Happy Birthday, Libby

Today, 22 December, is the 4th birthday of our granddaughter, Libby Peet. Happy Birthday, Libby! The photo shows Libby playing on the dock next to the Mercy Ship, Africa Mercy, on which she lives with her Mummy and Daddy and brother and sister Noah and Anna. We took the photo when we were in Liberia with them in October/November this year. Since then the ship has journeyed to Tenerife in the Canary Islands for annual maintenance and insurance reassessment and Libby is enjoying the freedom of playing in the superb parks there. She is great fun.

Liberian snails

I actually had a letter published in The Times newspaper last Friday (12 December). A few days earlier an item had appeared in Young Times saying that, amongst other charitable gifts one can give to families in the developing world this Christmas, for £8 you could give 100 snails for a Liberian family to breed, eat and sell. The journalist described snails as " as slimy little things" so I wrote to the editor saying that Liberian snails are at least 4 inches long and boiled up with rice they make a very nourishing meal for a Liberian family. I attached a photo which Jenny took in November of snails being sold from a wheelbarrow in a Liberian market and The Times published both letter and photo. We hope that more people buy snails for Liberia as a result. If you would like to give £8's worth of snails to a Liberian family, log on to the charity Samaritan's Purse.

Thomas invested as a Beaver Scout

On Thursday evening our 7 year old grandson, Thomas, was invested as a Beaver Scout in his local Scout Group in Bedfordshire. It was a proud moment for Thomas, and for his family also, as his Daddy (Ben), Grandpa (me) and Uncle (Olly) were all Scouts and Scout Leaders in this great movement which after 101 years still flourishes world-wide. Unfortunately I do not appear able to reproduce the lovely photos which Ben took of the investiture ceremony but here is one of Thomas and us taken earlier this year.

Liberia 3

During the first week of our recent trip to Liberia we stayed with missionaries Gary and Tammie and their four young children in their home a few miles outside the capital, Monrovia. Gary is a Pastor from Michigan, USA but currently he is working in a variety of ways to improve the lot of the people of Liberia. He took us to see some of his projects including the Child Survival Orphanage, a desperately poor collection of semi derelict buildings where a Liberian couple are trying to raise 35 orphans (mostly dumped on their doorstep) without any official help whatsoever. We took to the orphanage a large sack of rice, 35 sachets of dried milk (which they suck from the sachet as a treat) and a football and we played football with them for half an hour or so. It was humbling to see how cheerful these children were - they never have enough to eat and have limited prospects for the future. Another project Gary took us to was the refurbishment (virtually rebuilding!) of a village school way out in the bush. The children really want to get an education as a way out of their poverty and, amidst all the dust and rubble, they gave us a great welcome. Gary and his family were informative, hospitable hosts who, despite the heat and humidity, were always cheerful - as the photograph shows. If you would like to help their work, let us know.

Liberia 2

Here is a photograph that we took last week of our family aboard the MV Africa Mercy in the Freeport of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. What does our family do on this hospital ship? Well, Olly is Transportation Manager, managing a team of mechanics, cleaners and drivers to keep the ship's fleet of 30 Land Rover and Nissan vehicles always ready to carry patients, doctors, nurses, agriculturists, water engineers and other professionals and technicians around the city and into the bush. As most replacement parts are unobtainable in Liberia and the roads vary from appalling to non-existent,this is a tough job. Sally is a speech and language therapist working with patients who come to the ship for operations to repair or correct cleft palates, hair lips, lock jaw, facial and oral tumours and burns. She helps them to swallow, eat, drink and talk normally again or for the first time if they were born with the defect. And Noah, Anna and Libby go to school on the ship, along with the other crew children - there are about 50 altogether. The Academy has fifteen teachers covering the normal range of subjects (all taught in English) and after school hours, like kids in the UK, our grandchildren have piano, recorder, dancing and French lessons from other crew members.
Labels: October 2008, Our family in Liberia
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Liberia 1

We've just returned from Liberia, West Africa where for one week we were the guests of our son Olly and his family aboard the Mercy Ship, Africa Mercy, the largest non-government hospital ship in the world. Africa Mercy entered service just over a year ago. It has a crew of 400, plus fifty children, 6 operating theatres, 78 recovery beds, dental and eye surgeries, scanners and X ray machines and all the equipment that you would expect to find in a UK hospital. What's more its staffed entirely by unpaid volunteers who pay their own fares out to the ship and also pay for their board and lodging on the ship. If you would like to know more about the charity Mercy Ships, and opportunities for serving with them, log on to http://www.mercyships.org.uk/. The photo shows the Africa Mercy viewed from the stern - the top right hand window is part of our family's cabin.

Stone carving 2

Last year David carved a "Green Man", based on a Green Man in Wells Cathedral, Somerset. Wells is said to be the smallest city in England and the Cathedral there is one of the two seats (or Cathedras) of the Bishop of Bath and Wells. Green Men go back a long time in history and there are various explanations of their origins, significance and meaning. One common theme is that they are fertility symbols.

Stone carving class

On Wednesday mornings we go to a stone carving class held in a former Baptist Chapel in a village about 45 minutes drive from here. Its dusty work but great fun. To date Jenny has carved a Tudor rose, a relief of two geese and a mother and child. Currently she is working on a pineapple and the individual scales take a long time. David has carved a female torso, a Green Man and a house sign with Pippin apples and the name of our cottage. Here is a photo of Jenny's Tudor rose which I have built into the wall of our inglenook fireplace.

David' sponsored cycle ride

Three weeks ago David and a friend completed a sponsored cycle ride which took in the churches in five local villages, Charlton Horethorne, Stowell, Goathill, Milborne Port and Milborne Wick. Between them they raised over £400, half of which goes to their local church and half to The Friends of Somerset Churches and Chapels. This charitable trust makes grants for the repair of churches and chapels in Somerset.

