Shopping for food is an adventure! The local dish which is all some of the kids eat is called Nasheema. It's like heavy, rubbery mashed potato. An acquired taste but it will keep you alive. The town's Spar shopis always busy, somtimes with people buying 40 loaves of bread to take across the border to Zimbabwe.
We cook outside on a two ring gas stove. Not easy when you're preparing for 12 people. We can't/don't eat in front of the children at the schools. We shut ourselves away in the bus and grab a sandwich.
Washing up at camp consists of 3 large bowls; one to wash, one filled with disinfectant and the other to rinse. The you have to flap everything dry as damp clothes just harbour the eggs of a fly that burrows into your skin! Tom and Anna enjoy the flapping though.
Yesterday was a public holiday so no school visits. The bus got a tidy up. It was really sad saying saying goodbye to all our other Bookbus volunteer friends. Tom and Anna are missing them terribly. We're all trying to stay in touch via Facebook and Blogs.
We're now at a lodge before flying to Lusaka tomorrow. We have beds and pillows and everything! We've seen loads of animals. We woke up to the sound of a hippo munching outside our door. Anna got the fright of her life when she plucked a towell from the rail and a toad jumped out of it!
Anna's Blog; Leaving the volunteers was very sad because we had spent so much time with them. Last night was lush, it was like living in luxury compared to two weeks in a squishy tent!
Tom's Blog; Being on the Bookbus was really good fun but sad when we had to leave. Coming to the safari was amazing.
Follow up Blog when we're home on Thursday.
Jim
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Zambia: Average Day
Average Day - if there is such a thing here!
Up at 6.30, breakfast prep if it's your duty or try and get a hot shower. A hit or miss event. Breakfast of cereals, toast or yogurt. Luckily no 'sheema' the local maize dish they have for breakfast, lunch and tea. Azwell the bus driver starts revving the engine at 8 and off we go at an average speed of 5mph down the bumpiest, pothole ridden roads. Kids stream from everywhere to meet the bus.
When we arrive a class of 30 or so is shared between the 8 volunteers. Tom and Anna tend to take 1 or 2 off with them. We have the group for an hour then it's all change to the next year up for another hour. All the while shifting to try and stay in the shade. Tom and Anna are amazing, they work so hard at reading and playing with the kids. Two classes later we have lunch. We have to shut the doors so the kids can't get on the bus. This heats the bus up to about 35 degrees though! Lunch is a picnic affair with leftovers. Another two classes later we can pack and trundle home.
We get back to Grubby's at 3pm. Collapse for an hour, wash hands for the umpteenth time. The you're either on dinner prep or dinner clean up or you have your other duties - water filling, bus sweeping etc. Dusk lasts about 20mins, by 6.30 it's dark. Beer and Fanta on the veranda, crawl into bed at 8.30!
Anna's Blog. Today was sooooooooo hot. We tried to use the loo but it was just another hole in the ground (and it stunk!).
Tom's Blog. Nakatindi school is a very poor school, it has no electricity. And they all support Manchester United!
Off to stick head in cold bucket of water. Actually have found new internet cafe and it's not so hot! No air con but at least there's a fan.
Jim
Up at 6.30, breakfast prep if it's your duty or try and get a hot shower. A hit or miss event. Breakfast of cereals, toast or yogurt. Luckily no 'sheema' the local maize dish they have for breakfast, lunch and tea. Azwell the bus driver starts revving the engine at 8 and off we go at an average speed of 5mph down the bumpiest, pothole ridden roads. Kids stream from everywhere to meet the bus.
When we arrive a class of 30 or so is shared between the 8 volunteers. Tom and Anna tend to take 1 or 2 off with them. We have the group for an hour then it's all change to the next year up for another hour. All the while shifting to try and stay in the shade. Tom and Anna are amazing, they work so hard at reading and playing with the kids. Two classes later we have lunch. We have to shut the doors so the kids can't get on the bus. This heats the bus up to about 35 degrees though! Lunch is a picnic affair with leftovers. Another two classes later we can pack and trundle home.
We get back to Grubby's at 3pm. Collapse for an hour, wash hands for the umpteenth time. The you're either on dinner prep or dinner clean up or you have your other duties - water filling, bus sweeping etc. Dusk lasts about 20mins, by 6.30 it's dark. Beer and Fanta on the veranda, crawl into bed at 8.30!
Anna's Blog. Today was sooooooooo hot. We tried to use the loo but it was just another hole in the ground (and it stunk!).
Tom's Blog. Nakatindi school is a very poor school, it has no electricity. And they all support Manchester United!
Off to stick head in cold bucket of water. Actually have found new internet cafe and it's not so hot! No air con but at least there's a fan.
Jim
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Zambia; Tom and Anna's Update
Tom writes;
Dear friends. I am having a great time in Africa. We have been to loads of different schools. The schools have absolutely nothing in the classrooms except tables an chairs. The kids are very poor at reading and English.
We are staying at Grubby's Grotto. Grubby's is nice, the grass is green but the toilets have no hot water!
