Hi everyone!

Just a brief scribble - just got in from the pub where I managed to limit myself to ONE beer in two hours (Alfred: this being the third night in a row he has been up there with Enock). Enock got one of the new TIGO modems and, while they are a lot cheaper, they seem to be just as crap as the MTN ones, so no improvement there. It was announced on the radio today that the start of the school year in 2010 is being delayed from January 11th to February 2nd to allow extra time for English training (and, no doubt, completing the building of all the new classrooms that are curently under construction). That is going to make my January a lot more complicated - I have a two-day Education VSO conference on 14th-15th January and then I am supposed to be in Kigali for eight days helping with the in-country training for the new intake of volunteers (Alfred: and saying 'goodbye' to Martine as well - weren't going to mention that, were you?)

Work has kind of petered to a halt this week for no reason that I can tell - not just me but most people in the District Office seem similarly disaffected. However, the landlord rang to arrange for an electrician to come and wire the house over Christmas so at least HE thinks the electricity is actually going to make it as far as us! A surreal sight this evening on my way to the pub - I could see Christmas lights flashing on and off in one of the shop doorways. When I got there this guy was making them flash on and off by pressing the ends of the exposed wires to a car battery!

More soon - I leave you with my favourite picture of those I have taken so far in Rwanda! Reminds me of Peig in some strange fashion .... (I think you get the full-size version if you click on it. I hope to upload the really big one - along with others - onto my Flickr page soon. Just go to Flickr and type in Ruairí and Rwanda)

PS: What is this sh*t about people queueing up in Listowel to shake hands and sympathise with a convicted sex offender? Please someone tell me it is some kind of joke .......