Dale's Arrival

On Sunday we had a lazy day around the house. Abigail decided to make the flowers she had been given off Emily this resulted in me helping her as some were quite tricky however they were very effective when complete. Bradley was back to his usual self on the afternoon playing with Abigail.

On Monday afternoon we had a craft afternoon again making some of the flowers and then using the left over pieces of foam to make mosaic pictures Abigail a parrot and Bradley a giraffe. Amy managed to pop around before heading back to Brikama for a pizza with those in her compound. Then on the evening we called in at Francisco’s for a drink with Emma and Emily they were having a last meal there with friends. We were the first to arrive followed by Kanti, Carol, Kate, Courtney, Paul and a couple of peace corp volunteers which Emma knows. We finally said our goodbye’s to Emma and Emily I know we will all miss them over the coming year, we are hoping to meet up when we get back to the UK.

On Tuesday Paul woke up ill he had been up most of the night rushing to the toilet. He spent the rest of the day laid up in bed sleeping in between bouts of rushing for the loo. It was raining most of today so we didn’t do much. Abigail and Bradley amused themselves by painting a welcome to the Gambia sign for when Dale arrives on Friday. They are getting very excited about seeing their big brother.

We were all up early on Friday Paul to go to the VSO office and then on to get his car taxed. I spent the morning giving the house a quick tidy sweeping and mopping the floors before heading out for some shopping. Bradley all morning has been asking me what time it is and counting down the hours as to when Dale arrives. When Paul arrived home we quickly ate lunch then he went out to try the car no guesses to what happened it wouldn’t start. A quick call to Mowlah to ask him to check the car then we got a taxi and headed off to the airport arriving there at 2.30pm. We watched as the flight landed from a small restaurant upstairs and saw Dale exit the plane. When he passed through arrivals the children held up there welcome to the Gambia sign. After greetings we made our way to the taxi. We had come in by the tourist scenic route however the driver needed to get some petrol so we ended up going home by the Serrekunda highway so Dale got a good look at the real Gambia the same as we did when we first arrived. Before dinner we took Dale out for a walk around the golf course then spent the evening at home relaxing.

On Saturday Paul had arranged for Mowlah to bring back the car battery which needed charging early as the plan was to go to Sanyang staying over this evening. Just before midday he arrived and managed to get the car started. We loaded up and headed out the car sounded great or so we thought as we passed the turntable roundabout heading towards Brufut it started to backfire and then cut out. We then spent two hours sitting under a tree with some friendly Gambians whilst Mowlah arrived and disconnected the battery taking it up the road to get checked. Then Paul ended up following him to pay for a part for the starter motor. At 3 o’clock I had had enough so we gave up all plans of getting to Sanyang so all of us except Paul walked back to the turntable and jumped in a taxi for home. As we neared home the police were out in force and when we were asked to get off the road it became apparent that the president was travelling. We got out of the car to witness the president passing especially seen as it was Dale’s first time. Whilst waiting a European girl was walking along the road and was suddenly shouted at by angry Gambians asking her to stop walking and to respect their president, she was very embarrassed but did stop to watch. The president finally arrived behind a army truck with men holding guns and another couple of cars with bodyguards and flags flying. As he passed he was stood up and throwing biscuits out most of which landed on the road or just at the side no wonder kids get ran over. This was then followed by more vehicles who swerved from one side of the road to the other and then a truck which apparently was full of the biscuits. This was part of his tour as it had been independence day on Thursday.

Chameleon

Mick and Jenny arrived just after midday unfortunately they had been pulled over by the traffic police for not being in the correct lane however they were let off when Mia started crying. We sat in the compound until lunch was ready chatting. The children played in the paddling pool which we had decided to get out, shooting water at each other with water pistols. We ate a chicken roast dinner with all the trimmings followed by mango crumble and custard. We then sat in the compound relaxing whilst the children played. We decided to take them for a walk on the golf course as they haven’t been there yet. All the pigs have now been rounded up and put into their sty so they don’t damage the crops as they are now starting to plant the rice etc in the fields. We headed towards the bridge at the edge of the golf course seeing some lovely coloured locusts, green, yellow, black and red markings of which Paul decided to catch a couple in a jar. We continued on around the edge of the golf course before heading back home for a cup of tea. As Mick and Jenny were leaving for home it started to rain yet again.

We now have a little guest who lives in our kitchen called Freddy he is a skink and is quite tame. I have even managed to give him a dead fly and he sometimes licks my finger. This will be great to get rid of the cockroaches which we seem to have quite a few off. Although only small its quite a shock when one runs out of a drawer, toaster or the seal of the fridge when we open it, we make sure all our food is covered just in case.

