Happy Birthday Ollie!

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It's now 5.20pm and I'm in the same internet cafe, however we've learned that short and frequent messages/emails are necessary as the power can go off / computer crash at any moment!
Anyway, it is now 3.20 with you so I'm sending a big 'happy birthday' message to my nephew, Ollie, who is 4 today. He should just be tucking into his cake by now. I've not seen any lions or giraffes yet Ollie, just goats, cattle, mosquitoes, one very small spider, a lizard and a cricket ( but without a violin!).
We're staying at the Court View Hotel which is a little haven of flushing loos, electricity (usually) and cold sodas. I'm sharing a little hut shaped room with Cerys. It's like being back in B'ham, sharing with a Welsh girl!
The training sessions have been excellent and we feel fairly well prepared for leaving the town tomorrow. We've had our survival training on mosquito coils, paraffin lamps, pit toilets and washing in a bowl! The reassuring presence is Barbara, who keeps reminding us to call if there are any problems ( though not if it's just a cockroach that's crept into your hut!).
We ventured into Masindi market yesterday, where the presence of several muzugus walking around caused many a stare. Not threatening, just curious. The market had a huge food section with wares spread out on rugs. There was also meat hanging up in the butcher sections (it seemed that you just asked for a chunk to be cut off!) fish, smoked fish, charcoal and stalls selling small lamps made from recycled baked bean tins. ( Complete with '57 varieties' label).

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