Hi everyone from the hills of south Tanzania, East Africa. Living conditions here are not unlike a YHA holiday. It's very cold at night and during the day it often drizzles and the wind is very chilly - a bit like the Lake District in October. I'm not kidding you! Nobody told me it would be like this. Also I have to boil my water which comes from a river.
There is no electricity in the hill village where I live, so people use kerosene lamps (I have a solar panel though). The loos consist of a giant hole in the ground with a cover of logs on top. Mine is not too grim. Having said all that, the project I am working on is going really well. I am the Director, Treasurer, Secretary, Teacher, Researcher, and everything else. Good job God is helping me. I'm working with youngsters in agriculture by the way.
Well, take care, and love to you all. P.S. Trevor - I've had my baggy jacket taken in after your comments at the barn dance. Love Hugh.
Hugh Pilcher.
I've just spent almost two weeks attending a training course in the other Chelmsford. Chelmsford, Massachusetts, is in Middlesex county about 30 miles north of Boston. It is smaller than our Chelmsford (population around 30,000), and very different! The roads are wide and tree-lined, most houses are wooden and detached, surrounded by generous lawns. There are many high-tech companies based around Chelmsford, in smart modern buildings, with spacious grounds. However, the town seems to lack any real centre. There's no high street lined with shops, no pubs, and nobody walking in the streets. You have to drive out to a mall to look for entertainment.
The following history of Chelmsford is published by the local town hall:
"The Town of Chelmsford had a slow start since much of its present area was contained in a so-called Praying Town, established as a preserve for Christianized Indians in 1653. But fresh water fishing, access to abundant fish runs in Merrimack and Concord, and good agricultural lands along its rivers attracted residents and there was rapid growth in the community after the eighteenth century annexation of the Indian lands. Chelmsford was a community of agriculture and grazing, with dairying and orchards as specialties. There was some lumbering, and a series of small operations such as grist mills, lime quarries, and brickyards The foreign-born population of the Town was mostly from Ireland."
I had the chance while I was there to go sight seeing in Boston, and also on a Whale Watching boat trip from Gloucester, which is a small fishing village east of Essex, near Manchester.
And the best thing about America: the meals are absolutely huge, including wonderful fried breakfasts!
Nigel has written giving the latest news of his adventures in Washington State, USA:
Yesterday I managed to walk up Craggy Peak, 5725ft, which is relatively small compared to some of the other peaks surrounding it in the Giffod Pinchot N.F. It was very much an international effort with a girl from New Zealand (Margie), Paul from Washington State, and me holding the flag for England. I would like to add that it was a touch warm at 92F in very humid conditions through the forest. Through the blue heat haze you could just see Mt.Hood in the distance. Mt.Rainier 14,411ft was so close it was almost on top of us, and you could hear the rumble of avalanches on the north facing glaciers.
Last weekend I travelled to the magnificent Columbia River Gorge (approx 2½ hours from Mt. St.Helens) to a camp ground called Memaloose State Park which is on the banks of the River Hood in the State of Oregon. Home of great scenery, great sailing and great beer!
Nigel Eley.
If you'd like to tell us about somewhere you've been, or write about a recent YHA trip, write a poem, draw a picture, tell a joke, or anything else, this page is for you. Just give your contributions to Helen.