11.4.14 Friday. A full house BBQ

As there are several visitors here this week we had decided to have a BBQ this afternoon, so after breakfast Steve went off to buy some fresh items, leaving me to prepare the meat. Kebba was hard at work cleaning the outside furniture of all the dust which accumulates here.  Steve returned, dropped off the salad items and then went to take Ibraima to the clinic once again to have another check up after his operation.  I prepared all the salad items and then got changed to wait for the guests.  Steve returned and set up the BBQ just before Anne, Steve, Shaun, Stephanie, Gill and Shaun arrived in Omar's minibus along with Rachel and Tanya; a little earlier than the half two agreed time. Omar had brought the metal boxes last night, Anne and Steve were amused to see that the red boxes we had ordered had arrived as green ones with red crosses on all sides!  Still they will do the job, we are taking them to all our nursery schools except Naata as they have a box from a medical charity which tops it up every year for them.  The minibus was unloaded, lots of drinks appeared, Shaun had brought me a box of chocolates, a rare treat, everyone got settled with drinks and a seat in sun or shade just as Pat and Brian arrived with their friends Graham and Yvonne.  Kebba came back from his friends and was asked to show his photographs from England to everyone, before he disappeared to watch football.  Everyone got to know each other, Steve and Pat braved the pool, alcohol was consumed, and eventually the food was ready.  Wed all enjoyed the food and then Steve W suggested grilled bananas with honey as dessert which went down very well.  We all mingled and chatted until the sun started to go down and the temperature dropped, we moved inside for hot drinks and listened to Shauns' tales from school before everyone went home around 9pm.  A very pleasant and friendly afternoon.

10.4.14 Thursday Serekunda Market

We are keeping Omar busy this week, once again he called at the house at 9 this morning.  Steve was going to Kotu to collect Rachel and Tanya who wanted to visit a school, he took them to Nemasu nursery and Senior Secondary school, we loaded the truck with uniform material for the nursery and some sports equipment requested by the senior school.  Omar and I met everyone else at Yashmina and set off for Serrekunda for the market. The first stop was at the Batik factory where Shaun's famous negotiating came into play and several souvenirs were bought and also some tie dye trousers for 3 of us for our up country trip. Anne had brought some money from England to pay for something useful for the schools and so we asked Omar to find us some metal boxes to use for First Aid items for the nursery schools, we followed him through the streets past shops of all kinds eventually finding a welder man who made that kind of box. All the ones he had in the shop were at least double the size we wanted, but he agreed to make 4 for us this afternoon and to paint them red with a large white cross on the top. A deposit was left and arrangements made for Omar to collect them later.  We then went into the market where more of Shaun's negotiating came in very handy for buying jewellery for resale and souvenirs for everyone.  A busy morning and we returned to the minibus with all our purchases.  Next stop a pharmacy for Anne and I to buy the items to fill the boxes.  We had a list of requests from Loumen and tried to buy several of each requested item, we cleared the shop of iodine (they only had 5 small bottles) took most of their bandages and dressing pads and cleared out their small plasters.  (they only had 4 packets with 3 in each)  Everything totted up and receipted, they filled a cardboard box for us and we returned to the minibus before driving a short distance to another pharmacy and repeated the exercise for the items we were unable to get enough of the first time.  Omar then dropped me at Neils bar to meet Steve and to check that they were having a quiz this evening, we loaded the medical items into our truck and then waved the others off till later.  After lunch we returned home for the afternoon.  Neils bar this evening, Anne and Steve joined us for the quiz, it was quieter than normal as many of the ex-pat community have returned home already, so just 3 teams tonight.  This week we came first and when we announced that our winnings would go to the charity, one of the other teams donated their winnings as well, so another 1000 dalasis for the pot. 

9.4.14 Wednesday. Nemasu

Once again we had Omar collect us from the house this morning.  We headed to the storeroom and loaded up with some things for both the nursery and the Senior Secondary school at Nemasu.  We arrived at the meeting point at Yashmina where everyone was waiting for us, and then set off to visit the nursery.  We arrived and unloaded the boxes  and delivered them to Mr Sallah.  As this is the last week of term the pupils were all playing in the playground, skipping and playing ball.  They had end of term tests last week and so are having more sport this week.  We left Anne, Steve, Gill, Shaun, Stephanie and Shaun to organise some sport exercises and we went to the Senior Secondary School a short way away.  When we arrived the head teacher was in the playground waiting for an exam adjudicator and didn't realise it was us as we were in the minibus.  We had brought some reading books, graph paper and art materials for them.  He wanted to show us that they were using the computers which Steve had delivered on a previous visit and we went to the room which they have changed into a computer room to meet some of the pupils and the IT teacher.  They are having exams this afternoon and so were busy preparing for them.  They were very proud to show us that they are using everything donated, including a game of scrabble to improve their spelling.  After taking some photographs we left and returned to Nemasu nursery to collect the others.  We got Omar to drop us off at home as we had to go into Banjul this afternoon.  In February we had been into the immigration office in Banjul to obtain our residents permits where we found that they had run out of the plastic material to make them, we have been waiting ever since, but we are assured that they are now ready.  We arrived at the office, found the right section, only to be told to come back next week!  Determined not to waste the trip into the capital we went to the material store and bought the uniform material for all 5 nursery schools for their September intake of students.  Back home we relaxed for a sort time before going to Kololi where we had arranged to meet them all again to enjoy a curry at Jewel of India.

