In my recent post ‘In my grandmother’s footsteps’  I explained why I have started saving for a trip to China and I’d like to share with you a few photos from a number of albums my father still has from the thirties.

I’d also like to make a request, if I may, I have entered Intrepid Travel’s latest competition and would really appreciate you checking it out. It’s a long shot, but the prize would enable me to follow in my grandmother’s footsteps to Shanghai. So if you like my entry please vote for me. Why not enter yourself and if you do please do add a link on the comments here -  I’d love to read it. You can vote for as many entries as you like (although only once for each entry). Plus everyone who votes or enters gets 15% off an Intrepid Travel adventure.

You can vote for my entry and submit yours here.

My grandparents and father in 1935

China around 1930

Father making new friends on holiday in Japan

My father on holiday in Peitaiho, North China, 1937

In 1927, at the age of 23, my grandmother boarded a boat to China following the man she loved to Shanghai.

The Inspiration Initiative
I’ve enjoyed reading other people’s recent posts about what inspires them to travel so I was delighted when both Suzanne from The Travel Bunny and Lucy from On the Luce nominated me to join in easyJet holidays’ Inspiration Initiative.

The idea is to write about ‘who, what, where and when’ has inspired you to travel and then nominate 5 other bloggers to do likewise. So here is just some of the things that have inspired me to travel.

Bubbling Well Road, Shanghai 1928 curtesy of Northampton Museum*

Who… Grannie
As a little girl I used to love listening to my grandmother tell me tales from her travels. Her fiancé had moved to Shanghai in 1925 to take up a teaching position. Two years later he sent for her to follow. I can’t imagine how my great grandparents must have felt about their daughter going off on such an adventure! The journey took weeks by boat rather than hours by plane as it would now and of course there were no mobiles, emails or skype to keep in touch with love ones.

They married in Hong Kong and then lived in Shanghai, where my father was born, in Bubbling Well Road now called West Nanjing Road.

Grannie’s stories about her life in China transported me to a world of haggling in the markets, holidays in Japan, visits to India and sailing on the Queen Mary. I remember laughing and squirming when she told me about her cook who had one really long finger nail; she was always telling him off because he used it to stir and taste his cooking! Last weekend I spoke to my father about what he remembers about growing up in China. I’ll share it with you in another post. It really is quite a tale.

What… Souvenirs and old films
The painted plates, vases and intricately carved furniture showing scenes of the orient that filled my Grandmother’s house in England fascinated me; pretty scenes of cherry trees in blossom, willow trees hanging over little bridges with figures in strange costumes. These and watching old films like Casablanca made me wonder what it would be like to go to far away, romantic sounding places like Timbuktu and Mandalay collecting exotic souvenirs as I went.

One of my photos of Kerala taken on my second trip to India with Annie. There are more photos on Flickr.

Where… India
Another person who was a big influence on me was Annie, one of the designers/photographers I worked with producing holiday brochures when I first started working in the travel industry. Every year we’d spend a few days together selecting images for the next seasons brochures. While there, Annie would also show me photographs of her big passion, India, telling me all about her travels. When she invited me on a trip to India I couldn’t resist. It is the most exciting country I have ever been to: the hustle and bustle of Jaipur, the calm serenity of the Kerala backwaters, luxury and poverty side by side, vivid colours and patterns everywhere. Over the next few years I found Annie an inspiration on many different levels and she encouraged me greatly with my own photography. I don’t think she has any idea just how much she influenced me, both professionally and personally. Thank you, Annie!

Here’s a link to another photo I posted from Kerala that had a few people hankering to pack their bags! Drifting along the backwaters of Kerala

Tanji fish market, a place I will take my friends to on their first visit to Africa

The Gambia
The company I work for now specialises in West Africa (amongst other destinations). I had only ever been to North Africa before so it has been wonderful to get to know another part of this great continent, in particular, The Gambia. Even though each trip is relatively short I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been and it has given me the chance to get to know a place in more depth. I now have many friends there and I’ve got involved with two Gambian schools. Back home I’ve founded a choir singing songs from around the world including many from Africa. We raise money to help the schools and some members of the choir now wish to visit The Gambia. So later this year we will be off. Most of them have never been to Africa before so it will be quite an adventure for them. I plan to make it one they will never forget!

