Tuesday 22nd September

This morning I left the two lightweights  in bed and went off to the village for Nickolodean Character  Photos, today's guest was Gill, now not sure who this actually was but the children and some Mums seemed to like him. It was a fairly short shift, only about and hour so as I signed out they asked me if I could do another shift this afternoon, in fact they asked if the three of us could so I said I would pop back and ask , both ladies were enjoying the pool and sunshine so they declined, we do have a shift this evening though, starting at 630. I will be chauffeured by Jill to the village for an earlier shift in the Ice Cream Parlour and then the two will join me for the evening shift.

The answer before anyone asked is no, I haven't packed yet, got all morning tomorrow to do that!

Allan is now the problem, seems his flight has been delayed for 24 hours because of the weather, that is all I know, trying to message him but he doesn't seem to have a signal at the moment, they were supposed to be flying to Ulla Bataar today and catching the International flight home tomorrow, he my not get home now until after me... he was supposed to be clean, and shaven by the time I got home with his filthy washing done, now the probability is we will travel together back from Heathrow or Twickenham, depending on who gets where first.

Just got back from 3rd shift to get a reply from the travel company that I contacted to try and get more information from re Allan's flights etc and its seems they arrived with 30 minutes to spare to catch their original international flight and were then fast tracked through so all is good and my mind is at rest. I don't have to travel back with a smelly, ageing hippy!

Right back to the village, Ice Cream Parlour was fairly quiet , a few guests came in but one guy spent some time chatting to Peggy, my fellow volunteer, and myself. He came in for a milkshake as in his words he wasn't hungry so left his family to go and get their lunch in the Towne Hall. I was the milkshake maker and he so enjoyed the first one, pecan butter that he tried a second one, chocolate Oreo and cream, that's was obviously good too so I made him his third of chocolate and vanilla so he could be absolutely sure he liked my milkshakes!  For someone who wasn't hungry he managed 9 scoops of ice cream, normally 2 per shake but he liked his thick! But he did decline the cream on top as he was watching his figure! He told us of his grandson, he was there on his wish and how that the village had found out he was obsessed with Herbie, the car so they had arranged for three Herbies to drive to the village yesterday, his grandson was not only delighted but was amazed - Debbie, my eyeballs are getting washed!

Jill and Geraldine arrived to pick me up to go to shift number 3, Mayor Clayton's surprise birthday party, it was quite a fun evening, fairly short but the children had fun as did there parents. I was giving out ice cream tubs and Popsicles , ice lollies to us English!  My role was to give out as many as possible as they needed to defrost the freezer so I could heard shouting out ' ice cream, ice cream, I scream for ice cream. I love it. Jill and Geraldine were on cup cakes, miniature ones that the children could decorate with orange icing a top with various sweets. I seriously wonder how these children sleep at night because they must all be on a sugar overload with the amount of sweets/candy they are given each day!

Tonight's highlight for me was when a grandparent went up to the photographer and asked him to take a picture of me holding his granddaughter because he said I was such a lovely lady. This baby was only about 6 months old, very petite but she never stopped smiling. Last night they bought her to
Halloween and she was dressed as a bumble bee, I could have quite easily have stolen her then. Absolutely adorable. Now we are not allowed to take pictures of the children but if they ask for you to be in the picture that is an honour and we are allowed to accept. Very special.


Second highlight today was being presented with a  " Caught you Caring" certificate from a lovely young lady in volunteer services which said " Thank you so much for your dedication and volunteer work, you are wonderful"  Wretched eye balls are getting washed again!

Well, that is it for another year:-
Great fun
Great company
Wonderful experiences
New friends
Old friends
New skills added, including driving a Tug
Meeting amazing children and their families
Driving new and different cars
Being likened to Mary Poppins, even singing Supercalifrachalistic etc in unison with a group of black, church volunteers tonight
So many memories made.
115.38 hours of volunteering done in 3 weeks, making a total of 264.34 hours in three years.

I am so fortunate to be able to do this,

Thank you GKTW and all the fabulous people I have met.

