Oops

Sorry, I just put two identical photos on the blog. Here is the one I intended.

Liberian Currency or Kissi Money

There are several very good auction houses in Dorset and Somerset and one of our favourite activities on a cold winter's day is to go to one, sit on the chairs which will later be auctioned, observe the fascinating auction scene and make bids for anything that we want to buy. Last Friday we went to Charterhouse Auctions in Sherborne, just five miles away and were interested to see that lot number 226 was a cardboard box full of "Liberian currency". We visited Liberia, West Africa, three times when our son Olly and his family were living and working there and their adopted daughter Libby was born in Liberia so lot 226 was of great interest to us. Fortunately Jenny's bid of £20 was higher than the others and the lot was ours. The "currency" consists of intricately made iron bars of differing lengths and values which were used in country areas for small transactions until as recently as 1964. The longer the bar, the more it was worth and for larger amounts several bars were welded together. The photos show the jumbled box of currency (72 pieces) and the currency sorted into size and value - they must have had big strong wallets and purses in those days! For further information on this currency (known as Kissi Money) and its use in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, see www.liberiapastandpresent.org/kissi.htm

February Half Term

Ben, Claire, Thomas and Sophie have just spent three wet, chilly, half term days with us at Pippin Cottage. Because of the weather, indoor activities were high on the agenda. At home we played hide and seek, chickenfoot, animal vegetable or mineral and other games. On Monday we visited the Tutenkhamun Museum in Dorchester and then drove to Cerne Abbas, where we could not see the legendary giant carved into the hillside because of the rain and mist. We played badminton in sports centres in Sherborne and Wincanton and early one evening I went with Thomas and Sophie to Yeovil Cinema to see the film "Yogi Bear" in 3D - it was great. At the same time Ben and Claire saw the film "The King's Speech" and very much enjoyed it. Afterwards I watched a Peppa Pig DVD at home with Sophie and fell asleep - it was not as exciting as Yogi bear! But the rain did stop long enough for us to enjoy a game of football on the Millennium Green - the photos show Thomas and Sophie going for goal and having a conference with their team-mate, Jenny.

Farewell, The Yetties

Last night we went to our Village Hall to see one of the Yetties' final concerts (see www.theyetties.co.uk). After 50 years of performing together Bonny, Pete and Mac are retiring in April. Their unique blend of Dorset and West Country folk music, poetry, local history and humour will be missed all round the world for they have performed on every continent on behalf of the British Council. All three are accomplished musicians, story tellers and humourists and last night they were at their best. Here is just one of the many funny stories Pete told.

The telephone rang at 3am the other night and when I answered it a voice said "Weymouth Coast Guard here. We've found your mother-in-law floating face down in the harbour"

"Oh - ah" I said.

"She's got four lobsters attached to her - what shall I do?" the coastguard asked.

"Keep two yourself and send the other two to me. Then could you bait her again and drop her back in the water".


The packed audience loved the wisdom, humour, pathos and musicality of the performance and heartily joined in singing the choruses. Many bought their DVD - "The Yetties - 50 Golden Years".