One of my images of Corsica that I hope has inspired others to visit this beautiful island

Corsica
Another place I have returned to a number of times is the beautiful island of Corsica but I have yet to explore the interior. I’d love to take the train from Bastia to Ajaccio stopping off for a day or two here and there to enjoy the mountain villages and scenery. I’ve heard that the train ride itself is a real treat winding through the mountains, tunnels and gorges, at times hugging the cliff face, other times plunging into forests. At one point it traverses a valley via the enormous Vecchio viaduct, engineered by Gustave Eiffel. There is even a superb waterfall known as the bride’s veil which overhangs the railway before the train meanders through the lush green foothills to Ajaccio.

A few people have told me that my posts and photographs have inspired them to add Corsica to their ‘bucket list’ which is wonderful. I even heard today that my photos had inspired someone to buy a camera, which I was extremely pleased to hear!

When… Aged 10
My first journey abroad was at the age of 10, when my sister (aged 12) and I caught the ferry to France where we’d be staying with a French family for the week. It was very exciting being allowed to travel by ourselves on the ferry – not quite a “Slow boat to China” but an adventure non-the-less. It was a wonderful experience (apart from what looked like raw mince that they tried to feed me; I was somewhat less adventurous than I am now when it came to food!)

And now…
I’ve been blogging through ‘Travel with Kat’ since last September and I have really enjoyed receiving feed-back from fellow bloggers and reading their inspiring posts too. Suzanne from ‘The Travel Bunny’ has certainly got me hankering to visit Hoi An, Vietnam.

Lucy’s blog ‘On the Luce’ is another one of the many blogs I really enjoy following and I’ll be looking to her for some inspiration on my forthcoming weekend in Paris.

Recently I was lucky enough to meet and interview travel writer Frances Linzee Gordon. Her tales of travelling solo across countries such as Morocco, Ethiopia and Yemen are fascinating. She believes that you should never refuse an invitation while travelling. She goes by her instincts and uses her three-second rule of maintaining eye contact with a stranger to see if she thinks they are trustworthy. She is certainly a very inspiring lady! I have done some travelling on my own before but Frances has certainly spurred me on to step that little bit further out of my comfort zone. Perhaps I should now make the journey to Shanghai myself and walk down the street that was once called Bubbling Well Road. I wonder what my grandmother would make of today’s Shanghai. Yes, I really must go and have an oriental adventure of my own, walking in my grandmother’s footsteps!

My nominations…

Madhu, The Urge to Wander

David & Veronica, The Gypsy Nester

Sherry, Fabulous 50′s

Cynthia, Hapi Dayz

Jennifer, My Sardinian Life

Links

*Northampton Musem on Flickr

India photographs on Flickr

Gambia photographs on Flickr

Corsica photographs on Flickr

Last week I was invited to the ‘Press Breakfast’ at (The Times presents) Destinations Holiday & Travel Show 2012 in London’s Earls Court. Having stayed with a friend in North London, I was up bright and early Thursday morning to make my way across town, in the bitter cold, arriving at Earl’s Court with over half an hour to go before the show even opened.

I found a delightful little coffee shop (opposite West Brompton tube station) where I was greeted with a very warm welcome and, despite only ordering a coffee, I was given some delicious crispy biscuits to accompany it. Having finished my drink I was happily reading when I noticed steam rising up from behind my newspaper. ” That can’t be steam” I thought. “I’ve finished my coffee.” Peeking round the paper I noticed for the first time the candle next to my empty coffee cup over which I’d been waving the newspaper. Yikes,  that was close. Strike “steam”, insert “smoke”.

Having nearly set fire to said delightful coffee shop I re-wrapped myself into a cocoon of warm layers and scurried back to Earls Court where we were directed to the Turkish beach bar in the centre of the show. Having deposited my coat, scarf, hat, two pairs of gloves and a layer or two of jumpers in the cloak room I sat slowly defrosting by a pretty blue rowing boat on a sand bank!

I filled up on more coffee, nibbled some tasty turkish sausages and chatted with other writers about the show. There was so much I wanted to see and do. I had a quick look round and came across a group of school children eagerly learning some Indonesian dance moves in the ‘See the world’ area of the show. Their enthusiasm was a delight to see.

