Commotion in the orchard

George was going crazy in the orchard yesterday - and when I went to see what all the noise was about - she was having a stand off with a HUGE chameleon. He was blue and black and grey and hissing at George like crazy. George was jumping about and barking and was very interested in the visitor. I dragged her back to the house and grabbed my camera. When I got back outside, the chameleon was nowhere to be seen. But I searched around and found him under some mulberry leaves. By now he was about a quarter of his original size and was bright, bright green. I spent ages watching him and taking photos as he climbed up the mulberry branches. Of all the critters in our garden, the chameleons are my favourite!

New blog

I have added a new entry to the list of blogs I'm reading. Go to 'mind of a fox' and read what Clem Sunter has to say about strategic planning ... well I think it's interesting!!!

Unique driving experience

No, I'm not talking about a trip in a Bugatti Veyron ... but a quick stop at our post box in Francistown. It just happens to be right next to the central bus station and taxi rank. For those of you who have never driven in Francistown, I can't begin to describe the experience. The sheer volume of traffic, mutatus and taxis ... and NO-ONE was giving way to anyone. The whole area was grid-locked for ages. The mentality of these guys - and yes they are nearly all men - is completely Neandethal. All they need is a stone club to knock each other on the head and they would be well away! For readers who have lived in Rwanda - think Kigali Market Square at 11am on a Saturday - to the power 10!!!

To give you an idea of the kind of vehicles we see ... look at the first pic. The second one is the Veyron (drool!) But you don't see too many of those in Francistown :-)

They grow up so fast ...

... don't they? I heard from my friend Bronwen in Australia today. Her son Aiden - who used to go to school with Boot in Windhoek - has just had a son - Cooper. I can't show you a photo of Cooper, but Aodh is the one on the far left. OK - it was Boot's 10th birthday party - he's standing next to Aiden. This was a game to scoff the donut on the string as fast as you could without using your hands - if my memory serves me correctly Aiden did it almost in one bite! Next to Boot is Alex, then Ben, then Christophe. They're all about 6 feet tall now!

The President comes to town

Today was the grand opening of Francistown College of Technical & Vocational Education. We had a great day - the President came to officiate plus a whole host of dignitaries, government officials, stakeholders and the general public. The TA Team Project Directors came and European Union Delegation as well - seeing as though they funded nearly 3/4 of it! It really is the most beautiful place I have ever worked. Here's a photo of the main Admin building - I'll post some photos of the celebration next week. Here's a link to a newspaper article about the college from earlier this year.

who's guarding the guard?

The day after I wrote the last post ... and then went off to Gaborone - the guard decided to take John's car out to the pub! First I knew about it was Friday morning when I got a phone call from Francistown police. What a nightmare ... he really has lost it this time! He doesn't even have a licence. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do about him - let him go, I guess. I've got people looking for a replacement for me - but it's difficult to know who you can trust. And it's difficult sorting things like this out when John is away :-(

on the move

I'm off to Gaborone for the rest of this week until Monday. The guard? Well he decided to pitch on Tuesday to ask for his money - as predicted. Long story short, we had a long chat and he asked for his job back ... promised to be reliable etc etc - we'll see. So at least I have someone to take care of the house and garden while I'm away. My neighbours were really helpful - arranged a night guard to cover - and even offered to come and check the place themselves. People are so kind.

I've also got to go to the dentist - again!!! More root canal work. My dentist is really weird - he ONLY does root canals - says its the only bit of dentistry he enjoys. I remember a dentist once telling me that doing root canal work is like doiong knitting in a jam jar! I think I'm on my way to needing implants - now there's something to look forward to!

It is very, very hot here - John is complaining because apparently it is freezing in Cape Town. But he's had his procedure, was a bit sore at first and is starting to feel better now. He's off to Windhoek next week to sort out the businesses there and try to persuade them to give us another work permit - hold thumbs.

People are asking where we are going next - and the answer is, we don't know. So far I have being talking to people about short and long term projects in places as far apart as Rwanda, Pakistan, Romania, Tanzania, Namibia, Kenya and Scotland!! I'll let you all know when a decision is made. Laurence has been really helpful and skillful at finding projects for me and revising my cv and application letters - I knew he'd come in useful one day :-)