Freddy

On Wednesday we had to take Bradley to Africmed, he was complaining of ear ache. This resulted in ear drops and antibiotics being given to clear up his infection. He spent most of Wednesday and some of Thursday sleeping so we didn’t manage to do much other than a trip to Kariba for some shopping.

On Friday Anne, Elsie and Ninky came around for a cup of tea. Anne is from Norwich and has been living here with her seven year old daughter Elsie. She has been running a guest house for the last four years. She has lately been in dispute with her landlord as he is asking for an excessive increase to her rent which she can not afford this has resulted in the landlord trying to evict her from the property. She is most annoyed at this as she has finally got the rooms all decorated and has put a lot of money into the business. This year she was hoping to open a restaurant bar and was hoping to make some good money. Abigail, Elsie and Bradley enjoyed playing for a couple of hours before they left for home.

On Saturday we were woken up with Bradley coughing this went on for about two hours he just couldn’t stop. We ended paying another visit to Africmed. It appears the infection is now on his chest so he was given a stronger antibiotic. From there we had a short walk on the beach at Bijilo before making our way through Senegambia Hotel. Paul wanted to check flight times as Dale will be arriving next Friday and he will be staying for a month with us. We arrived back home, Solomen the guard from next door asked if we wanted to see a chameleon which was in the garden so Abigail and Paul went off to have a look at it. Bradley was too tired so I took him inside it wasn’t long before he was fast a sleep. When he woke up his breathing was worse, Paul decided to take him back to Africmed whilst I stayed with Abigail. He was given some oxygen and a steroid injection in his bum. They were there until 7 o’clock in the evening as they wanted to monitor his progress. When they arrived home he seemed much better and he was very hungry as he had only eaten a banana at breakfast. He ate a sandwich and then went off to bed. Paul and Abigail changed and went out to Courtney’s as Amy, Emily and Emma were having their leaving party there tonight. They will be leaving for the UK on Tuesday so that is more or less all our group gone now. They didn’t arrive back until nearing 11 o’clock Abigail had thoroughly enjoyed herself and brought a couple of presents home for her and Bradley from Emily.

Bye Bye Marielle

On Sunday we were woken by heavy rainfall this was a welcome relief as it was so hot yesterday. Abigail and Bradley decided to put on their bathing costumes and venture outside with umbrella in hand. Once the rain had stopped we made our way to the Butchers Shop Restaurant for brunch this was a thank you from Mr’s Clarke (Zenith’s head teacher). Paul had helped with sorting out a Science exam for year 5 and then helped with the marking of the papers. When we arrived there was another table of peace corp volunteers already there, it is very good value on a Sunday so seems to be used by them quite a lot. An hour later Kate, Lucy and Kanti turned up so we pushed another table to ours and sat together. We ate a fried breakfast and then helped ourselves to the buffet lunch. In between we played dominoes and uno before leaving just after 2 o’clock.

On Monday we invited Max and Marielle over for dinner as a final leaving meal for Marielle. She will be going back to the Netherlands on Thursday. I decided to feed the children earlier as the curry I had cooked was a bit too spicy for them. Marielle arrived with a large bag full of some of the things which she was leaving behind. Wrapping paper, cups and clothes I am sure we will find a use for them. We ate popodoms and pickles followed by the curry and rice. We drank lager and chatted until after nine which is when they left for home.

A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY TO BIG SIS LYNNE!
On Wednesday it was the last day of term for Abigail and Bradley this meant we had to pick up their reports and speak to the teachers. Paul was unable to attend due to a VSO conference which he had been attending yesterday and today. I arrived just before 9 o’clock and first spoke to Abigail’s form teacher who also takes them for English. She was very pleased with Abigail’s improvement this term although she did comment on her still being very quiet in class. I looked through some of her work and then spoke to the Maths teacher who was also pleased with Abigail’s work. We were given all of her books and exam papers to take away with us. We then went to see Bradley’s teacher in Reception 2, she was very pleased with Bradley’s performance and had no issues with him going into reception 3 in September. Her comments were he is a very bright boy and in the short time of him being in reception 2 he has done some excellent work.

On the evening we were invited to Max’s he had organised a leaving party for Marielle. We arrived at around 6 o’clock. There were already a couple of Gambians there a lady who used to work in the VSO office she left just before we arrived in August and a man who is a musician and plays in a bar at Palma Rima. Lucy, Kate, Phil and Kanti arrived shortly after us followed by Rachel and the other Philippinoes. We chatted and ate crisps and pizza then once the football match had finished Max sang a few songs on his guitar. We left just after 9 o’clock saying our good byes to Marielle. Every one was planning to make a night of it by going to Churchill’s bar for a bit of Karaoke.