Monday 21st  September

Well a mixture of jobs for the three of us this morning - Jill was down to do the Breakfast Cart Delivery, Geraldine was down for Concierge and I was in the Ice Cream Parlour, we all had different finishing times too. Jill was a little nervous of finding the villas when the orders came through so I offered to do that instead and she did the Ice Cream Parlour  until 10.15 when I finished. The plan was then for the two to have a walk around the village taking what photographs they needed and to visit the memory shop to purchase a few items.

My Breakfast Cart shift  did not start off too well as when I arrived the lovely Hector decided to train me, he, from the train the other evening. Now the cart was not so much of a problem, one side had a huge pump flask of coffee, cartons of milk, and a choice of fruit juices, apple and orange. The other side had donuts, English muffins, bagels, cream cheese, jello, and fruit, that I could recognise and cope with. My problem was Hectors tuition of the Walkie Talkie which I was to need to receive the villa numbers who had requested food, he showed me the wrong button to press to receive and make the calls! I went back to the Towne Hall to request a new communication gadget but they had none so I decided to drive round in my golf type buggy to all the villas for the following 2 hours to see who might flag me down for their breakfast, that worked but then so did the Walkie Talkie, he had told me to press the wrong button!! I served quite a few villas and enjoyed my riding around waving at people and saying good morning to all. Suspect might get a few odd looks when I get home but here this is what you do, really think it should be compulsory everywhere as a smile and hello really makes people respond in the same way.... well maybe not Hector!

After clearing the cart of the remaining  food I went to the Ice Cream Parlour to take over from Jill for the remaining 11/2 hours of the shift, was pretty quiet today but I did chat to a couple of the guest families and Robert came over to say his farewells, probably will see him at some point at home with our roles with Make A Wish.

The decision had been made to return to Celebration for that meal we didn't get yesterday and to purchase a hat or two - Jill and I have hatched a plan to wow Stamford this Friday when we are back on Red Lion Square for our final Artisans on Friday of this year. Come see us, you know you want to.

This evening was Halloween, a fair few new families in the village tonight, all of whom had a great time. I was a Greeter and my artistic friends were busy making wands and using lots of glitter. I wonder if there is a word for glitter addicts, other than Jill and Geraldine?

Right I am off early again in the morning but lazy bones are taking the morning off. I am a little sad it is coming to an end again especially as there has been a lot of au revoirs today.

Night xx

Sunday 20th September

No morning shift today as we had decided to have a more relaxed start to the day with the intention of having a bit of a lie in, bother and blast I was awake at 4 am! It was a beautiful morning, clear blue sky and not as humid as it has been, we ate outside which is always lovely to do.

The reason for our not doing a shift this morning was because I wanted to take Jill and Geraldine to Celebration and visit the Farmer's Market there and to have lunch at the restaurant I found when Debbie was here, the Columbia. I used my sat nav today and typed in an address of a shop we visited before, Woof Gangs  so had no trouble getting there. We looked in Woof Gangs and then I went to show them the restaurant menu board to make sure it was to their taste, there were a lot of people in a line going completely around the corner, about a hundred or so, I thought they were waiting for a bus trip or something. I was wrong! As I approached a waiter who was setting up tables I asked it it was possible to book a table for later and he said not today Ma'am as today is a special day where we have a limited menu of 4 items and everything is priced at 1905 prices,- the penny dropped, those people in line were waiting for a cheap dinner not a bus trip! Oh and there would have been a three or four hours wait. We declined but have decided to go tomorrow after our morning shift instead.
Every Sunday in Celebration there is a Farmer's Market and seeing as how that I know
Jill because of the Artisans on Friday Market we hold in Stamford during the summer months we thought it appropriate to go see the competition and maybe steal some ideas. It was very nice and there were more crafts than foodstuffs, I asked a stall holder how much they paid for a pitch and she thought it was about $30 for a 4 hour slot...... we are only a fiver for 6 hours, good value. We visited a few shops, told people about GKTW and bumped into Papa Bear and Momma Bear, two volunteers  we met yesterday at the village. This couple were grandparents of a young girl who had a wish there some 11 years ago, they have lost her but return to the village twice a year to volunteer using their vacation time, we liked them.