Sorry we forgot the photo

The Peet Family in Liberia

For the last five years our elder son, Olly, his wife, Sally, and their three children, Noah, Anna and Libby have been volunteers with the international Christian charity, Mercy Ships. Currently they live, work and go to school on the Mercy Ship, Africa Mercy, in the Port of Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa. If you want to know more about their unusual lives and the work they do log on to their blogspot, www.peetfamilyinliberia.blogspot.com. The photo shows them standing outside their home on the Africa Mercy, the biggest non-government hospital ship in the world.

Anyone for tennis?

This was another visit from Ben, Claire, Sophie and Thomas when we all went playing tennis at the local sports club.

The Bedfordshire Peet family

This is our younger son Ben with his wife Claire and children Thomas and Sophie earlier in the year when they called in for lunch at Pippin Cottage on their way to Devon for a holiday with Claire's parents. As you can see Sophie is a determined little girl!

When Jenny retired as Chairman of Wincanton Choral Society David suggested that instead of buying her a gift they should sponsor her on a Ladies' Driving Day to raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Here is a photo of her driving a Royal Mail articulated lorry which she had to reverse between bollards. She also drove a digger, a 40 ton truck, a tractor, a double decker bus, a Dalek, a Land Rover 101, and a 1905 car without steering wheel - just a stick to steer with, a break and an accelerator. 240 women took part and between us we raised £30,000 for the charity.

Parish Notice Board

Our small village of about 500 souls actually has its own Parish Council, with five unpaid Parish Councillors (the smallest number allowed under the Local Government Act) and a part time clerk. Its total budget is about £6,000 a year. At its last meeting not a little time was spent discussing the Parish Council notice board which until recently was fixed to the wall of a barn in the centre of the village but which has had to be removed to allow building work. Should it be fixed to a wall 50 yards to the west of the barn, making it easier for people on the west of the village to see, or 50 yards to the east, with the opposite effect. In the end a compromise was reached - the new notice board will be a free standing one on the village green, just 10 yards from its old position. Long live local democracy!

Jenny's books

One of Jenny's interests is writing biographies of local people and publishing them in book form under the name "Tomorrow's History". Her first book, "Village Voices - Charlton Horethorne, records the memories of 19 people who have lived all or most of their lives in this charming village - it is a fascinating insight into how people lived in the countryside before, during and just after the Second World War.

 

"Town Tales - Wincanton" is a similar book recording the memories of 20 people in the nearby small town of Wincanton. Both "Village Voices" and "Town Tales" can be bought from Jenny for £5 each, all of which goes to local charities.

 

Jenny's third and latest book is a bit different - it is the story of Heather Moorse who established an animal sanctuary in the nearby village of Stowell and ran it for many years until she retired in 2006. Entitled "For the Love of Animals" it is moves quickly from pathos to high comedy and back again. The price is £6.95 from which Heather Mooorse makes a donation to the local RSPCA.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday Dad! Here is your birthday present, so you can write about whatever you fancy and publish it for the whole world to see, and share some photos. I'll tell you how over the phone and by email. Have a lovely day, with all our love Olly, Sally, Noah, Anna & Libby

PS Here's the photo you emailed to us recently.

On the beach

Noah, Grandpa Wavey and Anna, Paradise Beach, Monrovia, March 2006

Libby's brother

This is a photo of Odesco, Libby's brother, with Sally & Libby in the Acres of Hope Orphanage, February 2006. He left Liberia the day after this photo was taken, to travel to the States to join his new family there.

Olly, Libby, and a chimp

This is a photo of Libby, Olly & BooBoo-the-Chimp, February 2006

Liberia's stongest man

This is us with Oscar, Liberia's Strongest Man - March 2006

Strange shaped countries #1

The Republic of Guinea in West Africa is a strange shaped country. If the crow flies in a north- westerly direction, you could pass from Liberia into Guinea, back into Liberia again, then into Sierra Leone, then back into Guinea, then Sierra Leona again, then Guinea again...

Strange shaped counties #1

Isn't Buckinghamshire a strange shaped county? You can drive through it on the M25, and an hour later drive through it again further north on the M1.

More photos

Noah, Anna & Libby, Liberia, June 2008

Thomas in the annual Flitwick Shed Tipping competition

Sophie just after dinner

Jenny (centre), sister Diana & brother-in-law Albert

Jenny in the garden

Jenny on the beach in the Caribbean, early 2008.

Some photos

Sophie's christening, summer 2006

Our home, Pippin Cottage, summer 2004

Ben, Libby, Noah, Claire, Sophie, late summer 2006

Olly & Libby in a tree, summer 2006

The Peet Family of Liberia

(l-r) Anna, Ben, Jenny, Noah, David, Thomas, Claire, Tina, Elizebeth, Francis & Olly

The Wirral, July 2004

Noah, Thomas, Anna & Jenny, West Bay, summer 2006

Us with Anna in a motor boat, Port Alfred, 2005

(l-r) Sally, David, Jenny, Noah & Anna, Tenerife 2004

David stone-walling, autumn 2006

David, Libby & Sally, West Bay beach, Dorset, summer 2006

David & Noah, game farm, South Africa, 2005

David & Noah in a canoe at Port Alfred, South Africa, 2005

Noah beside Ben's MG sports car, Harpenden, summer 2006

Us and Noah & Anna, Tenerife, October 2004

Welcome to our blog

24th May 2008. This blog has been created by our son Olly in preparation for his father's 68th birthday two months from today. Hopefully by the time this present is received by David, there will be some interesting photos on it and maybe a bit of narrative too...