Thursday 21 July 2016

Day 6: Bubbles

Blog post number 6: Claudia & Lauren hogan 

Today in camp Malawi the teams swapped working sites and we made loads of progress! In manyenje we have renovated the boys toilets and finished our part of building the next toilet block. In Mwandika we finished the swings, a balance beam, and stepping stones for the children to play on.

The bubbles that we bought went down a storm with the children and we are loving getting to know them all. However, learning all their names is a bit reminiscent of revision!

In the evening Mrs Twinham led a yoga session opposite the beautiful Malawian sunset. It greatly eased the tension caused by the lack of squash.

We are all well and having a great time.

Love,

Team Malawi 

P.s if any parents have been told not to comment by their children, this has been revoked!

P.p.s happy birthday to Pippa! From Louise and happy birthday to Ju for yesterday from Claudia.

P.p.p.s. To Mr. Pitts, mission motet in Malawi is complete, we sung 'up a yonder' in the welcoming ceremony!





The 'poo chart' as promised! 


33 comments:

  1. Niamh mcs..... we have a wall that needs building here at home!!! Erin has moved in for the summer and her , Ailis and Taylor are playing all day in the paddling pool bought from good old Asda.......... we miss you loads ( well its pretty quiet i must say). BUT OMG just finished season 4 in you know what series and tears all round...... its soooooooo good..... anyway keep working hard all of you and hope the poo chart keeps being updated , much love to all the mcsmiths xxxx

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  2. hey guys! hope you're all having a fantastic time, it looks amazing, I'm so jealous!! as you've probably gathered it's hella hot back here in England??? I'm actually quite suspicious! But aside from that, nothing much has happened haha!

    niamh - miss you lots buddy, can't wait to see you when you get back!! we've literally had two days of summer and I'm already bored lol

    robyn- thought you might like to know that we got 9/10 in our tok presentation so we don't have to do it again woo!!

    keep up the good work guys!!

    e-j xx

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  3. Love you larpen, I miss you a lot. I'm thinking of you loads. Hope all you girls are well and having big bants/10. Keep working hard xx

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  4. GUYS!!! Ur alive congratz - I have been waiting for this post for daysssss and left you both lots of lovely messages to read when u get back :))) vvv proud of u (and just v slightly jealous it looks AMAZING) and of how u r both rocking the look and representing the red tights gang superbly xxxxx feel a few more flash mobs are needed however - u have 4 motet members, a Niamh mcsmith and a motet mummy that should be enough - maybe u could resurrect year 10 African singing club?;) on a slightly sadder note, Lauren: friendsfest is all sold out --- WE MISSED IT AGAIN :o but I promise next year we are defo going!!! keep it up u r all amazingggg, and good luck on the toilet front

    Lots of love From Izzy aka sausage (for Mrs T) xxxxx

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  5. Hello all and Mrs T. X
    Hope you are having a amazing time and experience out there in the back of beyond.
    I must say that the brick sh*t house you are building looks very strong , nice job ������
    It's very hot here 30 deg ���� and tank said when is the mad woman coming home ?
    Love you lots , G dog xx

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  6. Hi Sanah
    Cannot imagine you labouring to build that wall but seeing your photo made me feel very proud of you and of what you are all doing in Malawi. Keep up the good work but look after yourselves as well. Poo charts were ๐Ÿ’ฉ๐Ÿ’ฉ. Glad no names๐Ÿ˜œ๐Ÿ˜œ. Missing you loads. House very quiet ...no one to fight with me!! Can't wait to see you back. Still long way to go☹️☹️ . Spa waiting !!!! Love you lots. Papa

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  7. Looks Anazing.
    Fantastic work Team Malawi.
    Keep it up

    Sanah Jaan working so hard bitiya....
    Was longing to see you in the photos. The braids look great.
    Stay happy and well
    Loads of love xxx

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  8. Hey everyone! Little Miss Ayling here
    Just wanted to say keep up the fab work! You are all so great for going out there and making a difference in people's lives and I hope you all give each other a massive mat on the back ๐Ÿ˜Š
    Please be nice to Mrs Ayling (as I'm sure you already are) because she is so passionate about helping people and she's so giving and kind you are all lucky to have her with you (love you mum)
    Keep smiling girls! Look forward to more blog posts!
    Buckets of love
    Catherine xxx

