Saturday, 19th July 2008
HARD WORK, HARD PLAY
The team leader had a very ‘easy’ job, as people felt so motivated that they started working even before breakfast arrived (this has never happened before!).
Our work was concentrated on two main tasks: 1) Sanding and painting the admin rooms. 2) Fixing the purlins and putting up the zinc sheets on the roof. In the meantime, the local workers were working on the floor of the second classroom and helping with the roof.
Even though on Saturdays we usually work half day, due to the pressure of getting the project finished some people carried on working for another couple of hours.
In the evening, we all had dinner at Dino’s and enjoyed a great party – dancing skills were shown by many. The party went on until 4.30am, but only a few survived!
Sunday, 20 July 2008
OUR DAY OFF!
Most people decided to chill out in Tofo (the market and the beach).
Five of the group headed off for a horse riding trip. Martyn on Riverdancer had the party over the dunes and on to the beach. Accompanied by the stable dog they walked past Mango Beach through the surf towards Barra.
After about half an hour they veered off into the dunes to take an undulating track with a mixture of walking and sporadic trotting from Chris and Dick. From the dunes, they had an amazing view back to Mango and Tofo in the distance.
On the way back, they passed along the other side of the swamp and were rewarded by a different view of the school, a shining white beacon in amongst the palm trees.
Monday 21st July
LAST LEG
Monday morning dawned warm and blue as all of us less Jamie (the latest to succumb to Tofu belly) trekked thoughtfully to the site. This project really is turning into a cliff hanger. Will we really have it all finished by the end of the week? There still seems so much to do.
Breakfast was delayed so we bought forward the day briefing session. Stuart, the day leader roused the troops with his own personal and passionate take on why we are here and building so much more than just a school and why we are the team that can pull this off in the days remaining to us.
For the roof team the day kicked off backwards as quite a few roof sheets had to be taken up and the whole line of the roof realigned in order for the ridge pieces to work properly. This was mostly done by the local carpenters and the roof team busied them selves with joining the local workers knocking the snots off or otherwise known as snot knocking/ and even snogging as Stuart calls it!
Two painting teams were also flat out all day, with just a brief lull before lunch whilst waiting for fresh supplies. Some of them morphed into newly set up window teams who will support the window carpenters for as long as it takes. The latter have come with several family members to help and a power plane and saw , but in spite of this will be pushed to finish by Wednesday, There are loads of beads to be incorporated into the windows, all of which have to be made on site, cut to length and positioned very precisely and in some sections sat on silicon.
In the afternoon fresh supplies arrived with Gary including such goodies as Stanley blades, silicon plus, masking tape, other roller extension, window stays plus loads-o-paint-mate and oh, by the way all the inside walls are now going to be cream and the windows grey (what bureaucrat thought of that combination)!
The afternoon also welcomed onto the site Chris the camera man with his dinky HD camera. Working with Mark and Stuart he filmed all the activity and shot some 1-1 interviews with several volunteers.
The last few of the volunteers trekked home to gathering dusk and to find our usual path reduced to plank-width in one place by the women extending their plots onto the highway!
Tuesday 22nd July
Day 26 in the Mozambique hut, the David Healy worshiper was feeling a lot hotter than he looked!!…. So the Geordie boy took the reigns again a day early.
The day began with a mild confusion over the level of finishing work required, there was however lots and lots of painting to do. Some of the team were suffering after the previous efforts have begun to take their toll. Never the less everyone was upbeat after breakfast.
The classrooms were painted in cream, which was a very loose description. Overall the day was very productive and most of the window casements and beading was in place by the end of play.
On return thoughts were with Jamie again and apparently being ill is the best way to get all the ladies into your room. It’s unknown whether or not a “bed bath” is allowed under quest rules??? (Only kidding Ashleigh!!!)
Well that’s about all from me …..