On Thursday Paul had arranged to meet Alpha. Paul had set up a meeting with a company called Asset who offer help and advice on setting up a small business. They also had a meeting at Western Tours before arriving back home at midday for an omelette lunch. Then at 2 o’clock we went to meet Mick and Jenny the bee keepers for some advice on bee keeping. They have been living in Bakau since January as they are getting a house rebuilt on a plot of land at Lamin. We arrived at Bakau market and phoned Mick so we could meet and go on to his compound. Once at the compound it didn’t take Abigail and Bradley long before they were running about with Teo, Mia and a little Gambian girl chasing the cat and playing on a rope swing. We chatted for a couple of hours and looked at some of the hives which they are looking at doing trials with. Before leaving for home we invited Mick and Jenny around for lunch on Sunday.

On Friday we spent the afternoon at the Safari Garden pool. Paul came up later he has taken some of this week off as holidays as he has been busy for the last two weeks invidulating exams. This has proved to be another farce for him as a volunteer as he was rotared in for 15 exams and the rest of the maths team were only doing 7 each. Mr Coroteh had organised the rota for the exams, you may remember this is Paul’s boss in charge of the maths department who he had a bit of a falling out with in Mansa Konka. It seems the rota favoured more the Gambian lecturers and more work was passed onto the VSO volunteers hence why Paul decided to take some time out. Paul left Safari Garden around 4 o’clock to go to Yundum as he is now coaching some scouts to play rugby along with Bio on a Friday afternoon. We packed up and set off home for dinner, it was surprising at how much sun we had caught we were all a bit sunburnt.

End Of Term Party

On Wednesday it was party day for the pupils at Diana Mariam as it was the last day of term. The children arrived in their party clothes most of which were European in style, I was surprised at the heels some of the children were wearing. The music had been organised by Mr Conoteh and the children were soon up dancing. The year one, two and three pupils put on a dance performance which they have been learning. Then at break time the children brought out on large platters or in bowls some food from home. They sat down to eat and share with others their food. I gave everyone a cake bun which I had baked yesterday as my contribution to the day. We rounded off the day with a game of musical chairs for the various years. The pupils paraded round the chairs swinging their hips to the music it was more like being on a catwalk.

Mr Conateh

On Thursday it was my last day at work the other teachers were busy placing the children’s books in neat piles ready for their parents to pick up and take home along with their school report. By 1 o’clock most of year one parents had been so I set off to pick up Abigail and Bradley from school. I have been picking up Abigail at the same time as Bradley as they haven’t been doing any work this week due to report writing by the teachers so she has been very bored. As I left Diana Mariam Mary asked me to call back as she had something for me. When I arrived back Mary gave me my wages and a lilac embroided skirt and top as a thank you which was very nice. We spent the rest of the day waiting for parents to turn up finally at 4.30pm we ate some fish benechin and chicken. Some music was put on and we were told we had to dance before leaving. With much coaching from Mr Ndoy everyone finally got up for a little dance including me before we finally left for home.

Graduation Day

This week has been the opposite to last week, very busy especially owing to the fact that we had to spend two nights at Safari Garden. It was Paul’s birthday on Wednesday so we were up early to hand over some presents, leather flip flops and elephant tie die trousers then off he went to work. The children accompanied me to school as it is the National Gambian Exams for the older children so they are off school today and tomorrow. When we arrived home some guys were there laying a new pipe for our toilet. We have been having problems with smells and standing water when we flush we were told it is possibly blocked due to roots. Luckily we didn’t have any issues with smells as they did the work we just made sure we entered the house from the side door. When Paul arrived home the work men had left so he went to check on the job. He suddenly came storming in and told me to keep the children inside. He then told me that the workmen had only smashed up the old pipe and scattered it in the compound near to our door. The issue with this was that the pipe was an asbestos pipe so very dangerous when disturbed. Paul decided to remove the pipe and then took it up to the office in such a rage. They didn’t believe it was an issue as not really clued up into the effects of asbestos. With much persuasion and looking up on the internet to update them on the risks they decided to do a risk assessment and phoned London VSO office emergency phone line. Would you believe there was no answer, they finally got an answer on the usual office number and were told that the emergency line was not manned due to the football however she would get in touch with someone and phone us back. Hadi the office director suggested we stay at Safari Garden for a couple of nights whilst the issue was sorted. This ruined our evening plans of birthday cake and DVD better to be safe than sorry though, after we finished dinner we packed a few clothes and walked the short distance. We checked into our room and whilst doing so received a call from VSO London. The children thought it was great to be back at the Safari Garden and were straight in the pool staying there until we put them to bed at 8 o’clock in the evening.

