January 29th 2009 – Jambiani’s best kept secret

There are only 2 more days at the school and inevitably the mood has changed in the camp from "what are we going to do" to" how have we done". This has not been a surprise to me but it has resulted in less time being spent on preparation and more on what can go over in the time remaining. Ines and I are particularly lucky in that we have good stock of prepared work that in an earlier week would have been discarded.

The feeling though does not last when you reach school as you are immediately back in full throttle the moment you get into the classroom, with the kids all (I am pleased to say) pleased to see us and demanding our attention from the outset. It was interesting today because for the first time I think I can see that we have made some good progress especially with the children having a much better understanding of the simple tasks that we have been working on. I actually felt very proud. My most pleasing moment is when I am watching little Abdullah, who when we arrived was very withdrawn and behind most of his peers, working well in the mainstream of the class and having the confidence to work on his own and achieving some of the goals set. I really am very fond of him and proud of how he has come on.

The afternoon was also our last manual labour session which to be fair only involved watering the plants, partly due to me refusing to do any other work that I felt was just a time filler, and we managed to complete this in minutes. I think Abdullah is particularly pleased with what we have achieved because he will see the garden grow and achieve his goal of creating the environment that was his dream from the outset. I only hope he sends me photos when the garden is more mature and I will be interested to see if this is just another piece of African workmanship or hopefully something that will last. He better water the bloody plants or else.

I thought I should take a picture of a crab burrow as there are literally thousands scattered all over the beach. I have spent quite some time trying to dig some of these up to see a crab in its natural shelter but alas to no avail as they are really deep and the sand collapses when you get about 3 or 4 inches down. It's amazing the silly things you do over here.

I also discovered one of Jambiani's hidden secrets today, and not before time; The Institute. This a higher education facility (free to all) set up by some Canadians who sold up everything at home to achieve their dream. Pretty impressive would be an understatement and they both have my utmost respect. The fact that they have added a small restaurant (think neighbours) that has the most wonderful cakes, smoothies and juices makes this place a little paradise. I just wish that Lyns and Megs had told me more about this before. Just to think that I thought they had been working at the chalk face all this time beggars' belief.

The evening involved another good dinner from Super and a visit to the Sauinn for doing the blog and surfing. Tomorrow we have no classes but will be having a mini sports day which should be fun and give us a chance to say goodbye to the kids. I think some of the girls are going to be a bit upset but we shall just have to wait and see.

January 28th 2008 – Amy’s birthday

I was very keen to wish Amy a happy birthday before she went to school, but with the time difference I was forced to wait till just before school. This entailed a mobile call whilst riding to school which was all a bit surreal but I managed to get through and was pleased to hear that she was as excited about her birthday as I was. My excitement probably due to the fact that I was a long long way from home.

School went well and the fact that we had devised a system of separating the class into abilities (albeit very crudely) seemed to be having a beneficial effect on how effectively we could help the kids. I wish we had done this a while ago. We also had the obligatory little ones playing around the classroom but this is just the norm and does not seem to affect us now or should I say put us off our stride. There is also a sense that our time here is coming to a close and that curtails us from starting any new topics. Which I suppose is just as well with our group who could do with all the revision they can get.

The afternoon was an odd one as there was a trip planned to the local caves, something that to be honest did not interest me, so the others went whilst I retreated to the Sauinn to catch up on emails and my new book. I subsequently discovered that Lyns had also pulled out, but I am sure it had nothing to do with the 1and ½ hour cycle ride. Anyway those that did go found it interesting and fun as Abdullah is great company and always seems to relate to some story of his past on this occasions when he lived close to the caves in the bush for some time whilst as a child.

In the early afternoon I managed to catch "Captain Cheeky" climbing a tree to collect some coconuts which again is something you don't see every day in Twickenham.

The evening was again a relatively quiet affair, with days being so hot here that by about 8.00pm every one is ready for bed (I exclude myself from this though). Therefore as usual I stayed up after the others had gone to bed but this was fine because I wanted to have a proper chat with Amy to find out how her day had gone, which I can report was very successful. As I couldn't call till 8pm in England it was already very late for me but it was worth it. Sally filled me in on all the other news and I had my usual very brief chat with Ellie (she is always getting in or out of the shower) which was nice.

Because I was using Skype (on line) to speak to everyone I made the fatal error of checking the Chelsea score and discovering I could get live commentary of the midweek game. As a consequence I didn't go to bed until very late here but I was pleased with knowledge that Chelsea had won and I had listened to the game. Even better though was that Liverpool and Arsenal had drawn.

