Tagne 2001

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Dan's Diary

Day 25 - Sunday 22nd July 2001

Dan embarks on Phase 6

I managed to survive until 6:45am before I finally surrendered to my bladder's call to be emptied. I threw on a fleece and put on my sandals before walking downstream from the camp. I didn't hang around in the cold morning air and soon got back into my sleeping bag. I slept until 8am when I heard tea come. The next thing I knew it was 8:45am and everyone else was up, milling about outside. I got up and had a wash.

Breakfast was taken at 9am where a bowl of Indian cornflakes were waiting for us. They were more like poo flakes. They were tiny flakes that dissolved into a soft mush as soon as milk was added. I found the best way to eat them was dry with lots of sugar. Omelette and peanut butter rotis followed.

After breakfast I collected a bag full of silt from the riverbed and deposited it outside the toilet tent so it could be used to keep the smell down. Then it was back to the river to undertake phase six of the dam project. This was to raise the single wall that would form the new river bank and then to raise the double cavity wall and fill it with fines. Jon came and helped me with the latter of these tasks.

Sonam's house for our mascot

We stopped for lunch at 1pm. Sonam had built a little house out of small stones and silt down on the riverbank. It was very impressive and was probably much better for his back than finishing off his bench seat would have been. Crunchy vegetable and pasta salad was on the menu with creamy pasta in a white sauce and very nice it was too. After lunch we had a few rounds of cards before Andy went to his tent for a snooze. Steve mended his rock-worn boots and gaiters with Araldite. Jon, Alan and I continued with cards until Jon wanted to read his book.

At 4pm tea and biscuits were brought to the mess tent. I ate the biscuits the usual yummy way, dunking them in my tea and then in the sugar pot. Once all the biscuits had been eaten and the tea drunk I set about building a bookshelf out of rocks on the side of my rock wall, which doubled up as a seat and a backrest. Having completed this I returned to my dam and undertook phase seven; to extend the double cavity groyne up the exiting riverbank and to place larger rocks on top of the pebbles, which filled the gap between the two groynes.

Yet another game of cards in the mess tent

Work was halted at 6pm as soup was served. It was green-grey. Alan managed to spill soup on his hand, his trousers and his foot. Alan, Andy and Steve then all dropped bits of papadum on the floor. What was the matter with everyone? I wondered. May be it was national throw-your-food-on-the-floor day, who knows? I started to cut a pair of shorts out of one of the many red flags we had for Tagne Teddy.

Sonam brought plates of rice, dhal, and soya meatballs to which we helped ourselves. Fruit Salad followed for pudding. I lit the candles as it was getting dark and managed to drip wax on my fleece. I was not very pleased with myself especially when I couldn't pick it off. I drank up my hot chocolate and retired to my tent.