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    Replies
    1. I meant to type "pat on the back" not "mat on the back" hahah autocorrect strikes again! ๐Ÿ˜›

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    2. I thought it was a Malawian custom! :)

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    3. very grateful mum!22 July 2016 at 02:42

      Dear Catherine thank you very much for sharing your mummy with all our children (and this goes to Mrs Twinam's family too), we are all extremely lucky to be giving our girls this life experience with such passionate ladies. x Linda D

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  9. Hi Tabbi, (and everyone),
    It's me again as promised! It is 3am here and I'm wide awake reading the blog. A pack of fox cubs have decided to hold a nightly rave in our garden which is nice of them. I could have sent Flo out to chase them off, but Bean is not exactly a scary guard dog and they would probably eat her! She barks and growls but hides under a chair.
    What a great idea to bring bubbles. The children looked so happy playing with them. When I read the title though I thought someone had brought Prossecco - such a Sevenoaks thought!!
    Grandma is staying at the moment and Frank is up for 2 days clearing the garden for me thank goodness. He has cleared the path to your little car so you don't need a machete or thigh length boots to reach it any more :)
    Yesterday I took grandma to see where I work and for a walk around Haysden with Bean and - hold the front page - Ed said he would come too - good old Pokemon Go - he wouldn't' usually come for a dog walk and he even wanted to go further just so he could hatch something - not sure hatch is the right word but you know what I mean.
    Can you tell us more about your food (what and when do you eat), your sleeping conditions (do you have beds, is it hot or cold at night, when do you go to bed and are you sleeping well after all your hard work), do you have blisters anywhere? I'm so used to chatting to you about whatever you are up to and hearing your news I'm finding it strange and miss talking to you very much. I'm still wearing the necklace and have not taken it off. It is driving me insane!!
    After your rage at the Brexit you will be pleased to hear Trump has today formally accepted the Republican nomination; another step closer to him actually being President - what a scary thought!
    Laters!
    Mummy xxx
    PS Here's a few of stupid jokes for you all:
    A guy shows up late for work. The boss yells, ‘You should’ve been here at 8.30!’ He replies. ‘Why? What happened at 8.30?
    A guy is sitting at home when he hears a knock at the door. He opens the door and sees a snail on the porch. He picks up the snail and throws it as far as he can. Three years later there’s a knock on the door. He opens it and sees the same snail. The snail says: ‘What the hell was that all about?’
    I went to Waterstones and asked the woman for a book about turtles. She asked: “Hardback?” and I was like: “Yeah, and little heads.”







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  10. Hi ladies - we are so enjoying reading the blogs and the messages. I hope you are all having an amazing time and making the absolute most of it. Bethany we are all missing you loads - i especially miss our own carpool karaoke to Les Mis! As you have probably seen from the other messages it has been really hot here - Betsy went for a long swim with Milo last night in the river. She loved it. She is now rather Pongy! Everyone wishes you well - the Ransons, Robin, Donna, Grandma. Fiona sends her love from France - jack as you know is on doE during the hottest week of the year!! Alice is off to Uganda on Sunday - she is as nervous as you all are! Must sign off now - getting emotional again! �� take care and support each other. Lots of love hugs and kisses xxxxxx

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  11. Keep up the good work Team Malawi! It looks as though you are making good progress and now that I have seen you Claudia, building a wall, I will be putting you to work to mend the terrace at home... Hope you are not missing the comforts of home too much. We are missing you but not long now. Re pop chart, hope there is progress in that area too! Love to all from a sunny UK. Xxxx

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  12. Hi Tabitha, darling granddaughter and fellow labourers. I'm so so proud of you and all that you are doing. You really are making a difference in people's lives. I must admit I really couldn't imagine you working under these conditions (no nail bars) but you are a star and I love you lots.
    Grandma x

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  13. Tabbi mum soundns just like us ...Prosecco!!!! This is Dad , Niamh & carrying on the silly joke theme .... a man went to the doctors & said I've broken my arm in three places....the Doctor said well dont go back to those places .... xx