January 27th 2009 – not quite the premier league

All was still not well in the health department with my stomach cramps not really having subsided as I had hoped they would, but not bad enough for me to stop doing any of the planned activities of the day though. To be on the safe side I took a couple of Imodium tablets as I was not going to get caught short at school, apart from the embarrassment, the thought of the school toilets was enough to send shivers down even the hardiest of spines. I am also still struggling with the way all the girls openly talk about these issues and having to answer continued questions as to the state of my stomach and bowels. I just don't think the girls understand that guys don't have these conversations, ever, but there is really not much I can do about it because even if I answer that everything is OK they continue to debate the issues amongst themselves.

School went well though even if we had to do some radical separation, removing at least 6 pupils into a separate group in order to get the rest to move forward. It seemed to work quite well and I think the newly founded group in the "special needs corner" also benefitted from the individual teaching.

In the afternoon we returned to school to varnish some of the doors, which has been a project close to Ines's heart. I have to admit that I was still not happy with the quality of work and was not keen to have my name associated with it, but as Abdullah pointed out, he thought that the work would be well received and would be considered "quality African workmanship". I am still not convinced.

The highlight of the day though was the Zanzibarian premier league clash between Jambiani and Mfumbwi (Sungu sungu), their major local rivals. Spirits for the home side were high after the record 400,000 shillings transfer signing from one of Stone Town's bigger clubs proved his worth as he took the first goal. It was a tough fought encounter being played on a pitch that was hardly suited to the playing style of Mfumbwi (typical Bolton tactics). The game finished with a 3-1 victory to the home side sending the Jambiani fans into unbridled delight and the players to receive a hefty bonus (not declared). It was, I expect, a typical African game of hard tackles and poor organisation with a classic example of African ill discipline with one of the jambiani players being red carded for a haymaker on the Mfumbwi centre forward. All in all great fun, even if Abdullah was overly concerned that we were watching most of the match in the rain, which I explained on numerous occasions was in fact of no great hardship for me. I will take home the memories of a good game, played with high spirits, intriguing footwear, no shin pads and the collection of the ball from the African bush on numerous occasions reminiscent of Sunday morning football in Chiswick.

It was also great to be getting back to normal in the health department, probably as a result of the adrenalin from watching the game. I am sure I will sleep well tonight.

January 26th 2009- rain rain go away

I awoke this morning to find that it was still raining. Not the normal type of rain that we are used to at home (barring a couple of days last summer) but a full on tropical down pour. This was in fact quite fun and made quite a dramatic sight. The consequence of the rain was that there would be no school today as the children do not attend school if it is raining. I bet Amy and Ellie and the Vineyard kids would love to have that rule in England, but alas no.

The morning became a bit of a bore with the group all wondering what we could do. It was finally agreed that cards at a nearby hotel was in order and Uno was the chosen game. There were a few variations on the game as one would expect and it took up a couple of hours. I did make a fatal error though in choosing a snack, fish fingers, but not as you know them, and was left to rue this decision for the rest of the day and night.

Despite feeing unwell I was not going to miss the completion of the garden project and although it doesn't look much in the photos a lot of hard work has gone into this and one that will hopefully benefit the kids for years to come, especially the planting of the French Panier tree (I am sure this name does not seem right) which will hopefully grow to 6 meters in height and provide shade for the class rooms. Nowhere is this needed more than class 2 or should I say the oven.

The evening was a quiet affair for me as I went to bed early feeling unwell. In fact I went to sleep at about 8.30 which is really unusual for me. Hopefully tomorrow I will have recovered.

January 25th 2009 - A world class holiday hotspot

The day started early with a simple breakfast. The girls all wanted to go for walk up to the next village which I politely declined and headed for the nearest decent hotel for coffee and to catch up on emails etc. The rest of the morning was spent swimming and relaxing on the beach before we headed off for a lunch. Because Nungwi is a very small place we managed in the short time we have been here to have gathered a collection of new found friends, which meant that my early morning coffee involved the doctors and another discussion on the merits of Liverpool's versus Chelsea's forward and midfield line ups and having to watch them catch up on their own emails, which as we all know is never ever just 2 minutes. What the heck though they were nice guys.

Later we went to the beach and I know Megan said she liked swimming but the amount of time she spent in the water you would have thought she was one of the characters from H2O. (just ask Amy and Ellie) whilst the others ad I just chilled which is odd thing to be to achieve in 35 degrees.