Next stop, a photography masterclass on reportage photography by Doug McKinlay which was fascinating and informative and worth a blog in it’s own right. Then there’s time to watch a beautiful display of tango from Argentina on the World Entertainment Stage before catching an Expert Panel Session on Responsible Tourism. Hosted by Richard Hammond from Rough Guides with guests from four very different tour operators all specialising in responsible tourism, it was a fascinating insight in to their expectations and the challenges they face. I’ll also be discussing this in more detail at a later date.

Back at the World Entertainment Stage, I catch the end of  Tropicalinc.com‘s amusing and educational talk on wildlife where we all get to meet a very large snake, an undeniably cute young meerkat, a gorgeous genet and rather a moody looking skunk. Volunteers were asked to come forward for the opportunity to stroke and hold these wonderful creatures and some how I ended up holding a tarantula before passing it on for another person to conquer their fear of all things arachnid.

Having looked round some more of the stalls offering every conceivable holiday imaginable (and a few stalls that seem to have no relevance to travel at all) I return to the World Entertainment stage to watch the Indonesian dancers that had so successfully engaged the school children earlier in the day. A lovely end to a really interesting day.

The following Saturday and Sunday, back at Destinations, I caught-up with some very interesting people including the inspirational travel writer, Frances Linzee Gordon who was there to talk about the wonderful new Dorling Kindersley book ‘Ultimate  Food Journeys‘ and celebrity Caribbean chef, musician and dragon slayer, Levi Roots who told me about how he came to England as a boy from Jamaica, his subsequent musical career and his rise to fame following his appearance on ITV’s  ’Dragons Den’. More on all of this coming soon!

Eating akara, dancing to Baatin and saying goodbye to The Gambia

Thursday morning and it’s our last full day.

After another school visit in the morning (on behalf of The Gambia Experience’s School Development Fund), Shelagh and I spend the afternoon visiting our Guinean friends to say goodbye. More chatting, more singing and a few more photos. We are really touched when they give each of us a wooden carving. They are wonderful but I can’t help thinking that they shouldn’t have. No, they really shouldn’t have. They have so little. I will treasure the carving and when I am sitting at home on a cold English winter’s evening I’m sure it will bring back many happy memories of my friends in Africa.

That evening we enjoy chatting to some of the other guests at the hotel who we have made friends with. They really are a lovely bunch of people.

There’s a band playing on the restaurant’s terrace – an interesting mixture of reggae, jazz, blues and traditional West African music. It’s our last night and when some of the waiters and waitresses start dancing I join in and soon most of the other guests do too.

Afterwards I have a chat with the band. Baatin, means something along the lines of righteous passage or telepathy – a higher plane of thinking perhaps. They sing in Wolof, Swahili, Portuguese as well as English. Ebrima Touray, the male lead singer and co-leader of the band has a lovely gravely voice well suited to the blues. Kumba Sowe, who sings female lead for some of the songs has a beautiful rich, velvety voice. Originally from Senegal, Baatin met Ebrima in The Gambia and he introduced the band to the blues. You can find out more about Baatin and listen to some of their music on myspace although the information is rather out of date.

Our last morning, and as I step out onto the open stairway outside our room I breath in the smell of burning churia banta. A type of wood sprinkled over charcoals or heated in clay pots to perfume the air. The walk through the gardens to the restuarant is lovely in the morning sunshine.

I have never tried the local breakfast dish akara so I pop three of the small round balls and a little of the sauce onto a plate and sit on the terrace overlooking Ngala’s gardens with a glimpse of the sea through the palm trees. The akara is great and I’d wished I’d tried it sooner. The balls are made of  black-eyed peas grounded into flour and deep-fried, served with an onion, chilli and jimbo (seasoning) sauce. I found them really delicious, crispy on the outside and smooth and light on the  inside.

After breakfast there’s plenty of time for relaxing by the pool before we have to head off to the airport and I think over what a wonderful week it’s been.

This is my last diary entry until my next visit to The Gambia, but I’ve lots more to tell you in the coming weeks from this trip including  interviews with the fascinating chef at Ngala Lodge and the wonderful Kora player, Bajaly as well as my morning with Ida cooking fish benechin and I have been given a Gambian cook book to review so I’m really looking forward to trying some of the recipes when I get home. Plus I’ll be answering some questions, such as why do you see flip-flops nailed to trees in West Africa and how do you play wuri?

Time to start planning another journey! Where next?

