WEEK 7
On Sunday we had a good time catching up with Chris & Hazel from Brentwood.

Monday 4 September 2006
This morning I (James) made an attempt to continue with our paper chase from Friday. It only took 1½hours to get to our first stop (it can take only 20 minutes if the traffic is light). But we got the first piece of information fairly quickly after I pleaded helplessness and indicated that coming back tomorrow was not really an option. The clerk THEN agreed to look to see if the information was ready, which it was. But I was re-directed to another office, visited on Friday, to complete another section even though we had given in copies of the relevant information to the first office. The next bit is even more confusing, so to summarise I participated in 6 separate queues after which I was then told to wait 2hrs before going to the next one. Ann, who had driven me into town and waited patiently, agreed that we should go to another venue to complete other chores including a cup of coffee and a cake.

This is where we learned that the alteration to the radio phone so that it would work in Arua would not take 5 minutes and previously indicated, but 5 days. By which time I would be in Arua but the phone would be in Kampala. We explored other options with the help of the MTN representative but agreed that that was the most viable option. Hence we will have no e-mails, blog entries or internet until around the 7th Oct. However, we will look for an internet café or other access points. Our mobile will work in Arua.

By now our two hours were up so we returned to the previous office. I gave in the papers, was given a receipt and told to come back on Wednesday. Not again! I repeated my previous plea and it was suggested that I try tomorrow. So we’ll see. I should also say that all the people I spoke to were actually very polite and helpful even if they didn’t actually say very much!

The rest of the day was more productive. Chris and Hazel were with us at Matoke for the rest of the afternoon and managed to stay interested as we showed them pictures of Arua and described the house in some detail.

Tuesday 5 September 2006
We went to Entebbe today with Chris & Hazel – taking them on public transport. The public coped very well. We had a friendly ‘conductor’ who recognised us on the way back too. We were a bit late starting out so went straight for lunch and the Lake View Hotel. Then a gentle stroll in the Botanical Gardens to admire all the … well, trees. I’m sure that those who are particularly botanical would enjoy it but there was a distinct lack of flowers. But we enjoyed the company and time with friends from home. Our evening was spent packing. How many people pack curtains in their suitcase? And I’ve just been informed that I will be getting up at 5.15am. I didn’t realise that time existed. And for those who haven’t heard yet – we won’t have internet access or a while, possibly until the beginning of October – so no more blog entries for a while!