We’ve really enjoyed the company of Phil and Swanny (friends from St Mary's Medical School) over the past 3 weeks and 3 months respectively and are sad to see them both go this week. They have been an integral part of our adventures here and we will really miss them.
Amy’s birthday continued with an overnight camping trip to Lake Nabugabo, an idyllic setting about 2.5 hours West of Kampala. 9 of us, 2 tents and a BBQ squeezed into Jasper and we arrived to find we had the resort to ourselves, apart from the donkeys. We pitched camp right on the beach and spent 2 happy days lazing in and by the lake, playing games and dining on freshly caught fish. We topped off Amy's birthday with marshmallows toasted on our camp fire and BBQ'd chocolate bananas.
Amys 8th birthday party was themed along High School Musical lines, especially poignant as our friend Naltalie, who is currently living with us, bears an uncanny resemblance to the leading lady, Gabriella (as pictured with the girls here). To build up to the movie screening (projected from our laptop onto a wall) we had face painting, a nail bar, and jewellry making. And to work off the excesses of the party tea, we were subjected to the sing-along/dance-along version!
Alan went with Bella to introduce the Ugandan children at Naomi's nursery to the wonders of Playdoh, made from flour, water, salt and colouring. They played with it for hours and seemed to enjoy sticking it to their faces!
Last weekend we visited a village 2 hours outside Kampala with new VSO arrivals Diane and Sarah. Diane's sister was adopted from the village and she is now setting up a mother and toddler group there. We stayed for some delicious lunch and the women put on a traditional Ugandan dance for us. We were made to feel very welcome. The girs swapped versions of their favourite games with the gang of local children, which included variations on 'Oranges and Lemons', 'What's the Time Mr Wolf?' and a lethal game of Tug of War with no rope!
2009 drew to a close with horse-riding, a boat trip on Lake Victoria and even a round of golf amongst the sugar plantations. And the New Year was brought in on the Nile at Jinja.
We also managed to commission a fetching pink rabbit hutch to house the 2 Christmas bunnies that we had bought for the girls, although transporting it home on Christmas Eve proved a challenge! The bunnies have been the centre of attention ever since, although Alan’s herb garden is suffering somewhat. 
Much to the girls delight, Santa managed to find his way to our house in Kampala, although Grandpa Cowan and Alan were only too eager to be the back-up plan, in case he got lost. We were 20 strong for Christmas lunch around the pool at Speke Resort and in sympathy with the British weather, we had rain all day!
Staff were thin on the ground at the Red Chilli Rest Camp in Murchison Falls…
...obviously we don't mean these fine specimens (but we couldn't resist including them!)
Sorry for the recent radio silence due to lack of reliable internet access and now the flurry of backdated news, but here we go...
