What an amazing week we’ve had – much too much to try and write it all down. We’ve been on a trip up country into Gambia along the Gambia River and across to a small town called Janjangbureh. The drive was wonderful but it was seeringly hot and by the time we arrived there I felt my blood was going to boil. My friends took a kettle and dipped it in the river and poured water over my head to cool me down and sat me under a tree for a while till I felt better.

The town itself was fascinating though so very hot I found it very uncomfortable. We got no sleep the first night with the heat, the mosquitoes and the smell of nearby burning rubbish so the next day we managed to find somewhere else to stay in a lovely place next to the river which was cooler and we played music and relaxed. We visited places of interest there relating to the slave trade and colonialism.

On the way back we stopped at a place called Wassu which had an amazing Stone Circle where you could literally feel the spirits calling from deep under ground.

There was a wonderful market there too where people come from all over (especially from Senegal on horses) to trade every thing from mangoes to horses and carts.

After a very eventful journey and a horrendous four hour wait at the ferry we ended up in a very minor car accident and car chase where the police caught the guy who’d pranged us and after much shouting and debate the matter was settled!

We are now back in our usual place tying up loose ends of the festival, thank you letters etc and it’s now only a week till we get back to the UK – what an amazing three months it’s been!

Here’s a LINK to some photos of our recent trip – enjoy!

Where to start – I haven’t got much time to try and scratch the surface of the last few weeks!

The Kartong Festival went off well though was tremendously hard work. The following week we assisted with a festival at a tiny village in the Casamance Region called Dombondir. We stayed in a simple compound where we were made very welcome. There’s no running water or electricity there so you rely on the well, generators and candles!

It’s a simple lifestyle and the people are very hospitable indeed. The festival was wonderful – my job was to run the bar which gave me a great view of the stage and all the performances – local wrestling, traditional dancing, music and drumming!

We’re grabbing a couple of days in town to do festival accounts and reports then back to Kartong and a few days travelling around as a bit of a holiday.

Here are some photos on Facebook

and some MORE

And some from packing up at the end of Dombondir!

Will it fit?

Only just!!!!!

Bye for now!