PS
Hello Mum J Ian
Wednesday 23rd July
“Touching Up”
The day started with a lively briefing before starting the varied tasks of painting, painting or (if you fancied a change)…. Painting. The small rooms had to be painted with the final coat of “cream” (several weeks old cream perhaps). After a group discussion the term “learning beige” was stumbled upon and stuck. Some white “touching up” was also required which Sally and Dick got stuck into….
An early morning shower had us all cowering in the school under our lovely new roof whilst some of the local workers took the Micky out of their members of the roofing team when a few leaks became apparent. These were to be sorted out the following day when the roof was dry and a little less slippery.
The end of the day was rounded off with a game of Frisbee having a good time whilst trying to minimise the destruction of the local trees (Ian).
Thursday 24th July
“Which way do you face?”
Today there was a varied choice of tasks for the tired workers. The choice included painting in pink, white, grey or ‘learning beige’, and only Dick was excused to help Des in repairing the holes in the roof. An ingenious solution of very thin sticky tinfoil was employed, fingers crossed it will stand up to the job. The team also benefited from the arrival of four additional scaffolding ladders to help us ‘shorties’ reach the top of the windows, although this was not such a problem for Jamie who returned to site today after his ‘sick leave’. The glass also arrived on site today and with the carpentry teams working hard to fit it, by the end of the day nearly half of the building was complete.
Chocolate on the ‘space mat’ after lunch set some of us up for a busy afternoon’s painting although we were all slightly confused by a comment from Bea regarding which way we face in the site toilet?!? I wasn’t aware there was more than one option!
The afternoon session involved more painting with Chris, Stuart, Nick and Dick doing a sterling job on the grey gloss. It was hard work especially when the veranda was screeded outside of classroom one making it impossible to get in and out. At one point Chris had to the long jump to get out, and then later in the day build a bridge from site debris to retrieve his hat in an Indiana Jones style. I think a few arms will have to be twisted to get them more help tomorrow.
Great work from all team members ensured a really successful day on site. Only one day of work to go - I think we’re going to do it !
Friday 25th July
‘The Day of Reckoning…….’
The day dawned brightly, the team was in high spirits, would it end the same way…..would it in fact, all end today???????
Upon reaching site, we were greeted with the most incredible cake baked by Fernando and family. After a moving speech by the cook himself, translated by Chris (just about!!) a sugar rush of cake was delved into by the whole team, not once, twice but in some case three times!!! A quick practice of the national anthem chorus by the team for Monday morning and then the real work began.
As team leader all I can say is what a team. Jobs did not have to be allocated, briefings were not required as all 15 sets of hands got rightly stuck in with the one mindset….completing the building today as per the Architect/Structural Engineers programme!!!!!
Belting out Rolling Stonessssssssss Classics such as Paint it White, Paint it Grey and Paint it Cream the team got to work – Dick painting the frames, Martyn touching up white, Marty tidying the site, Sarah chief paint spotting, Sally the Sergeant Major keeping order on the ground, Ian Mr Masking Tape himself, Nick the Roller Ace with the painters Bea, Stuart, Mark, Nikki, Wendy, Chris and Christina!!! By the end everyone had a paint brush in the hand!!! The team are a credit to themselves because the grit, determination and willingness shown not only today, but for the whole month has been nothing short of immense. An early finish ensued and the coconut wine flowed with the village elders and fathers in attendance………an interesting taste that wine with a few ‘Roger Rabbit choking eyes moments!!!’. Many photos followed with the workers and villagers and the realisation dawned on the group……………
THE BUILDING WAS COMPLETE (apart from snagging!!!!!!)
A night out to Bamboozi with a local band playing allowed for a chilled and relaxing evening and end to the day!
Finally, all that is left to do is for me to issue the Certificate of Practical Completion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Now Recovered ‘Healy’ Worshipper
Jamie
Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th July.
A well-earned rest, including visits to Inhambane, dhow trips, diving and relaxing in Tofo.
