22nd February, 2015. Sunday Day off

We decide to have a day off today and so the first thing we do is head to the tourist area to find a café for breakfast and Wifi.  Tourism is down by at least 65% this year, everywhere is quiet and we are the first customers of the day at 10.30am  in Wild Monkey in Kololi.  We order breakfast and coffee and sit and relax.  Wifi is available and I try out my new ipad and watch the world go by.  Steve is having problems wearing sandals and so we go to one of the tourist shops and buy new shoes with some ankle support for him.  The rest of the day we are at home, enjoying the weather and the garden.  In the evening we set up the new Dvd player and watch a film with Kebba.

21st February, 2015. Saturday. Shopping for essentials

Steve’s leg is still healing and so this year we will not be travelling around as much, we are going to take things a little easier.  So today we leave the house and go to do some essential shopping for the house.  First stop, we need food and water and so we go to Kairaba Plaza to stock up.  Then onto our Dvd shop to buy films to watch.  We  stop at the garage to pay Musa for the extra work he has done on the truck in our absence, a metal grill between the cab and the load bed to stop anything coming through the window.  On to the electrical shop to replace the Dvd player which has of course spoiled in the rainy season, the dust has iron in it which spoils all electrical appliances.  We also needed to buy chairs for the garden, again these plastic chairs spoil in the sunshine and need replacing every year or so, these are also bought at the electrical shop.  Back home where we spend the rest of the day relaxing.

20th February, 2015 Friday. Storeroom

Up early with the sunshine; breakfast with Kebba and Sanaba.  We drive the short distance to the storeroom so we can load the truck.  The container arrived in December and I had a short visit where I arranged the unloading and then everything was stored away until our return.  The store is full to the doors with chairs down each aisle making it difficult to move around.  We have been asked to send books to Region 6, the far end of the country where they rarely get supplies.  We are going to be here for only 10 weeks and will not have the time to deliver everything ourselves and this is a good option for us.  The Government will provide a large truck and so we set about sorting through the 800+ boxes kindly donated by our supporters to find suitable boxes to send.  Many boxes are marked with a particular destination school from a twin in the UK and they are put to one side, along with any which we have been asked to keep until the sponsor is able to visit themselves.  Tonbridge School in Kent have sent several boxes for Nemasu Senior Secondary School and we load these into the truck when we find them, ready for an early delivery next week.  Steve is sent to get water and biscuits for Sanaba, Kebba and I as this is going to be a long job!

We spend several hours sorting and arranging before going home to unload the Nemasu boxes into our hallway.

Steve and I have a quick wash and then drive to Timeless restaurant at the turntable to meet Channeh, the previous headteacher at Jamwelly who is down in this area on a Head Teachers Management course.  We all have an early tea and a long chat, Channeh would like us to take her when we travel to Jamwelly on a Thursday so she can collect items from her old home.   Home for a relaxing evening.

19th February, 2015 Thursday. Schools Closed

We woke early with the sunshine, a treat after the grey days in the UK.  The Schools are closed today as they continue to celebrate Independence. We had coffee and breakfast and then set about looking at the damage caused by the rainy season this year.  Parts of the outside of the house need painting, a job for Bas, and the ceiling at the top of the stairs needs replacing, we had a major leak during the storms in the summer, water poured down the stairs like a waterfall.  Fortunately Amy, Francis and James were staying and managed to mop everywhere and clean up the mess with Kebba.  Kebba and John made a new flat roof, so hopefully that will ot happen again.  The biggest problem is in the garden, where the white fly have proved that they can resist any kind of chemical or organic treatment and our 3 orange trees have died.  Kebba has already removed one and the other two are going soon.  We decide to have a big sort out of clothes from our wardrobes as many have faded and spoilt over the years and we have brought some new ones this year.  This takes all morning and then we go to Yashminas for lunch and to relax for an hour or two.  We call at Neil’s bar on the way back for coffee and to use the Wifi.  Lots of familiar faces and we find out where the local quiz is now held before returning home, where we are met with another familiar face, Sanaba, here to greet us, enquire after and inspect Steve’s foot and also to see if there is any work going.  We arrange for him to come and help in the storeroom tomorrow and then spend the rest of the evening at home.

18th February, 2015 Wednesday. On our way at last

Up at 3am and ready for our taxi at 3.45, arrival at the airport, long queues for the Gambia flight.  All checked in, the security procedures and then breakfast and a welcome cup of coffee.  Then boarding and eventually we take off half an hour late at 7.35am.  The flight is uneventful and then we are there, circling over the familiar landscape, not the usual green of November, but already dry and turning yellow from the heat.  We land and notice the red carpet laid out on the runway, sadly not for us!  Today is Independence day. The 50^th Anniversary of The Gambia’s Independence from Britain and there are a number of foreign dignitaries and Presidents who have arrived to walk down that red carpet.

The queue to get into the terminal is longer than usual and we realise why when we enter, every person is sprayed with hand gel and then inspected for temperature and eye condition variations for signs of Ebola.  Thankfully the Gambia is Ebola free and they want it to stay that way.

We collect our luggage and then make our way through the x ray machine area where I am taken into a side room because they believe I have food in my case, they are happy when the ‘food’ turns out to be treats for our dogs and let me go.  Musa our mechanic is waiting for us with a large grin on his face.  Welcome, welcome, How is Steve?  This is a refrain we hear many many times over the next few weeks.  We climb into our truck and Musa drives us home where Kebba is waiting, a huge grin and a big hug awaits.  How is Steve, how is the leg,  we missed you!

It is a big welcome home and we are glad to be back.    Tired after our journey, we have a quiet afternoon, unpacking and then went the familiar walk round the corner to Neil’s bar for an early supper and bed.  Fireworks lit up the sky and large bangs continued for a while as the nation celebrated their Independence.

17th February, 2015 Tuesday. Journey begins

At last the Doctor has given us the go-ahead to fly and so we are on our way back to Gambia.  All packed and ready to go, Ruth and John arrive to take us to Manchester to stay the night before the early morning flight.  The weather has been unpredictable and so we leave at 2pm to avoid any chance of them getting stuck in bad conditions over the Pennines.  A smooth journey and arrival at the Premier Inn, at Manchester, near to the airport: a grateful farewell.  Dinner, then an early night.

9.11.2014  A Delay
Hello readers, bad news I am afraid.  Steve has broken his foot and delayed our return to Gambia.  We should have been travelling this week, but we are on hold indefinitely until he is fully recovered from the break.  In the meantime please Like us on Facebook to get all the latest news. Gambian Schools Trust