Whose birthday is it anyway?

Today was Nick’s birthday. It’s been a very un-birthday day for him, which he says doesn’t bother him at all - he doesn’t need to feel special. I was hoping to go to Sally’s for lunch, but Nick was up to his neck in preparing radio talks to be recorded tomorrow morning. In the afternoon he had to be at the manse at 2 pm for another contractor to come to give a quote. At least we ate our lunch outside together – ham, cheese and mayo sandwiches, and Rio to drink. The weather has been pretty good today, although still considerably colder in Longwood than Jamestown, which is finally in its summer.

The boys each made a birthday card for Nick’s birthday on Thursday, as per their norm. Aaron’s was an iris-folding card which he forgot to write in, but Caleb made his on Wednesday afternoon and wrote in it “anyone can be a male, but it takes something special to be a father”. I thought it was amazing, but he said he remembered it from a fridge magnet on Aunty Pam’s fridge. Aaron asked, “what? What is the special something?” Caleb, his childish innocence at its best, answered “a wife”.

But let me tell you about the rest of the day…we started school shortly after 8, because I didn’t quite know what the day’s arrangements would be, so wanted to get school done early. We were finished by about 10.30. That left me free to go to Printech to sort out the photocopying of 100 rockfall brochures to be put on the ship, along with a donations-box which Steve is making – unfortunately things didn’t happen in time so it didn’t make it onto this ship. After Printech I wended my way to the docks where I nearly ran over a boy who ran out from in front of a stationery bus without checking for cars. Thankfully I was going slowly and could brake in time, but I was shaken up and slightly angry with the boy’s stupidity. But, thank the Lord nothing happened. I drove right up to the customs hall and parked directly outside, so that I wouldn’t have to carry the heavy books box far. I paid the grand total of ₤1.50 to retrieve the two boxes, one of which had snacks from Wilson, a scrapping order for me and Elza, and a package from our Williamsons in the USA. Then I couldn’t wait to get home for us to unpack everything! Lunch was a bit delayed as we opened all the boxes and had our first look; after lunch we had a longer peruse of everything. The boys’ books are really wonderful – there is such a great selection and variety, and with the extra books I got for Caleb to read, there are loads of good fiction books which the boys can simply pick up at any time. Already, Caleb has read one of Aaron’s readers through, and has started on one of his own, without any prompting from me. Aaron is delighted with all that he will be reading too. This is how the living area looked…I’m pleased to say that it was sorted out fairly promptly thereafter!

Hee haw

We had a really stunning walk this morning, through the beautiful St Helena countryside. We went off the roads onto side paths through fields. There was a donkey standing in the path which made a horrendous braying as we came nearer – turns out he was just a baby and was terrified of us. We heard his mother answering from some distance…were hoping that she wasn’t going to charge us!

Passing on a craft

I deviated from my regular beading group today to meet with Elza and Maureen, to do iris-folding. Elza was so impressed with Pam’s cards which I was selling along with my beads on Friday, that she wanted to waste no time in learning the technique! We had a fun afternoon together with glue, scissors, tiny bits of paper and chatter. I just had time after our session to do a few bits of grocery shopping in town – necessary, otherwise it would have been jungle oats for supper again!

Clothes make the Clan

Today, as it was a Lay Preachers’ Sunday, Nick was home. We had a leisurely start before deciding to all go for a walk together. Nick had the brainwave of driving to Millennium Forest and starting our walk there, but unfortunately when we got there it was raining and not conducive for walking, so we just came home. We did a bit of this and that in the morning – the boys watched another video, Nick read, and I beaded. We took our lunch of chicken burgers to Rosemary Plain, but they only took about five minutes to eat – then what? Aaron needed a poo, and although there was a toilet nearby there was no toilet roll, so we popped across to Harry and Jenny’s house which is quite close by. They were just finishing lunch, and we had pudding with them.

When it came time to get ready for our evening service, I dressed first in a red jacket, navy shirt and cream pants. Nick came out the room wearing cream chinos and a dark blue shirt, and when he put his black and red leather jacket on I saw that we looked co-ordinated. To make matters worse, Aaron had copied Caleb in his outfit of blue-sleeved shirt with red vest over and cream pants. Doh. It was the Clevely Co-ordinates. We went outside to take a photo because it looked so naf. No one commented at church though so perhaps it wasn’t obvious to them (or they were too polite to laugh).