Not one to refuse a challenge, I was happy to be tagged by Paul of ‘My Postcard from’ to give you my A to Z of travel. At the end of this post I’ll be tagging some travel bloggers who I’d like to pose these questions to.

Age you went on your first international trip:

I think I was 10 years old when I went to France with my 12 year old sister for a week. The thing I remember most is the two of us having a fantastic time exploring the ferry while crossing the channel and feeling very grown up at being allowed to travel on our own! We get on really well (mostly) and I’ve always been very thankful to have a sister. (I’m sure our parents were relieved to hear that our host family picked us up safely when we reached France though.)

Best (foreign) beer you’ve had and where:

I’m not really a beer drinker, preferring cider in the pub or red wine at home, however, I do find I’m partial to the occasional beer or two when travelling and I really do like the Corsican beer, Colomba.

Cuisine (favourite):

Love it all, but I guess if pushed I’d have to say Italian with Corsican coming a close second but as this is heavily influenced by Italy that’s no surprise.

Destinations, favourite, least favourite and why:

India is the most exciting place I’ve ever been to and I really hope I will get the chance to go back there one day. It is a photographers dream with so many colourful, inspiring, upsetting, exciting and breathtaking things to photograph around every corner. As for least favourite, nothing springs to mind, can I come back to that one?

Event you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”:

Singing with the London Community Gospel Choir and the Joy Singers Choir at the end of an amazing workshop weekend in Italy… the whole weekend was ‘WOW!’ Read more.

Favourite mode of transportation:

Train. One fond memory I have of train travel is the overnight train from Cairo to Luxor and a great party in the bar carriage. How the waiter managed to balance those glasses on his forehead is beyond me. I could barely stand-up (even before I had a drink!).

Greatest feeling while traveling:

I had a wonderful week this summer photographing La Balagne region of Corsica. I can remember sitting at this restaurant, nibbling crusty bread with delicious home made pate and some tasty fig jam, looking out over the hillside to the sea, thinking “This has got to be the best job in the world!” (Even though it was back to the office on Monday!)

Hottest place you’ve traveled to:

Kerala in India was ridiculously humid (the sweat made your eyes sting when trying to take photos), Israel in May by the Red Sea was so hot and dry my skin felt like leather (went back to normal I’m glad to say when I got home) and I remember getting heat stroke in Italy after photographing a lunch spread in the noon day sun. No idea which was actually hottest though.

Journey that took the longest:

Coming home from Kerala, India… boat to mainland, bus to airport, plane to Dubai, another plane to Gatwick, train to home town and a taxi to my house. Can’t remember how long it took but it seemed to go on forever. Getting home from work in a snow storm comes a close second though, when a 50 minute drive turned into an 18 hour endurance test a couple of winters ago.

Keepsake from your travels:

Photographs!

Let-down sight, why and where:

I can’t think of one!

Moment where you fell in love with travel:

I don’t think there was a particular moment it just crept up on me.

Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in:

Sunset Beach or Ngala Lodge, both in The Gambia are lovely in different ways. I also remember a really spectacular hotel, Coconut Lagoon in India, that I stayed in for one night, perfect other than the open-air bathroom (which would have been wonderful if the hotel hadn’t been by the waters of Kerala – one word – mosquitoes!)

Obsession—what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling?:

Everything… the food on my plate (or yours!), the waiter, the view, the restaurant, the street, the passer by, musicans….   the scenery, the cat under your chair, that car…  this door… that window… a flower… that shop… their hands…  your feet!

Passport stamps, how many and from where?

Recently got a new passport so only The Gambia on it but my previous one had The Gambia, Senegal, Cape Verde, India, Egypt, Israel.

Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where:

I had read about this strange building created by a postman over many, many years called Le Palais Idéal in France and thought it sounded really bizarre and interesting so when my next visit to France took me near there I made a point of going to see it. It didn’t disappoint.

Recommended sight, event or experience:

How to pick out just one? The Jola initiation festival in The Gambia I went to back in 2007 was pretty amazing. Read more.

From this year, it would be the last day of Calvi’s Rencontres de Chants Polyphoniques de Calvi which I went to in June. The free event on the Saturday afternoon was a truly memorable, musical mystery tour of the citadel. Read more.

Splurge; something you have no problem forking out money for while traveling:

A really good meal in a lovely restaurant every now and again.

Touristy thing you’ve done:

Ah, too many to mention – Here’s one: The yellow submarine ride in Sal, Cape Verde. Great underwater views without getting wet!

