A day trip to Grand Turk

We went to Grand Turk today, for the day (minus Daniel who, despite 3 offers to come with us couldn't quite summon up the energy to proffer a reply....teenagers, don't ya just love them!) and had a splendid time. We left at 8.15 on the parallel flight to the wonderful Mr Riggs (formally the museum director of this parish) - Brian prefers the aircraft operated by Air Turks and Caicos which he reliably informs me will float and glide rather well should the engines fail (which is EXACTLY what happened to him a couple of weeks ago....an engine failing rather than the full gliding and floating stuff). We flew Skyking, which apparently would sink like a stone should the engines fail....ho hum.



So anyway, we got to GT and Colin (Nicky's ex-step-father in law) had left us a car at the airport so we hurried to the Saltraker Inn where we had a fine slap up breakfast and then to O'er Island which is an island (funnily enough) in the middle of the salinas where there are a good many graves falling into states of massive disrepair....bones exposed etc. This was an educational visit although Osh's initial enthusiasm to see the bones (mid 19th century, rather than modern, I hasten to add) wore off fast "why do grown ups like looking at nothing, Mim" he asked when we were admiring the view...... Nicky then went to inspect a septic tank or two for Colin whilst Osh and I played on the beach for a couple of hours.



Turns out that completely by chance, we'd chosen the weekend of the Grand Turk Fishing Tournament for a visit and so at 3pm we all went down to Governor's beach to see the boats come in with the big fish. We'd only been there about 30 seconds when Osh (armed with a bionicle) fell into conversation with a fellow child (armed with a light sabre) and so whilst we ooed and aard at the fish, Osh was deep in techie talk and mock battles. Unlike the recent bun fights on Provo (the International Food Fair, the Regatta and the Dog Show) this was very much a Turks Island event with the white faces being in the minority rather than the Provo bashes which were decidedly ex-pat events with a scattering of locals in attendance. It felt far FAR more like the West Indies than Provo (which often feels like an extension of Key West) which was lovely. It is also noticeably cooler over on Grand Turk but, after a lengthy discussion Nicky and I both agreed that much as we love the place, he'd go mad with boredom if we lived there full time.



We came home at 5pm and I had the best seat in the house.....the middle seat at the back (one seat either side of the aisle in a Beechcraft for the airplane anoraks amongst you) so I could see the runway swerve into view as we came into land. The pilot then made a hasty rush for the terminal - rather than the normal sedate pootle after landing - because the Air Turks and Caicos flight was about to land on the same bit of runway.....what fun. All this to the tune of Osh yelling "we're not going to make it" which probably unnerved the jumpy looking woman in front of us!



Here be photos of the fun.

Human teeth... A great big Marlin

Osh and friend playing on Governor's Beach, Grand Turk

And finally.....that storm cloud (this is 1 of 3 new posts, scroll down for the first)

Osh doing some more reading

Osh in holiday mode spreading icecream over his CLEAN t-shirt!

Osh doing a spot of sausage cooking on the barbie
Osh and the rather fine crocodile head I made for the school play.

More movie footage

It has been a long hot week here in Provo.....and with Osh out of school it feels longer and hotter than normal! We tracked down his little buddy Amory and they were supposed to meet up to swim in the pool on Tuesday but Amory went down with a cold and ever since then I've had the 'have you phoned Amory's mum' request every 10 minutes! Hopefully Amory will be fit to play next week otherwise there are going to be tears aplenty!

Here's some (grainy and rather quiet) footage of Osh reading (we do a story a day even though it is vacation time) and a spectacular thunder cloud that passed overhead last Sunday (for some reason, I can't load more than one video per post, so thundercloud in next entry!). It was like a cartoon thunder cloud: thunder, lightening, all in a very dense cloud but no rain....the ow ow ow you can here are Osh and I being eaten by mosquitos as we brave the outdoors to get the cloud!

