27.12.13 Friday. Brikama

There was a problem with the hot water last night, we didn't have any!  The fault lies in the tank at the house and so John and Steve stayed at home to wait for the plumber.  Ruth and I went to the storeroom with Malik so he could lift some heavy items for us.  We took 2 filing cabinets and some boxes of teachers resources down to Brikama college for the staff to use.  I had arranged to meet Lamin and Deja from Kumbija there as they are on the ECD course during the Christmas holidays and they needed their expenses, they originally thought the course was two weeks over the Christmas break, but it is three..  We arrived at the college, found the right department and delivered the goods whilst waiting for the trainees to come for their money.  All sorted, we returned home past the national bee keepers to buy honey for Steve.  Back home, the plumber had been and gone and everything is working again. As usual things haven’t always gone to plan, we had arranged with our friend and neighbour, Hammy, to borrow his white Mercedes for the wedding on Monday, complete with driver.  Padi, the driver came to see us this afternoon because the Neighbours' son had borrowed the car, got it stuck in sand and burnt the clutch out trying to get it out.  The driver came and asked us to help repair it before Hammy returns from England, so we can borrow it on Monday, or he will get the blame. The son cannot do anything wrong in the father’s eyes.  Fortunately the repair is only £30, and we do need it for Monday so we have sorted it and will speak to Hammy on behalf of his driver when he comes back from his holiday..  We spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool and then went out to Kololi for an Indian meal in the evening.

26.12.13 Thursday. Back to work

Back to work today.  Most of the shops and businesses here do not close for Christmas at all, yesterday was a normal working day for nearly everyone.  We went to Naata today to make sure the work is finished before the children return after the break.  We had been asked to provide notice boards in the classrooms to save the paint work from all the blu-tack, and so we stopped and bought plywood on the way to school.  Kebba had arranged for a generator to be hired so Steve could use his electric drill to mount the boards, and so after he had dropped us at the school he went off with Ibraima to fetch the generator.  Ruth, John and I spent the morning cleaning the classrooms ready for painting and removing all the posters from the walls and as much of the blu tack as we could.  There were a lot of bugs living behind the posters, they have been up for 3 years, it was time for a change.  As usual things didn’t go to plan as the generator only worked for 5 minutes before needing maintenance and had to be taken away to a mechanic. So instead of a morning job, we were there nearly all day.. Tired, dirty and thirsty we stopped at Timeless on the way home for lots of water and a meal.  The choice for the TV tonight was Gavin and Stacey and we watched all of series one before retiring, an excellent choice, it is still good to watch and made us all laugh..

25.12.13 Wednesday. Christmas Day

The boys are not working today, so we got up late and had a leisurely breakfast and a lazy day before changing for Christmas dinner.  We had booked for 8 of us to have a full dinner today, not a usual event for us, but we had arranged to meet Amy, her fiancé and parents at Sambas for a late dinner.  We drove up to the restaurant and met everyone, we had reserved a table in the courtyard and we all sat and enjoyed pre dinner drinks before the main event.  There were the usual crackers, jokes and party hats and a great festive atmosphere with English Christmas songs being played.  The dinner was excellent, we also met Don, Eileen and family who had recommended the restaurant to us.  A very enjoyable evening.

24.12.13 Tuesday. Christmas Eve.

It never feels like Christmas here, so it was a morning like any other today. Kebba was up early and we loaded the truck with the tiles, and then called at the builders merchants on the main road for paint. Steve went off in the truck with Kebba to Naata to take the deliveries.and then Steve returned home before lunch when the four of us went off to the beach for the afternoon.  We arrived at one of the beach bars who told us he had fish, so we had a drink and then ordered the fish for dinner.  It was nearly 4 before it arrived, so we ate the meal and then returned home to change before going to Cabana’s for cocktails and sunset.  The meal had been so late arriving that we weren’t hungry so we just had the drinks and then returned home to watch another film until late..

23.12.13 Monday Naata

We were all up in good time and had breakfast sat in the sunshine by the pool.  Then Ruth and John decided to come with us to Naata to see what the work is we are doing.  Kebba climbed on the truck and we set off down to the school.  Sanaba was already there building the storeroom wall, Ibraima and his helper were down digging in the soakaway.  We met Bas and discussed what needed doing paint wise, and then we measured the storeroom before leaving to go to Kanifing to buy tiles.  We also met Ousman on the way to hand over the wage slips for Kumbija as he is travelling home later today for the holidays. Steve has forgotten to pack a shirt and shoes for the wedding next week so we called in at Emilies boutique where we got a shirt and then on to Kololi for a cold drink in Chillis and a pizza before looking for shoes.  There are several new shops in the area selling European style clothes and shoes, so fortunately we were able to get him some with no problem. Mission accomplished, we returned home to change before going around to Neil’s bar for the evening.

22.12.13 Sunday. Arrivals and Departures

Up early today as it was bright and sunny, Mike and Faith arrived before lunch as they had had to check out of their room.  We sat round the pool chatting when Amy and her family arrived.  Her parents had managed to change the flight again and came in today instead of Friday, which gives them time to help with all the wedding arrangements.  We introduced everyone and had a beer and a catch up, before they left to check into their hotel; and we then took Mike and Faith off to the airport for their flight.  We let them check in and then we all went upstairs to get a meal before the next arrivals.  Ruth and John’s flight was on time and we didn’t have long to wait before we saw them coming through the scanning area with their luggage, there was a hold up whilst bags were inspected and we wondered if it was the charity baggage causing a problem, but it turned out to be John’s large amount of medicine which had caused some questions.  Eventually they got through and we made our way outside, we let them look around for their lift before we arrived at the new truck which was a surprise for them. Back home and time for a long chat before we retired for the night.

21.12.13 Saturday. Sunset on the Beach

Kebba organised the builders this morning and then came home to help with getting the house back in order for guests.  We seem to have eradicated the bugs from the cupboards, but just to be sure Kebba used silicone sealant to fill in all the joins between the cupboard sides to stop anything running between them.  I got the bedroom ready for Ruth and John and then we replaced all the items back into the cupboards.  Everything ready for the next guests.

Faith and Mike are leaving tomorrow at the end of their stay and had invited us out to dinner this evening.  We got changed and headed up to Hanks bar in the new truck, we hadn’t told them about the new vehicle and so they got a surprise when we turned up.  Even though we were only going to the bottom of their road they wanted us to take the truck so they could have a ride. For those of you who have been in the old truck, you will know that on a long journey we had to put towels on the back seat for extra padding.  The new truck still has all its' springs and so comfortable seats in store for this year's visitors. We went to Cabanas a new restaurant on the beach, which Mike and Faith had visited earlier in their stay and decided it would be perfect for their last night. We sat in the covered  balcony area to watch their last African sun go down, whilst sipping cocktails.  The meal started with tapas, followed by steak and ended with ice cream.  Perfect.  We will certainly go there again.  We stayed and chatted until late and then dropped them at Hanks before returning home.