Thursday 6th May

I’m almost looking forward to the weekend. The little aircon unit we have in the container has just about died, we’ve been promised another bigger unit, the talk was having it installed yesterday, but I think that got mixed up with “Tomorrow” and “soon”. I’ve got a bet with Tiff about when it will be in place, so far I am well ahead and looking safe for late next week. The problem happens with the laptops and computers, they really don’t like running in 35*C temperatures, we’ve been shutting them off between 11 and 3 lately, to try and stop the overheating problems till we get the aircon sorted out.

Vincents Mother died last night, over on Malaita. He’s pulled his holidays early so he can get home on the ferry tomorrow to be with his wantok. Which leaves us considerably short of workcrew at the moment. Jepthah left last week, and has a job at GPOL, the palm oil farm. Imelda is in New Zealand, Andrew is sitting in the hammock at home with his thumb all bandaged up, we could do with another 5 staff immediately.

I keep looking at the sky lately wishing for rain, but all we get is a lot of clouds that never reach peak height or capacity and they fade away as the evening progresses. We had a fair bit of rain the other night, more would be good. The el nino is showing some signs of weakening, but not fast enough to let the trade winds through with the rain.

Tiff and I met up with Hendry at the timber yard behind us, and he is happy for us to use their driveway for access to our plot, so that is another almost problem dealt with. I’ll put a 5 metre double gateway in to allow the truck with the chipper attached room to swing in.

We’ve got 4 crew without workboots now, all “borrowed” by their wantok. We charge them now for replacements that go missing, I’m not intending to supply every village in the Solomons with work boots for everyone. It’s a constant problem though, their wantok don’t realise that the money coming in will stop if the guys don’t have workboots, we send them home till they come with them now. And they lose the days pay etc.

I’ve still got one rat somewhere in the house, Tony sent the repair guys out today to fix the broken screen, so hopefully that stops anymore getting in, all I have to do now is catch the last one that is still in here somewhere. It isn’t as if the house is big, 3 rooms plus bathroom, and not a great deal of cupboards. I suspect it hides behind the stove, and hangs on when I shake it up and down, or behind the fridge. I’ve turned all the clothes over on the shelves, gone through the chair cushions, and not a trace of it, till the morning when I find the droppings on the bench, or stove top. I’m going through a bottle of bleach a week lately, cleaning everything all the time. Plus disinfectant.

I had water last night, I’d got to the stage of getting all my washing out and just about to start scrubbing, when the water went off again. I’ll be outside at the weekend again I think, hand scrubbing shirts sheets etc. And I’m putting in for an extension to my contract??? I must be mad. Although there aren’t many alternatives, at least I feel as though I’m achieving something here, as frustrating as it can be at times.