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.