Easter in The Gambia

One of Stoke's 5 goals against Bolton - I didn't take the photo.


As a follower of Stoke City FC the last few years have seen a momentous rise in the club's fortunes. Premier League football has now been confirmed for a fourth consecutive season. While back in the UK the Mighty Potters also earned their fourth appearance in an FA Cup semi-final. Not since the heady days of the early 1970s have Stoke had such a strong team. Our opponents at Wembley would be Bolton Wanderers. I managed to make it again to Soma's premier video club for the game. In their infinite wisdom the Premier League had managed to also schedule Arsenal v Liverpool at the same time - hardly the same as a semi-final game between founding members of the football league! After a small chat with the video club owner another satellite tuner was acquired and we managed to watch both games. As say we - I think I was the only one to watch Stoke trash Bolton 5-0! We've now booked our place in our first FA Cup final - Man City v Stoke City, May 14th!

Stereo TV - Stoke's game is on the left.

I've started to make trips further a field than our local area in Mansa Konko. Not quite the region wide treks we have planned but an opportunity to get out of the office anyway. IT assistance was required at Soma's community radio so together with my IT officer we headed over to their studios to fix their network/internet issues. If you have an antenna similar to our 3G one you can possibly tune in on 93.8FM!

A blog update wouldn't be the same without a trip to Kombo - or an opportunity to visit the British High Commission for another free do! The Gambia observes Easter, together with all other Christian and Muslim holidays, so with the schools closed for a couple of weeks we headed back to Kombo on the big green bus. For people of a nervous disposition they may want to skip forward to the next paragraph. As Tobaski (Eid) isn't until November (when The Gambia is overrun with rams) I wasn't too concerned with the animals loaded onto the bus's roof. About half way into the journey I began to nod off thinking of life back in Blighty - the springtime, the mild weather and the April showers! Hang on - it was still the dry season in The Gambia but rain was coming in through the bus's windows. It wasn't rain - it was ram's urine!! I was getting soaked - the chap in front of me too, who was trying in vain to close the window. I had the dilemma of either avoiding a direct hit in the face by ducking or assisting with the closure of the stuck window! Both Lucy and Ellie found the whole situation highly amusing - together with quite a few other people on the bus. To be fair I had witnessed this situation before on previous journeys and had shared a few chuckles. Lucy's smile didn't last long as she too "got sprinkled" thirty minutes later!

We stayed the first night in Kombo - at our regular destination, Mamas. Originally from Switzerland, Mama has run a hotel in The Gambia for seventeen years and provides a very good bed & breakfast for £9! I also didn’t hesitate to use her £1 laundry services! For Good Friday and Easter Saturday we would join other VSO volunteers in the coastal town of Sanyang - about thirty minutes drive down the coast from the tourist area of Senegambia. We would stay at the Rainbow Lodge on a quite stretch of beach - the highlight of the evening would be a local fish & chips and a bonfire on the beach.

Sanyang FC

Paradise Beach bonfire

On Easter Sunday I attended Mass with Vicky & Lucy in Bakau (very close to the VSO offices). It was interesting to observe the mixture or incense burning, humorous sermon from the Irish bishop and gospel music from the choir. At one point a member of the congregation actually began dancing in the aisle - not quite what I was expecting from Gambian Catholicism.

For my remaining time in Kombo I would stay with fellow volunteer Tom in Kanifing. I helped Tom last time with the computers at Albion School in Banjul. As we didn't have power on my last trip we couldn't do much - this time we managed to network all the PCs in their lab and finish things off. As Tom is returning to the UK soon I'll be helping out at Albion where I can.

We had all received invitations from the British High Commission to attend a function at the Commissioner's residence to say goodbye to Phil, the current commissioner who will shortly be retiring. Who wouldn't want real gin, decent red wine and an abundant supply of canapés at the British tax payer's expense! I had purchased a special African shirt for the occasion but believe it or not the weather was too cool! The current difference between the coast (a chilly 20C) and up-country (a crazy 45C) meant I'd be wearing the shirt back in Soma on pray day! I think I've adjusted to the climate a bit too much as 20C is still 68F in old money.

The day after a group of us headed over to Francisco's to watch the Royal Wedding. We were joined by quite a few American Peace Corps volunteers all wearing fancy hats (the girls that is). Paul, the owner of Francisco's laid on a cooked English breakfast for us so all felt quite at home. All good things have to come to an end so at the weekend we headed back to Soma. On the plus side it was announced that Monday would be a public holiday - national workers day!

Another new African shirt - courtesy of Mr Jawneh our local baker.

While I was back in the UK it was announced that Region Four would be holding May's CCM (Coordinating Committee Meeting) - this is a country wide seminar focusing on education - in UK terms OFSTED would be visiting Mansa Konko! Traditionally VSOs in that region are in charge of collecting/producing the meeting's minutes - we'll see if that tradition continues in my next update...