drival but no pics, sorry

I've been back in Blighty for 6 days, managed to lose my phone en route but it was a cheapie with 2 quid credit on it so I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.
The journey was pretty uneventful, taxi to the bus, bus to the border, duly handed over £10 for my transit visa, dropped off at the airport and a taxi to the hotel. Fortunately I'd asked a Kenyan on the bus how much the taxi should be, they asked for 1500 KES and settled for 600, the advice was 5-600 so I did OK. The 'hotel' was a converted block of flats on a housing estate,no sign posts, a 6 lane motorway close by with 2 extra lanes either side with no visible means of crossing. The receptionists were less than helpful although the bed was clean and the shower very welcome.
Went for a walk to try to find some nourishment, found a decent looking local restaurant, african and european dishes. Things were looking up, no they weren't! 'Sorry no samosas, beef, omelette, rice, only chicken and chips' It was edible and cheap, the bananas and watermelon slice bought from a duka were better
Breakfast in the morning was inedible, dry sweet bread, the instant nescafe was ok bought to the room on a tray which they then took away so food was balanced on the bed. Transport was late going to the airport but I shared with a young American guy who became my nephew for an hour so that we could queue separately for checks and passport control then join each other at the front of the queues talking about non existent family members who would (not) be waiting for us. Worked well, I'll probably never see him again but who knows?
Life has been hectic since Friday, loved meeting up with some very special people, more meet ups to come. Oh how I have missed these people. I have some lovely folk back in Arusha but our memories are recent, with Gill, Tracey, Wendy, Lou, Rachel, Jill, Mags and Lesley I can say 'do you remember when?' which then leads on to other memories. Who needs a gold ring when I have these diamonds in my life? I am a very lucky person indeed
Sorting the house out has been relatively easy, I really don't need 'stuff'. I've been putting photos onto the computer and keeping only very special things. I am limiting myself to 1 large box. Plates can be replaced but a cushion which Meg made many years ago can't.
Hope to be able to post pics next time as I do now have a camera, no idea how it works though
I did get my bag of walkers cheese and onion crisps, they were pretty good too
Bye for now and thanks for reading x

Funny couple of weeks

First the bad news, my computer stopped working, found out that the new battery bought in February no longer holds a charge for more than 40 minutes, my camera shutter lens wouldn't open, got it fixed but now it's broken again. Not cost effective to do another repair so I'll have to wait until I go back to the UK to get another camera. It's still cold, Getting fed up with it now especially when I see UK friends posting on FB how warm it is there, it just isn't fair, moan moan moan!
Now for the good stuff
The centre was closed for 2 weeks so I had 3 of the kids here for lunch one day, a bit crazy but they loved the chocolate cake

We welcomed 2 new volunteers Themi and Ada from Nigeria, they were only with us for 2 weeks but they loved the kids and were kind enough to buy 2 tables and 2 benches for the school room, sorry no pics due to the broken camera but thanks Themi and Ada, hope you can come back in 2015

Sadly said goodbye to Ilse from Holland, she has been a may zing at the centre, the kids loved her enthusiasm, dancing and art, She will be missed                                                                               

The tailors are working on some new products, one great idea is an infinity scarf with a hidden pocket for a passport, also some new designs for quilts. They are a great bunch of women
We welcomed 8 new kids at the centre, Neema our social worker's 3 boys, one is there only when school is off, her youngest is clingy with mum but he will settle in I'm sure. Brighton and Bryson are twin boys aged 1 year 2 months so we now have 7 babies! plus Jessica and Isaac brother and sister, Jovan and Prisca That makes 32 on the register......HELP!!
I finally have my 2 year visa, thanks to Kelvin and his hard work. Actually I only have the visa number and not the stamp but it counts from the date on that receipt so I can stay here until 24/07/2016. It only took 7 and  half months!!
Look at this slightly odd but effective baby walker. I am getting a local fundi to make 2 thanks to a kind donation from a friend, it will help the wobblers to progress to walking.

Moving house on Monday, trying to sort out my trip home, went to Karatu on Wednesday to see one of our outreach families even though it was a public holiday, sorry no pics but the great news is that both girls tested negative for HIV, plus 2 days teaching First Aid. I'm busier now than I ever was when working full time for the NHS. So much for retirement! I'm not complaining, this is the life I choose and I am so very lucky to be able to live it.
Lastly, pic of the new house, I'm renting a room from a friend who is actually renting the house but I am setting it up because she is out of the country. Things move slowly here, 48 hours before moving in and there are no wardrobes or water, fingers and everything else crossed that it is all sorted out if not I'll be wearing crumpled clothes for 2 weeks, hang on I've been wearing crumpled clothes for 8 months because ironing was one of the things that I gave up on retirement

The next blog may be from Blighty or I may just squeeze one in before I go.