Sunday 28 September 2014

Short break, now back to work!

We've been on a short bus trip to France - we needed a break! Met some delightful people and saw some lovely places. Came home tired but refreshed!
Came home to a very nice surprise - some people we met at one of J's History groups not only had listened to us very patiently but also sent a very generous cheque which goes straight into the GOES bank account. Regular readers can guess it won't stay there for long; we'll soon find work for it to do!
During the days before our little holiday we had sent funds to a family to pay for their granddad's medical care, school fees for another family, help with an irrigation project, wages for a couple of teachers and support staff  and I had managed to write another couple of chapters for the latest 'Malinding' Kindle ebook (with the hope that it will be a best seller. All proceeds go to GOES!)

Wednesday 10 September 2014

A good start to the day!

Before I was properly awake this morning (half-way through the porridge and only one cup of coffee ...) a very cheerful voice on the 'phone from our local medical centre - do we want a set of baby-scales to take to The Gambia?  They'll try to find some other first-aid stuff such as wound dressings too. A great start to the day!
 We've recently started to correspond with a chap who designs book covers - he's bought the first in the Malinding series (Empty Bananas) and he'll see how to improve on my homemade efforts ...
 We have more spectacles to pick up from the Salvation Army meeting house - thanks, Stuart, we've not forgotten.
 Been away from home for a few days and managed to write another 5k words for the latest book; still a long way to go!
 So, as the sun is shining we've decided to get the bikes out and go for a ride ...

Tuesday 2 September 2014

Fees and more fees

Well, we had to bite the bullet and pay Thomas Cook a large amount so that we could pack all the goodies we've been given to take to The Gambia. It's an amount we would rather have spent on buying a nursery school child education for a year, or rice for a poor family or cement to repair a storm-damaged house. Choices, choices. At least we're well stocked up with reading glasses - enough for the short-sighted population of a small village! We have a lot of dictionaries and medical books - heavy things, books! We had to clear the spare bed so our daughter wouldn't have to sleep on the floor when she visited and I was going to photograph it but it's buried again under all the things we have to pack and it's weeks before we go!
 There's a worry about Ebola fever in West Africa. The Gambia seems safe at the moment and we hope it will remain so, but African borders can be porous ...   fingers crossed but we'll keep an eye on reports. So sorry for the local populations; our efforts are so puny in such matters.
 We're away from home for a few days but we'll keep you posted.
best wishes,
Tom.

Please keep buying the 'Malinding' books - the income goes to GOES!