Jacquie's Diary Entry for 27th August 2007
Hi everyone,
Sorry I am late again this week but things have been a bit hectic around here. When I was thinking about the diary I wondered whether to write the Kid's Club work separately but then realised Kid's Club had taken over and there wasn't much else to write about. While we were having a coffee this evening someone on the television said, '... a picture paints a thousand words ...' we have a great many pictures this week so I reckon we might reach about half a million words ... so to speak. Because a couple of weeks ago I didn't think we would be going ahead with Kid's Club I told you a great deal of what had been planned so I will try not to repeat myself too much. Some of the pictures from the beginning of the week are not available computer problems ... I think we worked it toooo hard.

Monday was an early start, I needed to be feed, milked, breakfasted and ready for the Kid's by half past nine, the Club should start at ten o'clock. Elena was having coffee and checking she had all the paper work she needed, I think she had the 'jitters'. Lew and Cristi needed to put the finishing touches to 'Passport Control' and move the computer out ready for the first leg of our journey -
Siminoc->Basarabi->Constanta->Bucharest->Otopeni (the Airport)
Our first traveller arrived at quarter to eight! We were all running around like headless chickens but everything was going according to plan. By half past nine we had twenty kids eager to get started. I didn't want to start till the time advertised so we took some of the Friday night games out for them to play with and Elena did start giving out the colourings we had for the day. At ten o'clock we started, I asked if anyone had been to the moon ... no, anyone been to New Zealand ... no, England ... only me. So I started the other way, had anyone been to Siminoc School ... yes, everyone had been there, Basarabi ... yes everyone had been there, Constanta ... no, not everyone had been to Constanta. About five had not been to town. (I wonder if our friend Alex would lend me their mini-bus at Christmas to take the kids in to see the lights - sorry, my mind does these things). Constanta is only 35 Kilometres away, I usually go to town twice a week. Elena tells the Kid's I have to go to England for a few weeks and that she will do Club while I'm away. We talk about my flight and passport. Then we tell them that we are going to 'Go round the World in Eighty Days' - well a bit of it in five days. Most of them had seen the cartoon film of the book. We asked them if they had brought their passports; of course they didn't have passports so the 'passport office' was busy during the morning making 'Passports'. We also made planes and parachutes. Then Lew took small groups and showed them Siminoc on 'Google Earth', our green animal house roof shows up well. Then took them on the first leg of the journey ending at Otopeni Airport with the planes. The Kid's (and Elena) were fascinated. At the end of the morning everyone was at Otopeni Airport ready to leave in the morning with their passport. We had a Romanian lunch; bread, sausage and crisps with juice. In the D-brief session after lunch I raised the problem that when Elena was with Lew, I couldn't talk to the Kid's. Also the question of the heat had been raised and it was decided Cristi and Lew would put up the tarpaulin over the front to keep the sun off the Kids. Florri came up to see Elena and was roped in to working with us all week. We spent the afternoon organising the next morning and when Elena went home I started work with the animals again. It was nearly ten before I had finished and everyone was put to bed. Lew was asleep, no point cooking for one.

Tuesday and our first passenger arrived at twenty-past seven - I think he had heard about check-in times. When Florri arrived I put her to work making toast (Elena's husband Gabi was keeping us supplied with bread) and coffee so that the grown-ups had eaten breakfast even if it was while rushing to do the next job. We had a few more passports to make and Lew organised a catch-up journey to Bucharest. Then everyone flew to London with Tarom Airways (Romanian Aircraft, we had found pictures of planes with their liveries for all the airlines we were using), where they had a sightseeing tour before travelling to the Norfolk broads for another tour. They visited Scotland and several of them had heard of the Loch Ness Monster, down through Wales and a brief stopover at Chandlers Ford to see where Sian lives and then to Bournemouth via Hengistbury Head. They loved Bournemouth and the beach. We coloured Romanian flags, planes and stewardess. Our race involved running with water - the stewards and stewardesses had to get drinks to passengers. We had English lunch - a ploughman's - bread, cheese and pickles with juice. We spent the afternoon getting ready for tomorrow. During the evening while we were working on pictures for tomorrow we had a power serge which blew the resisters in the monitor; we would have to use the laptop tomorrow.