The afternoon was very much the same but in reverse, with the girls wanting to relax and I wanting to explore. I therefore headed off along the coast to take in all the hotels that cannot be seen from the town. OK after this recce I will have to concede that this truly is a quality holiday destination with a collection of upmarket hotels that are worthy of a visit from any of the families of Lebanon Park and if I was based here questions could be asked. So for sake of clarity it is only for 2days 1 night and I think I can get away with that. Staying here though does beg some questions such as is Jambiani headed the same way and I am comfortable with 1^st world modern facilities being situated on all the best beach front land right next to 3^rd world village living where the average wage is less than a dollar a day. Something tells me that I am not, even if it is attracting inward investment.

The journey home late afternoon took in the usual sights of overloaded vehicles and included taking in Stone Town for cash replenishment and the contrast with Nungwi of heavy traffic, windless and humid conditions was rather hard to take. Jambiani had had some rain which meant all my possessions left outside were wet but never mind they will dry. And after dinner Ines and I set about going through the Friday tests and to be fair some of the kids did better than we thought and some obviously did not. I think both of us had dampened down our expectations so we were not too down hearted.

The weather though was not good and we had more rain throughout the evening which to be honest after the hot weekend I quite enjoyed although the humidity was very high.

January 24th 2009 – Nungwi’s delight

It's Saturday so 2 days off. The group have decided to go to the North of island where the best beaches are. I know my neighbour Tim will be jealous of this because he was the one telling me how beautiful the island was and especially the North; if I recall he referred to it as the Cote d'azur of Africa.

The journey took 2 hours by air conditioned bus, a real luxury to our normal mode of transport and as we passed through the island it was interesting to see how similar so many of these villages are; a collection of simple dwellings and a few market stalls where men sit in shady spots appearing to do not much. The North is truly beautiful with white sandy beaches and turquoise blue water, bounty ad stuff. Unlike jambiani the tide is much smaller here and the sea becomes deeper right off the beach making it far more swimmer friendly. The beaches are also clear of all the seaweed and rubbish that blights much of Jambiani. It is also apparent that this is a much more developed holiday destination with better hotels, restaurants and bars, still limited as against Europe's resorts but in a different league to where we had come from.

As it transpired Timor's recommended hotel proved to be at the lower and to put it mildly shabby end of the accommodation scale. Although it was well located it was a real disappointment to see the quality of the rooms and shower facilities. Also and not for the first time we had no power or electricity which to put it mildly was a real bummer and all due to planned works apparently. Funny how all the other hotels did not have a problem or the fact we were not warned in advance of these works..

Nungwi was also to host a presidential rally during the course of the day and the town was all gathered around the school. With a large tent and microphones all set up and the dignitaries all seated in their shaded seats I was invited to join them, slightly embarrassing as I had my beach wear on. However I sat down and waited patiently for the imminent arrival of his Excellency. I soon came to realise that soon in Africa could be several hours and decided to leave for the beach. I trust though that when he did arrive the words of comfort he gave to his people was well received.

I did do quite a lot f swimming here and the water was fantastic, slightly colder than in Jambiani, a consequence of no reef, and I managed to lay out on the beach. It was very hot though and whether it is just age or just my English temperament I needed to have shade where the girls all wanted sun. It reminded me of my youth and the hours I used to sit out in the midday sun in Spain but alas dear friends no more.

The evening was great a laugh with drinks on the beach at the coolest bar where the all the seats and tables are made out of canoes and the town seems to congregate there for music laughter and high spirits. The Rasta barmen were also particularly friendly. I met some English doctors from St Marys in Paddington who had just finished a 6 month test programme in Niger and it put our own activities into perspective although I suppose it is their job.

All in all though a good day and night.

January 23rd 2009 – the big test

Now as I have explained before things never quite work here as they should. You may recall that on my first I day had one final purchase to make, a pair of sandals, which I successfully made in Stone Town. Well they took a while to break in and just when they were becoming comfortable disaster. African quality.

Never mind Abdullah is seeing if he can get them repaired.

Today was the day that we got to see what progress the children have been making when they had to do their English assessment. When we arrived at school the children seemed to be on better behaviour than the last 2 days but that might have been due to the unusually high number of absentees (5). I am not sure if I can put this all down to the test but in one respect it would help us as the class was smaller and more manageable. I think Amy, Ellie, Marcie and Jess should all take note of the conditions that these tests are taken in and not complain the next time they have to do one at Waldegrave. We will have to wait and see how they have got on although I have a pretty good idea on most of the children.

I was able to capture a picture of one of the many friends who live in our well, claws the crab, who as you may recall has been short of water over the course of our stay. However, he seems to be very comfortable now and our only worry is that he may end up in one of bathrooms which I think is of particular worry to Lyns.

