20th and 21st October

20th – October

And so our lives have become completely consumed by the visit of Holy Trinity School, Crawley, to our beautiful Sierra Leone. After greeting the new arrivals on Sunday night, Iain drove to meet the team at their hotel (hotel 5/10,) located in Kissy. I, on the other hand, took a trip into the centre of Freetown to confront the rude and obnoxious Immigrations Officer who Master Parks had vented his anger upon the day before. Parksy, in contrast, spent the morning helping the Holy T teachers to budget and organize their trip ahead. When I arrived at hotel 5/10 such was my story of daring and intrigue, that no-one, let alone myself, could believe it! To cut a long and irritating story short, I spent a lot of time arguing with the egotistic Officer and a lot of time waiting around. He wanted a bribe and I, politely, confirmed I was having none of it....we eventually came to the conclusion that I’d have to come back the next day for our passports, by this time, they would have gone through the huuuuge and lengthy process of being stamped!
Iain spent his afternoon with the school as they attempted to register at the British High Commission, they were, also unsuccessful! However, we then experienced a sudden change in fortune during our visit to the Special Court of Sierra Leone. The visit was extremely interesting as we all had the chance to expand our knowledge of the history behind Sierra Leone’s conflict (probably boring to some, but since I’m a future history undergraduate I found it quality......and I know Parksy did as well, so, at least some of us were paying attention.) The court was established to put on trial all of the leaders of various armed forces, and the charges range greatly, however the underlying theme is that of brutal atrocities – crimes against humanity. I could meander on about the visit all day, but instead I shall just say that our knowledge of the history behind the rebel incursion is now greater than most of the Sierra Leonie people. After dropping off the HT gang, we set off for home.

21st
Tuesday.
My morning was another glorious one. An hour trapped in the stuffy immigrations office before, finally, receiving our stamped passports. By this time, I was growing so impatient and ready to kill that it was impossible to even smile as I received the passports. Then, a short time organizing Mark’s helicopter ticket at CAS travel, before heading for home, much relieved. Iain spent his morning with Holy Trinity as they prepared to meet the Bishop and their link school Bishop Johnson Memorial. Apparently the morning was a success as HT were greeted warmly by BJM, and extremely pleased by the presence of the Bishop.
We all enjoyed a lunch at the Seafarers of Jalloph rice (usually for special occasions,) and our favourite cook Unis was particularly pleased by the appearance of myself and Iain. Just so you know Dunc, since you’ve deserted us, you’re no longer Unis’ favourite......I’m not even sure if she remembers your name...or Iain’s even....
After lunch I arranged to meet Iain and the Holy Trinity team at the Chimpanzee sanctuary, up in the hills of Regent by 4pm. Parks spent the beginning of his afternoon by escorting the school back to their hotel so that they could get changed and “freshen up.” As it turned out I didn’t end up leaving the compound until 3pm, and worrying that I wouldn’t be allowed into the sanctuary after 4pm, I told old Pah Jalloh to “drive like the wind!” Well well.....not such a good idea as it turned out. You see, Old Pah Jalloh may be young at heart, but looks to be at least 90 years old, and it’s safe to say I think that his decision making skills have faded away over the years.....dramatically. The highlight of the journey was certainly his attempt to overtake 4 vehicles on an uphill stretch, just before a sharp bend in the road. Unfortunately, as we sailed passed the 2nd car we were greeted warmly by the sweet sound of various horns honking up ahead. Before I even had the chance to contemplate putting on my seatbelt, incidentally the car didn’t have one, Pah (with a shout and various cursings in Kreole) had slammed on the breaks sending both of us careering forwards. By 4pm, a little shaky, I reached the sanctuary, and it seemed Iain had also had an interesting journey; he on the other hand, was bleeding badly. After the teary eyed lad had recovered, I managed to decipher that one of the Holy Trinity kids had lent forwards during their Poddah poddah ride, crushing Iain against the seat in front. Anyway, once the leader of the Holy Trinity team had given Iain a plaster to put on his pinky finger, we set off on a tour of the sanctuary. Unfortunately for Iain his painful adventures of the day were not yet over! Blissfully observing the chimpanzees as they played and fed, Iain was struck viciously by a pebble right the head. One of the Chimpanzee’s, clearly threatened by Iain’s manly nature (obvious to all!) had hurled a pebble at poor Parksy’s head. Iain managed to catch the next stone thus taunting the chimp, however the first throw had left its mark on the man from Middlesbrough and, I’m afraid everyone, he may never recover.
After a classic time at the sanctuary, I set off to collect Mark from the heliport, taking the time to fill him in on the experiences of the last 2 weeks.