Having missed our opportunity to eat lunch out we decide to just stop off at Walmarts to get something to eat there. Getting out of the car I saw a guy I recognised and who obviously recognised me, he was wearing a GKTW T-shirt  with a name badge on that said Tim, so thought it was someone we had worked with recently until he asked me if I had found my passport last year! I was not in anything village related, in civvies in fact so he had obviously remembered me from last year- pretty neat! ( started talking American again)

Okay now to tonight's shift, this time we were on Candyland and I managed to persuade Megan, the entertainment person for tonight that we would be perfect as Riddlers - I have played this role a few times before and quite enjoyed it, the evening was delayed slightly as someone in a villa right where we were to set up the party had obviously needed 9911, the villages emergency number for a medical problem/emergency. These guys arrive very quickly and with no sirens blaring so as not to freak out all the other families, they are there pretty quickly too. Not sure what was wrong or what happened as we were gathered to get out the stuff needed after they left.

The evening was great fun and the children loved it which is what it is all about. There was quite a gang from Disney there tonight to volunteer, including a young girl from Manchester Metropole Uni who was with Disney on her Uni placement. We exchanged email addresses although I doubt I will hear from her.

On our return back to the Villa we were replaying last nights adventures on the train and must confess to a bit of hilarity going on! Lorna's train signing off for tonight as she is running out of steam. Goodnight.

Saturday 19th September.

Another restless night, I will be exhausted when I eventually get home from this 'holiday'!!

The first shift today was in Keaton's Corral, a husband and wife bring two of their horses twice a week to the village and every child has the opportunity to ride either a mare called  Ginger who was 14 or JoJo who was 28. Now JoJo had to wear a muzzle, not because he was likely to snap the children but because he was a rescue horse who had been starved of food by its previous owners and even now, although  well fed, if given the opportunity he will eat the wooden fences or his reins.
If a child was able to sit on the horse they did and were led around by a young lady who was training to be a  horse therapist. they also had a volunteer either side of the horse who had a hand up to steady the child if necessary, this was Jill's very important job this morning. Now every child was given a cowboy hat after their ride which was Geraldine's job, she also guided the children and a parent up a slope to where they mounted the horse, each child had two turns around the corral and some even came back for another go. Every child had many photographs taken of them on the horse and my job was to take down their villa number and the number of their photographs.... was a challenge again but no mistakes this time I hope.  It is very hot today and we all stripped off, got in our costumes and washed everything we had been wearing once we got home.

The replacement car was supposed to arrive about 2 pm but as there was no sign of it by 330 I gave Peter a call, he apologised but one of his customers had been involved  in an accident so he had to go help with a police report, fortunately they were okay and not their fault, a minor shunt from behind . The car arrived at about 5 just before we were due to leave for the village, a bit of a different  car for me to deal with at such short notice, a Toyota Prius, a hybrid to boot but it got us there and back tonight and was quite comfortable.

Now to the highlight of the day............... tonight I was a train driver, well not exactly a train but it was in fact a donated American Airlines Tug, once use to take passengers luggage to and from the terminal with an additional attached trailer with 5 rows of seats, enough to carry 20 - 25 people and at times it was full.
Geraldine and Jill  were both conductors, Geraldine on my train and Jill with the charming Hector (not) . We of course needed training as none of us had done this type of work before either here or in any previous existence, Hector began the training but was mystified when I asked if he had a map of the village that I could use as a guide, there are 144 villas after all and it is a 70 acre site, fortunately at this point Mike from engineering showed up and he came around with me for 2 loops of the circuit we were to do for the following 4 hours. He was great and the only thing really he said that I mustn't do was to reverse or go above 10 mph.... there was no speedometer so I had no idea what speed I was travelling at but guess it was about 5mph tops! Now I unfortunately did make one very major strategic error and that was to turn left at Paige's Way, yes it was a dead end and there were no turning points so had to radio for help as of course I couldn't reverse. Mike was there in moments,had he been stalking me? We, sorry, he, got me out of that tricky situation and I continued on my route with Geraldine talking to me over the walking talkie, saying Lorna's train , all clear to go now, Lorna's train to turn right here, not left again, in a beautifully cut glass accent, neither of my friends were characters from "On the Buses" to be sure. I seriously cannot convey my initial terror at this shift tonight, or fully describe the situation I got us in but believe you me we laughed and laughed and laughed. I also think we convinced the majority of our passengers we knew what we were doing. What an achievement though, I drove an American Airlines luggage tug ( Google that!) and safely delivered many weary guests back to their villas/pool/talking tree/ Towne Hall etc, etc At one point we passed Jill and Hector going in the opposite direction, they had no one on board, we had 20 plus! I had much the bigger train as a first timer while Hector, who drives this shift 3 times a week had a much smaller engine.