Friday afternoon is when we get to play with the kids on the beach. Football, sand castles or just simple catch are the usual activities except this week Meg came up with a new game. Catching balloons filled with water. It was a stupendous idea and one that all the kids and girls really enjoyed. Especially when one exploded on me and that made everyone laugh.

I was also confronted my one of life's more unusual sights late in the afternoon, a small group of cows walking on the beach, which is just another one of those out of the ordinary sights that you come across here.

Being Friday night it was another BBQ in the hostel grounds where Super was due to make the girls hamburgers and me some fish, a result of me being uncomfortable with the meat as this is also from the market bought on our cultural experience day. Fortunately for the girls Super recognised the smell of decay and decided to abandon the burgers for Calamari. A lucky escape. We discussed many topics over dinner including Stone Henge and the druids. Meg explained that she had as a child danced around the May Pole and thought this had been great fun. She was though horrified to find out that this in fact represented dancing round a phallic symbol. She has since tried to put this out of her mind

Finally I feel I need to explain my new friend, Samsung, who has made life much more comfortable here as I have been able to keep up with events from home, both by email and the web, and most importantly being able to Skype with Sally and the girls. Thank you Sam.

January 22nd 2009 – dicing with food poisoning

The start of today was not untypical of what we go through here, namely Ines's bike had broken before we had even set off for school, so a quick running repair and then later to the bike shop for her. Just a small hold up for the rest of us.

Whilst we were hoping that yesterday's misbehaviour at school was a one off we were to be sorely disappointed. The class were in a particularly mischievous mood, particularly Farsi (who also happens to be the teacher's son) and after about 10 minutes of him pretending to be asleep and interfering with the other children was sent to the lower class. This however was not to be the end of it and the class whipped themselves into a frenzy. Our repeated attempts of sit down and be quiet in Swahili proved no good at all. With no help coming Ines and I just sat there in silence and let the kids carry on. Remarkably, as we did this the mood changed and the children began to feel uncomfortable. Sooner rather than later calm was restored and Ines and I looked on in amazement. I'm sure Sally has used this trick at school, but it was a first for us.

We then set about trying to recap the work we had done and put the letters of the alphabet on the board, but in a random order, to see who had grasped what we had learned. The results were not encouraging scoring a mighty 3 out of 20. We were disappointed but were determined to forge on. It has also put a lot more pressure on us in achieving our set goal for the first week with the test set for Friday. To be honest I am not sure the results will make good reading but we will just have to wait and see.

The early part of the afternoon was a quiet affair, partly as result of us working extra time yesterday on our manual labour and Megs being in the institute until 4. I went for a long walk along the beach and although it is very beautiful there is a lot of rubbish just left around and buried in the sand. I wish these people would look after their environment better because it really is the key to their future prosperity. It is however just not in their nature.

Abdullah arrived during the afternoon and he and I continued our political and economic conversations that has become quite a regular feature of my time here. I am sure some of you are shaking your heads at the prospect of poor Abdullah fighting his corner against a Phoenix and you are probably right to do so. But as Richard A would say "once as Phoenix always a Phoenix".

When Megs returned from the Institute we went for a sail in a dhow to the reef; something I have wanted to do since I got here. This was great fun and we even managed some snorkelling. Again I was to be disappointed at how the reef has been damaged by the fishing and the anchoring of boats, but I am not going to get too worried about this as the damage has already been done.

Dinner was pasta bolognaise which looked great. That was until I found out that the meat was from the market, bought at the same time as the tuna. I declined whilst the girls all ploughed in but not eating too much of the meat. They appear to have escaped unscathed but I was not taking any chances especially having seen what it was like after unpacking the food from the car.

I managed to have a good chat with Sally, Amy and Ellie before bed and caught up on all the news back home. Having Skype is not perfect but it is really nice being able to talk and see the family. I am still chuffed with myself for getting all this technology to work though.

January 21st 2009 – The tuna bites back

Today was in theory supposed to be a normal and uneventful day with our activities being in the classroom and manual labour but like everything else here nothing quite goes to plan.

