WEDNESDAY 17 JANUARY:

Early start

Our alarm goes off at 4.00 am, we cover ourselves in mossy repellent, take the mosquito net off the bed and pack our bags. Mr. Mar, our driver, is only 10 minutes late, arriving at 5.10 - and we are on our way back to Banda, taking Ellen with us, as she is on a mission of mercy hoping to sort out some sort of treatment for a small child who has club feet.

We did this 7 hour drive only 48 hours ago, and it doesn't seem as wonderfully exciting and adventurous as it did 2 days ago! In fact it feels rather boring and very uncomfortable, but there you go.

Green Paradise

We arrive back at Green Paradise at noon, and unpack. I catch up with the hotmails and then have a swim and a rest before Amelia from Yayasan Kanaisavu comes to collect us for this afternoon's gig. We drive to a school and 289 (they had counted!) children are sitting neatly in rows waiting for something to happen.

No parachute games

4 CLUBS IN THE AIR AND ONE FOOT OFF THE GROUND - HAGS ISN'T ACTUALLY HOLDING A FAN IN HIS LEFT HAND - THAT WOULD BE JUGGLING GENIUS! THE FAN IS ACTUALLY ON THE WALL BEHIND HIM

We clearly can't play parachute games with them all - indeed we are loath to move them from their neat rows, because of the chaos that would ensue. OK - badge queen Bella decides that we will go for badge-making, regardless of numbers. We hand out paper circles to the children in their rows, and distribute the coloured pens and then collect in all the designs. There have now been quite a number of late arrivals, and then the large number of staff decide they want to make badges, so as the show starts I have more than 350 badge designs sitting on my desk - oh well, I'll do my best, but it is unlikely I will get through them all. During the show (which goes really well - they are a lovely, appreciative audience) I manage to make about 200 badges up.

I decide to take the remainder of the badges back to the hotel to make up - and Amelia can come and collect them and hand them out to the remaining children when they all meet again next Wednesday. Luckily Amelia and the other Yayasan Kanaisavu staff speak good Acehnese, so the children understand that they will get their badges next week.

Back to GP - diary and English hotmails. Pizza yet again! Oh for a huge plate of baked potato and veggies!