Nice outfit!

It might be pretty chilly back home but it makes me appreciate even more our life here in gorgeously sunny Uganda (and no, I’m not missing scraping the ice of my car window one bit!). It’s been really hot and dry recently, though when it rains it POURS, so you might hear the odd bit of news about flooding still. However, we’re fortunate enough not to be affected out at Tudabujja.

You’ll be pleased to hear that we survived CHOGM- Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Actually, to avoid the frustrations of our route into town being closed on and off (it’s the road from the airport into Kampala) Nathan and I relocated to the city for a few days, making the most of the 2 extra public holidays generously awarded to keep us commoners out of the way. We didn’t go and see the Queen as we were having far too much fun with our friends at siege parties!

As predicted the event did affect the street boys who were not only rounded up and sent to a detention centre (which is ‘normal’ practice) but were thrown into adult prison cells to ensure that they didn’t escape and make the streets look bad. Not a pleasant experience as you can imagine. So, Tigers put on lots of extra things at our clubhouse so the boys didn’t need to go onto the streets even in the day which seemed to have a great impact.

Down on the farm we’ve had lots of piglets born recently. We’ve also started side lining in school trips. Some classes from various international schools in Kampala have been/booked to spend time on the farm. It’s been great fun for them; collecting eggs, holding chicks, feeding the pigs, watching the cows being milked and planting crops. It’s also been great for me to get back into practice teaching the age I love and a great fundraiser for the project.

In other news a new building is under construction at Tudabujja with 2 school rooms, an office and a medical room. At the moment the boys are being taught under a thatched roof with open sides so you can imagine how problematic teaching can be when a tropical storm heads our way off Lake Victoria!

The community around us continue to be incredibly welcoming and like to make sure we’re fully immersed in the culture. Our LC1 (local chairman) invited us to his daughters introduction ceremony. The Baganda tribe have a tradition that a man hoping to get engaged must go to the bride’s family with his own family and friends and persuade them (through many hours of rituals) that he is a suitable husband…oh, and it helps that he brings them all masses of food, gifts and a couple of cows! We tried to look the part (as you can see in the photo – sexy!) but it mostly made people laugh (as you can tell by the reaction of the security guards behind us). The whole ordeal made Nathan’s nerve wracking phone call to my Dad look like a piece of cake!

I’m performing in the panto next week which must mean that Christmas is just around the corner…oh yes it is!... so hope you’ve checked out RETRAK Wrapped Up. Discover great gifts that make a huge difference in the lives of some of the worlds most vulnerable children. Go on, you know it makes sense, it’s far too cold to go out to shops...just follow the link above.

P.S. Are you proud of me for not mentioning chocolate in this entry?...Doh, just did!! Oh well, now I’ve done it I might as well reopen the competition for sending the most chocolate to PO Box 7737, Kampala, Uganda ;-)