The morning entailed the simple journey to school and one that I was now use to, but as the wind had dropped it felt hotter than ever. Even though I thought I had acclimatised to the hot and humid conditions I realised today that I was still an Englishman abroad and would have to accept it, sweat and all. The children were in a lively mood but we were pretty well prepared. The first two pictures shows how it should be done with Abdullah reading a simple storey (obviously in Swahili) and the children all encapsulated by the tale. The second shows the children ready for their English lessons to begin all sitting quietly. From then on it was all downhill. The kids started chatting and moving around as if we were not there. Ines and I tried to get them to behave but to no avail. Megs and Lyns in the next classroom heard me raise my voice on several occasions, the sort of tone that Amy and Ellie are used to, and wondered what was going on. It was clear we were losing the battle. In order to restore advantage I targeted the ringleaders of the uprising and had them removed from the class. Abdullah explained the humiliation that is suffered when a child is returned to a lower class. It is a very effective weapon in our armoury in taking back control of the classroom. To compound matters Farsi and Abdul both came back from break in tears and we could not determine the cause of the problem but in time honoured tradition I took them outside individually gave them hug and then reintroduced them to the class. It seemed to work.

Lunch was to be an extravaganza of the Tuna we had bought the day before. Some of us had some doubts, with good reason as it turned out, as the fish had been in the car for about 5 hours the previous day in about 40 degrees. Super prepared fried strip fillets (see his prep picture above) and the first taste gave cause for concern, but we all ate heartily until plates were cleared. A few minutes later the girls all came out in red flushes and Lyns felt particularly unwell. It was quite a sight and of some concern. For some reason I was unaffected by the food, cast iron constitution I suppose, but was pleased to see that after an hour that the girls flushes seemed to fade away. I think we can all count ourselves lucky that that was the only symptom of what must have been some bacteria on the tuna. My joke "a la airplane" of who ate the fish did not seem to go down to well at the time though.

The afternoon was to be a particularly heavy shift as there was the promise of a trip to the coral reef the next day if we completed the work. Ines joined us although she was still feeling a little jaded from lunch and we set about finishing the garden preparation and then the planting. All went well until the taps providing the water ran dry, again not an uncommon problem out here, and we thought we were to be denied finishing the work. Luckily or not so luckily as it turned out there was another tap that was working in the school's toilet. So our problem was resolved. The down side was that I had to take numerous journeys in and out of the building and the stench was absolutely disgusting even with a tee-shirt over your face.

The evening was a quiet affair but we did have to say goodbye to Timor and Megan who are off to the Selou for 5 days, birthday and anniversary trip, and to a certain extent it up to us to keep the show running while they are away. We also managed to get the iPod to work in a small cassette player and therefore had the benefit of some music throughout dinner and after. A nice treat.

January 20th 2009 – Cultural challenge

Today has been interesting for several reasons. The first being that we had no school today as we were sent out on a series of challenges to see how we would be able to assimilate ourselves in to local society and the second being that in order to do this we were asked to do this as part of a game; split into teams and complete tasks etc. I think you get the picture but not the sort of thing I expected to do here and certainly not a thing I would have anticipated past my 48^th birthday. But as with everything else on this trip I gave it my best shot. It is apparently a good way of learning how to deal with unexpected situations (like the ones we face in the classroom everyday) and practice our Swahili, even though I hardly know any.

To summarise we were dropped into the main market square outside Stone Town, were given a shopping list and left to get on with it. After acquiring the necessary goods we had to take a dala dala into the centre of town, I know what you thinking but it was ok this time, buy fish and meat from the main market and meet up at a named restaurant but with no address. I was partnered with Lnys and to be fair we did quite well, especially in the fish market where we purchased fresh tuna that we followed from initial auction to retail sale, without a trace of a fly getting anywhere near to the fish. A miracle if you know the conditions there.

I am not sure whether the exercise will help us in school but it was quite fun even if in a slightly school boyish kind of way. Sorry forgot to mention that we had to carry and egg with us, something about nurturing!

As this took up most of the day we didn't do much in the afternoon apart from get ready for our meal out at a local house. In our case at Supa's (the chef's) house, where we had a traditional meal eaten in the traditional manner; on the floor and with our hands. The hospitality and the food were great but I am not sure I can cope eating off the floor to often. Sorry for the Moroccan evenings in Twickenham there will be chairs next time.

Finally we all headed for the Sauinn Hotel to watch the inauguration of Barak, which was great until the poetry reading started, which I for one felt they were losing the plot a bit.

All in all though another good day, but it will be good to get back to the classroom and manual labour.

January 19th 2009 – my birthday

It was really nice today because I had quite a few messages wishing me a happy birthday even though sometimes I like to forget that another year has passed.

School in the morning was good although implementing the new work schedule was more difficult than we thought. Ines was great and managed to take on the plan with much enthusiasm even when most of the children really struggled to understand what we were trying to achieve. I on the other hand was more concerned in getting a couple of the kids to finish off the work that we have been doing up to now which was no easy task. The children were also much more lively today and difficult to control and I think we could have got into difficulty if Abdullah had not come in to rescue us.

