18th April, 2015 Saturday. tasks and tourism

I had to go to two banks today to sort out the wages for our nursery schools, Steve was going to get some photocopying done on Kairaba avenue.  We have been trying for three weeks to get photocopying, but with all the power cuts we had not yet succeeded; now it is urgent as we are traveling tomorrow,  Steve dropped me in Kololi with Sheila and we went to the second bank to post the money for Mr Sowe who has no branch of Access bank nearer than 100 miles. Steve was still not back so we went to Yashminas for morning coffee. Steve arrived back having found somewhere with power for the photocopying we returned home for the afternoon to get everything ready for our trip,  Sheila has decided to stay behind with Pauline and Olivia and help with the clinic deliveries.  That means that we can all get in one minibus instead of two.  Steve has spent a lot of time this week checking the airbeds to make sure that we have no leaks in them, making sure the mosquito nets are still in one piece and repairing any problems.  We have also made sure we have enough sheets, and sleeping bags in case it gets cold.  Whilst at home Mr Touray arrived to see us, we sat in the garden with a cold drink for a while, before he left us. Sheila wanted us to go out to dinner, probably our last for just the three of us as it will be home time next week.  Somewhere new to us  was chosen nearby, a hotel called Leo's on the top of the cliff facing the sea. What a lovely place, certainly this will be on our list of places to visit for a special meal. The view is lovely, the gardens a delight and the menu different.  We even had a sweet, a genuine French lemon tart.  

Returning home we discovered power! Getting to be an unusual event, so we sat and watched a film with Kebba.

17th April, 2015. Friday, Barbecue day.

One thing about living here, we can plan a barbecue weeks in advance and we know it will be a sunny day.  Kebba was up before us and had hosed down all the garden furniture and was sweeping up all the fallen leaves etc in the garden. After breakfast Sheila and I set about cutting up meat and vegetables for the salad, setting the table, cooking the rice etc.  we worked until about 1pm and then having got changed we went into the garden with a cool glass of wine.  Meanwhile Steve was having his bad leg massaged again, three times a week whilst we are here.  At half past one, Steve went to the Senegambia hotel to collect Iain, Denise and Julie to join us and meet their fellow travellers for this weekend.  Christine, Robbie and Joanne arrived by taxi, Madi joined us and also Ousman.  Pauline and Olivia rang to say they would be late as they had taken Mariama to the hospital,  Mariama is the cook at Naata and is having a baby, when we visited last week she seemed to think that the baby was due in July, but she is enormous and when Pauline, who is a nurse, saw her today she was worried.  Everyone sat round chatting and getting to know each other, the newcomers asking lots of questions about the proposed trip on Sunday.  Pauline and Olivia eventually arrived and joined us in time for the food, Mariama is staying in the hospital as she has high blood pressure. Everyone was introduced and all got on well, a very pleasant afternoon was spent chatting and swimming in the sunshine until the sun was going down and the wind brought a chilly evening in, it was time to go and transport was arranged to share back to Kololi.  We quickly cleared up and sat down for the evening, however another power cut occurred and we decided on another early night!

16th April, 2015. Thursday. Another day in the storeroom!

Our big dog, Buki, seems to have a problem with a bite received from a much smaller dog, a visit to the vet was the first item today.  An injection and some tablets and he will be fine, apparently German Shepherds are prone to blood disorders and are slow to heal wounds.  Buki is half German Shepherd and half Gambian dog so hopefully it will not be a serious problem. As we came out of the vet we got a call from Pauline who was hoping to come to the storeroom but unfortunately their taxi driver had no fuel.  We stopped at the petrol station and were told there was no fuel until maybe tomorrow.  I rang Omar to go and find some fuel for his minibus, otherwise we are not going anywhere this weekend!  We picked up Pauline and Olivia and took them to the storeroom, via the butcher to pick up the fillet steak for tomorrow. Sheila came round to help and the three of them started to sort the boxes intended for the medical clinics here which Pauline and Sheila will deliver this week.  Apart from a short break for a cold drink and lunch at Neil's, we were all in the store all day.  The first delivery for Kassama is to be taken tonight after 6, so the truck was loaded and we went home to wait 2 hours until the appointed time.  Tiring work in the store, everyone was falling asleep!  Steve drove Pauline, Olivia and Sheila down to the clinic whilst I stayed behind at home. They delivered the boxes, inspected the changes since their last visit and then Steve ran Pauline and Olivia back to the hotel, before returning home with Sheila for the rest of the evening.

15th April, Wednesday. new arrivals.

