Getting set for HBC

In case this has been plaguing you, withdrawing money from the bank is as follows: Go to the bank. Complete a withdrawal slip. Sometimes wait in line, otherwise go directly to one of about three tellers. Hand the teller the slip through the bars (you have to actually give the slip to them in their hand, they can’t seem to pick it up off the counter). She presses a few keys on her computer, takes the money out of her drawer, and gives it to you. Then you say “thank you”, put the money safely away, and walk out of the bank. Depositing money is more complicated. Step one remains the same, but in step two you complete a “paying in” slip. Steps three and four are as above. Then the teller presses some keys, writes the entry into a receipt book, which you sign, the receipt is given to you, and then you leave the bank.

Our church has an office secretary, though not very efficient. She does the bulletins, but sometimes only gets to fold them on a Sunday morning! She also does a lot of other admin, like typing out the songs Nick needs for the Sunday worship, and typing the notes for Bible Study, and helping him with e-mails. She also cooks for Nick and looks after the boys (and has been known to take dictation sitting on his lap), so I guess she is very busy and can’t always find the time to be as efficient as she’d like!

Nick had me working today almost from the crack of dawn. He wanted to put an old carpet into the schoolroom, to start preparing it for the holiday bible club. That was the first thing. Then he sent me out to the shops to buy prestick (Blue Tack) and buff tape, to tape together big pieces of paper from the roll we were given, to get them ready to make the farmyard scenes. I finished off most of the supply shopping for the HBC, although as you can imagine it wasn’t as simple as going into one shop and getting everything I needed. I had to look long and hard for some of the items, in three different shops! We almost had to change one activity because most of the shops are out of stock of marshmallows, but Maureen managed to find some on Saturday at a little corner shop somewhere. Anyway, got home, then got straight to work in the schoolroom. We finished off the tracing of pictures onto two huge pieces of paper which we had stuck to the wall (projected the images with an overhead projector (which we have borrowed from the Salvation Army)), and now they are ready for painting, sometime next week, or even later this week if we have the time and enthusiasm. We still need to put up the third large sheet and trace “Aunty Dot’s House” onto it, which will be the backdrop for the refreshment table, manned by Dot. I thought it was a cute idea. Nick wasn’t so sure, but I think I have convinced him that it will work well. It will look like she is standing at a table just outside her paper house. Nick rearranged all the furniture in the schoolroom, with benches and pews in the right places, and two table tennis tables acting as room dividers. It looks good, though maybe a bit cluttered, but it will work well. We also stuck up some posters on the walls (all the pictures and posters are part of the HBC material which was bought and used by CPBC last year). We are also going to bring in our wheelbarrow, and garden fork and spade, and buckets, and whatever else we can find lying around that will look farmy.

Aaron is much, much better today. No more vomiting, and his runny nose is not as runny. He likes to pretend he is a fairy tern, and points out which part of his body is blood, and which is skin. Caleb drew a very interesting picture today of four robots, spread across three pieces of computer paper. One robot had three eyes, complete with eyebrows, and another had two heads, one on top of the other. He got hold of my German exercise books again, and is getting thoroughly confused between German and English, and is copying down German words and wanting to know what they say. I tell him that I am not going to teach him any German until he can write in English, but then he gets upset because he thinks the German is English, and the language we speak is called “Language”. How do you explain it to a four-year-old?

I bought the St Helena Herald today, and it’s been revamped to a 28-page, semi-colour newspaper, and the price is now 40p (about which people are complaining). I’ve just come across a little notice that will be of interest to my parents, who are visiting us in May: “On St Helena’s Day 21st May 2006, the CPTA will be organizing a fun afternoon at Francis Plain in aid of the CPTA. There will be lots to entertain you and your family, such as a sponsored walk, stalls, side shows and various sports. Many excellent prizes to be won. Reserve this day to come and join in the excitement to make it a success. Watch this space for further details.” What luck! I didn’t know there was a St Helena’s day, much less that my parents would be here for it.