down at the farm

 We have been living at the farm for a week now, it has been fun, we have had friends over and eaten pizza!

 We have been to see the banana trees on the farm that have been bashed in the storms this week. Some of the bananas were on the ground.

We took Olga and our friends for a walk down through the sugar cane fields down to the forest where monkeys live.

 We found a tree that had been blown right over, some of our windows smashed in the storm too

 This is the farm where we live, we are having fun. There has been lots of storms and lots of power cuts. The dogs are really friendly, Ella is our favourite.
Tom and Josh

twin day

Yes, it was time for another school dress-up day, as twins again. This time the boys decided to be each others twins and wear their England football kits. They have managed to wear these for international dress up, sports dress up, what I want to be when i grow up dress up and now this! This time each twin had to lad everyone else in a short dance. Here is Sally (pre-school assistant) Tommy and his twin Ben, with Amy and Estelle (Tom's teacher) doing the chicken dance...

...I am already imagining how thrilled they will be that this picture is published for the world to see!

Flooding in Benin

The UN refugee agency is to start an emergency airlift of tents to the West African nation of Benin this week, amid the worst flooding there in decades.

Some 3,000 tents will be flown in from Denmark to provide shelter for some of the estimated 680,000 people affected.
Two-thirds of Benin has suffered from months of heavy rain, and about 800 cases of cholera have been reported.
It is the worst flooding to hit the country - one of the poorest in the world - since 1963. Areas previously thought not to be vulnerable to flooding have been devastated and villages wiped out.
"There are huge areas that are covered in water so people are living on the tops of their houses, because people try to stay near their homes," Helen Kawkins of the Care aid agency told the BBC.
The flooding has sparked major health concerns, with drinking and bathing water contaminated by human waste which has overflowed from latrines.

The number of cases of cholera are rising daily, with more than 50 reported in the largest city, Cotonou, alone, Care says. Dozens of people have died as a result of the flooding in the past few weeks, officials say.

People who have lost their homes have sought shelter in medical facilities, putting pressure on the country's health system.
The UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) says an appeal for funds and aid is being planned.
The rain is continuing to deluge Benin and forecasters say there is no sign yet of it abating.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11615589

It is hard to imagine this is where we were not long ago.

our little closet dog lover

Having lived in West Africa the last couple of years the boys have not had much exposure to dogs. Tom was always nervous around dogs when he was little so we did wonder how it would go house-sitting a house with a bunch of dogs and cats. The first time they saw the dogs the boys were both a little wary but it took less then 24 hours for Tom to ask if he can have a dog and to be completely comfortable with them. We are looking after a great dane, a couple of poodles, a mixed fluffy one (techical that!) and next doors puppy a rhodesian ridgeback is often around. Tom has mastered stroking dogs and eating breakfast at the same time and really seems to have established himself as a dog lover. Josh quite likes the dogs, but is not so comfortable by himself, given that one of them is bigger than him.

the latest bug picture