Be assured if any help is needed with the luggage transportation when we get back to Gatwick, I am your woman!

Finally another funny moment on our way back to volunteer services to sign out of our shift, we were stopped by  the lovely Derek from the Entertainment staff, he asked me how I had got on and I told him that I had jumped off the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere with less trepidation than tonight, I suggested he looked on YouTube at Lorna's Leap. He replied , Lorna as is Lorna Doone, impressed at his knowledge of literature we said yes, but it seems there is a cookie out her called Lorna Doone, so maybe not as smart as he looks!!.

Really must say goodnight now as very, very tired xx

Friday 18th September

An minor addition to last nights blog, my role was to use the families phones/cameras to take photographs for them, a mother thanked me so much and gave me her phone ready switched on, I pointed and pressed only to find I had taken a selfie and couldn't find out how to turn the camera round. Good job the real photographer took loads, fortunately Mum laughed about it.

Spoke to Hanna this morning to see if she was feeling any better, she wasn't unfortunately so will try and catch her tomorrow again. Rang Lucy but no answer.

 Slight change of routine today as we we took the morning shift off and took ourselves off to Florida Premier Outlet Mall, got there for opening time so was really quite quiet. First stop was Vera Bradley, a bit like Kath Kidson with beautiful patterned bags, was really tempted with one of her 4 wheeled suitcases as it was so light and easy to push plus very distinctive. Might still go back for that. We had a reasonable shop and all got something to bring home, mostly for other people!  Got into the very hot car for our return to the villa , all seemed well but then the air conditioning cut out completely. Have rung Peter from Car on the Drive so may be getting a different car tomorrow ( forgot to say the car I have is not just a white one but is actually a Kia of some sort) had the windows open for air conditioning but it played havoc with my hair!!

Tonight was Pirates and Princess party again, my third this time but Jill and Geraldine's first. We were put on Princess makeovers, I offered to do the tattoos and Geraldine and Jill did the lipstick and eyeshadow.  A slightly buxom wench, a mother, not a child asked for a tattoo and I asked where she wanted it - on the bust was decided upon, so. I felt I should at least tell her my name first before dabbing water on her chest and pressing down for the count of 20. It worked so she was delighted, she did have rather a lot of tattoos already though, including one she had had done today on her ankle.

Lots of games are played including a cannon ball being shot and caught by a child in the audience, a dad told us that after she had caught it she immediately offered it to another child by saying here, would you like it.... what a kind little girl she was.

As were were clearing up the heavens opened and we got decidedly wet, a large group of volunteers who had been down all week were leaving tonight so had a few goodbyes to make and a new email friend made. They were a lovely bunch of people from the By Faith Fellowship, all ages too.

Tomorrow is a first for me as both our shifts, I have not done before. One of which is quite scary. Will reveal all tomorrow. Xx

Good new today s well, England beat Fiji in the opening game of the 2015 Rugby World Cup with a bonus point too. Already the Welsh and the Scots are supporting anyone but England, seems unnecessary to me, let the best teams win from whichever country they are from. It's a sport.

Thursday 17th September

Another early wake up, in fact had stripped my bed, washed the sheets and had a shower by 630 am, left the villa by 725 as it was an early shift. Today I was DPA or photographers assistant while Jill and Geraldine were in the Castle of Miracles doing the children's stars and pillows. They were also joined today by Goofy and Pluto which actually helps as more families come visit. Their shift didn't finish until 1145 whilst mine was actually over by a little after 10. I say a little after 10 but I did take a little longer as I was in charge of taking down each villa number and not only writing that on a form but also the wish child's name and the number of photographs taken by Marilyn, today's photographer . This is all cross referenced as at the end of the vacation each family are given a disc with every photograph taken through stay...... yes I botched, only slightly and realised straight away but we then had to go through and cross check at the end. It was sorted!