8.4.14 Tuesday. A new project for next year

Omar arrived with the minibus at 9 this morning and we went to the storeroom to collect some more of the boxes that Gill and Shaun had sent, this time for the prospective site for the new library.  We arrived at Yashmina where we had arranged to meet everyone and were met by Shaun and Steve, we had to go to the hotel for the others as yet more things needed to be put in the minibus.  All loaded up we squeezed in between all the boxes with Steve W stood between boxes in the back. We drove the few miles to Naata nursery to visit with Mr Jallow and look around the school.  There have been a few changes since their last visit as we have added new toilets and a storeroom and made some improvements to the kitchen.  The pupils were all hard at work in the classrooms and we watched for a while as Steve was having a meeting with Mr Jallow.  We unloaded some gifts and stayed until the end of breaktime, then went the short distance to Kunkajang Basic Cycle School just along the road where most of the pupils from Naata graduate to.  This is a large school, 1200 pupils in the Upper section alone and has very few facilities, including no library.  We introduced Gill and Shaun to the senior teachers and the deputy head and let them explain what they would like to donate next year.  The staff were delighted and took them on a tour round the school to enable them to take photographs; including one of the football team newly kitted out in Newcastle United strip this morning. We stayed for about an hour and then as it was lunchtime we all got back in the minibus, plenty of space this time without the boxes, and went to Poco Loco for a relaxing lunch.  After lunch they all decided to walk back to their hotels on the beach, and so we walked up to the main road and caught a taxi back home for the rest of the day.  No power at all this afternoon and evening, and so we had to have the generator on once again to watch the tv.

7.4.14. Monday Fantastic news from Walbottle

Anne and Steve had decided on a relaxing day today and so we were at home getting ready to travel up country tomorrow when Gill contacted me.  We had been saving some of their boxes for them in the storeroom and they wanted them at the hotel so 'Santa' Shaun could give some things away.  We arranged to meet them at Yashmina for lunch and quickly went to the storeroom to load up the truck.  We arrived at the restaurant, greeted our friends and then sat down for lunch, Anne and Steve joined us so the 6 of us caught up on all our news.  Shaun junior and Stephanie had decided to stay round the pool at the hotel.
Fantastic news from Walbottle Campus, the school where Gill and Shaun work in Newcastle, Mr Sampson the head teacher has pledged to raise money again this year and would like to fund a second library here in the Gambia!   So change of plan for tomorrow, we will visit a local school who we know need a library.
We all lunched together and then we drove down to their hotel and unloaded all the boxes into one of their rooms.  Steve had to go to take Ibraima to the clinic for his stitches out this afternoon, so we made arrangements for tomorrow and then left them for the rest of the day.
Steve dropped me at home to continue sorting the house out and went off to collect Ibraima for the clinic. He returned home a couple of hours later and explained that the nurses were delighted to see Ibraima fit and well as it was a close run thing with the operation, his intestines had started to be strangulated, if we had left it any longer he may have died.  He was a lucky man.
We spent the rest of the evening at home.

6.4.14 Sunday. New Arrivals

Only 3 weeks to go until we return to the UK, so lots to do in the house to get ready for the rainy season.  The humidity causes many things to go mouldy if they are not packed away in plastic bags, so today I started the job of putting away all curtains from the bedrooms not being used again before we leave.  All the spare towels, sheets and blankets also need packing in plastic and putting away in our big bedding chest out of the harmful atmosphere.  Steve was busy doing maintenance on some of the taps which have come loose over the last months and making sure that his vegetable plots in the garden were weeded and cleared of the last produce.  Our Avocado tree has blossom on this year for the first time, so hopefully we will get fruit next year.  Anne and Steve were due to arrive at 2.30 and so we got changed and went down to the airport to meet them, arriving just after the plane landed.  The luggage stowed in the back of the truck we drove them to their hotel and waited on the terrace whilst they checked in and had a quick change in their room.  We enjoyed a couple of drinks whilst we caught up on the news from home and collected our post which they had kindly brought out.  We arranged to meet for dinner and returned home for a short rest and change before collecting them at their hotel.  We walked next door to their hotel to try and contact Gill and Shaun who also arrived today, but had no luck, we must have missed them.  We decided to take Anne and Steve to Cabanas,  it was already dark when we arrived, so no seaview tonight, but we still enjoyed a drink and a meal before returning home.

5.4.14 Saturday. Garage and Store.

Steve took the truck to Musa today for a full service, I went back to the storeroom yet again to tidy the last few things.  I was busy sweeping up when Madi Jatta arrived, he had seen the door open when passing and so decided to call and see us.  Steve was still at the garage, so Madi and I chatted and he took some books for his children.  Kebba came and helped me move some of the heavy tables and we made a stack for Sanaba for us to take towards the end of the month.  I made up a small bag of things for our neghbours’ children and returned home for the rest of the day.  Steve arrived home with prawns for dinner, so he cooked tonight.  Tonight no power cut! So we were able to watch both the news and a film.  Gambia has closed its’ borders to people from Guinea, as has Senegal, so to put your minds at rest the chance of the virus reaching here are very slim, and yes we would come back early!