HARD WORK, HARD PLAY
The team leader had a very ‘easy’ job, as people felt so motivated that they started working even before breakfast arrived (this has never happened before!).
Our work was concentrated on two main tasks: 1) Sanding and painting the admin rooms. 2) Fixing the purlins and putting up the zinc sheets on the roof. In the meantime, the local workers were working on the floor of the second classroom and helping with the roof.
Even though on Saturdays we usually work half day, due to the pressure of getting the project finished some people carried on working for another couple of hours.
In the evening, we all had dinner at Dino’s and enjoyed a great party – dancing skills were shown by many. The party went on until 4.30am, but only a few survived!
Sunday, 20 July 2008
OUR DAY OFF!
Most people decided to chill out in Tofo (the market and the beach).
Five of the group headed off for a horse riding trip. Martyn on Riverdancer had the party over the dunes and on to the beach. Accompanied by the stable dog they walked past Mango Beach through the surf towards Barra.
After about half an hour they veered off into the dunes to take an undulating track with a mixture of walking and sporadic trotting from Chris and Dick. From the dunes, they had an amazing view back to Mango and Tofo in the distance.
On the way back, they passed along the other side of the swamp and were rewarded by a different view of the school, a shining white beacon in amongst the palm trees.
Monday 21st July
LAST LEG
Monday morning dawned warm and blue as all of us less Jamie (the latest to succumb to Tofu belly) trekked thoughtfully to the site. This project really is turning into a cliff hanger. Will we really have it all finished by the end of the week? There still seems so much to do.
Breakfast was delayed so we bought forward the day briefing session. Stuart, the day leader roused the troops with his own personal and passionate take on why we are here and building so much more than just a school and why we are the team that can pull this off in the days remaining to us.
For the roof team the day kicked off backwards as quite a few roof sheets had to be taken up and the whole line of the roof realigned in order for the ridge pieces to work properly. This was mostly done by the local carpenters and the roof team busied them selves with joining the local workers knocking the snots off or otherwise known as snot knocking/ and even snogging as Stuart calls it!
Two painting teams were also flat out all day, with just a brief lull before lunch whilst waiting for fresh supplies. Some of them morphed into newly set up window teams who will support the window carpenters for as long as it takes. The latter have come with several family members to help and a power plane and saw , but in spite of this will be pushed to finish by Wednesday, There are loads of beads to be incorporated into the windows, all of which have to be made on site, cut to length and positioned very precisely and in some sections sat on silicon.
In the afternoon fresh supplies arrived with Gary including such goodies as Stanley blades, silicon plus, masking tape, other roller extension, window stays plus loads-o-paint-mate and oh, by the way all the inside walls are now going to be cream and the windows grey (what bureaucrat thought of that combination)!
The afternoon also welcomed onto the site Chris the camera man with his dinky HD camera. Working with Mark and Stuart he filmed all the activity and shot some 1-1 interviews with several volunteers.
The last few of the volunteers trekked home to gathering dusk and to find our usual path reduced to plank-width in one place by the women extending their plots onto the highway!
Tuesday 22nd July
Day 26 in the Mozambique hut, the David Healy worshiper was feeling a lot hotter than he looked!!…. So the Geordie boy took the reigns again a day early.
The day began with a mild confusion over the level of finishing work required, there was however lots and lots of painting to do. Some of the team were suffering after the previous efforts have begun to take their toll. Never the less everyone was upbeat after breakfast.
The classrooms were painted in cream, which was a very loose description. Overall the day was very productive and most of the window casements and beading was in place by the end of play.
On return thoughts were with Jamie again and apparently being ill is the best way to get all the ladies into your room. It’s unknown whether or not a “bed bath” is allowed under quest rules??? (Only kidding Ashleigh!!!)
Well that’s about all from me …..
