Week Five in Tuvalu

The maneapa was back in action all day and night on Monday with the 46th anniversary of Solomon Island’s Independence celebrations even though the actual day was Sunday, 7th July.

The cake

Team shirts for the celebrations

The music and dancing were great, there was a big cake and many speeches.
Last of the speeches. Note the hi-tech sounds.

The Solomon Island community in Tuvalu has its own Executive Committee which was reelected at the end of the celebrations.

The President and Secretary

I wandered over and was immediately welcomed into the celebrations. For forty people there seemed to be an enormous amount of food, complete with a whole slow-cooked pig, BBQ lamb chops, pre-cooked sausages and many other foods unfamiliar to me. 

Plates of island food

Slow cooked BBQ pork

The party was over by 10:00 pm and the maneapa returned to its empty shell by 11:00 pm. The deal is, you can hire the venue for $25 but you leave it clean and tidy. The Police come and check afterwards just to make sure!

Watch the dance finale.


Not much happened this week on the project. We have been waiting for access to our yard and storage area. Even though the Government leased the land we needed the owner’s permission before approval could be given. We got the approval early in the week and then the next day we were told to stop work because the Ministry of the Environment had planted some trees we weren’t supposed to clear. Then we were on again because the trees were on a different site.

Top platform of our site

Bottom platform all green waste 

 

Due to mechanical breakdowns and having to source parts from Fiji, the Port Authority is struggling to deal with all the containers from the last vessel. Because some of our containers haven’t been delivered we have adjusted our planning and scheduling of work to suit what we have on hand.

 

Working in construction means being adaptable and resourceful to advance the project while working around issues that hinder progress. The more remote or isolated the project the more important planning and logistics become.

 

Our planning and logistics were put to the test on Saturday. We had agreed to have a BBQ on Saturday night and watch the England v All Blacks rugby match. The Engineer was sponsoring the meat, which needed to be purchased Friday as it is all frozen. But by 5:00 pm it hadn’t been done. We were saved by the local store which shuts at 9:00 pm. Another item required for the night was a TV, as there are none in the Filamona and ice to keep the beers cold. We drove around the island visiting all the shops but no ice or TV. We did get directions to an ice supplier only to find his store is open Mon-Fri.

Fortunately, the owner of the Filamona, Tim, could provide a TV from his home. Actually, he gave us his kid’s TV. So we’re all go, but not yet. No cord to connect the laptop to the TV. A quick drive to the nearest shop for an HDMI cord and we’re away. Nope, still no luck. No problem one of our guys had a Chromecast. Yes, problem. Sky TV only works in New Zealand. No issue as our boss, Doug, has a VPN on his phone. But wait, it won’t connect to the TV.

So four seemingly intelligent people three different phones, a laptop and a Chromecast device and still no test match. Of course, we all felt a bit stupid when Tim said, “It’s a smart TV. Why don’t you just download the app and log in?” Success. And simply putting the beers in the freezer was another easy fix.

In the end, the BBQ was a success, the beers were cold, the TV worked and the All Blacks won.

Location: Fongafale, Tuvalu

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