Andrew’s Summer

When I last wrote, I was looking forward to travelling back to England and spending a few weeks at home with friends and family. I am pleased to be able to report that I managed to perform this skilful and highly dangerous task successfully! I was in England for 6 weeks in total, but for me, the time flew by so quickly that it felt like only one or two. As I had such a (supposedly) long time to play with, I set out to visit just about everyone I knew in the country. The net result of which being that I travelled 3,800 miles on my motorbike, got incredibly tired, and still managed to miss quite a few people that I should have called to see. Most notably, friends in and around Ashill were very badly neglected. If you are one of those people, please accept my profound apologies and believe me when I say that I actually didn’t spend very much time at home, and when I was there I wanted to spend as much time just relaxing with my children as possible. For a man with no discernible income, I managed to have myself an exceptionally fun-filled time. I visited the cinema 4 times (it’s one of the things I’ve missed most), went sailing, got dragged around a Fat Face sale (and purchased a wonderfully handsome man-bag for carrying all my Gambian essentials in), did a track day at Cadwell Park with a good friend (who must have been absolutely barking mad to let me loose with his Lotus), saw some Le Mans series racing at Silverstone and did an epic road trip through the North Pennines on the bike with another friend. Oh yes, I also managed to catch that ‘made in heaven’ musical partnership John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett live on stage (courtesy of yet another exceedingly generous chum). Remarkably, I managed to see each and every one of my six siblings, and my parents. An amazing feat considering they’re so well distributed around the country these days. I even caught up with Peter who, by sheer chance, was over from Canada for a few days during my visit. The undoubted highlight of the whole affair, however, was being with my children and seeing how well they’d coped in my absence. I had every confidence in both of them, but they surpassed my expectations by several of the proverbial long chalks (which is brilliant but also makes me feel a wee bit redundant!). There is a down-side to this generally positive tale of fun and frivolity (there’s always a down-side!). Upon my return to The Gambia, I discovered that the clothes I left here had mysteriously shrunk – especially the waistbands in my trousers! I suspect they will grow to fit again now I’m no longer being fed by the overwhelmingly kind folk of the good old United Kingdom, but it may take some time. As I sit here reflecting on the time I had in England, I feel immensely privileged to have spent my summer in the company of such amazing people (although it would be more convenient if you could all live a little closer together). I now feel refreshed (apart from my behind which is a tad tender after all those miles on the bike) and ready to continue my work in The Gambia. For those discerning connoisseurs of fine photography who are pining for some of my wonderful art, I have to admit to completely failing to remember my camera on all important occasions this summer. Feeling obliged to provide something artistic though, I have added a photograph taken by my son of my daughter wearing an outfit made for her by my Gambian landlord. Enjoy.