Letter 28 / 11 / 83
There have been so many interruptions today. We had to help write out documents for a land ownership business - that was very time-consuming. And just as we finished the S family turned up. (He is the white school principal).
They have just one week to go, and they are really ready to leave! We see a fair bit of them lately, I think they need to let go of a few of their tensions. Funny, we hardly ever saw them at the start of their year here.
James and their two girls play really well together, which keeps all the adults happy too ... but makes Alison get very animated in her desire to join in.
Peter S is in a spot of "trouble" at the moment. Saibo (you might remember he was the chap who took us for a ride in his boat around the back of the island, and left us there) has come to school drunk umpteen times. (He's a teacher). Peter S has given him several warnings, and the other day he sacked him ... and so now of course Saibo has been making all sorts of violent threats against him. Fortunately Saibo is not a popular fellow at the moment and no one is on his side.
New window
Peter made me another window in the kitchen today (the third window). I remember when we first moved in, it was dark, hot, dusty, with boxes of old louvre blades and roofing nails, and then there were wasps nests, rats nests.... bleh!
Now its so bright and airy, with rows of kitchen tools hanging, and neat lines of spice bottles, a sink, a Formica bench top, and a fridge. Not your conventional kitchen, but very "us"!
We've pulled out of a recent low patch - we are all well and happy and thoroughly enjoying ourselves at present. The ducks are growing fast, the tank is full of water, our dinghy should be here next week ... what more could we want? Not a lot of 'formal' language work going on, but plenty of valuable informal contacts.
More ducks
We ordered some more ducks, and they arrived safely and have been sold to island friends, who are delighted with them. James Rice bought three. Peter delivered them to him late in the evening, and James R said he was enjoying them so much he wanted to sit up all night watching them.