Unforgettable travel memory:

The moment I realised that the little girl in the long haired wig and long floaty skirt was playing me, handing out mosquito nets, in a school play about malaria prevention in The Gambia. Read more. See the video

Also in The Gambia, drumming under a palm tree on the beach looking out to sea – bliss!

Visas, how many and for where?

Not many and non in my current passport.

Wine, best glass of wine while traveling and where?

Although I love red wine, I know very little about it. I do remember being given some wonderful bottles of wine from the owner of a vineyard in Umbria (after spending ages rearranging the garden furniture around the pool of his agriturismo so I could get the perfect photograph) but I’m afraid I can’t be more specific.

eXcellent view and from where?:

When I was fourteen I went to Austria on a school trip. I’ll never forget my first view of the snow-capped mountains especially a particularly spectacular mountain reflected in a lake. I can remember telling my mum when I got home that it was so beautiful I nearly cried. I couldn’t tell you exactly where it was though.

From this year the view that took my breath-away was of Ostriconi beach in Corsica. Here are two shots taken from the same spot looking in slightly different directions.

Years spent traveling?:

I’ve worked in the travel industry (as a graphic designer/photographer/writer) for over 15 years and I’ve done much of my travelling in that time. Great deals as well as the occasional work trip are a great perk of my job. I do feel really lucky to have had the chance to visit so many wonderful places, especially when being paid to do so, including in West Africa – The Gambia, Senegal and the Cape Verde Islands, and in Europe – Corsica as well as much of mainland France and Italy.

Zealous sports fans and where?:

The Gambia – every male Gambian I’ve ever met loves football (soccer).

And now to pass it on! I’ve tried to choose a good cross-section of bloggers who I think will give some interesting answers… I tag:

• Jenny at Jenny Neill
• Melvin at Travel Dudes
• Lucy at On the Luce
• Dave & Deb at The Planet D
• Juno at Runaway Juno
• Grannie at Grannie Banana

Cooking fish benachin and visiting the newly built school at Dairuharu

Monday

I’m up fairly early today as I’m going on an excursion run by The Gambia Experience ‘Cooking with Ida’.

Nine of us from various hotels arrive at Ida’s and are shown two racks of colourful Gambian clothes to change into. Now I wasn’t sure about this, but as I have always found that Gambians love visitors to their country wearing local clothes, I picked out a bright green patterned top and matching wrap around skirt and got changed. Then we were all off to the market to pick up the ingredients for fish benachin, a spicy fish dish served with rice. Shopping in The Gambia is an experience in itself and the fish market on the beach in Tanji is a colourful bustling example of daily life. (As most Gambians don’t have electricity let alone a refrigerator, catching or buying food is a daily event.)

I’ll tell you all about the wonderful day we had preparing the meal, playing wuri (while the delicious cooking smells wafted around the outdoor kitchen) and then eating this tasty traditional Wolof meal in a forthcoming post.

Back at the hotel that afternoon I catch-up with the fabulous chef at Ngala Lodge, Jonathan Groves. I’ll be writing about his fascinating career which has taken him to a number of countries, soon too.

Tuesday
This is the day I’ve really been waiting for as we are to visit the school in Dairuharu, a district in Brikama, that we have helped build. I haven’t been here since January. The foundations were laid and the walls were up but their was no roof, nor windows or door fittings. The school was finished in April (the first classroom, a store room and an office) and since then we’ve provided desks, benches and a blackboard but I haven’t been able to see the finished school for myself until now. It is the Muslim New Year today which means the school is closed and everyone is at the mosque. We arranged to visit the school a few weeks ago and we didn’t realise it could clash with this important day in the Muslim calendar. The actual date was only announced a couple of days before as it depends on the cycle of the moon. Unfortunately it was too late to change the day of our visit as the rest of the week is fully booked with visits to other schools. I’m assured that it really isn’t a problem and that the teachers and some of the children will come to the school anyway.

On the way we pick up Fatou. She has been very involved in the building of the school encouraging the other villagers to lend a hand in the construction and she has been given time of work to join us.

When we arrive in the village we are met by Yama, the headmistress and one of the teachers, who is also called Fatou, plus Kaba, who managed the build and Ebrima, chairman of the school’s committee. Sadly, Amie who also teaches at the school, isn’t very well and is unable to come.