The Festival of the Wagging Tails 2008

We went to our first dog show today.....and had a great time (not least because no-one had thought to pollute it with ear-poppingly loud music!). Osh was very well behaved (one of the few events where in fact the dogs are worse behaved than the kids!) and so was Dave. Dave, sadly was ROBBED of her rightful prizes: "most original potcake" which was won by a dog called Dobie who was clearly more Doberman than potcake and "best female dog" which was won by some shaggy mongrel. Osh was chief handler helped by Nicky (on the basis that Dave is about the same size as Osh and had she decided to take off Osh would have been trailing behind her like a cartoon character!) and all conducted themselves well. Osh was also chief photographer and here is a selection of his view of the dog show:

One of Osh' friends from school

Osh looking through part of the obstacle course

Dave the dob (with pink ribbon)

Misc. other pooches (from very expensive pedigrees to good ol' potcakes)

School's out for summer...dum de dum de dum

Yup, that's it. Osh had his final (half) day at school today and doesn't go back until 1 September. He had Monday off (the Queen's Birthday, although ironically although Mexican Independence (cinco de mayo) and 4th July and Thanksgiving all warrant special events in the local hostelries HRH gets no such special treatment!) and then just half days this week.

Last Friday was the school's Mass (one at the beginning and end of term) and Osh behaved well, the kids all sang heartily but I'm sure the reading for the day (any woman who looks at another man commits adultery etc) was somewhat beyond them (!). They finished off with Salve Regina which I've not sung in years and I was shamed by the kids who all sang it word perfect from beginning to end without a hymn book!

Tuesday was taken up with a birthday party for one of his classmates - the second such party in as many weeks. Wednesday was prize giving and a little play. Osh had been given the part of the crocodile and Ms Ocampo asked me to make him a costume. Given his usual reluctance to take part in these events she clearly felt unwilling to dedicate the time to making his costume for fear that it would all be in vain. So last weekend I constructed a fabulous crocodile head (suitably large enough to hide his face so he didn't have to look at the audience). I needed to get to work (more later) and instinct told me that he'd do much better if I wasn't in the audience. I was right. I arrived to get him at noon to discover that not only had he been given an achievement award for PE and Art, but he'd done exactly as directed in the play too! Smiles all around. Thursday was more fun and games and when I collected him from school today the place looked like a bomb had gone off in it: toys everywhere and water too!

Osh thinks it is very cool to finish school a good 3 weeks (and more) before his old English class mates. We have about 2 weeks before we leave for Canada and then the UK and I'm hoping to get him some sailing lessons in before we leave. Our first task, however, is to enter Dave in the Dog Show.

The Turks and Caicos Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has it's annual dog show tomorrow and Dave (a very adorable potcake) is going to be entered by me and Osh. Tim (Dave's owner) has gone to Canada for a week so we are looking after her (yup, she is a she and those of you that have ever seen The League of Gentlemen will understand the Dave reference, for the rest of you, just nod and and say 'Oh, Ah and fancy'!). We are taking her to the beach this evening for a romp and just hope she doesn't get her lovely glossy coat tooooo messed up for tomorrow. A potcake is the name for the local breed of dog. They are called potcakes because they were fed the caked on remains from the cooking pots, the island has a considerable problem with feral dogs (potcakes and mixed breeds) and the TCSPCA works had to spay and neuter them. Dave was a rescue potcake.

In other news: I've got myself a little volunteer work at the Dept. for Environment and Coastal Resources indexing the many articles that have been printed in the island's magazines on environmental and archaeological matters. This is great work: I had to tweak the current database, I get to sit in an air conditioned office for hours reading articles and chat to Brian Rigg who used to manage the museum on Grand Turk and is an endless source of fascinating knowledge about the islands. Brian is a master of all trades and embroiled me in a snake pickling exercise on my first day in the job! There are plenty of pygmy boas on the islands (about the size of a pencil) but fewer and fewer rainbow boas which can grow up to 5-6 feet long. They are not poisonous but a sizeable chunk of the population here are absolutely terrified of snakes and will kill them at first sight. This particular snake had risen into the air on the teeth of a bulldozer on one of the construction sites a couple of months ago. Fortunately for the snake, all the workers ran a mile and one man called Brian to report that they'd found this snake (about 4' long). Unfortunately, the snake had a huge gash in its neck which was sewn up by the local vet. Snakey was fine until 2 weeks ago when he finally succumbed (to his injuries? no idea) and shuffled off his mortal coil. Brian and I pickled the snake in alcohol to preserve him....pictures below.

Summer is well and truly cooking at the moment - the temp. drops to about 30 degrees at night indoors and is up to about 36 during the day (way hotter outside of course!). But tomorrow is the Summer Solstice and as of tomorrow night the nights start drawing in (hurray)...ie gradually less and less time for the sun to bake the walls of the house cooking us slowly inside!