Drought

St Helena is in the grip of the worst water shortage in the memory of most of the folk here.  Springs have dried up, and bore holes are not giving up much water.  Apparently, we only have a few more days' supply of water in the reservoirs.  An emergency council has been set up, and it seems that the present plan is to bring water in from Ascension Island and South Africa - both of which are a good few days voyage away from St Helena.  Ascension does not have any natural water sources - they desalinate sea water for their use.

Usually, the side banks of certain roads on St Helena are lined with greenery - like ferns.  They are now very dry, with just the occasional green stalk.

Bishop Richard

Tonight Bishop Richard was promoted from "visitor" who eats in the dining room, to "friend" who eats in the kitchen.  A few weeks ago I stumbled on a small leg of lamb in the supermarket - just about big enough to feed 3 people.  Well, tonight the 3 of us ate it.  (Jane (Richard's wife) is in the UK sorting out some dentistry matters.)  We also had roast potatoes and carrots (carrots and potatoes are available at the moment), and frozen green beans.  A real treat.
We then retired to the "front room" (as the Saints call it) and watched the South African classic "The gods must be crazy".  A wonderfully "unwinding" evening.

St Helena Day

The island takes the celebration of St Helena day very seriously.  The day starts off with the a march from the canister  down Main Street to the Mule yard.

 The march is made up of police, scouts, girl guides, Brownies and Rainbows.  Then there is a religious service led by the bishop of the Anglican church.

 After that there are many different events over the course of the day, including a Jacobs ladder climb, a parade with floats, and fireworks.
Graeme and I attended the church service where Graeme played in the band,

then we took a slow walk back to the manse.  We did some prep for the coming week, had Jean and Trevor over for tea, went outside to look at the floats, and then continued with house work and prep.

 Here Graeme is giving a donation to a "slave girl",

a float representing Napoleon's home accompanied by "French soldiers"

The wirebird is St Helena's national bird.  It is not found anywhere else in the world.  So, just by the way, here is a photo to show you what these endangered little creatures look like.  They make their nests on the ground, and usually have 2 eggs at a time.  I was very lucky to get this photo.

A close up of the nest

The mother bird trying to get me away from her nest by pretending to have a broken wing

Leave cut short

With the recent "happenings" at church, it was decided that it would be best if Graeme cut his leave short.  So he is back in the saddle full time.  One thing he managed to do during his 3 weeks of leave, is to varnish and line the boxes that John Reid had made for their bag pipes.  I think he did a good job.

His bag pipe playing is also improving slowly.  The pipes are a VERY different musical instrument to play from the trumpet, but Graeme (and John Reid) are determined that he should get the hang of them.

A turning point

Today has been a turning point in our ministry on St Helena.  Since the beginning of the year there has been a dark shadow over us, and our future has been uncertain.  Today we had 2 difficult church meetings after the church service.  The final outcome of the meetings is that we have a new deaconate, and the majority of the church members voted to keep Graeme as their pastor. We are VERY relieved, and grateful.
 We now want to focus on the way forward, and pray that God will fill both Graeme and myself with new energy and enthusiasm for Him, and also fill this lovely restored chapel at Jamestown with people that love Him, and enjoy Him, every day of the week.

Restful Sunday

Graeme is on leave for the month of May.  It was great to be able to sleep in, then have a leisurely breakfast.   Read and pray.  Cook lunch without being rushed.  Visited Dawid and Ira Breed in Levelwood in the afternoon.  Attended "ordinary church" in the restored chapel for the first time.  Nick Williams preached.