Anna writes;
Hello. I am having a really good time here it's sooooo fun. Our emotions have gone up and down though. The best bit today has been when we held a baby crocodle at the Crocodile farm. It was really cute! The worst bit is the toilets. One of the schools was called Nakatindi, its toilet was a hole in the ground!
In the week we are staying in a campsite called Grubby's Grotto. Grubby has two dogs. One massive one called Cousie and one tiny puppy called Choice. There is no hot water in the bathroom!
We're taking a break frm the campsite this weekend for a bit of R & R. Staying at a backpackers hostel. Back to the site tomorrow to meet two new volunteers. Phoebe, a very adventurous teenager left on Friday to go and work in an orphanage before doing some more travelling around southern Africa. The other volunteers are Marjorie, a Canadian librarian who's great fun. She's done a marvellous job cataloguing everything on the Bus. Jean and Trina are two retired teachers/Ofsted inspectors. Kelly is our new group leader after Jo left. Aswell is the driver. He's so black at night you can only see him when he smiles! He's pleased to have some male company and loves chatting about football with Tom.
More soon. Jim
Dear friends. I am having a great time in Africa. We have been to loads of different schools. The schools have absolutely nothing in the classrooms except tables an chairs. The kids are very poor at reading and English.
We are staying at Grubby's Grotto. Grubby's is nice, the grass is green but the toilets have no hot water!
Anna writes;
Hello. I am having a really good time here it's sooooo fun. Our emotions have gone up and down though. The best bit today has been when we held a baby crocodle at the Crocodile farm. It was really cute! The worst bit is the toilets. One of the schools was called Nakatindi, its toilet was a hole in the ground!
In the week we are staying in a campsite called Grubby's Grotto. Grubby has two dogs. One massive one called Cousie and one tiny puppy called Choice. There is no hot water in the bathroom!
We're taking a break frm the campsite this weekend for a bit of R & R. Staying at a backpackers hostel. Back to the site tomorrow to meet two new volunteers. Phoebe, a very adventurous teenager left on Friday to go and work in an orphanage before doing some more travelling around southern Africa. The other volunteers are Marjorie, a Canadian librarian who's great fun. She's done a marvellous job cataloguing everything on the Bus. Jean and Trina are two retired teachers/Ofsted inspectors. Kelly is our new group leader after Jo left. Aswell is the driver. He's so black at night you can only see him when he smiles! He's pleased to have some male company and loves chatting about football with Tom.
More soon. Jim
Zambia; Mzungu Push
All well here despite the ups an downs of life in Zambia! We went to Cowboy Cliff's School yesterday. A true 'community' school as opposed to the Government schools. Cliff is a true community leader; tall and lanky with a cowboy hat always on. He started a bike hire (we had a good chat about bikes! (Good luck to all the CLIC24 riders this weekend, hope the weathers kind)) business several years ago and ploughs the profits back into his school. Now he has 60 kids aged between 3 and 6, 3 teachers and two school buildings. All paid for by bikes! The kids were wild to say the least. Great fun but you couldn't excite them too much for fear of being mobbed. The funniest moment was the little kids shouting to Tom and Anna on the swing's and roundabout 'Mzungu push! Mzungu push!' We're Mzungu's here; the white people.
We left the Bus behind yesterday. The roads are so badly potholed and soft, just compacted sand in places, that the Bus can't get down them. We all jumped in taxi's to get there. The Bus has struggled a lot of the time actually. It's forced to go so slowly that ladies with half a kitchen garden on their head walk past you when you're going down the road! This is a shame because we can't get to the community schools most in need of help and end up going to some government schools on main roads. These aren't much better mind you.
This Mzungu is off to find a decent coffee, more soon.
We left the Bus behind yesterday. The roads are so badly potholed and soft, just compacted sand in places, that the Bus can't get down them. We all jumped in taxi's to get there. The Bus has struggled a lot of the time actually. It's forced to go so slowly that ladies with half a kitchen garden on their head walk past you when you're going down the road! This is a shame because we can't get to the community schools most in need of help and end up going to some government schools on main roads. These aren't much better mind you.
This Mzungu is off to find a decent coffee, more soon.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Zambia day 4
Zambia. Wednesday - 3 schools down; Linda's, Nakatindi and Ibala. A man had to cut down half a tree to get the Bus into the school today. Kids mobbed us. Tom and I took our usual 4 kids to read and ended up with 25! We are sleeping amazingly well despiote the best efforts of the Zambian parties, dogs (must be at least 20,000 dogs in Livingstone!) and the call to prayer every night. Living things found in tents and toilet
s so far; mozzies, toads, crickets, lizards, spiders and countless bugs. Tom and Anna are incredible, reading with groups of kids and doing their Bus chores - Tom fetches all the water, Anna sweeps every night. Helen claps her hands to scare the Bus rats away! Wilting in a boiling hot internet cafe now. More soon
s so far; mozzies, toads, crickets, lizards, spiders and countless bugs. Tom and Anna are incredible, reading with groups of kids and doing their Bus chores - Tom fetches all the water, Anna sweeps every night. Helen claps her hands to scare the Bus rats away! Wilting in a boiling hot internet cafe now. More soon
Zambia: Update from Africa
The Hardcastles are all well and having an amazing time. We've been through 3 schools already. The children are so keen to learn but have so little. It's very emotional sometimes. Tom and Anna are taking everything in their stride. More soon when we have web access.