I chatted to a young volunteer Alexandra and her Mum. It was her birthday today so we gave her a hug and she told me she was desperate to come visit UK , yes Allan I did of course offer and they have my email address.

As it was lashing down with rain I fetched the car from the car park and parked it right next to the volunteer office so it was there when the other two finished their shift. Off we went to Tarjai for a few essentials, mostly liquid , including milk! Still raining when we got home so were unable to relax by the pool, not good.

A most important point to mention here is that I spoke to Hanna and Evie on FaceTime, both, unfortunately we're feeling a little under the weather, bit of a cold brewing Hanna thinks. Tried Lucy too but seems she was off gallivanting tonight. Spoke with my Mum too.

I have to make a comment here of the wonderful outfits worn by my two villa mates , they both seem to be dressed like models,not only once a day but, indeed, twice a day. I questioned Jill over lunch as to how many clothes she had bought with her........... 20, yes, 20 t-shirts, length of their stay, just 10 days. These tops are of course colour coordinated with skirts and trousers, oh and shoes. Geraldine is almost as good ( can't say bad) , her outfit for Halloween would have been fine for the front cover of Vogue. Jill just came out of her bedroom, took one look at me and laughed, practically hysterical. Reason, I am wearing a beautiful green reindeer ears Alice band and Mickey Mouse Christmas decoration from one ear and Minnie Mouse from the other ear, what is so wrong with that?

Arrived back at the village in time for Christmas, went to the Safari Theatre for our training and requested that we could be Elves, Santa arrived at that point, looked me and said hello are you with me again tonight, of course, I said Santa I would love too and that, as they say, was that! The three of us donned our elf hats and bibs and got into position, then the children and their families arrived, 60 plus families I guess. Far fewer children tonight were frightened of Santa but those that were, Santa had a plan that fooled the child and meant the family got their photograph with Santa, he told the Mum and Dad to take the children out to choose their present while Jim, the photographer went to where the presents were kept and Santa snuck up, unbeknown to the child  so that Jim could take the  photo - a success in every case.

Now because of this, Santa obviously had to leave his place,  and Geraldine thought he was nipping off to the loo all the time and said to me that it was a shame he had such a weak bladder. I told Santa this and he roared with laughter. He is an absolutely 1st class Santa with a wonderful rapport with the children and we told them at the volunteer services, we were offered a form to fill in, like a certificate which they would pass on to him. I filled it in with his name Santa, and his aka name of Tim. The quote from me waste love you Santa , love the Bladder Girls - hope he gets my sense of humour.

A young couple of men arrived, thought they could have only have been brother, but no, they were father and son and very dishy too, confirmed by Jill and myself.

A couple of very special moments for me tonight and two slightly disappointing ones - the bad first
1 An English guy from Nottingham showed no interest at all in anything about the village
2 Another guy from Yorkshire said it really would have been better if they had come for at least two weeks so he could have seen Florida
I was embarrassed that these two guys were not appreciating what was genourisly become provided for them

The good now, could write hundreds in fact but most special to me was a family who came through the curtain and Dad exclaiming in glee, not Santa but oh it's Lorna, our favourite volunteer! He hugged me too. How special was that, making  me wash my eyeballs just writing that.
.
Tomorrow a lay in as decide to hit the malls instead of working until the evening

Well as the say in all the best films, time to hit my pillow. Goodnight. X

Wednesday 16th September

A very relaxed start to the day after a reasonable nights sleep. Our shift wasn't until 11am and was in Cafe Clayton doing lunches, a much reduced volunteer presence as there are not really many families around during the day, some new arrivals and some falsies who are departing. There was however a very big meeting going on with over 100 employees, a monthly meeting which takes about an hour followed by a lunch, supplied today by The Olive Garden, a popular local restaurant.  I was helping Mary Ann who used to work in volunteer services but now has a different role she was getting numerous jugs filled with water, iced tea, sprite and lemonade, between us we were great but did have a few mishaps............... apparatus not Mary Ann thinks I am hilarious , not sure if that is a good or bad thing but we did giggle.a very elegant lady came to fill her cup up with ice and was extremely charming as I offered to do it for her. I had wondered if she might be the President of GKTW so decided to ask her and she was indeed Pamela Landwirth, a past wife of Henri, who founded the charity, she is still very heavily involved and is often seen around at the village, indeed her offices are there above the Towne Hall, I felt privileged to have met her today.