In the afternoon for our manual labour we went back to the bush to collect the extra soil we needed to finish the garden project, but as a consequence of our organisation, Ines digging, Abdullah carrying and me tying we managed to finish the job quite quickly and we were able to head home early.

Before dinner the girls had another aerobics class which was remarkable given that due to a power cut they had no music. A matter of following the hand clap apparently but in any event they all seemed to really enjoy themselves.

The evening though was to be a surprise for me as there was a plan but I was not in the loop so to speak. So at about 7.30 we all headed off on our bicycles to the hotel Coral Rock (a small hotel about 20 mins cycle away) and as there was a power cut we had to use a collection of flashlights to see where we were going. Cycling here is difficult enough in the day light so you can imagine what it is like without really being able to see where you are going. We did manage to arrive safely and found Timor and Mega waiting at our table which had been decorated for me with balloons and presents etc. It was a fantastic surprise and really appreciated. We had a wonderful evening and one I will remember for a long time. One interesting fact that came out was the divorce law that is practised here. It is 3 strikes and you're out for the women but not reciprocal arrangement for the men. Maybe we could learn something from this back in the UK, although I know the girls vehemently disagree.

The ride back was interesting to say the least with Megan breaking her bike (not an uncommon experience out here) and the town being pitch black. It was only when we were half way back to our hostel that we realised that the power had returned, but as most of the houses have no electricity, we understood that this black out is the norm here for many of the villagers as soon as night arrives. Quite an eerie site and again a reminder of what we take for granted at home.

I managed to speak to Sally and the girls before bed which was great and thank them for the cards and messages.

Tomorrow we have a cultural day somewhere (another secret) and as Megan is fanatic for games it should be interesting. All part of us understanding the local culture and communicating effectively apparently. We shall see!

18th January 2009 – Turtle soup anyone?

Sunday and off to the Jozini forest

To say that we had been warned was most definitely an understatement and one that I should have taken more heed of. It is also true that when living and working with people of a younger generation I should have also been more aware of their carpe deim attitude to life and wanting to garner experiences that perhaps I am happy to let slip by. In any event this morning's trip most certainly put paid to any chance of me not having the full in your face, warts and all, life in Africa experience.

As the dala dala arrived it was already full with, I guess 2 or3, men hanging on to the back but, for some reason, being white always seems to mean that seats can be found even if it involves a lot of pushing and shoving and rearranging of the seating positions to accommodate us. Once ensconced in the bus, with 4 to 5 men hanging off the back now, you realise that for all its charm that it really is quite basic and uncomfortable. My first shock came when as I moved my foot a large squawk came from the bag the man was holding next to me. There was a live chicken next to my feet. OK unusual but also kind of quaint. However as the bus came and went with people getting off and on, more on than off though, a young lady with a child who could not easily find a seat for both of them squashed into a gap and promptly passed over the child to others on the bus with more space. For some inexplicable reason the child ended up on my lap for the journey. Now as you know I am fond of small children but not ones with runny noses and that dribble. However It transpired that not only was I to have the pleasure of this kids company and its flu like symptoms, for the whole journey, I was even expected to blow it's nose, wipe it's dribble and clean up anything else that came out. The girls thought the whole thing was very cute and were a bit jealous but I suppose that is female and youth again. A lethal combination.

The forest was hot, damn hot, but interesting. We saw the monkeys, both red and blue, and even managed to get quite close on more than one occasion. Lynsey and I had a shock when we saw a couple copulating (monkeys that is) but hey it's nature in the raw so to speak. We also took in the mangrove walk, where Ines became enchanted by the crabs with one large claw (Lyns and I could see the potentail for a cartoon character here and quickly called it Octo Grab). We then proceeded to the turtles and these creatures were great fun and we not only got to feed them but also in my case hold them. Yes you can be bitten but I listened to the guide and all was well. This is part of a new conservation programme where they are released back into the sea after 24 months. It seems a long time but they do live up to 200 years so not too much of inconvenience. By the way turtle soup is legal here but discouraged and we didn't like the idea of eating these anyway so I suppose you can say we were with the programme.

We had lunch back at the central forest lodge and then made arrangements for home. The girls all wanted to go back on the dala dala, I booked a private cab.

The afternoon became a quite affaire of lounging around sleeping and reading and the evening was pretty much the same. All in all though a day not to be forgotten.

January 17th 2009 – swimming with the fishes

A very early start, 05.30, to meet our taxi for the journey to Kizimkazi for our Dolphin tour. It was only about half an hour away and first impressions were that the town was much wealthier than Jambiani, which was explained that this was a traditional and more established fishing destination. On arrival at the beach we could see all the local fishermen bringing in their catches including a large marlin. This was apparently caught close to the shore which I thought was most interesting considering we had to travel 50 miles out in Portugal to see these.

