The Moat Tales

It is almost a week since the work on the house began and the builders increase in number daily. There is now a team of about 8 although I surmise some are just observing. They all contribute to the planning that seems to happen daily………..loudly and very early. It is clearly…one day at a time! The drainage channel around the house is quite a feat of engineering and each day brings a new surprise. Two water pipes have been perforated with shovels and pickaxe. Both have been mended in the pitch dark when the plumber got back from his day job. I'm glad this isn't my house.

We need to check with Alex daily whether we will be allowed water and more importantly whether we can put any water down the sink or other drainage outlets. Huge amounts of digging takes place each day by young men stripped to the waist and who obviously are no strangers to hard labour. They all look as though they work out 6 hours a day at the local gym, but none will have any idea what a gym is. Watching them has introduced a new form of entertainment to the household!! There is a high ridge of excavated soil between us and the rest of the world. I imagine the locals think we are building a barricade. It doesn’t look good for our community cohesion efforts.

Yesterday, we were told they were cementing the base of the gutter and we couldn’t eject any water from the house. Tricky, but we managed it.  I went out this morning to take some photos (unfortunately the "digging team" are not there but I'll try and snap them before they have completed their job!) and check what was happening and learned that the finished drain will stretch the whole way around the house. I haven’t worked out how the water will leave the “moat” and I don’t think they have either!

We have friends coming today to celebrate Gemma’s Birthday. They will struggle to make their way in. There is a narrow path to the main door that looks as though it should have a drawbridge. The rear door has the gutter running across it and anyone arriving there in the dark will surely fall in and drown.

There is a man outside with very fetching headgear. Origami from a cement bag! It protects his head from cement when carrying it on his head and cushions the bowl. It is a very good design and deserves to be on a catwalk somewhere

I just thought I'd include this shot I took yesterday on the way to the Spot to meet Ghanaian friends for a drink. I don't think the entire brood are in the picture, but this hen was surrounded by over 21 chicks! (They wouldn't stand still to allow me to count them. A little like Reception Class on a school trip! ) What a family.