Tme flies

Tuesday morning and we have not done the blog again. The plan was to do it on Sunday night but UMEME the local electicity supplier had other ideas.We were subject to electicity switching on and off, lights flickering and power surges. That is not good for computers so we sat in the dark and watched Gavin and Stacey on the laptop.
On Saturday we did the "walk for a cause" a charity walk around Masindi organised by VSO Masindi.Thank you to every one who sponsored us.The walk attracted over 250 people, mainly school children but a number of adults joined us. The walk was to show support for people living with HIV and to raise some money for a local HIV support group.We plannned to start at 8.00. Three weeks before we had checked with the police who said no problem. We called in to remind them on the morning and they said we needed an escort which they would provide at 9.30. At 10.00 after another visit to the police an escort arrived and organised us to walk around Masindi.It was good to get going but by that time it was really hot. We managed the walk and did not lose any one.It was interesting to show some of the local children historical sites around their town which many had not seen. The main monument is to record the meeting between Sir Stanley Baker and the King of Bunyoro. The king refused Bakers terms and preferred to retain sovereignty.I am not sure how much money was raised but even small amounts can make a difference here.
On Sunday we went up to Budongo forest to look for chimps. There is a problem with the chimps raiding farm land and eating crops. A group of chimps can do a lot of damage and it is hard to manage the needs of both. One farmer close to the edge of the forest has real problems. His land is full of fruit trees all providing the chimps favourite foods.We did not see any chimps but there were some nests where they had been sleeping. Sally was involved in a village meeting to discuss the problem. The villagers were not anti chimps but wanted some help to manage the situation.It was a positive good natured meeting so hopefully a way forward can be found.
We did not see chimps but did see collobus and blue monkeys as well as a group of beautiful Turacos.