Around Bartica Christmas officially started on 1st November when the first CDs of smaltzy Christmas hits of the last 40 years oozed out of homes around 6.00 am. We in Britain are used to an extended Christmas preparation but in Guyana they have taken it to a new level. However, this is a sign not for buying masses of presents but for cleaning up the house, replacing the worn vinyl and buying new furniture. Temporary stalls have been set up to meet the seasonal demand  We too will think about buying some decorations ( plastic, garish, made in China mostly)

Our Education Office is not immune from this ritual and for the last couple of days, we have had the tops of our desks cleaned, new vinyl put on the floor and the room partly repainted. This is not unwelcome because the working environment here is not good. There is no recognizable filing system , 4 of the 7 computers ( including my own do not work at present and were sent away for repair back in July, and letters and documents get lost easily

 We like to think that we can overcome such obstacles ( like using our laptop at work -NOT a good idea) but the patience is wearing thin at the end of the term, working in this disorganized environment. It is best to work away from the office  but at this time of the term there is little or no work going on in schools to speak of  and so we turn our attention to holiday reading course and preparing the programme for next term.