We would like to say a BIG thank you to all the staff (especially Maggie) and pupils at Clarendon Infants School in Hampshire for donating over 2000 primary school books to our partner schools in Kenya and Tanzania.

I know that the schools will really appreciate this much needed support and that the story books will really help to improve students reading and writing skills, as well as providing endless enjoyment for many years to come.

So once again, Asante sana!

Much to my disappointment, the South African government has said it will allow elephants to be culled for the first time in 13 years. Between 1966 and 1994 more than 16,000 elephants were culled in the Kruger National Park, as a method of ‘population control’. However, many studies evaluating this project found that it did not deliver long-term protection of habitat that had been anticipated. Indeed, culling may actually stimulate accelerated breeding by survivors to compensate for unnatural population losses.

As well as being an unspeakably barbaric method of population control, there may be a wider continental impact should elephant killing in South Africa commence. While elephants across much of Africa continue to suffer from habitat destruction, the illegal bushmeat trade, and poaching for their tusks, culling will lead to increased national ivory stockpiles and considerable pressure to commercialise this ivory on international markets in the future.

Please, please, please get as many people as you can to sign this petition by forwarding on this link after you have signed it:

http://www.bornfree.org.uk/campaigns/elephants/campaign-action/elephant-cull/petition/

We only have a month to potentially affect the outcome.

For more information, please click here

Thank you for your support

I learnt a very valuable lesson the other day that I feel duty bound to pass on to you all. If you decide to buy a delicious fruit smoothie but only drink half of it and then leave the rest in your nice new (borrowed) car for a couple of days…. just be aware that they EXPLODE… yes, EXPLODE everywhere – all over the floor, under the seats, on the seats and even partially up the window to give you a really nasty surprise first thing on a monday morning and make your car smell so bad that you have to drive with all your windows fully open, even on chilly nights!

Luckily I have now given the car back to its rightful owner who will hopefully mistake the terrible smell for a cheap fruity car air freshener!

After struggling to get out of bed this morning, knowing that i am yet another year closer to 30 today, i was suddenly overcome by a warm and fuzzy feeling at work, when, to my surprise i was greeted by a big chocolate birthday cake, a card and a pressie from the team! I may not have the sunshine in Kenya all year round anymore but still, this is a fab place to work!

A big Happy Birthday to Stu as well for yesterday and thanks for the ridiculous number of cakes now in the office for us girls to pig out on!