Travel Highlights 2013: A Year in Pictures

I thought 2013 would have to work hard to compare with 2012 
(http://stephendcook.blogspot.com/2012/12/my-top-ten-photos-of-2012.html). However, we really have been blessed once again with a great year of travel and adventures. This year Laura and I celebrated five years of marriage, we sold our house and possessions and moved to Sierra Leone. I also celebrated turning 40. In between we had a big health scare with Laura but the prognosis is now good and we look forward to 2014 with excitement.

Here are a selection of photos from my travel year plus being involved in the Champions League Final.    

1. Serre Chavalier - France 

I was really delighted to get an invite for a week’s skiing in Serre Chavalier in France. It was brilliant and an enormous laugh, even though I had never met two thirds of the group before.  I decided to take my Olympic opening ceremony shirt and pull the ‘Bolt’ at the top of Les Alpes. 

2. Marrakech - Morocco.

As a 5^th wedding anniversary gift for both of us we had a trip to Marrakech. We explored the city, souks and surrounding area including a ski resort in the Atlas mountains.

Main Square at Night

All smiles until they try and fleece me for £20. They weren't smiling then.

Above and below - Okaimeden

3. Champions League Final, Wembley - UK
http://www.stephendcook.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-captains-tale-champions-league-final.html

Every weekend in May was taken up with rehearsals for the opening ceremony for the Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. It meant seeing and spending time with old friends from the Olympic opening/closing ceremony and fulfilling a boyhood dream of playing on the pitch at Wembley with a full house. I hoped it would be playing football but I happily accepted playing a percussion instrument. 

Pissing about in the hours of waiting. Here I am showing my secret power. 

Armed with Shields we do battle. I am front row, second from right. 

I make it into Sky Sports in a picture with Robben and Schweinsteiger 

 4. Various Locations - UK

Between April and June I visited a few places in the UK. 

a) Derbyshire 

b) Northern Ireland

c) Dolgellau, Snowdonia - Wales

     

5. Quirimbas National Park, Mozambique

To celebrate my 40th birthday and the sale of our house, we went to the spectacular Quirimbas National Park. As well as staying on Ibo Island, we also took a Dhow safari to three desert islands where we camped. A really special holiday.

6. Tombo, Sierra Leone

In September laura and I moved to Sierra Leone to start working (volunteering) for The Craig Bellamy Foundation, an education and development charity that uses football for change.   

Nestled in the background is the site of our academy.

Kent - Sierra Leone

Tokeh Beach

Bureh Beach

7. Brufut - The Gambia 

We are spending Christmas and will be seeing in the New Year in The Gambia. 

I

Life & Teaching in Sierra Leone - Oct to Dec 2013

It's eerie and quiet at the Academy today as the boys and some of the staff have gone home for Christmas. Laura and I are not returning to the UK however, we are off to The Gambia for Christmas and New Year. 

In October half term a few of us visited the Banana Islands for a day out. We only went to one of the islands, Dublin, where we visited the beach and had lunch. 

Where we live in Tombo is marked 'A'

The Banana Islands from Kent Beach 

The Beautiful Kent Beach

We had a nice morning on our own beach followed by lunch, the boat back and then our favourite game of where's the cab.

Taxi's are one of my biggest frustrations out here. When they are not trying to charge white folk a 500% mark up for journeys, they are almost never where we agreed them to be at a set time or are not answering their phones when we do try and invite them back to where they should be collecting us from. We thought of a foolproof way of dealing with this which is to pay at the end of the return journey but all that has really meant is that they don't do return journey and then arrive at the Academy in the evening claiming the first fare. Aghhhhhh!!!

It's not just taxis that have left me a little frustrated though. In order to make our house a little more secure, we needed to get a little bit of welding done on our back door. The welder arrived bang on time, looked at the job in hand, got some metal and got his tools out. At the end of his machine were two wires which he jammed into my kitchen plug socket (having forced a pen into the top pin) to get it working. One minute of welding then took place before the machine cut out. He's blown the fuse. In fact he's blown my fuse so none of my plug sockets worked down one side of my house. He asked for another socket. I politely indicated that I didn't want the rest of my house to befall the same fate and that I need electricity and I sent him packing with transport money and then called the electrician. T.I.A. as we say - "This is Africa".

Back at the Academy we welcomed a new volunteer teacher at half term, Daniel, and what a God send he has been. Daniel has taught GCSE Maths and Biology courses to our first generation and done a brilliant job too. 

The boys have continued to surprise and delight me this half term, most of them are so studious it puts many UK students to shame. CBF students realise how fortunate they are to have free secondary education and this opportunity to also work on their football and possibly become a professional footballers. For too many students I have met at home, school is something done to them in some kind of spiteful act.

During a rare free afternoon in exam week I was able to take the education team down to the beach during the week...something we can never do normally. I've been really blessed with these great guys. 

Team Education. Liverpool shirt not mine...honest.

    

And finally we had a Christmas party and then a Christmas 'bash' where the students performed their plays and dances they had been working on in project time since December. They didn't disappoint either, I think we have uncovered some real talent as well as seeing what some of these boys look like in drag. 