Family tradition potentially fatal

We came straight home after Good News Club today, not needing anything particular in town, and all four of us got involved in a quick house-clean. It was wonderful, and in 45 minutes we straightened out, packed away and vacuumed the whole house. I thought it would be fun for us to make this a regular Saturday thing; Nick said he’d rather kill himself.

In the afternoon we visited a church family in Sandy Bay. It’s such a beautiful drive to that part of the island. Our visit was good – always great to catch up with people we don’t otherwise socialize with.

Elle Cee in the market

Out and about today - we left home at 8, to first stop at Knollcombes for Nick to collect rocks, then to Head o’Wain – he was going to do some work on the path while I was in town. We left him there in the rain, and got to town just after 9 – first stop was the manse to collect all the beading goodies, then to the market. The boys helped me set up, and shortly before 10 when I was ready, they ran up the road to Pam’s place, as I had asked if Maddie wouldn’t mind looking after them. I made some good sales in the market in the two hours I was there – half of the proceeds go to the church’s rockfall relief fund. I was due to fetch the boys at 12 but ran late with a few late sales, and then we drove to Head o’Wain to fetch Nick again. We weren’t even as far as Knollcombes though when we saw him walking along the road – shame, he had walked really far but was happy enough!

006

As of today, I am licensed to sell. It’s a good feeling. I had a busy morning with lots of errands to run in town – dropping off necklaces and the display board at the manse, paying the ₤60 at the cashier’s office in the castle, taking that receipt to the immigration guy and getting my official letter, then going to SHDA to book a table in the market for today, then to Saint FM to ask them to run an announcement for me, and finally to the coffee shop to meet with Elza, Pam and Maureen. I took three of my scrapbooks for Elza to see the latest pages, and she had brought hers too, so we had fun, in between apologizing to the other two ladies for our shop talk! Nick and the boys meanwhile had been at the pool where the boys had a short swim and then tried to get warm. We all left the coffee shop around 12; the boys ran up with Maddie to their place and got started on the pizzas, Pam walked up on her own, and Nick and I meandered through town and joined them a short while later. The boys had a super great time making pizzas under Pam’s watchful but unflustered eye – she’s great with them. She didn’t even mind the flour all over the floor!

Crafting Clevelys

I spent the day at home mostly, doing a lot of scrapping and some other bits and pieces. It was raining quite heavily this morning, and at lunchtime Aaron and I decided to walk to the shop for our bread, as Nick was out with the car. We only got as far as the golf course club house before having to take cover as it was starting to rain again, and eventually we decided to run back home and rather wait for Nick. We had no sooner got home and dried off before Nick was home, so he drove us to the shop quickly. Bread has gone up in price – for a 1.5 lb loaf I was paying 66p – it’s now 92p!

The boys had a creative morning – Nick did an art lesson with them, where they colour in pictures with areas of shadow and highlights. Sort of like a paint by numbers. Then I did iris folding with them – they were pretty good, despite a lot of glue on the table. It was fun! In the afternoon the sun was out, so they could alternately play outside or inside with Kay and Josh. They also watched a video.

In the third case

Nick and I tackled Vincent’s second mandolin case. I’ve already lined one of his, and this was the next – he chose the red version of the other material we had used, and it really turned out well! Nick and I are becoming professional box liners. It was a messy job with the polystyrene flying everywhere, but I had the vacuum cleaner at hand so it was fairly contained. That took us into the afternoon, and for the rest of the day I sorted through some 2006 photos to do another page for Caleb, as his scrapbook seems to be missing that year. I optimistically did two loads of washing today (I had to, the wash basket was more than overflowing), and they actually dried. We had a little bit of sun today, but it was dry and fairly windy all day so it dried. Celebrate the small victories! To appreciate the town weather and sun, we took a picnic style supper to the docks, consisting simply of tuna/egg/mayonnaise on sliced French loaf. The sunset was spectacular, and the waves certainly the biggest we’ve seen them – there were actual waves! We meandered down to the machinery area as well, simply enjoying being outside at that time of the day. The lighting on the three bayheads to the east of Jamestown was beautiful – I hope the photo captures it for you.

