupiter with its four moons. Shortly after the children were tired so it was off to bed whilst we chatted to Bob, Sarah and John. We decided to wait for midnight to watch the fireworks which were to be lit at Senegambia and Banjul. The president had arranged a music festival in Banjul followed by a firework display. Just before midnight the fireworks were lit at Senegambia and at about ten past midnight the presidents fireworks were lit late as usual. Well that’s the end of another year and what a day to end it on with all the frustrations and corruption at the ferry terminal.

Crocodile

Today we made enquiries about visiting Jinack Island which is just across the river Gambia on the north bank, we were told to call at Calypso bar which is at Cape Point. We took the car and arrived at the bar where we made arrangements to stay at the Island for New Years evening. Whilst Paul was making the arrangements myself and the children looked around the little lagoon watching the fish darting in and out of the rocks, Abigail then pointed to the other side and sat on the grass bank there was a small crocodile. The lagoon is the same one we walked to from the Sand Plover and is feet away from the beach and sea as you can see from the picture.

Where the guy is walking is actually the beach!

Pirang Forest

After a couple of days spent close to home we decided to visit another forest situated at Pirang which is further on passed Brikama. Tom had decided to enjoy the trip with us leaving Lynne behind with back problems. We arrived early however did have some difficulty finding the track from the road as usual in Africa not sign posted for Pirang Forest. After quick directions from a local in a long coat bearing in mind this is the winter season to them we were in shorts and t-shirts we came of road and headed off down a track eventually arriving at a building which was the start of the forest. We set off walking along a well used track through some forest which then opened out into fields which the locals were busy working in. We were welcomed by them to take a look and could see healthy plants of Aubergine and bitter tomatoes growing. Tom and Paul decided that to visit the forest we would have to go off track and into the undergrowth so we jumped over a low wire fence and found a used single track. The track twisted and turned amongst the trees and bushes Tom occasionally placed an arrow on the floor so we knew which way we had come. As we were trying to find another path as ours had come to a dead end we noticed some locals so picked our way through and found a good path which came out to more vegetable fields. I watched one young girl bringing up water for the fields from a well by a bucket tied with string. We went back in the forest and bumped into three teenage boys all carrying machetes and asked them which way to the river, they decided to guide us there. After a good thirty minutes and crossing mangrove swamps we came into view of the river bank, Bradley had managed to get a carry most of the way by one of the young boys. We then turned back towards the car along a well used village track which took us through fields on either side and village compounds as well as the odd goat on route looking for a meal. Finally at the car we thanked the boys handing them some oranges and biscuits as well as a small tip.

The River Gambia

Boxing Day

Boxing day morning was spent Skyeping home to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and then the rest of the day was spent in the compound allowing the children some time to play with their toys. Tom and Lynne spent some time showing the children how to play with their plastic petanque set whilst they used their professional set (unknown to us at this point Tom had played for the UK) Abigail enjoyed the game especially when I joined in and we won a set against Lynne and Bradley. Paul during this time had been sat watching he then played against Tom and lost, then he challenged me and was winning 7 to 0 only to have me bounce back and win 13 to 7 much to his annoyance. Tom then showed me some skills with the balls and I did feel as if I had a very good throw and was really enjoying the game. I then went to prepare dinner as we have invited Tom and Lynne over for a roast chicken dinner with sprouts woo hoo followed by apple eves pudding and custard which Tom appreciated as he has a sweet tooth. After the children were in bed we shared a bottle of wine and some pleasant conversation with them.

Christmas Day

A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KIRSTY & JACK

At 6.30 we waited for the children to wake up finally at around 7.00pm Abigail woke up followed by a very tired Bradley however they were very excited to see their stockings full of presents from Santa. They carried them through to our bedroom where they then started unwrapping them, Abigail slowly taking of the paper and Bradley tearing and ripping the paper to get at the present inside. We then ate pancakes for breakfast before changing and sitting down to open the presents which were under the tree. The first thing they noticed were the body boards which we had placed under the settee, they quickly pulled them out and practised balancing on them. We managed to open a number of presents stopping to play with the Kid Knex and Polly Pocket presents before Tom and Lynne arrived with a couple of presents. Abigail and Bradley opened their present which was a set of Petanque balls Tom and Lynne both play this game so suggested a game later. They also gave me and Paul a picture of the compound opposite to them at Basse which Tom had drawn I must say I was very impressed with his drawing skills it will be a nice memory of our time spent in Gambia to take back home. After they had left we continued opening our presents Paul was pleased with his Gambian flag string vest as you can tell from the photo, I was pleased with the local sparkly shoes Paul had bought me. With all the presents under the tree open we told the children there were other presents outside for them to find They quickly put on their shoes and went outside to look Abigail was the first to spy the bikes under one of the bushes with both of them pleased with their bikes they quickly climbed on for a ride around the compound. We had to make a quick adjustment to Abigail’s bike and move the stabilisers up of the floor with the view to taking them off all together later.