Jim
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Zambia; Final Jab
That's it we're all dosed up now. Tom's had his final jab. Many thanks to Chris, our Practice Nurse (Anna asked why we had to have a practice nurse and not a real one!) who stabbed us a lot with the least amount of pain!
We start the Malaria tablets tomorrow. Will Anna be able to swallow them whole?
Jim
Zambia; Pieminister and Raincoats
Running around getting last minute things sorted out at the moment. Always seems one more thing to do!
The lovely people at Pieminister sent us there latest newsletter with us in it, have a look at http://www.pieminister.co.uk/newsletter/200905/
Apparently it's been raining in Livingstone the last couple of days. Good to know the Hardcastle Raincloud is not restricted to camping on Dartmoor. Off to pack a waterproof now.
Jim
Friday, May 1, 2009
Definitive Guide to Telemarketing
We have written and produced the Definitive Guide to Telemarketing for our client and partner Integrity Business Connections.
Integrity are telemarketing specialists and at the top of their trade. Our campaign with them focused on positioning their brand as THE optimum service of its kind in a range of online media at the same time as helping their clients and associates to understand how to maximise the return on investment in telemarketing as a business development tool.
Direct marketing, PR and the Guide has helped position Integrity and the value of Telemarketing as a core element in the sales and marketing process
Integrity are telemarketing specialists and at the top of their trade. Our campaign with them focused on positioning their brand as THE optimum service of its kind in a range of online media at the same time as helping their clients and associates to understand how to maximise the return on investment in telemarketing as a business development tool.
Direct marketing, PR and the Guide has helped position Integrity and the value of Telemarketing as a core element in the sales and marketing process
Discover New Insights Into Your People
We are working with our friends at Zing to spread the word about a really powerful people development and/or recruitment tool called Discovery. This is a product from the innovative bunch at http://www.insights.com/changingworld.aspx .
The basic idea is that from answering just a few questions on an online form which indicate your prefered way of acting, behaving or feeling in certain situations, their automated system creates the most incredible and detailed profile of the individual.
When I tried this myself I honestly couldn't believe how such a system could understand my inner workings and how I behave in certain situations. Quite incredible.
So that's what happens and the question is why do you want to know, apart from a short ego trip to the 'strengths' page in the report. Well the reasons can be many. Firstly if you are looking to understand how to get your team working more effectively then the profiles show others how you like to be managed and communicated with and when you need things like direction or personal space. You find out more about yourself and so do others in your team.
Secondly you might looking to move someone into a different role. They might say they'd like to do that important job but are they really up to it and are they subconsciously just trying to please by saying they'd like it? The personal profile will help you and they to answer those questions.
Thirdly, and this is why Viper is now involved in the programme, is that if you are planning to recruit and grow your team you need to be certain you are taking on the right people. This is what we are doing right now. As we seek a motivated, team-playing, committed, 'finisher'-style graduate we are using the Discovery Profile to both give us an insight into each of the short-listed candidates as well as share our personal profiles with them. It is a two-way process afterall. We want to be sure they'll enjoy working with us too!!
And from my own person profile I can see the value in this tool in terms of developing specific skills or roles. Sales is a particular role and skillset that can benefit from such profiling as it identifies prefered styles of interaction and communication and helps you get the best out of each and every team member.
If this sounds of interest to you, and believe me you have to see the profiles to believe them, then get in touch and we'll tell you more.
posted by Neil
The basic idea is that from answering just a few questions on an online form which indicate your prefered way of acting, behaving or feeling in certain situations, their automated system creates the most incredible and detailed profile of the individual.
When I tried this myself I honestly couldn't believe how such a system could understand my inner workings and how I behave in certain situations. Quite incredible.
So that's what happens and the question is why do you want to know, apart from a short ego trip to the 'strengths' page in the report. Well the reasons can be many. Firstly if you are looking to understand how to get your team working more effectively then the profiles show others how you like to be managed and communicated with and when you need things like direction or personal space. You find out more about yourself and so do others in your team.
Secondly you might looking to move someone into a different role. They might say they'd like to do that important job but are they really up to it and are they subconsciously just trying to please by saying they'd like it? The personal profile will help you and they to answer those questions.
Thirdly, and this is why Viper is now involved in the programme, is that if you are planning to recruit and grow your team you need to be certain you are taking on the right people. This is what we are doing right now. As we seek a motivated, team-playing, committed, 'finisher'-style graduate we are using the Discovery Profile to both give us an insight into each of the short-listed candidates as well as share our personal profiles with them. It is a two-way process afterall. We want to be sure they'll enjoy working with us too!!
And from my own person profile I can see the value in this tool in terms of developing specific skills or roles. Sales is a particular role and skillset that can benefit from such profiling as it identifies prefered styles of interaction and communication and helps you get the best out of each and every team member.
If this sounds of interest to you, and believe me you have to see the profiles to believe them, then get in touch and we'll tell you more.
posted by Neil
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