The ship is back tomorrow! I’m sure the whole island gets excited when it returns from the UK, whether or not there is anyone or anything coming for them. It’s just so nice to see the RMS again after her long absence.

Mundens on Monday

Still on school holidays, and Nick has a quiet week as bible studies are in recess and Sunday coming is a Lay Preacher’s day – no preparation for him! We had a leisurely morning at home until about 10 am, when we headed into town for our rescheduled Munden’s walk. It was getting chilly in Longwood, so we weren’t expecting a hot day in Jamestown – the skies in town were grey and we even had a few specks of drizzle, but it was reasonably warm and very comfortable for walking. The Munden’s walk starts behind Ann’s Place in Castle Gardens, and goes uphill along the Munden’s bayhead towards the docks. We ended at a house and battery and fortifications, which were very interesting to look around. We’ve done this walk before, but about two or more years ago before the path had been sorted out and it was dangerous in places. Now, the path is wide and even, and very easy to walk. There were some scary bits where the five-year-old had to be carefully guarded, where there were sheer drops and dizzying heights, but thankfully we were all safe! Nick took the boys down a rickety, rusty ladder to some lower structures, and I got nervous just watching them descend the ladder.

We had a slight delay in getting to town, as they were cutting down trees. We didn't mind though - it was interesting to watch them working the robotic arm thingie which picked up the logs and arranged them neatly on the trailer.


To give you an idea of the size and scale of the fencing put up over the cliff faces to prevent rocks from tumbling onto the dock area.

An unguarded drop off to the right with the sea very far below...be careful smarty pants!

The ladder descends a near vertical drop, continuing down another ladder below this one.

Interesting nuggets

It’s been SUNNY today!! Wonderful, glorious sunshine. It was by no means hot in the country, as there was a chilly breeze about, but to have blue skies and everything dry…lovely! Nick and I went on our prayer walk this morning, around the golf course, and by the time we were home and I was out the bath, it was 9.20 – rush rush to get to Good News Club on time. After the club we went into town briefly, just to buy a few goodies including cat food, and we were home by 12. We ate our Hawaiian chicken burgers outside, sitting on the camp chairs which was super. I scrapped digitally in the afternoon while Nick was at Tammy.

There were some policemen at Piccolo today, presumably doing training, as they were dusting a car for fingerprints. It was quite interesting for the boys to watch – they spied on them through the hedges. Also here today was a group of scouts doing some long-wave radio communications worldwide. Apparently they spoke to someone in Germany. We had wondered why there was a big aerial set up on one of the units!

Presenting...Mr Chicken!

Pottered around here this morning – I did absolutely nothing constructive other than typing a few e-mails and tidying up a little bit. In the afternoon we had to be at Knollcombes at 1.30 for Nick and Vincent to put in the new sign advertising that there is a church there, and the times. Steve made the signs before they left on holiday in June, but this one is only now going up. Unfortunately it lists our old telephone number as the contact number! At 2.30 we needed to be at Prince Andrew High School for the presentation of an oversized cheque by the school. They had had a mufty day (civvies day), and for the privilege of wearing their own clothes they had to each pay 50p, which all came to the Baptist Church relief fund. It’s wonderful that so many people are making an effort to help us.

At 3 pm we were back at Knollcombes for the second Fundraising Meeting, which wasn’t terribly fruitful, but we diarised dates of forthcoming events which are a coffee morning, Ladies’ Orchestra concert and potential sales of CDs, books and necklaces when the next tourist ship comes in. There is a divided opinion as to what should be rebuilt first; the manse or schoolroom. Nick originally thought the schoolroom as it would give the church some stability again, and a place to hold services, children’s ministries, and any fundraising events and meetings…however, on second thought, the manse should rather be built so that the next incoming pastor will have accommodation! Directly after the meeting we went to Harry and Jenny. We had a supper arrangement with them, which included a ‘come early for fellowship’ invitation. As it was, we only got there at about 4.45 by which time Jenny was ready to start the supper. Freshly caught and battered tuna, with chips and beetroot. Delicious! I made three garlic loaves to add to the meal, and we had ice-cream for pudding.

As always we had a lovely time with them – Jennifer’s aunt and aunt’s husband are still staying with them, until the end of October. Nick did his chicken and hedgehog joke with a kitchen towel – I can’t explain it in writing!

