March 2010 Back home again.

Finn and Beatle.

It’s good to see you again Finn and not just through the wonders of Skype and it was good as well to finish a first BRC mission in Haiti which, as the rains began to fall and the ineffectiveness of the humanitarian response became more evident is only going to get more precarious…watch that space!

Haiti Mud

It was shocking crossing the border and seeing what a difference a different/better government makes. San Domingo may have it’s problems also but it’s nothing like the catastrophe that is Haiti. Apart from the sheer joy of being able to have a cold beer and sit in a restaurant, the architecture was so similar to Fez and Morocco. It took me a time to realise that of course the Spanish who came here were from Cadiz, Andalucia and had hundreds of years of Moorish influence

Sunny San Domingo.

Now there's a connection!

I don’t really know how to tell you how different it is going and doing international work now that you and beccie are part of my life. I miss the work, but without you there’s a big gap, a hole where my life misses, and that is you. Thank you for that.

Back at the construction face and things have moved on. Your mum has been in charge of both chantiers and has done an amazing job. We’re down to fine details, which as you can see, mummy takes seriously.

But we’re also moving down and plastering the house, as I’ve said before it’s like watching layers on a cake and apart from our “stuff”, this is the final layer. It feels good to be almost finished….Question is, how long does “finishing” take!!!!!?

Plastering at 813.

With most of our energy focussing on 813, things have slowed at Tazi. But the good news is that at last we’ve bought the neigbours, yes that wreck is fnally ours and at last we can knock it down….god can’t wait.

Neighbours at Tazi.

Only problem is getting the authorisation and we’ve asked and of course it’s going to cost…We’ve blagged it for so long, so now it's payback time. They know we have to pay, we know we have to pay, it’s pure soukism…the question clef is..how much will we pay…..and when will we get our bloody plans from the architect?

Beccie at the neighbours.

In the mean time there’s a bit of time to get to know a bit more about Fez…here’s your mum at the neighbours learning how to make rose water..I always said she smelt of roses…now she can do so on a daily basis!