On Thursday after school I had to pop home for a few more clothes I entered then opened the side door for Abigail and Bradley. I noticed fresh sand had been laid in the compound near our door. Paul then arrived with Hadi and Ebrima they finally decided to cement over the area to make it safe. We spent the rest of the day at the Safari Garden pool. The weather was a bit overcast so I had a quick dip in the pool then changed and sat reading. On the evening Courtney decided to do a last minute get together for everyone which solved our issue of cooking. We arrived just before 7 o’clock and were introduced to Rachel’s boyfriend who is over from Australia visiting for a month. We ate a very nice variety of vegetarian dishes as Courtney is vegetarian.

I had managed to sleep much better than last night so we were all up and in the pool for a quick dip before 7 o’clock. We then went for breakfast the sky was overcast and looked like rain. I quickly decided to leave so as to get to work before the rain. Paul would take the children to school and then drop our clothes back at home. As I neared the war cemetery the heavens opened and by the time I had got to the school my skirt was soaking wet even with the use of an umbrella. The rain continued for about two hours and I felt rather chilly having gotten wet. When I picked up the children they said they didn’t get to school until after nine as they waited until it had eased off. On the evening we had arranged for Amy and Emily to baby-sit. Abigail and Bradley were really looking forward to this I decided to make them all a pizza and some popcorn for them to have with a DVD. Paul was very late home as they have been invidulating exams at the college also he had waited for Tom to arrive at Brikama and travelled back with him. Tom will be staying at John’s again until he leaves on Sunday. We finally arrived at the restaurant just before 8 o’clock we had decided to have an Indian meal at the Jewel of India at Senegambia. A couple of hours later we were ready to leave after a lovely lamb and fish curry. Being in the Senegambia area there are more bumsters and it didn’t take long before we received the usual come and look at my shop routine. As we got in our car a guy then came up to us saying he was security for the car park, it was obvious he was trying to get money from us for parking the car. Paul asked him where his ID was to which he replied back in the office, this guy had no uniform on just jeans and football shirt Paul laughed and we drove off. As we left the Senegambia area Paul decided to pullover at one of the tourist police checkpoints. After explaining to the police man he asked us to take him to the car park. The youth was pointed out and eventually after a big discussion with him and his friends he was placed in our car for us to take him and the police man to the office for further questioning. Paul put over his side of the story to the sergeant on the desk which the youth denied it even being him he had since put on a hat to hide his dreadlocks. After an hour and an officer turning up as well as the youth’s boss they were taken into a back room. Twenty minutes later the youth left followed shortly behind by Paul. Paul had dropped the charges and the youth had been reprimanded with the view that they were now watching him. I would say this is the first time I have felt a little unsafe here in The Gambia especially when the youth got in our car behind me even though the police man sat next to him. I had a few choice words to say to Paul about this.

Today we were up early as we have been invited to the graduation day at the college for the university and college students. Amy and Emily arrived as they are also going, would you believe it the car wouldn’t start so we had to make the trip by gelleh. Once at the college we went to the VSO staff office Anne arrived with Secco her husband. Anne is going to be in the procession which Paul and Amy should also be in but decided to just sit and watch. We took some books from the office to amuse the children and then found some seats quite close to the front. The Chinese, American and British high commissioners were seated close to us. Paul had the pleasure of the British commissioner coming over to chat to him. We then waited and waited the procession of students and teachers finally started and went on and on as they were all seated, well over an hour. Then the president arrived and we all had to stand to attention. The next two hours were taken up by speeches as the new university chairman was enrolled. Amy and Emily decided to make a break for home and thirty minutes later we did the same as Abigail and Bradley were getting bored. It was good to see but it was obvious it was going to go on for a long time, I later found out it was gone 7 o’clock before it finished.

British High Commisioner

Anne

Mr Touray (Diana Mariam)

President Ya Ya Jammeh

England v Algeria

We have had a quiet week this week, on Thursday we entertained Tom with a curry dinner. Tom will be leaving for the UK on Sunday 27th so he brought some of his luggage down to Marielle’s so as to lighten the load. He was staying at Marielle’s tonight however the offer of staying in John’s house was a much easier option. Tom will be travelling back up to Basse tomorrow as he is organising a big presentation which is to be held next Thursday before he leaves.

On Friday we met up with Amy and Emily at the Comin local bar to watch the England v Algeria game. Abigail enjoyed wearing her England hat and had decided to wear some red and blue colours. As far as the game goes what a load of rubbish what more can I say doesn’t look as if we will be winning any cup.