Its been a while

Just a few words to say how I miss my adventures in Albania.  Being back at the grindstone of work has its pluses (a wage packet at the end of each month) but the freedom, the people and the byreks are definitely missed heaps.

Hey.... My apologies for the lack of writing. I do however have a lot of stuff to say, as well as pictures to show, but my bag has unfortunately been lost by British Airways. That means that uploading pictures to this site is now nigh on impossible, and just a chore. I hope that I will be back on line this afternoon, but that depends on Corfu airport and their incompetent staff.

Hope you're all well.

The weather is indeed pants at the moment in the uk, huh?!? I really hope it will be much better tomorrow for Rhodri and Ceri's wedding. I hope tomorrow is a brilliant day for them both. I'll remember my camera too tomorrow (I forgot it for Vix and Kurt's wedding!!) so I'll get some photos. I'm really really looking forward to seeing people again too.

You also might notice some pictures have appeared below. Just for the record, adding these took me 5 mins at my parents' home in Cardiff, whereas it would've taken about 2 hours in Albania!! The joys and blessings of a decent connection!! :o)

Anna and I are also working very hard on our wedding arrangements at the moment. I've created little fliers... What do you think...?

There's not much on the blog just yet, but there will be soon - I promise.

Tomorrow I leave for the sunny shores of Corfu, as I travel home to England, in order to go and attend my friends wedding - the wedding of Ceri and Rhodri, in Cardiff. I must say I am looking forward to it, although I would not swap the weather here for the weather at home right now!!!

I'm working up a tan at the moment, and hopefully - I will be nicely tanned in time for the summer!! Just in time to... tan some more!!! :o)

Work here has been hectic of late. I've been busy fixing computers, installing antiviruses and teaching my class. I've also finished a tourit map for Lidia (the foundation I am working for) to print.

I have made unsuccesful attempts to contact a guy in a town called Vlora, to arrange a recording of the Albanian worship songs I have, but when I return in 12 days, I hope to further that, as I will try and get these songs recorded before I leave.

Hope all is well at home. Sorry to hear about the bad weather. :o) Hopefully - I will post all the pictures which should be posted below too when i am home. I will do my best.

Sorry for the lack of pictures.... I've tried uploading them, but the speed of the connections here is so slow, that the upload keeps timing out. I promise to keep trying.

Saturday night saw a warm wind come from the deserts of Africa. Unfortunately it also brought soooo much dust, and a bit of rain, so everyones car is now very dirty in Saranda!! Ha ha - makes me glad i don't own one!! The other thing that the wind brought with it was mosquitos. Lots of them. And they're a pain in the backside. The weather at the moment is still hot and humid, so they are all out in force.

No other news really. After a slow start, my pupils are getting the hang of computers, and they learnt very quickly the ins and outs of Excel today. I'm currently fixing a computer, but the Windows XP is all in Greek, and so its a bit of a nightmare. Actually - a big nightmare. You know - one of those really scary ones. Where you're constantly falling. Ha ha.

There is sad news to report today.

I'm afraid that Mitzi the cat has died today. She was quite old, and very ill. She will be missed from the Barjami household.

On a lighter note, the ambulance which Ruth and Steve Courteny from Reading have worked so very hard on fund-raising for, finally arrived on Thursday. It has been passed on to the hospital here in Saranda, and will be used especially to reach the hard-to-reach places. It is a very well equipped Land Rover, specially adapted as an ambulance.

Today Richard and I visited Jorgo, who is house-bound, due to suffering from Multiple Sclerosis. I had been kindly given a donation of 300 pounds from 'J.P. Gainsford Associates' to buy Jorgo a wheelchair so that he could be a bit more mobile. Well - that arrived with the ambulance, and today we took the wheelchair to him. He was smiles from ear to ear, and was so very greatful. It was a great moment.

There was fighting at Cuka today. Lots of it. Bedro - one of the ladies at the church - had managed to get a very large pile of clothes from her family to distribute at the gypsy camp, but it was like the first day of the Next sale. It was crazy!!! I've never heard such shouting and screaming over a few items of clothing!!

Last but not least... A big thank you to Ruth and Steve for bringing various bits and bobs, including a little parcel from Anna. Safe journey home.

Yesterday was a terribly dull May day holiday, weather wise. So celebrations were at home, instead of the customary picnic. It's a big celebration here, and we had a fabulous meal at home.

News which I forgot to mention is that a week ago, there was a new addition in the Barjami household - the house where I am staying. 'Ene' was born on the 27th of April, and weighed in at around 9lbs. I will post photographs of little Ene soon. In case you are wondering - Ene was named after a great warrior in Albanian history. Unfortunately - everytime I've wanted to take a picture - its been sleeping!!

Bimi, Joni and I went on a little adventure the other day too... We found a dried up river, and walked for a long time down the river bed. We saw some wonderful creatures, like butterflies and spiders, as well as just appreciating a relatively unspoilt piece of the countryside.

That's it from me.... The ambulance, which Ruth and Steve Courtney from Reading Vineyard have been raising money for arrives tomorrow. Sorry for the lack of pictures... :o(

Hope all is well in the UK (or wherever you're reading this).