June

I'm starting this with the saddest news that our dear baby cat, Tiger, died.  It was my fault.  It was a very hot evening and I opened the living room window a little too far and he went outside and was killed by Bobo, our mastiff.  He survived a week but his injuries were just too great.  He came to us as a 6 month old kitten and has lived with us for 12 years.  He shared every meal I ate at home and slept on my bed.  Every time I sat down he came for a cuddle.  I miss him so much.  I've given him his own page on this blog.

The day after the attack our friend Calypso was outside in his cage and decided to let himself out and was attacked by a cat.  He survived at first but died the next day.

"Summer" has arrived which means rain, rain and more rain.  Actually we haven't had nearly as much rain as Britain, I expected it to be much worse than this but apparently it will get worse over July and August.  There are many more birds in our garden and at night the frogs and crickets are 100 times louder.  I love to hear them, they sound so tropical.  The weather isn't much hotter (around 30-32C) but the humidity is now 80% so it feels muggy and sticky.  It's tiring.  It rains mostly after dark so the days are still mostly sunny which is nice.  The worst thing about the rain is getting about.  The sand is slippery and sticky so we get filthy.  Terry went out to buy bread from the nearby corner shop one evening and fell down a hole, his jeans were wet nearly up to his knees. I used to laugh at the pot holes in Ireland but at least they have tarmac around them, here it's just sand. 

This is a photo of the bridge the locals have made in an area that is completely dry for 9 months of the year.  Sometimes the buses can only go so far down the road  then they drop the passengers who walk over the bridge and catch another bus on the other side. Of course this doubles the transport costs which is hard on a nation so poor.  One night we were late home from the Kingdom Hall and the buses had stopped by the time we arrived.  We took a taxi but it was only able to take us half way as there had been a bad storm earlier in the evening and the road was flooded.  We had to walk the rest of the way in the rain and dark.  The road was mostly under water and the little areas of sand were wet and slippery. 

Just a picture to show you the piles of wood where the locals come to buy wood for cooking.  They chop them up into smaller pieces than this but it's hard to take photos on the bumpy buses.  Can you see the cracks in the windscreen?

We were without electricity for most of June as they were repairing the lines.  They started work (and switched the power off) at around 8am and it came back on at 6pm.  It seems to have improved things though as the power hasn't cut out during the heavy storms like it used to.  One up for NAWEC!!

About a month ago I bought a large fish and decided it would be a nice friendly gesture to feed the head to the vultures.  Since they often come to sit on our roof I threw it up there for them.   Not one single vulture has landed on our roof all month.  The head is still up there, rotting nicely.

Another thing summer brings is insects.  We were at home on evening when we were suddenly invaded by flying things.  I don't know what they were, I suspect termites.  The geckos were running around gorging themselves but they couldn't keep up.  We weren't even sure where they were coming from but found out next day there was a gap in the dining room window which we couldn't see in the dark.  Anyway, they flew in, flew around the house for a few minutes then dropped to the floor and their wings fell off.  The same thing happens at the Kingdom Hall where we leave all the doors and windows wide open because of the heat.  One night we were sitting under a fan and one of these things was blown down my top and crawled out the bottom having left its wings stuck to my sweaty body and taking first place in the Grossest Thing That Happened To Me Today competition. 

There are also beautiful insects though.  This Cuckoo Wasp chose to die in our house which was nice as I wouldn't have been able to get a photo of him.  There are also huge and gorgeous butterflies and dragonflies in all colours.  They never sit still long enough for me to photograph them.

With the hotter weather arriving we decided to buy some fans as we don't have air conditioning.  Some time ago Terry had been to a shop to try to buy an amp.  It didn't work so he took it back and the man refunded his money straight away.  Impressed with this service we decided to visit again to ask for fans (we happened to be in the area that day anyway).  As we approached the shop the man came out, offered us chairs and sent a boy to buy drinks for us.  I thought this was a little over the top since we had never actually bought anything from him but I was grateful for the seat and drink on such a hot day.  He showed us all the fans he had in stock and we chose the ones we wanted.  Terry then told him that we were waiting for money to come from Europe and we would come back in two days time to buy the fans.  The man seemed surprised and told us not to worry,
"Just take the fans and come back when you have the money."
This was incredibly generous and trusting of him but we accepted his kind offer, finished the rest of our shopping in a nearby supermarket then went back to collect the fans.  Terry asked him should he sign something?
"No, I remember you, you bought the air conditioning system from me didn't you?"
"No, you must be thinking of someone else."
"Uhhh, sign here and write your phone number too."
It gave us such a laugh, we obviously look as alike to them as they do to us.

Terry and I decided we had been so busy and had no time for each other so we took a day off and went for a meal and a look around Abuko Nature Reserve.  A friend had recommended we go to the airport restaurant as we could watch the planes and their fish and chips were the best in Gambia.  There were only two planes flying that day so we didn't get to watch planes but it was the day of the Queens Jubilee so we watched the London rain in one direction and the lovely African views and bird life in the other direction.  A highlight was the conversation with the waitress who asked if we would like dessert.
"Yes, please."
"Ok, but we haven't got any ice cream."
"No ice cream?  No problem, we'll have something else."
"Would you like to see the menu."
"Yes please."
When she brought the menu we saw there was a whole page of ice cream plus pancakes with ice cream.  I asked for the pancakes with maybe chocolate spread or jam or whatever they have.
"We don't have any pancakes because there isn't any ice cream."
"So you don't have any desserts at all?"
"No."
"So why did you bring the menu?"
"You wanted to see it."
"Yes, but . . . "
She OFFERED dessert that she KNEW they didn't have!!  Why??

The nature reserve was fantastic but not what Terry really had in mind for a romantic day as we took a guide who turned out to be a great birdwatcher.  Terry's most lasting memory of the day was the guide and I arguing over which species of hornbill we were looking at.   We must have been there 15 minutes  but it turned out there were TWO species of hornbill in the same tree and we were each looking at different ones.  Poor Terry, he likes birds but not THAT much.

African Jacana

Yellow Throated Bee Eater

Terry and Fajimba inspecting a termite mound.  Fajimba was pointing out how the mound is expanding.

Western Grey Plaintain eater.  We get these in our garden in the rainy season.

Green Turaco.  There were loads of these in one tree, so pretty.  There is also a violet version.

Village Weaver.  These also come to our garden.  I didn't take these last three photos, I just wanted to show them to you.

Terry had a Bible student who moved out to a fishing town called Tanji.  It was a long drive but the it was a nice place to visit.

 
This is a local fruit called kaba.  It's very sour.  They sell it on the street and chop the top off and ask if you want sugar or pepper!!  Julie chose pepper.  I had the tiniest taste but it was so sour and spicy I couldn't have taken as much as a teaspoon.  It's the strangest thing.   The fruit inside is in lumps around what I assume are the seeds.  I've seen the adults spit out the seeds but the kids eat them.

 

The brothers are finding the economic situation difficult and some have gone back to their home countries which leaves Gambia with an even greater need for publishers.  We have been here over 5 months and the congregation has not covered it's territory yet.  Apparently it will take about a year.  If you look to the west on this map you can see a town called Brikama.  Brikama is in unassigned territory, the three English congregations cover the tiny area to the north up to Banjul.  There is a HUGE need for help here.