What guitar practice?

Well, the sun shone in Longwood today for a short while, and there was no rain today – an improvement! Very cold though, especially now as I’ve been sitting still for so long. Pam came around this evening for our regular guitar practice, but I confess that we didn’t pick a string, rather doing iris folding on card making!! Because Pam does girl guides, she has to keep coming up with interesting crafts for them (which is why I’ll be doing a scrapbook page with them end November). She came upon this iris folding thing which I had never heard of, so we decided that she’d teach me how to do it tonight. It’s very simple, just a bit fiddly, but the results are amazing.

This morning, the boys and I went to the Coffee Shop in town to join up with Elza and Maureen for their regular coffee morning every Thursday, which I like to join in with when we’re on holiday. The boys shared a banana milkshake and chocolate cake; I had banana cake and café mocha. We had a great time together, chatting for a little over an hour. When I left them after 12, I bought some bread and rolls from the Star, browsed around Warrens who is having a sale (didn’t see anything with a price that shouted ‘buy me’), then to the Emporium to buy a new drawing book for Caleb, as he filled his last 100-page book with aliens and monsters. Already he has filled about three pages today. He’s constantly at their little desk with pencils and crayons and an imaginative mind. Back home by 1.30; Nick had already had lunch so I fed the boys and then got back to work with some beading and crafting I had started earlier.

Seeing the sea again

I was imagining that I would have the whole day to myself today for beading since we’re having school holidays – I’m getting stock up to sell. As it turned out though, I only had most of the morning. I baked choc-chip cookies and peanut butter biscuits in the morning too, so that was a chunk of time gone, and then stopped at 11.45 to make snackwiches.

After lunch I just had time for one more necklace over a cup of coffee, and then we went to town. We were intending to do the Munden’s walk, which has been much improved and made safer by the CAN France people who did the wharf stabilisation project, but as we started up the first section we realized that Caleb’s coughing and failure to bring his asthma pump were going to be a serious inhibition to our plans. Instead, we went to Ruperts, where we sat on the rocks and drank our Rio’s, ate chips, and stared at the sea. It’s been a long time since we’ve sat at the water’s edge and heard the qwoddle-oddle-oddle of the stones being dragged back by the water. I realized today that I very much miss the interaction one has in town – when you go to the shops in town, you see people you know, and smile, and greet…here in Longwood, we only see each other, or the three or four ladies in the shops. I never appreciated what a friendly place town is! The weather was lovely and warm, although there was a slight drizzle at Ruperts which we didn’t mind. And then back to Longwood, where the road ahead had all but disappeared in the fog.

24-Hour Bible Readathon

Our first official fund-raising event is over. From yesterday noon until noon today, the Bible was read aloud in the Salvation Army Hall, both by people from our congregation and people not linked to our church in any way. The entire New Testament was read in 18 hours, and then with no fanfare or pause to celebrate, Genesis was tackled. Steve and Maureen were there from 12 to 12 yesterday, and then arrived back at 8 this morning to be on hand for the morning’s readings – just to make sure that at all times someone was reading and to co-ordinate things. Nick and I left Caleb and Aaron sleeping here at 9.30 pm to head off – I read for an hour from 10 to 11, and then came straight home, on my own.

Above: Jean, Prudy (reading), Maureen, Wendy, Steve.

Nick stayed up through the night, which explains his present afternoon slumber! There were readers off and on during the night, but from about midnight until 3 am it was just Nick, Barry Dillon who runs the Standard Bar, and Pam (below). The three of them took turns reading a chapter each.We even had some young readers - a few of our Good News Club girls read on Friday afternoon, and the Walters family this morning - the three girls shared a slot (below). So, it was an excellent effort by all. We look forward to hearing how much money was actually raised from this, but think that it could easily be more than ₤1000. This morning Nick was handed ₤250 in donations from three people, so that counts towards it.

Just in case

Vincent made a mandolin case for me – it’s wooden, very sturdy, and lockable – and antique looking, so lovely in its home-madeness! Nick and I lined it first with polystyrene, and then material which Nick helped me choose (okay, really, he chose it) from the Emporium. It’s curtaining, which is a given, but very suitable for our purposes. I'm thrilled with the case!

