Chapter One - The end!

That slowed out Journey somewhat. Tyre brand new as well!

Back on the coast tonight at Luigi’s complex, Kololi, just outside Banjul  at the end of the first part of my “Project Manager Saga” Am I relieved? Well, no actually, I feel rather like I have jumped ship halfway through the voyage; left my comrades at the peak of the battle; only run half the race… Whilst I have every faith in Morro and his Merry Men, there are a myriad of silly little things that crop up virtually every day on a project like this and I guess it has become a matter of personal pride to me to make sure that the small details are not overlooked and as was demonstrated very well only a day or two ago, you take your eye off the ball for a second at your peril. It was a tiny almost insignificant detail but not easy to change once it had been done and I KNOW that every time I walk into the ward it will haunt me. I don’t suppose anyone else will ever notice, but I know it’s there!

Morro's Merry Men with Morro Kneeling 3rd from left

It’s always nice to hear so many people saying how much they will miss you when you leave Bansang, but I know full well that an equal or probably larger number will be sleeping a little easier tonight knowing I’m not going to be around tomorrow. Whilst I think I get on well with virtually everyone ( even he who must not be named…) As Julday the plumber so eloquently put it to me with a big grin yesterday,  “Dennis, you are the cat, I am the rat” Personally I think he was being rather hard on himself, as whilst I do chase him and the others around a bit, he is one of the growing number of the maintenance team with whom I seem to have built a successful working relationship and it gets the jobs done, many of which have sat unattended to for years. The guys are for the most part, great, they are just lacking leadership.

At the moment Julday is building a much needed Manhole at the rear of the Female ward to try to stop the drains from continually blocking up. In any event it will make clearing the blockages a whole lot easier… and you thought I was just overseeing the rebuild of the Paediatric ward…. Some hopes that the Boss would let me off that easy! And even now I’m not really finished, as tomorrow morning I have to head across town, possibly carrying a large baseball bat, to sort out the window manufacturer who has seemingly decided that he really can’t be bothered to travel to Bansang or even answer our phone calls, inspite of having a contract from us worth nearly half a million Dalasis.  If he had taken the trouble to stay just a little longer whilst he was at Bansang a few weeks ago he could have counted up just how many windows there are in the hospital that are going to need replacing at some point… It would almost be worth setting up an Aluminium Window company in Bansang ! But then some people are just so very short sighted…

Julday with a nice new tool kit courtesy of Nick Folley

Julday, specially for those who like the pics of sleeping builders

So what next I hear you cry? Well, tomorrow I jump on the 4pm Monarch flight to Gatwick where I will be collected by my niece Helen and her hubby, Saturday I hope to catch up with one or two potential riders for this years scoots trip before either heading north or west… Either way I’ll be popping in at Worcester to see my old mate Freddie complete with his new pacemaker, I just hope he has a turbo charged one that will be able to keep up with him… By Sunday next (ish) I aim to be on my way back down to Gambia on the Airhead. Hopefully, Andy will have worked a little of his magic on it whilst he has had it in dry storage, Slimbo will fill my tyres full of gunge to stop them puncturing and the mice haven’t chewed holes in all my kit ! However before then I have a mad whirlwind of visits to make to try to catch up with firstly family and hopefully some friends who I haven’t seen for far too long. I guess that is the one down sides to traveling, even in this day of instant global communication, you still can’t quite take them all with you !

Our Superb Tilers - I have no doubt they could easily work for any UK building Company

Told you so!

Yep, they did it ! First bay now all tiled ( by just after lunch in fact) and the walls are indeed up to top of window level ready for the casting of the second reinforced concrete beam.

But I guess the hot news is... I'm on my way home on Friday! Yes I've finally managed to upset enough people thjat I;ve got the sack and am being kicked out of the country!! Oh all right, my flexible return ticket wasn't as flexible as we though and the airline wanted another £160 for me to fly on Tuesday... and I've already been told by the boss that it is just my annual leave and I'm expected back on the job ASAP!

