Just a quickie to introduce Disco AKA The Plum!

Where do I start! Monday and Tuesday were exhausting and busy! Since our adventure with the giraffes we have been out to a beautiful house outside the outskirts of Nairobi, bordered by the Nairobi National Park. The house belongs to Tiana, one of the AG team. It is a beautiful spot. While there we introduced ourselves to some of the insect life and checked out their new gas system that runs off methane!









We managed to assist Tiana in her visa application for South Africa and a International Driving Permit. We also went to a clinic and made ourselves drink a disgusting dose of live Cholera vaccine! YUCK! However if it means less upset tummies then it can only be a good thing!





Then we headed back to Hog Ranch to meet our cameraman Jeandre who flew in to Nairobi from Johannesburg. It was quite a chaotic meeting as almost all the AG team turned up at the Ranch too and the reunion was celebrated with a lot of drinks! Including a pretty potent bloody mary concoction! Unfortunately I had to resist because we were also meeting our newly acquired 4x4 which was kindly and NOT uneventfully driven up to Kenya from Zimbabwe by Ben our antipodean AG team member. The rest of the crew didn't quite manage to resist the cocktails so after only 4 hours sleep Tuesday was a struggle!

Here are a few snaps unfortunately taken this evening instead of during the day - of our little beauty!






Today we actually started to film! Jonny had his first try at being a sound man and did very well and Jean has already proven his capability not only through tech talk but also by his initiative and camera abilities. So pretty damn good day all round! Oh and we have also managed to learn some of the roads around where we are staying and only got lost once on the way to the shops! Phew!

The first 24 hours!

We made it! We are in Kenya staying in the most beautiful house with a lush green garden full of wildlife - including naughty thieving monkeys!




So the flight over was pretty full on, we flew to Amsterdam first which was easy then to Nairobi from there. However just as I was falling asleep Jonny woke up feeling ill and very sweaty - I went to get him water and when I came back he said he couldn't see anything - he was barely there and had enormous pupils! Just as I was starting to panic the woman sat next to us said 'Can I help? I'm a doctor!' I was sooooo relieved and we got Jonny laid out on the floor, with plenty of water and he soon felt better - apparently it was just a big dip in blood pressure which caused him to faint! The rest of the flight was pretty straight forward and we met Tiana (one of the team) at the airport and made our way to where we are staying.







After some food, a snooze and a quick wash we felt refreshed enough to go to Hog Ranch which is a plot of land owned by an American photographer. Its left pretty much wild and one of the AG team lives there - Dom. There are no proper houses, just large canvas tents and little huts made out of natural materials. Everyone was celebrating Dom's birthday that was 2 days earlier so there was a fire, lots of Tuska beer and lots of people. We ate fresh tuna sashimi, that had been caught that day and was so fresh and delicate - dipped in soy and wasabi! Delicious! Then they served large chunks of tune cooked in a homemade curry paste, with jacket potatoes cooked on the fire and a big salad with fresh mango! Whilst we were relaxing we were visited by 3 large warthogs and several geckos. We were the last to leave at about 1am and just as we were getting ready 3 giraffes wandered into the camp where they often get fed. So we hand fed these incredible creatures who just towered over us amongst the trees.





Our journey home was no less eventful as our taxi broke down in the middle of no where, we push started it but it just kept fizzling out so we had to wait for one of the taxi drivers mates to turn up and give us a lift the rest of the way home!

What a first day!!

night night!

Its one in the morning and I have finally managed to make it to bed! Today has been exhausting - last minute shopping in town, sorting through the hire kit, a visit to Stroud to see my new niece and sister (the highlight of my day!) and then then an evening of packing, repacking, bubble wrapping, upgrading my laptop thanks to jonny and I just about managed to squeeze in a glass of wine and some steak and salad!

It appears we have so much stuff that I need to go buy some more luggage tomorrow but I hope we shall manage to avoid excess baggage and save some pennies!

I think if I keep on writing it will most definitely stop making sense so I bid you good night!

3 days to go!

Phew! The last couple of days have been hectic as usual! This week my fantastic sister has given birth to her 2nd daughter, my little niece Hester. I managed to squeeze in a visit within her first few hours and she is just beautiful and I can't wait to see who she becomes!

So along with new family members I am also now in the possession of the Africa Goal Production camera and sound kit - At last!!!

