On the road to Palapye.

Saturday August 6^th 2011

It is shortly after 0800 am and the sun is shining but it’s another bone chilling temperature this morning. It was very difficult to get up and get moving.  We are on our way to Ivy’s house warming party. We have changed our plans not to leave before day break so that we can feed the kids breakfast, besides Ivy already has told us that she has enough people to do the cooking and the setting up. We did not need to be there at 0800 after all.  I am sitting in the back/middle seat with Laone and the Tupperware buckets full of scones. Abel is driving and Tonic is beside him on the passenger seat, Molly and Gordon on the mattress in the back of he Venture and already sleeping.  We went through Mochudi village to join the A1 road by Malotwane in the north west of Mochudi.

I will have to continue sometime later today.

We had an uneventful trip to Palapye, we made one stop at Mahalapye to fuel up and switch drivers and to give the kids some drinks and snacks. Tonic drove for the rest of the trip.

We arrived at Ivy’s house shortly after 1100 a.m. and luckily the service did not start at 1100 a.m. as was the original plan.  Everything was postponed to the afternoon instead. The tent was set, music playing, the minister came to dedicate the house, he cut the ribbon and anointed the house with olive oil and the builder unlocked the house so people can get in to tour the house.  All the rooms were still empty except the kitchen which had just the new electric stove.

After touring the house we were all invited back in the tent for a big dinner; food was prepared galore, the ushers were enough to serve and everybody had enough to eat even the gate crashers. After dinner Ivy was asked to change her outfit into a traditional attire to join in the procession of ladies back into the house to have a short meeting of just the girls.  The meeting was short we said our goodbyes and left Palapye shortly after 1700. On our way back all the kids crowded in the back and curled up on the mattress, and I had the middle seat all to myself. Abel drove us back all the way to Mochudi!