Oh and the other hot news is HE is back! Yes, could have knocked me down with a C90 (no tried that one !) Got over to the hospital this morning and there, large as life was He who must not be named! Even gave me a lift up to maintenance

I have no doubts at all that Morro's Merry Men will continue with the work just as well (probably better ) without be kicking their arses every five minutes ( just as long as I keep paying for their Wonjo juice anyway ) So whilst I leave with a heavy heart I relish the thought of seeing the finished Unit in a few weeks time when I ride into town on my BMW, something I've wanted to do for a long time !

The first patients in the refurbed Malnutrition Unit

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Today I escaped… I desperately needed a break from the work, so as Morro was off in Senegal to attend a funeral, having stuck my nose through the doors I headed for the wide open spaces of the North Bank road! On the road just after eight o’clock was amazing with just a hint of chill in the morning air as I crossed on the Bansang ferry with Sulayman. We rode through the track I had used a couple of week back, coming out at Lamin Kona just by the McCarthy Island Ferry, but instead of turning left we turned right for Wassu and the stone circles. It was a good ride and great fun through the soft sand which I am slowly (very slowly!) mastering. At Wassu we turned and headed back, crossing on the ferry to McCarthy Island and taking lunch at the Bird Safari Camp where I am becoming quite a regular inspite of the torch incident… It really is that nice there and Modo cooks up one hell of a feast at the drop of a hat for just under £4….

We should have called it a day then and headed back, but no we had to push our luck and head back along the north bank. All was going well until a little after Dobo only a few clicks from the ferry when I sort of got it wrong… It was a classic C90 crash, you hit one bump which throws you off balance, meaning that you hit the next harder with the inevitable “get off”.  I got away with it very lightly although to be fair I was only doing about 20mph max. Just a grazed  elbow and very wounded pride. Hell it could have been worse, I could have damaged the bike !!!! Guess I might be just a little stiff in the morning, but never mind.

Meanwhile back at the hospital, as anticipated the tilers are now down as for as they can go with the “corridor” tiles, in fact down to where the shower block is still being rebuilt, and it looks great. The other guys have now cast the concrete beam at floor level, so tomorrow I expect to see the walls up to the top of the window opening, where they will cast another beam. I also expect to see the first of the rebuilt  bays to be tiled… and so it goes…

The Tiling has commenced !

I can't explain why really, but I was just a little worried about the laying of the floor tiles. I guess it is because it is one of those jobs that if not done right smacks you in the face every time you see it! However I needn't have worried as it was very obvious from the start that the tilers knew exactly what they were doing and I was fascinated watching them set it all up. 

It's always a joy to me to watch someone who is good at what they do as there is always something you can learn and take away from it. They mixed the base layer and spent most of the morning getting it level, flat and the right thickness so that the new tiles butted up with the existing ones nicely. Once sorted the tiles went down faster than I would have though possible with one guy cutting the edge pieces whilst the other just whacked into the main stretch. I can't believe the pace they worked at. They will definitely havc finished the stretch down to the new bays by tonight easily... and by tomorrow night at least one if not two of the reconstructed bays should also be finished.

Whilst all this was going  on, the electricians were hard at work installing the new solar circuits and Julday the plumber was installing the pipework in the first bay for the wash hand basin.  Meanwhile the blockwork was being laid on the foundations they cast last night and is now up the first reinforced bean level, and I wouldn't be surprised if that has also been cast by the time they knock off tonight and all at a daily rate that you wouldn't get a builder to stir his tea for in the UK! Oh! and the painters were also hard at it putting the finishing touches to the front and the main entrance which now look absolutely stunning.  Phew, I feel quite dizzy trying to keep up with it all !!!!

As I hoped, the first pour of the foundations was completed just as I headed off for a shower tonight, which mean the blockwork can start in the morning. More exciting is that the tilers have there piles of sand in the ward all ready for an early start on the tiling tomorrow morning. Hopefully they will have finished down to the new bays by the time they leave tomorrow night..

As for me, well I've been on the go since seeing Tanya off at 6.30 this morning so I'm heading off to Victor's to run up a nice little "tab" which Anita has offered to cover by supping a few ice-cold Julbrew. And I know it will be Ice-Cold as Bunja re=gassed Victors freezer for him yesterday....

Malnutrition Ward is complete !!!