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  14. That poo chart is the best thing ive ever read, a copy should be pinned in the iBarn. Love to everyone especially my clover and my pal x keep up the good poos <3

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  15. Well Team Malawi you might decide you want to stay.Trump has just claimed he is going to end crime and violence in America, there's another new plan for the old cinema site in TW. I have just heard Bear's Den on Radio 4, guess Latitude went well. Hope all is going well, work hard and be proud. Xx

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  16. Hope everyone is having a fantastic time!
    Missing you lou, thank you so much for the birthday message!! Hope your squat training has come in handy haha
    Stay safe everyone
    Lots of love from Pippa xxxx

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  17. Hey Lou. Don't faint but your brother has just been for an hour and a half walk across the fields with Sarah, Luz W and myself! He did find some Pokemons though! Well it's Friday and you're nearly half way through now - with the lovely treat of the safari at the end - although I'm sure you'll all miss the children. Summer has well and truly arrived at long last so the BBQ has been working well. What sort of food are you having - and what food have you missed the most? So proud of you all and can't wait to have a hug and hear all about it. Lots of love Mum xxx

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  18. Just thought Motet members would be thrilled to know Mr P thanked you for your shoutout via the Facebook page, as ever you will have lots of notifications from that when you get home. That's amazing that you did a flash mob! Hope you're all enjoying singing!
    Claudia again hat 10/10 and that building looks very sturdy too 10/10
    Lack of squash sounds bad, try not to think about that as well as Nutella. Think about Yoga, how zen. Or poo charts, I second the idea we put one in the ibarn.
    Hope there haven't been any more allergic reactions, stay safe you amazing people xxxx

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  19. Dear Victoria, wow, what a lot of accomplishments have been achieved there! :-) :-) Those brick walls are amazing! In my opinion, all of you should be awarded an NVQ in Construction Skills (National Vocational Qualification in case you academics are wondering) You must all be feeling proud of yourselves, deservedly so! I loved hearing about the effect the bubbles had on the children. I'm assuming they were bubbles blown in the air for their delight and amusement. Bless!

    I thought you might like to know what your Grandma has been up to providing it's not too embarrassing for you?! Well, here goes:

    Signs and symptoms of old age

    My neighbour, Andree, who was away on holiday during the recent heat wave, sent me an urgent message on FB saying her neighbours on the other side had to go away unexpectedly and would I be willing to stand in to keep her pots watered until they returned home. Well, of course, I was only too happy to oblige for our lovely neighbours and dutifully gave every pot a good soaking as, to say the least, the flowers were looking very sorry for themselves. Whilst doing this I noticed that the busy lizzies in the hanging basket on the left of the patio doors were crying out for water too but it was too high to reach. Armed with a step stool from home to retrieve the hanging basket and with a bowl which I filled with water on the patio to steep the basket in over night, I returned next day and much to my pleasure found the flowers were sparkling and beautifully refreshed. (Stay with me on this.)

    Yesterday evening Andree and Geoff, her husband, thanked me profusely and invited me in for a glass of wine. About an hour later when we were discussing the flowers, it suddenly occurred to me that Andree mentioned hanging baskets in the plural which puzzled me. Astonished, I enquired whether they had more than one hanging basket – I must admit at the time I thought it was odd they had only one to the left of the patio doors although there were matching pots on the patio on either side.

    “Yes, of course!”

    And then I spotted through the patio doors there were two hanging baskets where they had placed them on their patio! One was beautiful with exquisite busy lizzies, all sparkling in the evening light, whilst the plants in the other looked as though they had given up the will to live!

    I couldn’t believe that although I had watered the pots on either side of the patio doors I had failed to notice there were hanging baskets above on both sides also! Needless to say, neither could Andree and Geoff! As you can imagine, it took us some considerable time to recover after much guffawing and chuckling!
    Apologetic and extremely humbled, I left my very concerned neighbours humorously checking whether I could find my way home. I think I also heard them murmur something about “She should have gone to Specsavers!”