The boys surprised Mr Kian by coming to the party in all his clothes 

A Christmas dinner of sorts

Playing ladies...quite well

So that was our first full term at CBF Academy. Laura and I are very excited about our holiday in the Gambia and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Sierra Leone - Highlights of the First Half-Term

It's fair to say that seven weeks has passed pretty quickly for Laura and I in Sierra Leone. This week is half term and the boys have returned to their families for a week leaving the academy a little like a ghost town. Here are my highlights so far in no particular order.

1. This place is beautiful!  

We have a detached bungalow on site at the foot of the mountains with a sea view.  

We have a number of beautiful beaches a short drive away. Above - Tokeh.

Below - Bureh

2. These Kids are Amazing

Imagine walking down a corridor in a school in the UK and walking into a classroom which has had no teacher for 30 minutes. It's completely silent and all the boys are reading.

Welcome to my world.

We are blessed with a group of fantastic boys who love playing football and learning. 
A particular highlight this term was the willingness of one of boys to take an assembly on his own. Umaru, the team captain did an amazing job and got an emotional standing ovation from staff and students. It was particularly significant as Umaru was one of the shyest boys when he came to the academy. 

     

3. Professional Freedom.

There are many, many reasons why I feel this is the greatest job in the world.
Firstly, without the pressures on pure academic attainment from the likes of Ofsted, we are able to concentrate on giving these boys a rich education that nurtures their whole being and focusses on the many different intelligences. The first generation are now into their fourth year of their scholarships so we are teaching International GCSE's and hope that some of the boys will attain grades of C and above. One of the pathways we offer is an opportunity to attend a sixth form college in Gloucester which has academic entry requirements. We also have opportunities for some of the boys to attend a school in the USA on scholarship at the age of 14. Some of our boys however have had very limited schooling before they arrived with us so they will still receive some of these lessons but they won't necessarily sit the examinations. What we do strive for is that we will add considerable value to the boys in terms of academia, creativity and life skills. 
One of the new developments I have introduced into the school week are well-being and happiness lessons, taken by permission from the curriculum at Wellington College. I believe those lessons plus the new look 'thought for the week' assemblies and extra lessons in friendship by Gemma have contributed to less conflicts with the boys. We have a learning to learn/revise curriculum in the making as well as others. 

4. Great Lessons

I encourage our teachers to be creative, use the outdoors and take risks with their lessons. I observed one of our volunteers Myrthe's brilliant English lesson on 'giving specific instructions'. Armed with a bowl of water and soap she took the student's instructions literally so an instruction like "put water on you" meant she covered herself with water. This picture says it all.
         

A personal highlight for me was that I was able to take my Geographer's to our local beach (Mama beach - 2 miles away) for a lesson where we looked at wave direction and longshore drift. Geography heaven I can assure you. And of course it would be rude not to go for a swim in the unbelievably warm water.  

 Finally, a great thrill for all staff and students was the visit of Sean Mooney, Everest conqueror, chess boxer extraordinaire and friend of our Head of Development, David. Sean took a Geography lesson and also a whole school presentation after dinner. Truly inspirational. 

Sean captivating the Geography class

5. Staff Football Team 

Finally at the ripe old age of 40 I'm enjoying playing football again. With a few ringers we are able to turn out a team and play to the best of our abilities. Unfortunately with the exception of a few, we are all pretty unfit. Still, despite two losses we have scored some goals and are enjoying playing. I can also proudly say a national team manager (Johnny McKinstry - back row third from left) has selected me to play up front. Oh the kudos.

    
  

Sierra Leone Week 3 - Life's a Beach

Thankfully the weather has taken a turn for the better in the last week with rain and storms mainly in the night and sunshine and high temperatures in the day. By October we should be fully into dry season. 

Our second weekend in 'Salone' introduced Laura and I to the familiar routine at Academy namely football games on Saturday morning for the boys. It was great to see their skills on the pitch not least goalkeeper John Fillie who, due to an illness of another player, found himself playing up front and then proceeded to score two goals including a diving header. A pile-on then ensued including the coaching team.


On Saturday afternoon I walked into Tombo to watch some premier league football (all games are broadcast on the African sports network) and was guided to "BMX", a multi-screen venue in town.

Tombo Town Centre

"BMX" 

On Sunday morning we went to church with a few of the boys (one was a Muslim who as it turns out also likes attending church) and we were warmly welcomed by the leaders there. Inevitably I jumped on the drums at the end to bang out a beat which not only impressed the students but also persuaded the leader to ask if I had a kit at home and "could I send it?"

Life's a Beach

On Sunday afternoon Laura and I were able to leave the Academy and went to Burreh beach for the first time. Burreh is approximately 6 miles from Tombo. Despite being overcast the sea was unbelievably warm and it was lovely to be out if the academy 'bubble' for a few hours. Laura even hired a boogie board to ride the waves.

Burreh Beach

Two days later a few of us took the opportunity to visit Mama Beach after school which is only 2 miles from the Academy. The next day we were back but this time with the boys for their training.

Mama Beach

Mama Beach

The boys training at Mama

Myrthe is buried. 

Life really is a beach!