Thursday 14th May

I’m sure I’ve died and gone to heaven. David insisted on coming home with me tonight, with a cardboard box.

15 coconut crabs, a couple of large ones, and the rest average restaurant size.

We cooked 4 of the small ones and had a claw cracking feast, then a couple have been cooked and gone into the deep freeze, and I’ve still got one large one and a small one tied up on the floor

David and Tiffany stayed for a while, had a good long talk, the more I get assimilated into here, the more I see where we can make things work. My cutting out the free work has had an impact on David, he can see where the money has been going on what I call “hobby” activities. We need more of the private contracts, lawn mowing, garden maintenance as our bread and butter lines, then we start looking at the cream jobs

I‘m still working on the figures for the contract work, I should have them juggled by the end of next week, and ok, we may have to be on a short work week for a while, 3 or 4 days a week, but it keeps the crew together, which is the main point.

David cracked me up tonight, we’re looking for something to cook the coconut crabs in, well, he was looking, I knew I had a wok, and he said,” Jesus man, is that all you have?????????

When it comes down the real basics, yes, it’s all I have. I have a really good set of pots, pans, frypans back in Auckland I bought in Alaska, but the weight makes them out of range to get here, so it’s back to basic cooking.

And I refuse to buy the crap aluminium stuff on sale here.

I get so frustrated dealing with people here a times. We had a guy call into the gardens yesterday, I was busy with the Students, David was out, so he saw Tiff and Shirleyta. Made all sorts of statements about how he had plants and cuttings, seedlings for us, and could we go get them please.

When we arrived at his place today, all he wanted to do was sell us stuff his father had potted up, which we have plenty of anyway, I walked off in disgust, David followed me very quickly.

The good thing was we kept him talking long enough for Jennifer and Imelda to get lots of cuttings from the plants he had we don’t. Petrea volubis, some more bougainvillea we don’ t have, a double pink, a yellow, and a really cerise one. I am sure Tiffany told him we don’t buy plants, we’re basically a volunteer organization, but as usual, if they sniff money, they’ll try anything

We bumped into Kennedy in town today, we’ve got a garden to design and put into the front of the Tourism Solomon Island Bureaux, I’ll get Tiff to approach them on Monday about having a statue in there as well. Kennedy is ok about accepting cost only for it, so long as we start getting the local art out into the community

I feel I have to make it up to him after the Heritage Hotel fiasco. I’m pleased that fell through, they are still trying to stiff us over hiring our tree shredder, we gave them a per day cost, now they are trying to tell us it was a job and finish contract. 5 days worth of the shredder, 2 staff each day, sorry, you pay the going rate, $1600 Solomon per day

I wouldn’t take any work from them now, they screw the price down, then dicker about the bill, and don’t pay anyway. I’ll put it again here in the hope the search engines find it, Heritage Hotels are not worth wasting time on

I’m up to 99 pages in word with this, and 3 months in, ok, it’s going to make a long novel, even with editing

Then again it’s probably only of interest to anyone coming here, which I’d like to think will be a lot more people. Honiara isn’t the Solomons by any means, once you get out of here, it is all the things you read about. Life slows down, there is time for fishing, just lazing around, life can be so good once you get away from the tv, the video, the dvd player,

Not that I’m a prime example, I like being able to get online, although even that has taken a back seat to some extent. And even in the furtherest islands, it is still possible to hook up with satellite. Ok, solar panels and stuff help.

Alphonse, one of the students on the course asked me to type up his speech for graduation. I’m going to include it here because I think it encapsulates everything I’ve said about all the people here. They are so hungry for knowledge, training, learning, that they appreciate, and see, any opportunity as a gift to be accepted, and worked with

Alphonse speaks 4 languages, his own wantok language, his province language, toktok pijin, and English. He understands me talking in English, he asks me questions in toktok pijin, I feel embarrassed that I cannot answer him as fully as I should in toktok

Alphonse wrote

“ Master of Ceremonies, distinguished guests, representative staff, SEB Trainer, Students parents, other colleagues, ladies and gentlemen

It is indeed a great pleasure for me on behalf of the student trainees to take this wonderful chance to breath our appreciation today.

First of all I would wish to first thank Solo Enviro Beautification for their understanding in collaborating with the idea of forming SEB which started in 1999
To take up the responsibility of beautifying our city is indeed a bold step forward in this much talked about development of Solomon Islands, this is to physically beautify our city, a responsibility that each and everyone of us should shoulder. Also on behalf of student colleagues, I would like to thank the CSF’s who helped SEB in its strive to bear this responsibility.

For without your support, the SEB cannot venture further in fulfilling its commitment and their said responsibility. On the same line of appreciation I would like to thank the hard working staff of SEB who have committed their time and profession in conveying the useful course and training

Secondly, many thanks to the SEB Administration for giving us this wonderful opportunity by accepting us freely to undertake the useful course and training. Something that one have to pay large sums of money to do. With that we are awarded with Certificates is seen as stepping stone in gaining entry to other institution of training and more learning.

It is an ingredient that will eventually ease the many challenges that we will face today and tomorrow. And the future that holds many of these challenges awaits us there. Therefore our conclusion in this programme of SEB really pave a way forward for us. For this, thumbs up to Solo Enviro Beautification.

Finally I would also like to thank any students and colleagues for the enthusiasm that you have shown, and the willingness that you have displayed. So therefore, may I state, here that what we have gained from the benefit of our time with SEB will be long remembered. So too, may I on behalf of my colleagues wish SEB in its endeavours and may the future of SEB be bright and full of many achievements. Before I forget, thanks to the SEB workers for your great work well done. All in all, thanks to the SEB Staff, and many others not mentioned here but who have contributed to this course.

Once again ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you very much, may God bless us all”

If anyone has an idea how I can answer that by Monday, please let me know. After reading it today while typing it out, I feel that I have failed to give them as much as I should have.

I’ve said it previously, if I had my own Nursery, and employed all the people on the course, it would beat any competition

Pics are of Sepa, Jocelyn, Suzie, Alphonse and Caroline preparing a tree trunk for the Orchid House, and the coconut crab we had for dinner