There is still some work to do in the storeroom to clear a space for Chris and Pauline to sort the clinic boxes, Steve, Sheila and I went round to the store after breakfast and spent the whole morning sorting goods into boxes, clearing space and getting out the airbeds and mosquito nets required for the weekend.  We returned home hot and sticky for a shower and change before getting in the truck to meet the new arrivals.  Steve dropped me at the Senegambia hotel to meet Iain, Denise and Julie, whilst he and Sheila went round to Mansea to meet Pauline and organise when they wanted to sort the  clinic boxes in the store. I met the new people and we talked about the trip up country which is planned for the weekend coming.  I also invited them to a Barbecue on Friday so they could get to know their travelling companions.  Steve then rang to say he was ready to pick me up and we all went to the front of the hotel to meet Steve before I got in the truck to return home.  Neil's for dinner, and then home, where we managed to watch a whole film before the power went off!  We are having an average of three hours a day with power at the moment, many rumours and explanations for this, shortage of diesel to run the generators seems to be the most obvious answer as money is tight in the country with the poor tourist season.

14th April, 2015. Tuesday. More deliveries

Steve is undergoing treatment on his leg at home, a very strong Nigerian lady is coming three times a week to do a massage on the damaged leg.  Sheila and I went to the storeroom with Kebba and loaded the truck for both Nemasu nursery school and the senior secondary school.  We drove to the senior school first and found the pupils revising for exams this afternoon.  We delivered some science equipment and books and spoke to the head teacher about the journalist assignments which some of the pupils are doing.  The idea behind this competition is that the students choose their own subject to write about and send them by email to Newsquest in England. Somewhere along the line the explanation about the email part had been lost and the students had submitted paper written copies to the head teacher.  I explained that the work was to be emailed and he promised to allow students time on the computers in the next few days.   We said our goodbyes and drove on to the nursery school, hoping to see the new toddler class in full swing.  Unfortunately Fatou was off sick today and Yunis was taking both the newcomers and class 1.  We will have to wait for next week to see the new pupils being taught by our newest trainee. Sheila and I returned home and collected Steve before driving to Kanifing to buy paint for our house maintenance and new dvd films.  Shopping is never easy here, as soon as you step out of the car you are approached by boys trying to persuade you in the direction of one shop or another, trying to convince you of the merits of one shop over another. I settled on one shop and asked for the paint we require and was assured they had it, just a short wait whilst they actually send out to another shop to fetch it.  This system works for them, commission must be paid somewhere along the line! Purchases completed we took the coast road back towards home and stopped at Yashminas for an early dinner.

Back home to relax for the rest of the day.

13th April. 2015. Monday. Naata with visitors.

Sheila and I set off just after 9am to collect Chris, Robbie and Joanne from Mansea Beach hotel.  We had loaded the truck yesterday with extra boxes for the teachers and managed to unload them all at Naata with Ibraimas help into the office.  All the work has been completed in time for the new term, the blackboards have been repainted and new cupboards delivered for the teachers to use.  Mr Jallow was taking classes 2 and 3 whilst Momodou and Abdoulie sorted the bookcase corner out in class 2.  Any book which was spoilt was taken out and new ones added from the new delivery. Joanne and Robbie were shown around by Chris as it is their first visit.  The pupils sung for us, and we organised some of the new toys to be brought out for them to play with, these were taken into class 3, such excitement as new toys appeared and eager hands reached to get them. We watched and explained how to use some of toys for a while before taking our leave late morning.  Straight to the storeroom, Chris wanted her charity boxes for the animal charities she supports. Once more our truck was loaded up, then off  to Neil's bar. We rang Steve and he walked around to join us for a cold drink and an early lunch.  After an hour or two I ran the guests back to Mansea beach, unloaded their boxes whilst Steve and Sheila walked home where I joined them for the rest of the day.

12th April, 2015. Sunday. Lunch with friends by the beach.

12th April, 2015. Sunday.  Lunch by the beach

Sheila and I spent the morning in the storeroom sorting the remaining boxes and tidying up.  We then returned to the house, a shower and change and then

Steve, Sheila and I went to Cabanas a bar overlooking the sea for lunch with Ousman and Agie.  They were on Gambian time of course and we waited over an hour for them to arrive.  No problem as we were watching the sea, having a drink and tapas whilst we waited.  This bar is lovely, but like all the tourist places this year, very quiet.  Eventually they arrived and we had lunch together before heading home for the rest of the day. A relaxing afternoon in the garden, we actually had power tonight and were able to watch a film.