I’ve brought a plaque to put up in memory of Lucy, whose family and friends raised much of the money needed to finish the school and some photographs showing how the money was raised. It includes pictures of us drumming and singing at Nyodema’s festival which also raised money for the school. BIG MISTAKE! When we go into the the classroom all the children sing for us in English. I’ve recorded some of it (and some of the other music we heard during our visit) which I will set to some of my photos and put on youtube when I get the chance. When the children finish singing I’m told it is my turn. I wasn’t expecting this – I’m used to singing in a choir not on my own!… deep breath.. I sing them a song in Susu that our drumming group and choir have performed together. They seemed very pleased so I think it was OK. (Don’t worry, I didn’t record that bit.)

It is really wonderful to see the school in use but the floor is very sandy and the dust that rises up gets in your throat so sorting that out is next on our list of things to do. Yama and Fatou explain that they’d like to use what was intended as an office as a second class room for the older children. We think this is a great idea, so next on the list is some more desks and benches.

From the school we go back to one of the villager’s compounds (home) where we are joined by the Alkalo (head of the village) and his assistant. Under the shade of a mango tree we all discuss what further needs to be done including the flooring, more desks and very importantly access to water and a toilet block!

The Alkalo and his assistant both already have three wives yet they say they will each marry one of us (Muslims can marry up to four wives). When Shelagh says her husband probably wouldn’t be too keen on this they offer to wrestle our husbands! Wrestling is a very popular sport in West Africa but I’ve not heard of Gambians wrestling over potential wives before. I wonder who would win!

Tomorrow we are back in Brikama visiting the school in Jeddah that we have been helping since 2007 and after that we’ll visit Lisa, who I sponsor through FOTGA (Friends of The Gambia Association) and her family.

See more photos on Flickr

More on the rest of my week coming Soon!

I’m getting excited!

This time next week I’ll be in The Gambia – luxury hotels, European women with their African toy boys, sunshine, sea and poverty. An incongruous mash-up of the extremes in life, The Gambia gets under your skin, if you let it.

Once again I’ll soon be jetting off to the smallest country on mainland Africa with the biggest smile, commonly called ‘The smiling coast of Africa’ and having spent anytime there you will soon know why. The people are some of the friendliest you can meet anywhere.

Since 2007 I have visited The Gambia regularly, partly for work photographing hotels, partly to relax in the sun but also to oversee projects set up by Nyodema – a community group I founded with some friends whose slogan is ‘Fighting Poverty with Music’. It has been the most amazing few years as what started as a one-off music event to raise enough money to buy some children mosquito nets has turned into an annual festival, a world music choir and an African drumming troupe and our projects include funding teacher training programmes and buying hundreds of nets.

Photograph courtesy of Adam White

Throughout this time I have also been on an exciting personal journey going from someone who was terrified of even just reading out the winning raffle ticket numbers at an event to someone who sings in and conducts the Nyodema World Community Choir, loves drumming with the Nyodema Drummers and is happy to speak in front of an audience about Nyodema. OK, I do still get nervous, but I’m passionate about what we do so I’ve just got on with it!

Even though I’ve been there many times before I am particularly looking forward to this visit as I will be going to the school I have helped to build, admittedly not physically myself, but by bringing people together to make it happen…

..including the couple who first told me about the school in Dairuharu (or rather the lack of one!), the other Nyodema committee members who got behind the idea 100%, Pete and Pete who drove an old car from Bognor Regis on the south coast of England to Istanbul and back, Hannah, who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in memory of her friend Lucy and Pa Louis, from the charity Karmic Angels, who kindly project managed the build plus all the people who performed, volunteered and made donations at our festival.

The first classroom, an office and a store room are finished and benches, desks and a blackboard are in place. Next week we will be taking a plaque and dedicating this first classroom to the memory of Lucy – a lady I had never met – but when I told her mother about the project her family and friends raised the remaining money needed to finish it, in her memory.

It will my pleasure and honour to take a plaque to put up in the school that reads ‘This classroom is dedicated in loving memory of Lucy Ritchie’.

In the words of the villages’ Alkalo (headman) ‘Now we can say that we have a school’ and I’m grinning from ear to ear – my smile is as big as any Gambians!

Read about my first visit to the school at Dairuharu.

Read my diary Part 2 - Arriving in Africa and catching up with old friends