18th March

I’ve nearly completed all the class work, the next 5 unit are all basic practical , maintaining amenity areas, planting trees shrubs, weed identification so that gives me a break from the classroom, and time to write up assessments and marking schedules.

We had 2 tourists visit today, about 3pm, Australians, who live in Penang. I tried to get one of the ladies to go over and talk to them, but no luck, so I gave them the guided tour around the Gardens, up the river walk etc. Had a really good discussion about what they saw, and their thoughts about Honiara now. They were here about 15 years ago, when it was described as the prettiest town in the Pacific. You’d have to be blind with no sense of smell to consider that now unfortunately. We’ll keep working on it.

8pm and it’s finally raining. I made some wholemeal rolls when I got home, well, pulled the starter dough out of the fridge, added a few cups of flour etc to it, gave it a quick stir and had dinner, then mixed it up. Yeast is temperamental stuff. It doesn’t like it when it’s about to rain, it seems to go on holiday and wait till it turns humid and sticky before waking up. I’m learning as I go.

Add thunder and lightning to the above, I wish I lived up on a ridge top, the lightning is spectacular over the islands off Honiara at times.

I had a few moments of doubt about all this over the weekend, I’ll have to stop thinking it will all happen quickly. As Eric advised me in Wellington, make a list of 5 things to do for the week, if one of them is done by Friday, you’ve had a good week, 2 things you’ve had a brilliant week, then take the weekend off and go fishing.

Someone walked up the river track overnight with a slasher or more likely a bush knife, and indiscriminately hacked the trees on the side of the track down, only small ones, but all filling in the spaces where a few of the dead palms and trees have been cleared out from. I counted 20 Delonix, 14 Caesalpinina, and small palms about 4’ to 6’ high all hacked. None of them were near the pathway, they had to go off the path to reach them. Idiots

It’s a long road at times I feel.

Will phoned this afternoon, he’s calling in tomorrow to pick up the list of equipment for the Japanese Grass Roots Agency Loan application, which I’ve looked at, started, and not completed. I need a 36 hour day, and an 8 day work week, with a 4 day weekend at times here

I’ll have to start urgently on training Tiffany and Shirlyeta so I can spend more time advising and less time doing. 6am to 6pm makes for a long day.

Our power is still being shut off at times with the #3 generator out of action. I was pricing equipment from Australia today, lost 3 emails, well, not lost, but saved one, lost 2 and don’t know if the others were sent or not till I can get back to work tomorrow and check. Our area goes off at 11am till 12.30, then from 2.45 to 3.45pm. Or close to those times. ½ an hour either side is normal. Today it went off at 2.30, still wasn’t back by 4.45 when I finally gave up waiting and went home

Other than that, another day in paradise, the weather stays warm, it rains often enough, and stuff grows.