11th March continued.

I’ve just milked Marie, Innocents cow! Well, sort of! Innocent tried to put me off going in the paddock as the recent rains have made it very muddy and slippery for Marie and those that join her! Innocent hasn’t had the money to have a proper floor laid like the original one where her first calf stays. But there were a few islands of dryish mud so I went for it. However Marie wasn’t in agreement and head butted my first attempt! She’s a big heavy cow! Dear Judith was watching and was so anxious I’d get hurt. She should know by now that this mad English woman doesn’t give up that easily! I tried sweet talking Marie but that seemed to make her worse. So I kept quiet and gently bent once again to milk her. Would any milk come out? No of course it didn’t. Life’s never that easy! Innocent assured me there was a little milk left and in fact showed me, but agreed that Marie was coming to the end of her milk production as she was pregnant again. Good news!
As Marie had settled down and I didn’t feel in danger of being tossed out of the paddock I bent down again and succeeded to milk her! Yes, the evidence was in the bucket along with mud and animal feed, but it was there, probably a couple of tablespoonfuls!! Her second calf is due in September. Thanks Marie! 🤗

https://youtube.com/shorts/PIAac9V7anE?si=uR5ldv56dVaUdpQc

10/03/2024

Hi all
It’s 7.45 Sunday evening. Innocent’s gone off to watch the Liverpool v City game at a local bar. It’s very dark and I’m sat on the ‘shade’. The bugs are a bit active tonight so hoping the 50% Deet keep the worst ones away! I do put a thin shawl around my shoulders now as so many bugs fall off the ceiling aiming for me! I’ve danced around like a mad woman trying to free a big-ish beetle that had gone down the back of my dress and a couple of smaller but equally irritating ones out of my bra!!
Often when I write to you, young Norman sits ‘writing’ in my notebook. Not much space left for my notes now! He simply sits and draws pictures and he can tell me most of the time in English what they are. His English has definitely improved since I’ve been here. He seems to like being with me too.

We’ve now been joined by the neighbouring children and they are very noisy! Actually Norman is the noisiest!! It’s just excitement as drawing for fun is not available any other time to families like these. More keep coming! Now 8 kids aged 2-12! Even now they are drawing what they have obviously been told to draw at school with words beside. Such as ball and boy, and keep bringing their pictures up for me to ‘mark’!! I keep hearing my name Madam Gerry this and Madam Gerry that. I think I may have started something here!! Now 8 kids have accumulated outside, aged 2-12! I’ve come inside!!!
Norman has now brought all their ‘work’ in and put it in my lap!! Two boys are looking at me through the bars of the window, fascinated by this Mzungu !!Home time for them now I think!!

They rarely get a chance as we know creativity, but their creativity doesn’t depend on paper and pencils here. Just look at Gerry in the following video. She found a couple of items and played for ages with them, so content. 😌

10th March

This ‘cock’ was even bigger and heavier than the last four I’ve been given!!!

At home I usually get a special meal cooked for me by my daughters, today I get another special Mother’s Day meal prepared by Judith and Betty with a cockerel only 4 hours since it’s last crow! There was a bit of a panic earlier on when Norman rushed in all flustered to tell his dad that the cock was fighting back, pulling his dad’s arm to get him to go and help his mum! By the time Innocent got there, Betty had won the battle. Poor cock!😢Always very tasty though!😋

At home I usually get a special meal cooked for me by my daughters, today I get another special Mother’s Day meal prepared by Judith and Betty with a cockerel only 4 hours since it’s last crow! There was a bit of a panic earlier on when Norman rushed in all flustered to tell his dad that the cock was fighting back, pulling his dad’s arm to get him to go help his mum! By the time Innocent got there, Betty had won the battle. Poor cock!😢Always very tasty though! 😋

I do love ❤️ Uganda! 🇺🇬

Children bring me farewell gifts! Ibra asked me to sit I’m at Jaxon’s desk and they a stream of children entered the classroom and put a gift of fruit or a coin in my hands! Oranges, passion fruits, sugarcane, and a bottle of water! Ibrahim rushed to get me a bag for it all!
Then children started gathering at the door having been told I had a gift for them too! I did have a bottle of soda and a snack packet of biscuits but they had to wait a while, we had some trees to plant!

Tap on photos to open, scroll along and enjoy!😊

Innocent informed everyone at the meeting the idea for the tree planting, that they were replacing trees that had had to be cut down for building work over my years in Uganda, land what trees we were planting. They are desperate for shade at the school so were particularly pleased with those that would start to give some in a year or two. Then the tree planting started and took some time as we had bought 23 trees! Some to give the much needed shade, some fruit trees and lastly softwood and hardwood trees as an investment. I was really pleased at how easy this all was when you have the right help.