EASTER MONDAY 21st APRIL 2014

I am feeling a bit better this morning after a good night's sleep, so, as promised here is the story o f the last few days!
On Friday I took Ruth who is staying at Courtview Hotel, with me to visit little disabled Harriet at her home in Rupungu village. Wamani drove us ( and I paid him an inordinate amount to do so - although his Mum did break her hip last year and he alone it seems paid for her to go to hospital in Kampala. Furthermore he takes responsibility  for his late brother's wife Annette who works as a chambermaid here at the hotel and has AIDS so needs a balanced diet). The road was a bit rough but Harriet's family were almost ready for us - I spotted Harriet sitting    behind their hut and rushed to greet her only to find her Mum Alice just finishing bathing! Chairs were found for Ruth and me and the family came to sit on a reed mat. Harriet was delighted with the dresses I had brought for her in England and her Mum said that the second pair of jeans that I had also brought would be fine to protect her knees as she crawls around the compound . I was worried about going to the toilet but her family - through Teacher George Byarugaba who had joined us to interpret -said that she would be able to manage.I noticed a new mud and thatch hut had been built and they told me that this is for their eldest boy, Linus who is 17 and has never been to school. It seems that Charles and Alice only have 2 boys in their family of 10 but the second boy  is at school along with one daughter. The littlest girls are not quite old enough to go to school yet as  free universal education starts at 6 years.
I was startled when Teacher George then introduced me to a nicely dressed lady in a "Gomesi" or national dress and said that the one year old she was carrying was his son! I shall confirm as to what he actually means but he had said previously that he was friendly with  a lady in the village where he is renting extra fields................ and his dad a vicar!
Charles shared out some of the biscuits we had brought and Alice was delighted with the soap and sugar. The we were taken on a  tour of the fields. It is The Planting Season so the fields looked wonderful - maize and sweet potatoes, French beans and cowpeas plus  wild spinach and "greens". Charles also has a nice little grove of banana trees the savoury matooke kind.And a pig.
I asked to see the nearest well which had been broken when I had visited in December 1012, so we walked  for about   15 minutes and found that it had been repaired - apparently all the locals had got together to pay an engineer. Quite right too for we carried on and found the stagnant and deep yellow pool upon which they had relied whilst the got the well repaired. I will  show a picture of it  when Rodgers returns from Kampala and can help me.  Count your blessings for Thames Water and the stuff that flows out of our taps!!!!!!!!! 
At this point we heard thunder in the air and saw rain clouds gathering so Driver Wamani hurried us up and we walked back to Harriet's compound  passing 2 little compounds of huts belonging to her Dad's relatives. It seems that Charles inherited his fields from his aunt but has not yet got the land deeds . We said our goodbyes and jumped into  the taxi and beat the rainstorm by fifteen minutes!
Ruth had said that she had never eaten sweet potatoes so Wamani took us to Kolpings (hostel founded by an Austrian monk so patronised mainly by Roman Catholics) . At first we sat on the verandah and treated ourselves each to a bottle of cold beer but suddenly the rain came down so we went into the Dining Room to find  3 mums towelling down their 4 & 5 year olds who had been allowed to run around and get soaking wet in the thunderstorm!!
We actually were imprisoned there for nearly 2 hours, the downpour was so heavy. And cold!