It may be by the skin of my teeth as usual, but …. We made it!, Malnutrition is now officially complete.  The stores cupboard needs to be sorted out from the Play Therapy room back to the office in Malnutrition which I expect to happen tomorrow, then Sunday or Monday we can move the little patients from their temporary home in the Special Care unit into there nice new quarters. Hopefully you can’t see that the paint on the outside wall is still wet, and if any eagle eyes amongst spot that the top line is a little wavy it is because the masking tape hasn’t even been removed yet! But for all that it is FINISHED!

Meanwhile work on the rest of the lower ward continues with the floor being prepared for the laying of the first of the new tiles, the new foundations for the final piece of the wall is about to be poured and the electrician is running new cables all over the place! Ooo, It’s all getting quite exciting watching it all come together. Like any rebuild or decorating project, you have to make it worse before it can get better… but we are definitely starting to see the first glimmer of light at the end of that long, long tunnel.

Our initial costing was blown right out of the water even before a block was laid when we decided that whilst we were doing the rebuilding we would also bring the whole ward right bang up to scratch . New, much bigger windows; new floor tiles right from the main entrance down through where the demolition had to take place and a complete make over ,both inside and out, and I must say that the result is nothing less than spectacular even at this early stage, eliciting praise from every quarter! Now where did I leave that begging bowl… HaHaHa 

God Speed Tanya

After a really hard day and a virtually sleepless night on call, Tanya is on her way to Banjul Airport. She is meeting her parents who fly in today for a tw week holiday. God know, Tanya deserves a good break from the stress and strain of day to day life in the Maternity Unit and Operating Theatre at Bansang. As a young obstetric surgeon she has done so much, coped with so many problems and worked so hard over the last 3 months, all with a smile and her radiant good humour shining through.

She didn’t return from Theatre until about 5.30 this morning and as I came into the house from my little bed on the verandah at about 6, she was just making tea. A quick cuppa and I saw her up to the road with her bags to catch the next Gella Gella. We didn’t have to wait long as no sooner had I put her bag down, along it trundled. I hope she has a good journey but fear sleep wont be easy on one of these overcrowded wrecks that pass for public transport out here. You only have to look at the bent bodywork that they boast, to get an idea of the standard of driving and of course now they have a nice flat black-top for most of the way, they drive far, far faster than they are used to or is safe. God Speed Tanya.

Whilst I don’t generally see a lot of Tanya as she is always either working on at the SEN school on the internet, the houst seems strangely quiet without her as I sit and eat breakfast, drink my 3^rd cup of tea and contemplate the day ahead…

Yesterday was very busy for me and I don’t see that changing much today. I am now starting to push Morro along as there is still so much to do inspite of the Herculean efforts of his Merry Men!  It’s funny how people who struggle to do their own jobs efficiently flock to watch ( and hinder) someone else work! Yesterday I took the proverbial bull by the horns and got stuck in to a few of the silly little jobs that were left to do in Malnutrition as I have told everybody that I want it complete and ready for re-occupation today ! That might be a tall order however as it will involve moving about 400 sq mts of tiles that Morro has had stacked in there since they arrived from the coast earlier in the week. If nothing else it might concentrate a few minds.

I have had a few comments that many of the pics I post here show men either sitting in open windows or wheelbarrows. Let me assure you dear readers that when Morro’s guys take a break it is because they have been working very hard in intense heat since before 8 in the morning and most nights they don’t finish until gone 6pm. Contrast that with the Maintenance Unit who wander in to start brewing Ataya at anything from 8.30 to 9.30, nock off for breakfast just after 10 and by 2pm are sitting around complaining that it is too hot to do any more. More? I could point to a handful at least whose only movement during the day is either to find a better shady spot in which to sleep or to take more Ataya! On a more positive note my usual guys over there are working well with you-know-who still keeping a conspicuous absence. Bunja has now not only reinforced all the weak “charity” beds that are in use, but has also managed to repair 9 out of the 10 that had been consigned to the scrap heap. Just goes to show what can be done with a little leadership!!!  Whilst Julday our plumber man is scurrying around repairing things left right and centre and Musa is STILL up in the Mite House loft try to get rid of the last of the Bat shit.