Trouble with the water works...

Agghhhhh! Earlier this week, mid way through hosting our camp of international folk, the water stopped. On ringing the municipality, we were told that there was a burst water main in Simons Town. Fair enough we think, 2-4 hours and problem solved! Off to the swimming pool we go, buckets in hand and get enough water to flush the toilets (being used by 120 people who are understandably growing increasingly irate) and fill the cisterns. Then we find that the pump that pumps the water from the municipal supply to the tanks at the top of the campsite has broken. luckily we have a spare and David and the guys get to work fitting that. 'Bingo' we say 'problem solved!' but not this time. There is a sensor that is connected to the pump which is meant to kick in when the pressure drops, pumping water to the top tanks and increasing the weight of water pushing from the top, increasing the pressure in the system. It broke. So, we tried the override button, which would technically pump water regardless of the pressure. it stayed on for about 20seconds. Shaun and I said sparewords. Glared at the pump and sat down.
Not to be bested by a lump of components and wire, Shaun picked up a rock, and before I could stop him beating the machine to death, he lent forward...and placed the rock carefully on the override button. Now this was a good plan as far as it went, water would be pumped up to fill the top tanks, bringing back pressure to the system, allowing the kitchen to was h dishes, cook and clean, allowing toilets to be flushed and showers to be had. It was flawless. Apart from one small niggley problem. If we forgot about it, and the tanks filled, the pressure would gradually build and eventually a 20ft high geyser of water would fountain into the air at a random point on the campsite. A fair trade off we decided and went for tea, job done...

Luckily we didn't forget, law and order (and water) was restored to the campsite and I think the camp had a good week. pressure is holding...for now...

Taking a Leak...

Last night's small rain shower brought to our attention (once again) the problematic flat roof over the foyer and the persistent leak everytime it rains. This morning greeted us with a flood of near biblical proportions, so it has been decided that if the weather holds and the roof can dry, that it will repaired once again, but hopefully for the last time! That might put a slight dent in our Laundry schedual...especially with Vyan under the weather...we shall see...

Smooth as a Baby's Bottom...

...and without the attached smell...

That's what our Laundry walls are now like thanks to more liberal applications of Polyfiller! After the 'first coat of paint test' revealed a few minor imperfections that still needed to be ironed out, so I set too with the trowel and plaster...

...whilst Shaun neatened up some of the plumbing from where one of the sinks in the toilet was removed and the pipes for the washing machines were added.

...and added the plumbing for the machines in the Laundry...

So now we have a laundry that, as soon as we get a chance to put in electricity, is fully functional. And a ladies toilets that has a fresh coat of paint, is a tiny bit smaller and, as soon as we have put a small piece of worktop in to cover the pipes by the sinks where a sink was removed, is also good to go (although it is totally usable now!). The end is in sight!

All Killer no Filler...

With the pool project tucked neatly into our belts (pool house door to follow...) and not wanting to get bored in any way, I have been drafted into the final phases of Vyan's Great Laundry Relocation Project (VGLRP) which will free up the existing Laundry to become perhaps what it was always intended to be- a shower for the Grounds Staff and Kitchen Ladies. So after some chin scratching, it was decided that the communal changing area in the female side of the ablutions block, was outdated and rarely used (apparently modern women don't like using communal changing areas? Sounds very British to me...). So Vyan, David and some of the men, did a fantastic and speedy job of cutting a hole in one of the internal dividing walls that created the changing area, for a new door. Then proceeded to brick up the existing entrance to the changing area and putting in two door frames and doors! The end result of this is that there is now a hallway with two door ways leading from it, one to the new laundry and one to the Girls toilets.

We then enlisted the help of Lennox from Site 5 to plaster for us. Unfortunately that left us with the inevitable joins between old and new plaster. Which is where I joined VGLRP. We started by grinding and chiseling the last bit of wall out of the door way so that we could tile it.

Then we applied liberal amounts of Pollyfiller to smooth over the joints between old plaster and new, let it dry and then sanded it back. Its always hard to tell and the first coat of paint will be the real test but at first glance I think it looks pretty good!

Then we applied a coat of Plaster Primer to seal the new plaster before the first coat of paint. Now personally I think we were ripped off because that so called 'Plaster Primer' at R300 odd per tin looked, smelled and felt just like turpentine...I'm sure it'll be fine...

So that done, we packed up our tools (way after home time, just for a change) and called it a day. Tomorrow the first coat of paint goes on and then we'll see how smooth those walls really are...

Sweet Like Chocolate...

After an epic Macro run yesterday, in which Shaun and myself spent 3 hrs wandering the isles, pulling what ended up being 3 trolleys worth of stock, we were left with the monstrous task of restocking the tuck shop today.

We started at 8am, and by 10.30am the shelves were bulging and straining under the weight of several thousand Rands' worth of chocolate! Don't worry though, any profit that we make is used to sponsor some of the less well off schools/groups so that they can come and enjoy Rocklands as well! One of the cool things about being a NPO (Non Profit Organisation) is that all the money we make has to be ploughed straight back into the centre rather than going in ludicrous wages to the top bosses, which means that we are hopefully always maintaining and more importantly improving our facilities and activities as well as being able to get kids out here who wouldn't otherwise have been able to afford it!