We have 2 x Sony EX1s, 2 x radio mics, 1 x sound mixer plus boom, 1 x Manfrotto tripod and a vast number of cables and batteries! So tomorrow means dummy packing AGAIN and AGAIN!

Unfortunately it seems that the Zimbabwean Embassy in London is an inept as the one actually in Zimbabwe! We posted off our passports over a week ago to get Zim tourist visas and they are yet to arrive back here! EEEK! According to the Embassy last week, they have been stamped and just need to be posted, however according to the Embassy today they are in no rush to send them because the bank holiday means they have several more days to process them!!! Cutting it a tad fine I have to say! So if they don't prove to me they have been posted tomorrow then I shall have to drive up to collect them or get them couriered! £££!

Despite lack of passports though, we are very well organised and I have every confidence that this trip is not only going to be an adventure but also a total success!

Getting nervous now!

Well I never thought I would be so unappreciative of a bank holiday weekend! This bank holiday just means one less day to get things done! I still haven't got all my own clothes etc sorted as we're going to have every weather out there - warm in Mozambique but winter in South Africa.

I am driving to London on Tuesday to collect camera gear from Visual Impact and we still haven't received our passports back from the Zimbabwean Embassy in London - eeeeek!
I'm cooking for 9 people on Monday evening and my sister is due to have her baby on Tuesday! On top if this I am praying to mother earth in the hope that the volcano will NOT erupt until after we are well on our way to Nairobi! Keep everything crossed for us!

10 days to go!

Apologies for being so quiet of late! Its been far too long since I sent out an update! I expect you have all enjoyed not being inundated by plea's for money to help the Africa Goal Production.

Well I am back and still looking for donations if you can spare a penny or two :)

Its officially 10 days until Jonathan and I fly to Kenya. Assuming the volcano doesn't have another hissy fit then we should be there very early on the 5th June. There we will meet our other camera operator and plan to spend a couple of days getting to know the Africa Goal team and getting our 4x4 well kitted out with supplies and spare parts.

Then on the 10th we will be starting out on the first leg of the trip which will take us to Mbita (still in Kenya) for South Africa vs Mexico and Uruguay vs France.

From then on the AG will be in a different community everyday and a different country every 3-5 days. Screening the matches live and working with a number of different local NGO's to get the AIDS and HIV message out there.

As for us, the film crew, we will be following every move and looking for some interesting and poignant stories of people who call these communities their homes. We will be filming the AG team as they get lost, get their cars stuck in mud, sleep in cockroach ridden shacks and as they celebrate a successful day with a few beers!

Myself and Jonathan will do our upmost to send out regular updates and upload photos, so check you inbox. We would love to receive feedback from you on our Help Us Film Africa Goal Facebook page so don't be shy!

I shall endevour to send out another message a few days before we leave and those of you who are in Bristol, we are haveing some Pre Africa drinks on Friday night if you are around :)

10 days to go!

Apologies for being so quiet of late! Its been far too long since I sent out an update! I expect you have all enjoyed not being inundated by plea's for money to help the Africa Goal Production.

Well I am back and still looking for donations if you can spare a penny or two :)

Its officially 10 days until Jonathan and I fly to Kenya. Assuming the volcano doesn't have another hissy fit then we should be there very early on the 5th June. There we will meet our other camera operator and plan to spend a couple of days getting to know the Africa Goal team and getting our 4x4 well kitted out with supplies and spare parts.

Then on the 10th we will be starting out on the first leg of the trip which will take us to Mbita (still in Kenya) for South Africa vs Mexico and Uruguay vs France.

From then on the AG will be in a different community everyday and a different country every 3-5 days. Screening the matches live and working with a number of different local NGO's to get the AIDS and HIV message out there.

As for us, the film crew, we will be following every move and looking for some interesting and poignant stories of people who call these communities their homes. We will be filming the AG team as they get lost, get their cars stuck in mud, sleep in cockroach ridden shacks and as they celebrate a successful day with a few beers!

Myself and Jonathan will do our upmost to send out regular updates and upload photos, so check you inbox. We would love to receive feedback from you on our Help Us Film Africa Goal Facebook page so don't be shy!

I shall endevour to send out another message a few days before we leave and those of you who are in Bristol, we are haveing some Pre Africa drinks on Friday night if you are around :)