We were then kitted out with snorkelling equipment and taken to our boat, not too dissimilar from the St George albeit with an engine and deeper draught, and we set off. In next to no time we had spotted our first pod of dolphins and I and Megan immediately went over the side to get a closer look. Interesting considering you had to launch on command and whilst the boat was still travelling. It was fantastic though, seeing 10 to 15 swimming close by on our first attempt. After our excitement Ines And Lyns decided to give it a go and as soon as we spotted another opportunity. we all went over the side and experienced the thrill of being between 10 to 30 feet away from these beautiful creatures. All in all we managed to have 4 dives with the last being the best and Lynsey coming almost face to face with one before it turned sharply. All I can say that if you ever have the opportunity to do this grab it with both hands.

The rest of the day was spent lounging around the pool at a local hotel and taking in the wonderful weather and trying to complete who runs Britain which has suddenly become very hard going.

We did meet Megan our organiser who has now given us new work schedules for the classes next week with specific goals to be achieved each week. In some ways I am delighted because we have a structure to work to but it is also daunting because we have specific targets to reach which to be honest I am not sure we will be able to achieve. However it is a great idea and means that even when we leave the new recruits will continue with a set programme rather than guessing where to start etc. As you know this was one of my concerns.

Tomorrow we go to the Jozani forest to see the monkeys by Dhala Dhala, the local bus. Should be interesting.

January 16th 2009 – The dark side

It's Friday and there is an air of excitement about the group that the weekend in almost here. However a full day to go and school and beach games to be sorted.

Our group leaders have informed us that we need to reward 2 children from each class for the work thay have done since we arrived. Ines and I have debated the likely winners and have come to an ageement. Hassan and Neema, both who have shown good inprovement and a keenness to learn. So after the usual introductions and the children standing on a table to introduce themselves ( an innovation that Ithought would help with public speaking later on) we set about our normal programme of works. After break I handed out the prizes to the winners,who to be fair were not sure what was going on, but we felt that it was worth it.

Lunchtime involved our half way appraisal which I am pleased to say I passed with flying colours. A novelty for me. I was asked to make some comments as to what improvements I could suggest, so I requested a 52 inch plasma with full sports coverage, bar, snooker table, heated pool and gymnasuim to start with and I hope they take my suggestions on board. I am not confident but time will tell. I have also been asked to write a piece for the company journal to expalin what I enjoy or not about the programme and more importantly to explain what the hell a 48 year old is doing here in the first place. I will see what I can provide.

The afternoon was to be a light hearted play on the beach with the kids from school that wanted to come. Last week was a great success and we hoped to repeat it. Unfortunately the Island has a darker side, especially for some of the children. Rarely have I witnessed the fear shown by the emergence of some adults, and specifically for our Sarah who was literally terrified by the emergence of some Masaai. We were also pestered by one of the local fishing boat operators, Captain Cheekey, who was either drunk, high or both. His intrussion was not only unwelcome but slightly manacing. I had to ward him off on several occasions and eventuall got the group to leave the beach for the safety of our hostel compound. Order was soon restored and the light hearted activiteis resumed. These kids really do have a zest for life and are a joy to be around. See above our abdullah (twin of Sarah) who has befriended me and visa versa.

The afternoon was completed with some games at Timo and Megans which I have to confess I really enjoyed followed by a BBQ for dinner. Tomorrow we are off to the South of the island and have an early start at 6 am, so not surprisingly another early night.

January 15th 2009 – Manual labour

Today was another good day. The morning consisted of the same work in the classroom with some good progress being made (I believe). I really think we are making some progress with some of these children but have to admit it is a slow process. One of the big fears we have is that when we leave the new recruits will not be able to follow on from where we left off, and as with us have no idea of the level the individual children have reached. In part it comes down to us stating the level of each child and getting the organisers to make sure they are properly briefed when they start. A tall order but should be achievable. I also have to admit that even without the number of government initiatives that are a requirement in the UK there is a hell of a lot paper work involved if one does the job properly. OK vineyard teachers you have my respect and so too does Sally.

You also do not probably appreciate that we have to cycle over a mile each way over roads made up of stone and sand in 35 degrees which is really tiring. My bike has been to the repair shop on 3 occasions now for punctures and re setting the handle bars before they fall off. An inconvenience but better than walking.

