Last Week of Term

Morning!

Time if flying and things seem so busy that I am finding (making?) less and less time to update this thing. Although the age old adage of never having enough time is bunkum, there is always time if we choose to make it, the spare time that I have is almost exclusively dedicated to the children.

I have been here for 6 months now and the realisation is slowly beginning to dawn on me that soon (in just over 3 months) my time will be at and end. This is a frightening thought as saying goodbye to everyone here, especially the children will be heart-wrenching. The recent days have been filled with projects (more of that in a mo) and as we are in the final week of term, typing exam papers and consolidating results for the teachers. The exams started yesterday and run through to Thursday lunchtime when the school breaks for the August holiday and the kids will disappear for 3 weeks. When they come back I will in the process of climbing a mountain and so of the 3 months left one is written off right there.

Concerning the projects :
. House building : Do you remember a while back I visited the home of a boy called James Macharia? This conditions in which he was living were abject and we decided back then to do something about it. Well, I am delighted to say something has been done. With the generous support of friends and my Mum, last week we completed a new building for him and his brother Wilson to live in.
. Rabbit colony: Our rabbit colony appears to be increasing almost exponentially. On Friday another gave birth taking our population to 28. As they are beginning to look a little cramped I have ordered an extension. If it continues at this rate, I may have to consider moving the boys out of the dormitory and swapping them with the rabbits!
. Inter-house quiz: Friday nights first inter-house quiz was won by Buffalo (36 points) who narrowly beat Elephant in to second place on 35 points. Debate raged after on the content of the quiz which was deemed by many to have been too heavily skewed towards science (they all receive the same lessons!!), and so next term we are planning an even larger, broader one.
. Vegetable growing: We have been in negotiations with the lady next door (who has a very large unused garden) to see if we could use her land to grow veggies for the school in exchange for some of the produce we grow. Agreement was reached at the end of last week and during the August holiday we will begin tilling and planting. We are also looking in to the possibility of erecting a greenhouse on part of the land.
. Sign posts: I have commissioned 2 sign posts for the school. The first at the entrance to direct people when they arrive (offices, kitchens, staff room etc), the second to go nearer the school field to point around the world (United Kingdom XXXXkm, USA XXXXkm etc).
. Landscaping: I spent much of last week with the fundi (handymen), designing the changes we would like to make to the school field. On one side we have a wonderful large tree which is slightly raised on a natural mound which overlooks the school field. Our idea is to use this natural mound, landscape it with the addition of some bench seating so we can have an area where people can sit and read, but also sit and watch the games on the field (much easier to explain in pictures).
. Ghost story evening: I am loving this. I have started a weekly evening of ghost / spooky stories. Not sure this is completely responsible of me (what would social services say?), but surely one of the pleasures of middle age is to corrupt the youth?! (I have copies one of them at the end of this for you reading pleasure).

As you can see we have been BUSY. All this coupled with my intensive Kilimanjaro preparation training : a strict regime of lunges and the consumption of copious cups of nettle-tea which a local has sworn to me will combat any ailment, natural or indeed supernatural (it’s like drinking a pond), and time is just zipping by.

Should you wish to sponsor us in this mad undertaking, just go to the following link: http://www.justgiving.com/Matthew-Smith-Kili-Climb, or click on the JustGiving gadget on this page. It is all going to the school I can ensure you.

Thanks for your ongoing support.

PS: I have signed up for motorbike lessons next term .. don’t tell my Mum.

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Hairy Toe!
Once there was an old woman who went out in the woods to dig up some roots to cook for dinner. She spotted something funny sticking out of the leaves and dug around until she uncovered a great big hairy toe. There was some good meat on that toe which would make a real tasty dinner, so the old woman put it in her basket and took it home.
When she got back to her cottage, the old woman boiled up a kettle-full of hairy toe soup, which she ate for dinner that night. It was the best meal she'd had in weeks! The old woman went to bed that night with a full stomach and a big smile.
Along about midnight, a cold wind started blowing in the tops of the trees around the old woman's house. A large black cloud crept over the moon and from the woods a hollow voice rumbled: "Hairy toe! Hairy toe! I want my hairy toe!" Inside the house, the old woman stirred uneasily in her bed and nervously pulled the covers up over her ears.
From the woods there came a stomp-stomp-stomping noise as the wind whistled and jerked at the treetops. In the clearing at the edge of the forest, a hollow voice said: "Hairy toe! Hairy toe! I want my hairy toe!" Inside the house, the old woman shuddered and turned over in her sleep.
A stomp, stomp, stomping sound came from the garden path outside the cottage. The night creatures shivered in their burrows as a hollow voice howled: "Hairy toe! Hairy toe! I want my hairy toe!" Inside the house, the old woman snapped awake. Her whole body shook with fright as she listened to the angry howling in her garden. Jumping out of bed, she ran to the door and barred it. Once the cottage was secure, she lay back down to sleep.
Suddenly, the front door of the cottage burst open with a bang, snapping the bar in two and sending it flying into the corners of the room. There came the stomp, stomp, stomping noise of giant feet walking up the stairs. Peeping out from under the covers, the old woman saw a massive figure filling her doorway. It said: "Hairy toe! Hairy toe! I want my hairy toe!"
The old woman sat bolt upright in terror and shouted: "I ATE your hairy toe!"
"Yes, you did," the giant figure said very gently as it advanced into the room.
No one living in the region ever saw the old woman again. The only clue to her disappearance was a giant footprint a neighbour found pressed deep into the loose soil of the meadow beside the house. The footprint was missing the left big toe.