Give...please?

It’s pretty cold and somewhat windy this evening…the weather today has been totally unpredictable from one hour to the next. The sun was out at 6.30 am, but an hour later it was raining. Seemed to alternate between sun and rain on an hourly basis for the rest of the day. I didn’t even try a load of washing. Over breakfast we were listening to the radio, following the 7 am news, and when Aaron heard the music he said, quite annoyed, “This isn’t about Jesus!” and quickly put on a Christian CD! Caleb was feeling poorly today, but he managed school fine, and was practically dozing on the couch by the time we got to the last read-aloud. Nick went off during the morning to the Manse, to meet with a contractor to give him a quote – he has been promised a written quote in 2 weeks’ time. That will give us a better idea of our goal. This coming Friday and Saturday we are having a 24-hour sponsored Bible Reading event – 48 people are needed to read for half an hour each, starting at 12 noon on Friday and ending at 12 noon on Saturday. Before it happens though, we have to go about collecting sponsorships. I asked my ladies at craft group this afternoon, and they all sponsored quite generously, and then after supper Nick and I did our worst thing ever of going door-to-door begging sponsorships. People are being quite good about giving though. I commented to Nick that I felt like the Israelites before leaving Egypt, approaching their Egyptian neighbours and asking for articles of gold and silver – which the Egyptians willingly handed over!

Lucky pot

Tammy invited us to a potluck this afternoon…but a potluck what? I wasn’t sure if it was a lunch, tea or supper, so I took meatballs, garlic bread and a pasta and fish salad…can’t really go wrong with those. Turns out it was a tea, but my offerings somehow blended in. We had a super afternoon with them – the boys were happy to be with friends.

Tooth Momster needed again

We experienced a first yesterday morning – early sun! The boys were exclaiming in loud voices at 6 am at the bright spot on their curtains…I had also been staring at our curtains in wonderment for some time, so fully understood their excitement. There was a bank of cloud over the sea, and a thick blanket of cloud above us, but between that the sun was parading its early oranges in a strip of open sky. That set the tone for the morning – there was too much daylight happening to stay in bed, so we got up, had breakfast, then Nick and I went on a prayer walk…though first had to examine Caleb’s mouth as the tooth had just come out.


The rest of Saturday morning unfurled after its usual pattern, and the afternoon threatened to do the same, except that after Nick had gone to Tammy I took all four kids to the fields below us to help me collect some more plants. I’m more convinced now that the flowers and groundcover we collected are weeds, but they are pretty weeds.

Surprised by flatland

The boys started school early again today – such a bonus for me – and I let them skip their reading since Aaron was well ahead of his reader schedule (instead of reading just three or four pages from his assigned book, he’ll read it all in one go!), and Caleb is reading fairly advanced books on his own, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt if we skipped it for a day. We had a science experiment to do which involved mirrors and code writing and carbon paper, which the boys absolutely loved, and after just a bit of history and a read-aloud we ended up finishing school at 11 am - yeeha!

Nick discovered a beautiful part of St Helena that we have never seen before. There is a little path leading out of Piccolo at the bottom, which goes along several fields of weeds, potatoes and wildflowers. We were staggered to see so much flat land, and disappointed at its poor use. It belongs to the government and is designated as farmland. They could be growing enough crops to feed half the island’s population – tomatoes, squashes, onions, potatoes – but instead it has been neglected. Alternatively, it could be used for the airport (these are our grand schemes for better ways to utilize the land), but since it’s allocated as farmland that will never happen. Sometimes you just have to shake your head in wonder at the diverse ways that are found to waste tax-payers’ money. But still, we had a lovely walk in the afternoon, through the fields and then into a small wooded area. It was quite amazing and I will have to remember to take the camera there some time.

