Blogs from Seychelles, Africa - page 6

Finding out where to make tea is the first most important thing I think I learn on my first day at the British High Commission. The second is how to log in to my beggaring computer. I manage it eventually and it feels odd being on a dot in the middle of the indian ocean and yet connected to the UK Civil Service (once again) like I’ve never been away, though this time its an fco.gov.uk email ending, darling. I also fend off questions about visas that I cannot even begin to answer (its not really what I’m there for) and realise that such questions may now be the stuff of dinner table conversations as I’ve already had informal approaches from people I know. My advice? Read the website that’s what I do.... read more

We’ve managed to get a two bedroom bungalow for our two night stay at a reasonable resident’s rate and though it looks lovely from outside, painted green and cream with a wide porch and green shuttered windows, inside its very basic and the furniture purely functional. Still, I guess the idea is that we’re out most of the time. Abs spots a TV but his hopes are dashed before he has a chance to get them up as we switch it on and nothing happens. The ceiling fans above the beds are also a small cause for concern, it’s clear by the DIY way it’s hooked up that it’s clearly fallen down before. We eat at Chez Marston where we’ve been before as though we considered heading north, it’s a dark walk. The restaurant is quite ... read more

I dream of brand new cars. I want a brand new car, shame they cost about 10k upwards. Instead, we content ourselves with having a new radiator pipe that’s fixed by our new mechanic down Pascal Village (never before visited and now twice there in 48 hours) and we sit and wait on old car seats in his yard in the balmy heat, a school girl stops by for a glass of water before continuing on her walk home (apparently she does the same thing every day) and I feel like I’m in a different Seychelles, the languid Caribbean kind. And I like it. I also like that our car is fixed.... read more

I feel joy as not one but two goals go in against Germany. We then crash and burn not even the prospect of London Dairy ice cream can lift my spirits.... read more

Another day of not earning a dollar but this time the possibility is there, it’s interview time at the High Commission! As it isn’t a lifetime career achievement for me, I’ve done not that much to prepare and so am a little disconcerted to find that I’m to be interviewed by three people, not least one of them being the High Commissioner. Hmmmm. Used to Civil Service competence based interviews I’m not surprised when they ask me how I prioritise my workload or deal with conflict but waffle I do - it’s what I’m good at. I try to effect non chalance as they explain the salary is locally paid, meaning that if I’m successful and to do the job part time as I want to, I’ll be being paid about the same, if not less, ... read more