Tuesday 5th May

My apologies to everyone I was talking to online yesterday or today, and I just vanished abruptly. Out Telekom, emphasis on the “Our”, is having bandwidth problems, so they continually cut access at odd times, or slow down the rate for uploading and downloading. It’s driving me up the wall here. It took 2 hours this morning to open my hotmail account, from 7.45am till 9.30, then just as I got it to finally open, the power was cut off for 2 hours.

I’m learning a lot of bad toktok pijin words from Shirleyta, she’s teaching me the ones you can use in mixed company, and also ones you try not to use if the minister calls in.

I gave up trying to upload anything at all today, probably a good thing, I’ve got 4 more exam papers to write up by Friday, so not being able to goof off is a good thing.

Shirleyta and I looked at another house we’ve been asked to landscape. I’m turning it into a tropical garden, banana, pawpaw, bougainvillea, orchids, palms on the slope above the house to block the chinese peoples view. All simple straight forward stuff, a few days work for the crew, so that’s good. We’ve got a contract to look after one of the gardens we put in last month, a few days per month for 4 people once a week, mowing the lawns, trimming shrubs, clearing rubbish.

David was a bit hesitant about it, as I said to him, it’s 4 days pay for 4 people we don’t have to worry about now, one day each week, a few more contracts like that, and we’re home safely with everyones wages. We’ve got the middle of the Road, MID, contract finally signed with the Council, 3 days per week for 15 people, from sweeping to mowing, planting, tubs, and the highway from King George IV School to Henderson Field to mow and plant.

David and I felt so embarrassed, together, that’s a first, over the Taiwanese warships that called in over the weekend. I’ve mentioned the $10million dollars that has gone missing from Taiwan supposedly for the Cattle Development Fund, this weekend 428 sailors from the ships decided that the best thing they could do for Honiara was to clean the town up, and they picked up all the rubbish through the town on Friday. David really felt embarrassed that tourists could come here, and they had to show the locals how to pick up rubbish, and how to make the town look tidy. On top of which, the Taiwanese then put on a full days entertainment in Lawson Tama Stadium of martial arts, bands, displays of Taiwanese traditional dance, and food.

Needless to say, the ships left yesterday, and the rubbish is already back through town. It can get depressingly frustrating here at time.

The prison job is progressing really well. The guys from inside are good to work with, keen, and hard working. We’ve got most of the formwork in place for the centre garden area, and flagpoles. Hopefully the concrete will be poured tomorrow, all hand mixed, and then we start with the paving and garden.

From next week I’m embarking on a serious get fit, well, get moving campaign. Walking to and from work each day, it should help get the last few kilos I need to lose off me, being as David continuously tries to stop me actually doing stuff. It’s going to be a running battle with us for a bit longer yet, although he’s slowly coming around. I’m down to one meal a day, I’ve cut the coffee out a lot, back to water again during the day, although the difference between coffee and the water here is neglible, they are both the same colour at times.
Our Rover Mulcher has been used so much it’s started to buckle the exit plate underneath. Or one of the blades has become bent. Whichever, it started making a clanging noise today, so there is my early morning fix-it job for tomorrow. It’s certainly paid for itself in the short time we’ve had it. There has been over 5cu m of compost, coconut husk, and potting mix put through it so

far.

Pic is of one of the orchids in the Orchid House