Wednesday and more passports to be made. We were to fly to Canada with British Airways but the last group were fog bound in Bournemouth. They decided they would go and stay with my Mum. Now if you have ever been to Bournemouth you will know that Wednesday is the night of the candles in the gardens, so I told them that my Mum would take them, they were pleased. All our activities were centred around Great Britain, including flags, flowers and the Loch Ness Monster. The stewards and stewardesses were running with drinks again today. And as Mum had made them 'boiled eggs' for breakfast, we had egg and spoon races, with special spoons for the youngest team, who won hands down. Lew spent the afternoon trying to speed up the Canadian flight. We had go on with our tour of Canada leaving the last group to catch up tomorrow. We toured Toronto, going up the CN Tower with the story of the glass floor and the elephants ... you haven't heard it? The specially made glass floor at the top of the tower we are told was tested by two elephants. I asked who got the elephants into the lift to get them up to the top for the testing. The lift operator informed me he had been asked that question many times. The Kids thought it was great. They travelled to Niagara Falls and saw the Maid of the Mist boats who take people to view the falls from the water, across to America and down the Grand Canyon. Of course we had to have hot dogs for lunch with tomato ketchup. A bit of a hic-cup this evening Cristi is finishing with us at the end of the week.

Thursday and we flew Canadian Airways to Spain. Many of the children had relatives that had been to Spain for work and Lew was busy flying them to different parts of Spain for them to see the towns. Our activities centred around Canada and America with flags, word searches, and colourings. Our stewards and stewardesses were running with water again, the eggs and spoons were out and they had a race packing a bag with things needed for a holiday - towels, flannels, dresses, shirts, t-shirts and hats. We had Spanish omelette for lunch with bread and juice. This afternoon I left Elena making more passports and collating their pictures into some old 'posh' files. I headed for town with the monitor Laura's husband Decibel told us of a good services. Lew tried calling me nineteen times on my way into town but I had put my phone in my bag by the side of the seat, a pan pipes tape running and the window open. I didn't hear the phone. Lew was trying to tell me I had forgotten to pick up my purse, I had no money, no cards and I was low on fuel. The shopping I wanted to do for tomorrow had to wait. But I took the monitor in, they reckon five to seven days.

Friday and we were flying from Spain to Montenegro with Spanair. Of course you know that Montenegro is the world's newest country and it means Black Mountains. We had some lovely pictures and the children were fascinated by all the lakes and green vegetation they had seen it wasn't far from us on the globe. Elena says she would like a holiday there. Our activities were all Spanish related including a Spanish Dancer. Lew and Cristi drove off to get feed just as I was getting the castanets, tambourines and maracas out for the children to play. It was an awful noise. We had sliced meat and bread with juice for lunch. Elena and Florri went home for an afternoon off, they was back again tonight for the coming home party to which we invited the parents. Cristi was coming back to help with the bar-b-que. I raced off to get the 'mic' for the evening and more juice. Then onto the computer to print certificates to say the children had been to Kid's Club for the Week; one for Elena to say she had survived and one for Florri saying she had helped. The Kid's and parents were back just before six. Elena explained what we had been doing all week and the children showed the parents the races. We gave out Certificates and gave them their passports and colourings. We finished the evening with mic, a Romanian sausage and cosonac, a sweet bread with chocolate and sultanas. Elena had put some aside so when everyone had gone home we sat and ate; Florri, Cristi, Elena, Gabi, Lew and I. Our first evening meal all week. When everyone had gone home I went up to the animal house to start the evening work. My mind was not on what I was doing and I moved a feed barrel awkwardly and hurt my back.

Saturday, Lew had done too much during the week and slept most of the day so bad back or not I had to get on with it. It was very hot and I fell asleep in the chair this afternoon, not the best thing to do. Just as we were going to bed the thunder and lightening started. I left it for half an hour then went up to the animal house to keep my eye on the water level, we didn't flood but it was half past five before I went to bed.

Sunday and putting one foot in front of the other was difficult, Lew was still out of it. We had no water so I couldn't clean up even if I had the energy. I was just too tired and in too much pain to write the diary for you. I am sure you understand. I rang Elena and told her to take tomorrow off, she was pleased Gabi had an unexpected free day too.

What's been happening in the village? We have been too busy to notice.
Well I think that's all the news from Siminoc this week …

So I'll say cheerio for now ...
PS We are both feeling much better now.