Thursday 20th February
Today I am cutting the wood to make the shelves for the 2 units I painted yesterday. We have a stock of conti-board and I'm given the services of the joiner and the bench saw. First we have to obtain the key for the container and extract the board from where it's been blocked in by a few dozen bags of cement. The extension lead for the saw has disappeared overnight so another one has to be found. The saw won't work and there is a flash and a small fire where the bare wires are pushed into the wall socket. An electrician is summoned who scratches his head for a while and declares there is a problem with the extension lead. Eventually the saw is working but after the first cut the joiner says he'd rather cut them with a hand-saw. Working to my measurements he cuts up 12 boards. About 5 of them fit first time, the others have to be trimmed to fit the rather irregular spacings in the frames. With a couple of tea breaks this takes us until early afternoon, by which time I'm feeling quite exhausted and dehydrated after working out in the sun for so long.
After a break I head for the relative coolness of the pharmacy to prepare for tonight's computer lesson.
Earlier in the day I had casually asked Abdoulie how much a bicycle would cost. He immediately assumed this meant I was going to buy him one. Later in the day he turns up with a wreck of a bike the owner wants about £30 for. I point out the loose headset and the way the handlebars have a mind of their own. No problem, Abdoulie says, he will fix it for me. Well bring it back for me to see when it's fixed then and I'll think about it. Apparently it's the only bike for sale in the whole of Bansang and it's a bargain as he's beaten the seller down from 2,800 dalasi to 2,000. The bike is returned twice later on and both times I reject it as unservicable. Abdoulie is crestfallen.

Friday 21st February
First job this morning is to change some English money. I've already been warned that I won't get anything like the 64 dalasi to the pound I can get on the coast so I decide I will settle for 60. If I can't get 60 we'll manage with what we've got until we get back to Banjul next Wednesday. We've been invited to Sulayman's village tomorrow and I want to take a bag of rice with us. The first place we try says he has no money until an hour's time but won't tell us a rate until he's checked with Banjul. The next place we try offers me 50. We leave in disgust and go back to the first place who has now discovered he has money and offers me 59. I get him up to 59.5 and settle on that. Sulayman and I then buy 2 bags of rice which are a bit cheaper than I was expecting. We bring them back to the house in a taxi.
I fit the last of the 15 shelf units I made earlier and take a walk round the hospital to look at work in progress. I'm disappointed to find the new ovens are out of use still due to the painting work in the kitchen area. The external work on the pharmacy area seems to be progressing well though.
This evening there is a football match arranged between the hospital administration and the staff. I decline several invitations to practise my footballing talents for both sides but we duly turn out to watch the entertainment. Despite gross cheating by the staff fielding 12 men in their team the management win 1 nil thanks to a splendid goal by Dembo.
Vanessa, Sulayman and I walk on to Paradise for a pleasant meal and an enjoyable evening.

Saturday 22nd February
I borrow a scooter for the day and Sulayman and I head off into Bansang to buy a case of drinks for children in his village. When we get back we decide that I can just about manage 2 sacks of rice on the pillion seat.

I take Sulayman to his village and come back for the rice and then a 3rd trip to bring Vanessa. We meet Sulayman's parents and all the village children gather round as Sulayman distributes the cartons of juice we brought.

Vanessa recognises some of the children from the school she has been teaching at. Sulayman's father is very appreciative of the rice we have donated to the compound. The tea making ceremony commences and after the first pouring we move into shade of a nearby mango tree for the second. The children amuse themselves by setting up a high jump. One for the older ones and a smaller one for the little ones. We weren't' expecting to be given lunch and we both struggle with the huge plateful of food put before us. We have to admit defeat and apologize profusely for not being able to do justice to it. When it's time to leave we are rather embarrassed to be presented with 2 hens. We realize that we can't refuse them as it would cause great offence. We try to get away with just accepting one but that doesn't work. The ride home is made with Vanessa clutching a live chicken upside down by its legs. The return trip for Sulayman sees both chickens back at the house. They are both in a state of shock after their unusual transportation. So what do we do with them now Sulayman? You will have to kill them and eat them was the answer. The white one squacks in terror. That's not going to happen I say. Even if we did prepare them we can't cook and eat all that meat before we leave in 3 days. The chickens sense there might be a reprieve and calm down.

We'll have to give them to someone who already keeps hens Sulayman suggests. And that's how Wandifa came to receive 2 presents from us. I tell him he is just looking after them for us and we will expect progress reports on their well-being. I just hope we haven't caused any offence to Sulayman but as far as we can tell I think he understands it just wasn't practical for us to keep them. Hopefully his father will never find out. Wandifa tells us that being given chickens as a gift by a rural farmer is a great honour and we were correct not to refuse them.

Sunday 23rd February
Abdoulie is sweeping the patio before we are up. He's wearing his Sunday best. I think it is because he wanted to show it to us. We invite him in for a cup of tea and he insists on doing the washing I had just started.
We walk across to the hospital and make a complete tour of the site to take photographs of work in progress so we can report back to Anita. I return the fan to Sunkaroo which I'd fixed last night for her. We spot a broken mosquito screen at a window in the children's ward and bring it back to the house to repair. We have enough material to replace the net and it's fairly straightforward to fit. After replacing the screen we check all the other windows. Of the 2 other broken ones we fix one but I need to see Dembo tomorrow to ask if he has materials for the other.
We spend a little time with the children on the ward. One little boy of about 3 has horrific burns from his tummy down to his thighs. He fell into a vat of hot caustic soda while his mother was trying to make soap. He has been taken off the critical list now but his injuries look unbearable. He lies on his back and cries constantly, his only comfort being when feeding from his mother.
Another little girl who had been fitting for nearly a full day continuously with cerebral malaria looks like she is recovering, from this bout anyway.

We are in wind down mode now and thinking of what we have left to do, what we are taking back with us, what we are leaving and who we will donate it to.