Our fundraising blog is now up and running - please support us in our efforts to raise money to rebuild the manse, church and schoolroom. I really feel quite heart sore every time we go to the rockfall site. We were at the manse yesterday, and I needed to get a few things from the schoolroom (actually I found what I was looking for in the church). Walking through the rubble which was once our church is so discouraging – it almost seems like a hopeless cause, BUT for the fact that we are in the hands of a powerful and miracle-working God! We’re still retrieving our personal effects from the manse. I don’t think we actually have space here for all the stuff that we’ve accumulated at the manse, so gradually we bring what we need next. Yesterday it was wrapping paper, the boys’ baby teeth which I’ve kept which they now want to see since the tooth fairy’s identity was exposed, two small pillows and a few books for the boys, rolled oats and digestive bran (which I had to toss due to the small creatures living in the tub), samples of Caleb’s early writing, and a glass jug. The other day it was a pair of boots and a jacket. Tomorrow it will be the hosepipe connection and an empty tin which I will transform into a tool tin for Nick. Silly stuff all the time. How much stuff is too much? Perhaps I should go on a simplification scheme and use this as an opportunity to declutter, but perhaps while we’re on the island it wouldn’t be prudent…I mean, I can’t exactly replace a roll of tulle or decoupage serviettes at the drop of a hat!

We threw a small party for Maddison’s birthday yesterday evening – Pam and I didn’t even touch our guitars! Once the cake had been enjoyed and some E-numbers drunk, Maddy went off to entertain the boys while Pam and I looked at each other’s photos of our pre-St Helena lives.

Tooth, goats, soup and stories

Aaron got his ultra-wiggly tooth out today. And oh dear, the tooth fairy’s secret identity has been exposed. I knew I should have hidden Caleb’s extracted tooth in a better place than the drawer in my craft cabinet here, but when Aaron went hunting for glue today for a science activity sheet he came across the tooth. Some questions put to their honest mother revealed the truth – which they had been suspecting all along, but now it is confirmed.


Caleb and Aaron have been getting friendly with some goats – apparently Caleb has gone so far as to actually have a ride on the back of one! I haven’t verified this and find it slightly hard to believe, but they definitely have been petting the goats, and Aaron came rushing in today declaring that they needed the hammer in a hurry as the big billy goat was nearly free from his tether, so I guess they were going to hammer the post in deeper… “No dilly-dallying”, said he, frantically looking for the tool!

I made soup for supper, so yummy. The boys actually enjoyed it which is unusual (they’re not big on soup) and Aaron even had a second helping. I think that since we have been learning about “What’s Inside You” in school, they are aware of the fact that bodies need the four main food groups, so when I pointed out that the soup contained three of those they were happy to eat it. Speaking of school, the boys started at 7.30 this morning, just for fun…they got most of their maths out of the way, as well as most of their written work, well before 9 am! I was very happy for them to go ahead with the stuff, but surprisingly we didn’t end school very much earlier – but I think Wednesdays tend to be a slightly heavier day, work wise. The boys had to write stories in the Language section, which I took down on the laptop – I type much faster than I can write. Here they are:

THE MAN CRAZY
By Aaron
Once upon a time there was a man called George and he didn’t like bats in his house so and they came in from the chimney, and so he scared them out with a big blowy thing and then he farted them away. Then this shuttle came down and the x-men came out. And the man that didn’t like bats in the house, he wanted to rule the world and the x-men killed him.
The End.

THE END OF THE WORLD
By Caleb
Once upon a time a boy was being born and when he was about five years old he was told that if he ever saw an alien space shuttle that looked like a flying saucer come down, then it would be the end of the world. So the boy also was told that he must never be unkind or the space shuttle could come down and when he was fifteen years old, he forgot what his father said and a woman asked him for water, but he said, “Go and get your own”. And at that moment he heard a rumbling sound and he saw the space shuttle coming down and suddenly everything went dark. His dog stopped barking; the houses started to crumble; he felt the earth closing in to him and he saw that the sun and the moon were becoming one. Then, when the space shuttle went back up into the sky, it shot the sun and the moon and earth until there was complete nothingness, and then the boy found himself alone, floating in space. Then he saw that he was above the space shuttle and one of the doors were forgotten to be closed so he climbed in and closed the door, and then the space shuttle went to another world.
So when it was unloaded he saw all of his friends, everything on earth too, being unloaded so then he wanted to know how to get around and then he saw his dog being unloaded and the dog had a piece of paper and that showed the boy how to get around. The piece of paper pointed north to get to the post office and pointed south to get to his house and pointed east to get to the police station and west to the fire station. And then he saw that there was a building that looked like his house so he went into it and he saw his mother and father and they lived happily ever after in the new world.
The End.