    As ever much love from your doting grandparents (if somewhat dozy grandmother) xxxxxxxxxxx :-)


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  20. So Niamh. C. I need a teenager at home. I have been sending blogs and posting but it doesn't seem to be up.
    I'll try this

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  21. Ok seems to be working
    So we went to the summer ball and asked him twice to come up and play with them various videos from my adoring fans some of your mothers The bedroom is immaculate as members thrown out all your clothes and sold one eBay this country driving a Porsche you've also given your room away to the lovely Portuguese girl Erin is doing at the caravan so you can live out there to your hearts content in the cold and the snow. It is currently 32° in the shade the sun is shining the dog is covered in fox poo and will wait for your return
    If all the days were holiday to play would be as tedious as to work but when they seldom come they wish for come and nothing pleases but rare accident
    That could be grandad.
    Dad xx

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  22. We've made it to a week without you - fire drill, forgotten water and passport emergencies and look where you all are now - in merely a week! Incredible, amazing! Charlie's football team dissolved but they may continue training as they like the social time. sad but necessary. Quad copters are growing I swear. Off for an unknown theatre trip with Auntie C tomorrow which will probably be very loud! Anna has moved in opposite Luke. Georgia says it feels strange to think you are so far away. Stella coming to stay next weekend so you will see her on your return. I'm off to drop boys at the pound shop! Dad and Charlster missing you sending my special hugs xxMum

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  23. I see what I have done my posts are on day three four and five and not on the right day!!
    Please come back and help me Niamh C
    Do good in Hunton as well as Malawi!!!!

    Miss you

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  24. Niamh C
    I thought Dad was the expert on social media be ware I think he likes this blogging business...!! Can't believe you all have been working for a week already !!! Can't wait to hear all your news .. Our house is very quiet Niamh without you and Matt ... Ed has no one to parent apart from Erin who hasn't been here much either !! Love you lots Niamh hope those gloves are doing their job !!! Xx

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  25. Emma
    Are there any dank Pokemon over there?
    If there are can you catch them and I'll swap them with you when you get back.
    Safe.
    Also well done with the bubbles although I hope you realise when you leave they'll never be able to recreate those bubbles and will likely spend their lives wondering what it's like to live in the west with all of our bubbles, that's on you.
    By the time you get back we won't have any human rights left because the new PM will have sold them to fund our pretty new array of nuclear bombs we just voted for; (how many Malawians could we feed for £70bn?) cos who need civil liberties when you have nukes am I right? So maybe try to catch a flight to Canada instead and I'll meet you there?
    Failing that I'll see you in 2 weeks.
    Don't get malaria.
    Peace and love
    William

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  26. Great blog girls love the poo chart very funny, keep up the good work the children look so happy you should all be very proud with what you are achieving.
    Stay healthy all and have fun
    ๐Ÿ˜€Xx

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  27. looks amazing guys!! sending love to everyone!!!

    tor - miss you lots and lots, am sending you millions of snapchats on the daily (as promised) so you'll feel popular when you come home and have lots of notifications. hope you're all okay (and learning to cope with porridge), things back in sunny tunny have been average since you left but it's fine because coco is replacing you as my best friend. keep up the hard work, am expecting your arms to be 10 times dencher than they already are after this trip!!!!!

    love you very very much and cant wait to see you soon, from soph xxxxx

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  28. hey guys hope you're all having a fab time I'm very proud of you all!

    to maddy- you're sister almost snaked us out of our streak which almost made me cry lol- make sure you keep your eyes open for the pics yeah?!

    to sanj- hope you get to the vaccinations or whatever you were blabbing on about in chemistry + shaf you're such a wet wipe lol

    to emma- as promised.. cotch, kushti.. all the slang just for you <3

    to martha- when you get back ask tom about his blood... to say the least it was gross!

    lots of love to you all,
    love from loz dog

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  29. one more thing tori !!!!! thought you'd like to know that pippa middleton is engaged to spencer's brother (from mic!!!!!) so kate and spenny can now be bff's. bet the queen will love it.

    sophie xxxx

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  30. We love reading all about what you are up to and seeing all the photos of your hard work - very impressed to see Maddy doing the cooking too!! We miss you loads Mads, and we are very proud of you! Lots of Love Mum, Dad, Kitty & Flo xxxx PS Uncle Simon's sister had a little girl yesterday, Livvy - very cute!

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