Barbie On The Beach

With the time approaching midday we quickly got together what we would be taking to the beach and set off, we were the first to arrive followed by Greg, Sukey and Andrew with the Barbie and beers. Paul set about digging a couple of holes then putting the beers, soft drinks and ice into them to keep cool, the one mistake he made was to then fill them back in so all afternoon we were hunting for the drinks. The Barbie was lit by not one not two but five men, whilst we waited for it to warm up we chatted as others arrived. The girls enjoyed a baileys moment which was such a luxury and enjoyed by us all whilst the boys were happy with their julbrew. Unfortunately the sea was quite rough so Abigail and Bradley didn’t get the chance to test out their body boards but were happy to be buried in the sand. Eventually with the food cooked we ate a variety of Barbie food and side dishes however it was a bit gritty from the sand which had been blown into the food.. We had planned to do some games however the time just flew and at 6.30pm we packed up for home loading everything into a taxi and the boot of our car.

How Many Men Does It Take To Light A BBQ

Bradley Guarding The Julbrew

Christmas Blues Brother

The Gang

Christmas Eve

This week has been a busy week for us preparing for Christmas and managing to fit in some sight seeing of the local area. On Monday we visited Serrekunda market with the intention to buy presents for Paul and he to buy for me we decided to set a sum of only £25. Arriving early we parked up and walked the rest of the way into the main market area and were soon looking amongst the stalls at shoes, shirts and flip flops. Two hours later we had both bought a number of items for each other so we made our way home.

On Tuesday we decided to visit Kabafita forest near to Brikama we set off nice and early however this was hindered when we were pulled over by the police as Paul had answered his phone whilst driving something he never does back in the UK but here the locals do it all the time, it seems one rule for the Gambians another for the Europeans. The officer wanted us to pay a fine of 2000 dalasi and had taken Paul’s papers I was adamant that if we were to pay a fine we were doing it at the police station where we would receive a receipt. There are too many corrupt people and until people decide to do this instead of giving lower figure backhanders there will always be some corruption within the country. An hour later we were no further forward and Paul was now out of the car talking to the police officer at this point I decided to phone the VSO Office, after speaking to Nuha he said he was on his way. I decided to walk the short distance to Wishes gift store to keep the children amused, two hours later Paul turned up saying he had been let off after a lot of grovelling by Nuha. Back on route we finally arrived at Brikama just before midday we ate a picnic lunch and then started walking into the forest area hoping to see some wildlife. After a two hour walk and not having seen anything we arrived at the craft market we quickly looked around as Bradley wanted to buy Abigail a key ring for Christmas we then walked back to the car and headed for home.

Wednesday morning was spent at La Parissienne for me and Bradley whilst Paul and Abigail took Tom and Lynne out to Kotu stream to do some bird spotting. We were all back home for lunch the bird spotting had been very successful Abigail was able to tick off in her book some different birds.

Thursday morning was spent food shopping and finishing off final preparations for tomorrow however it wasn’t the usual mad rush like back at home. On the evening we have been invited to Max’s for Christmas evening celebrations along with other volunteers. We decided to take the car and gave a lift to Tom, Lynne and Emma, and guess what we were stopped by the police yet again. Following the car in front we thought the officer had waved us on however we had been mistaken he was giving right of way to the left so he was complaining that we had nearly caused an accident. After a lot of talking, Paul biting his lip and Tom being told to shut up by a sixteen year old officer as he could be arrested for interfering we were finally back on our way. As we passed the Africell building they had displayed outside a huge Christmas tree and banners. We arrived at Max’s and were welcomed with the usual array of food for us all to enjoy. Not all the volunteers were there as some had gone home for Christmas or had family visiting so were spending the evening at some plush hotel. The food was delicious as usual and Max had managed to get his landlady to make beef domada which was so tender however the bowl could have fed an army, it was huge. Max had also invited some Gambian family’s including some young children one of which decided to play with Bradley’s bat and ball set to his annoyance he set about following her waiting for it to be put down. Angela managed to pull out Abigail’s loose tooth much to her pleasure as now the tooth fairy would also be visiting this evening. We left for home at 8.30pm the children quickly changed into their pj’s and we put a plate of snowman biscuits we had made and a carrot out for Santa and Rudolf then it was off to bed for two very tired children. Once a sleep we started to put the presents around the tree and fill the stockings before we finally made our way to bed.