The afternoon though was great as we went back to school to help finish the garden project. Full of enthusiasm we set about removing the sand and replacing with the soil garnered from the bush. This was back breaking work but highly satisfying. I think I have lost another couple of litres of fluids but all for a good cause. Not unexpectedly we did not have enough soil so will have to finish the work early next week. I am really pleased though that when this is completed I will have left a mark on the school that the children will enjoy long after I am gone.

We also went to see Abdullah's plot (our head of manual labour and interpreter), a fantastic piece of beach front land , that he is building out slowly and he was seeking advice of how to take it forward. I can only assume that he will be a wealthy man one day if he plays his cards right but as he currently lives with his family in a most simple dwelling that has no electricity or any other modern facilities, this probably seems a life time away from the reality that is the norm for most of the inhabitants of Jambiani. I will try and help without any thought of personal gain.

At the end of the day I managed to have a good chat with Amy using Skype and introduced her to some of the staff that work at a nearby hotel over the video conferencing all of whom were as bewildered by the technology as Amy was.

Tomorrow we have beach games in the afternoon which if last week's event is anything to go by should be real laugh.

January 14th 2009 – it’s Bingo

Today was a day of contrasts. On the one hand Ines and I had an excellent day in the classroom to the point that we did not have enough time to let the kids do their drawings and we have now almost stuck religiously to our tried and trusted alphabet recitals, word recognition and letter copying. The kids seem to be getting on well with it, especially Raana who is way ahead of the others. Our lovely Sarah has been given a specific work programme of copying letters as she seems unable to have any grasp of we are doing. I am convinced that he has learning disorder that if in the UK would have been diagnosed long ago. She does however continue to be very happy and a joy to be around.

The kids certainly have a lot more trust in us all and have allowed the games at break to be inter active which is great and helps us in the classroom.

Lynsey and Megan have introduced activity games in their group inside the classroom but I am not sure Ines and I could cope with that just yet.

On the other hand the afternoon was a disaster. The plan to varnish the school doors was not only ill equipped but poorly thought through. Now, as you at home know very well I am not known for my DIY prowess, but even I could see that turning up with just a little piece of sandpaper and varnish was doomed. I had warned of such an event on several occasions but my advice went unheeded. The result a waste of time for all concerned and the work was abandoned after an hour. We will try again tomorrow but will be better prepared.

Unfortunately things only went from bad to worse. Abdullah our trusty 1/c of manual labour thought we should get the soil for the garden project. With there not being a local B&Q we had to cycle into the bush to get soil, a journey of some 30 mins on bikes. We then set about digging up some soil, bagging it and hiding it in the bush for collection another day. A very dirty and exhausting process.

The evening involved a group event of Bingo led by our trusty group leaders Timor and Megan, which again was one of those activities that I was dreading before I came out. It turned out to be quite fun and we even had prizes for the winners of each game. Timor dressed in his compare attire was particularly good fun.

I have to admit to feeling very tired after the day's toils and headed for bed early.

Tomorrow though we hope to complete the varnishing but only if we have the appropriate tools.

January 13th 2009 – back to the chalk face

I know this is going to sound quite strange but after 3 days of relaxing and sightseeing one and all were pleased that today we could get back to do what we all came here for. To help out the local kids. Suffice to say we were all well prepared, even though I still had some major doubts about the ability of us being able to pull off "head and shoulders" in Swahili, and after another good breakfast headed off for school.

What is really great though is that the kids are starting to get to know us and we have a much better knowledge of the individuals, not only abilities but also personalities. I have taken to using the blackboard a lot more as I feel much more comfortable and authoritative in getting my points across and that is very reassuring. For the record, I did manage to perform our "heads and shoulders" in both Swahili and English and it went down very well. The others couldn't resist looking in and it was quite hard performing to the kids and a small audience of English speaking adults albeit sympathetic ones.

The afternoon involved further work to the garden and we completed building the fencing to the new shrubbery. It did take us 3 hours in the afternoon sun and a lot of sweat, but I feel satisfied that we have a done a good job.

The evening was another low key affair with dinner and a game of Uno using the children's playing cards. Lynsey has not been feeling well but hopefully she will be Ok tomorrow; at least she is still eating a lot.

I also managed to speak to Sally, Amy and Ellie yesterday and I do miss them especially at night when we all return to our respective rooms, but I am pleased that all seems to be going well at home without me.

PS. On a final note tonight, as the "head and shoulders" seem to go down so well we are planning on stepping up to the plate again with the "wheels of the bus". I just hope our enthusiasm isn't getting the better of us.

PPS. Having the lap top and internet working is a real bonus and makes keeping in touch and writing the blog so much easier. From what I read on the bbc website all I can say is wrap up warm.