PS
Hello Mum J Ian
Wednesday 23rd July
“Touching Up”
The day started with a lively briefing before starting the varied tasks of painting, painting or (if you fancied a change)…. Painting. The small rooms had to be painted with the final coat of “cream” (several weeks old cream perhaps). After a group discussion the term “learning beige” was stumbled upon and stuck. Some white “touching up” was also required which Sally and Dick got stuck into….
An early morning shower had us all cowering in the school under our lovely new roof whilst some of the local workers took the Micky out of their members of the roofing team when a few leaks became apparent. These were to be sorted out the following day when the roof was dry and a little less slippery.
The end of the day was rounded off with a game of Frisbee having a good time whilst trying to minimise the destruction of the local trees (Ian).
Thursday 24th July
“Which way do you face?”
Today there was a varied choice of tasks for the tired workers. The choice included painting in pink, white, grey or ‘learning beige’, and only Dick was excused to help Des in repairing the holes in the roof. An ingenious solution of very thin sticky tinfoil was employed, fingers crossed it will stand up to the job. The team also benefited from the arrival of four additional scaffolding ladders to help us ‘shorties’ reach the top of the windows, although this was not such a problem for Jamie who returned to site today after his ‘sick leave’. The glass also arrived on site today and with the carpentry teams working hard to fit it, by the end of the day nearly half of the building was complete.
Chocolate on the ‘space mat’ after lunch set some of us up for a busy afternoon’s painting although we were all slightly confused by a comment from Bea regarding which way we face in the site toilet?!? I wasn’t aware there was more than one option!
The afternoon session involved more painting with Chris, Stuart, Nick and Dick doing a sterling job on the grey gloss. It was hard work especially when the veranda was screeded outside of classroom one making it impossible to get in and out. At one point Chris had to the long jump to get out, and then later in the day build a bridge from site debris to retrieve his hat in an Indiana Jones style. I think a few arms will have to be twisted to get them more help tomorrow.
Great work from all team members ensured a really successful day on site. Only one day of work to go - I think we’re going to do it !
Friday 25th July
‘The Day of Reckoning…….’
The day dawned brightly, the team was in high spirits, would it end the same way…..would it in fact, all end today???????
Upon reaching site, we were greeted with the most incredible cake baked by Fernando and family. After a moving speech by the cook himself, translated by Chris (just about!!) a sugar rush of cake was delved into by the whole team, not once, twice but in some case three times!!! A quick practice of the national anthem chorus by the team for Monday morning and then the real work began.
As team leader all I can say is what a team. Jobs did not have to be allocated, briefings were not required as all 15 sets of hands got rightly stuck in with the one mindset….completing the building today as per the Architect/Structural Engineers programme!!!!!
Belting out Rolling Stonessssssssss Classics such as Paint it White, Paint it Grey and Paint it Cream the team got to work – Dick painting the frames, Martyn touching up white, Marty tidying the site, Sarah chief paint spotting, Sally the Sergeant Major keeping order on the ground, Ian Mr Masking Tape himself, Nick the Roller Ace with the painters Bea, Stuart, Mark, Nikki, Wendy, Chris and Christina!!! By the end everyone had a paint brush in the hand!!! The team are a credit to themselves because the grit, determination and willingness shown not only today, but for the whole month has been nothing short of immense. An early finish ensued and the coconut wine flowed with the village elders and fathers in attendance………an interesting taste that wine with a few ‘Roger Rabbit choking eyes moments!!!’. Many photos followed with the workers and villagers and the realisation dawned on the group……………
THE BUILDING WAS COMPLETE (apart from snagging!!!!!!)A night out to Bamboozi with a local band playing allowed for a chilled and relaxing evening and end to the day!
Finally, all that is left to do is for me to issue the Certificate of Practical Completion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Now Recovered ‘Healy’ Worshipper
Jamie
Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th July.
A well-earned rest, including visits to Inhambane, dhow trips, diving and relaxing in Tofo.
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1 comment:
Congratulation on a job well done. Did you go back to the site today(Monday)to get the reaction of the children who will go to school there?? It would be nice to see pictures of this.
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