Wednesday 29 July 1998

With Lisa here I get so little done and to be honest spend far less time with the children which is a shame. She is very slow about things. She takes ages to get ready. I hurry to meet her at the arranged time and she then takes ages to get her things together. I get a bit fed up with it. We get to the home late in the mornings and don’t leave until hours after we are meant to.

Instead of leaving at 12 noon, we leave at 1.30 pm and end up staying until 8pm when we are meant to go at 6pm. It annoys me as |I am shattered and we don’t do anything productive with the extra time we are there.

This afternoon was hilarious though. Sister Francesca asked me to cut the boys’ hair, saying that she would make a mess of it. I have never cut anyone’s hair before, let alone boys’ who won’t sit still. I wanted to have a go though. First was Mihai. He was wet from the pool which helped. I got him sitting down and just started snipping away with the scissors. I was making such a horrendous mess. Every time I went to cut a bit of hair, he would move his head and I would end up cutting out a huge chunk from the wrong place. I almost wet myself I was laughing so much. Lisa head tears of laughter rolling down her cheeks and even Mihai was grinning with his lovely dimples as clumps of his hair fell about him.

We had to chuck mugs of water on is head to keep it wet which he loved. Mihai started to look like a convict gone through a hedge backwards. The sisters all came to examine my handiwork and asked me if I knew what I was doing. I told them I didn’t have a clue but that now I hard started I could hardly make it worse. The found the whole thing really funny. I kept at it though and in the end it doesn’t look too bad. He has a very short kind of bowl cut gone a little wonky, but he was happy enough and I kept saying ‘Oh Mihai, forarte framos (very beautiful)’.

All the other kids then had their hair chopped (Sorry quick interlude - Gino the puppy is chasing a baby hen round me - I will have to rescue it....) Shanti held up all her hair, wanting me to lop one whole lot off. I cut off tiny bits, but she was absolutely determined and when I left if she had a real strop - Shanti!

Then it was Ghita’s turn. At first he was really enthusiastic but he would only let me cut the front and left hand side. He wouldn’t let me near the back. I tried everything but he threw a huge tantrum and I have had to leave him with the most appalling haircut. He looks truly ridiculous with little tuffs of hair sticking out everywhere. Everyone bursts out laughing when they see him. I wandered round with the scissors in my pocket all afternoon trying to get a quick snip whenever he wasn’t looking, but he’s not stupid and won’t let anyone - not even the sisters - finish the terrible half-job which I have started. He will probably stay looking like this for months - silly kid!

Lisa took the sisters to the hospital to visit Roxanna who is better but filthy, and the mother of all the little children who is seriously ill. Her liver has gone and she is 8 months pregnant.

I asked Elena and she told me that Roxa the dog died. I thought she looked ill. She was just fur and bones.

It is market day tomorrow so I must take my camera for some photos. I would love some of the children, but I don’t think I am allowed - shame. The baby sparrows nesting in the roof of the house have come out for the first time and are learning to fly around my head!

PS I burnt my back today when I was in the pool with the kids for a bit.