The tuck shop looks awesome now- full to the brim, I'm constantly blown away by things like the tuck shop- its got more variety than some corner shops and all at low low prices! Awesome!

Dinner and a Show?

Just finished hosting our Trustees for dinner. Darla made some lovely Butternut soup, I followed with a chicken Stir Fry and then we finished with coffee and brownies (made again by Darla). I think everyone had a good time and the bosses were suitably drowsy and full for their management meeting....

The trustees also got a chance to have a look at recent activity on the site (ie the pool at the adv. centre, the laundry move) and have a chat about proposed projects, like the possibility of further staff accommodation being built at some point if the volunteer program is to develop and another middle layer of management added. Luckily we had all been good and tidied our bedrooms...

Roughin' It...

With the Trustees coming round for a spot of dinner, we did an extra special tidy up of the volunteer staff house. So I thought I would take the opportunity to take a few pictures and give some idea of the inhuman conditions that volunteers here are subjected to...

Here's our lovely lounge- curtains courtesy of Brown & Hane.

And the very ordinary view that we have to put up with day in and day out...

Our little kitchen that is small and slightly imperfectly formed but does us just fine as we get cooked for most days...

The stoop and our strip of back garden! Lovely for sitting out on an afternoon getting sun burnt!

The lovely 70's avocado bathroom suit! It was the rage back then, its the rage now.

And of course- my blue palace!

Alas- I have to put up with that same awful view...

Oh and should you ever come around, Smousery is strictly Verbode!

Host with the Most...

One thing I really love about Rocklands is the management's empowerment of their staff. This weekend is a prime example. Shaun and Vyan have gone away for the weekend, as has Siya, this leaves me and Darla on site. I'm hosting two groups, Darla organised and we both ran a 2hr programming session for the adventure centre on our own! Janet has been popping in from time to time to do some work and make sure the campsite is still here, but she hasn't actually had to be involved in the running of the camps this weekend. What's more, I feel fine with that responsibility. It has been given to me gradually over the past months and I wasn't phased when I was told that there would be no management safety net to speak of! And so far- I haven't burnt down the campsite...which again to me is a bonus...

Still Paving the Way

Well, these jobs do go on don't they? It's day four of the paving extravaganza here at Rocklands and I am dead! Hefting stones,sand and cement around coupled with endless sweeping has left me low on energy reserves! Coming straight back from Lesotho into paving the swimming pool area can't have helped- but that's why I'm here! To Work! So we spent yesterday throwing the wet cement over the pavers- a slightly nail biting experience wondering if the thousands of Rands worth of pavers would ever be seen again or if we were just creating the most expensive concrete deck in history...

But with a little patience and a lot of elbow grease, the dry cement layer on top could be removed with a stiff sweeping brush, leaving just the gaps in between the pavers filled. Meanwhile, David got on with building a rather lovely curved retaining wall for the earth next to the chalet, which will either be paved on top or have turf laid.

When he had finished that, Shaun and I got on with paving the last little bit up to the wall and cementing that in as well. We did a bit of landscaping, shaping the earth on the top of the retaining wall as well as back filling behind the wall, and then all that remained was the pump house. Here's a couple of shots from the top of the pump house.

I think it all looks rather professional! So with an afternoon to spare after finishing the paving, we decided to tackle the pump house roof ( a short book- Roofs I Have Known and Loved by Paddy Brown, will be in shop soon!) We started by reinforcing the roof beams by doubling up on the planks, and then lashed them down with metal strapping bands for the wind. Then it was back to my favourite place of up on the roof, hammer in hand, nailing on roof sheets!

Then Shaun climbed in with the angle grinder and straightened off the edge.

All that remains now is a door and we are DONE! Shaun says that's tomorrow's job, I'm off tomorrow and I don't think I mind all that much...

Call of the Wild

So we released our friendly neighbourhood Puff Adder today- kinda sad to see him go but there's a limit to how long you can keep a venomous snake in the office without feeling that you're just tempting fate somewhat...

We took a drive down the road towards Cape Point and let him (and the Baboon Spider, another story for a different day...) go into the bushes. He didn't really seem to like car travel so we tried not to anger him too much...

Snakes Alive!

Bongani (our Bongani not Lesotho Bongani) caught a Puff Adder today with a rake and a dustbin. He wants to kill it and eat its liver (possibly with some faver beans and a nice Chianti but that might be pure speculation...) but at the moment it's hiding out in the office...looking at me...at least it's in a glass tank. I think it will be released tomorrow, possibly amongst the children...hmmm new field game idea?...

Paving the Way...

So it's straight back into it here at Rocklands- my feet have barely touched the carpet and I'm already outside helping finish the pool at the Adventure Centre. The whole area needs to be paved and over the last two days we have all but finished! Hurrah! The project has been dragging on a little bit, but the end is finally in sight!

First we levelled the ground around the pool and used fine grade builders sand as a base for the paving (we had previously used a compactor to get the ground nice and hard). Then we started laying the paving, going for a slightly random rustic look that wasn't too uniform.

Then, when we were fairly happy with the pattern, we used some nice brown stone chippings to fill the gaps between the pavers.

So all that's left is to sweep a cement/sand mix over the top of the whole thing, into all the gaps and cracks and then let it get rained on or let the dew work its magic, and knit the whole thing together. Christopher and Nathan helped as well..in their own way...