Jill, Geraldine and myself were bussers, tray carriers and drink operatives, at one point the nozzle came off my Mountain Berry dispenser, into a guests drink. I laughed and told him I wouldn't be charging him any extra before repairing said nozzle and making a fresh drink. Jill and Geraldine were at this point responding to another lady volunteers question about me..... is she always so hyper, Jill said yes, I think so!

After our shift we drove off for our treat, back to Longhorn Steakhouse, excellent again!  While we were there I noticed that all of us kept forgetting things, names , times, occasions etc. I said I think it must be catching as I am doing it now too, Jill said had I thought they might have caught it from me., so cheeky.

Tonight was one of my favourite shifts, Village Idol. Only one Let it Go sang tonight, and danced to once.we had hula hoop performers, comedians, jump ropes aka skipping and a pianist. We whooped and hollered, clapped, gave standing ovations and had a thoroughly wonderful time.

There have been two large church groups volunteering this week so are really getting to know them as we come across them a lot, often you can volunteer with different people every time.

My funny moment today, sorry Jill, it was you! Jill obviously had some thing important to say but unfortunately what came out of her mouth was completely unintelligible, could have been in Swahili - the reason for this, you wonder, well Jill have just placed a Lindt chocolate into her mouth and not one word was understood.

Well another early start tomorrow so goodnight.

Haven't spoken to Hanna, Lucy or Allan today ( that bit was for Hanna) 

Tuesday 15th September

Well a very early start to my day as I lifted my iPad cover to see the time - 5am and to see if there were anymore messages like yesterday ie a picture of an ambulance outside Hanna's house, there wasn't but there was a message from Allan saying he had wifi signal for the next 90 minutes and that message had just been sent.! Naturally I called him and we chatted about all his adventures so far, sounds amazing for him, a hard 4 day trek, seeing only 2 other people in 4 days. Temperatures ranging from high degrees Fahrenheit on one day to 0 the following day trekking. The guide is amazed that a 66 year old is doing what Allan is doing, seems the expected life span of a Mongolian male is only 65 years and for a female a mere 60 years, the 24 year old guide's  father can't even walk down the street. The 3 of them have just had the best experience of the trip, yes, you guessed it, a shower!!!!  This is why I do what I do and don't join Allan on his adventures, I am much too much a 5* lady. He really sounded exhilarated so we may be competing with our stories for some time when we get home. They are currently traveling off road in an old Russian jeep, have been for the last 61/2 hours and have another 11/2 to go to meet their Eagle Hunter families. Was so good to hear from him but has meant that I am writing this at 530 am and have no chance of getting back to sleep. Never mind it was worth it.

Shift this morning was on Lori's Magical Flight, did this last week with ?Debbie and run the ride 5 times, today it was only 4 and I must confess one of those goes was with Jill. Geraldine and the other volunteer Christine,  I took the photos and operated the ride, we also had a go on the train by ourselves to pass the time. Christine started volunteering last week and hopes to do lots more while her son is in school, she came up with some great ideas for my proposed Star Wars day next year in Oakham. We also got a few pictures of a cheeky albino squirrel, these are relatively rare as they tend to stand out and are easy prey for predators but there a few at the village.

Also met Lou who arrived on his massive Honda bike with side car attached, I went over and asked him if he minded if I took a picture of him and his bike, he was delighted  and told me he only started riding a motor bikewhen he was in his early 70's. He has since done a road trip with his new 'Mol' of over 3,000 miles. He was great.

Toda I  had a chap come over while we were being trained and said hello Lorna, this was Robert, a Brit who is also a MAW volunteer, we have communicated on our MAW website but hadn't yet met, was good to have a brief chat with him too and seems we will all be on breakfast shift tomorrow, although I think now we are actually on the lunch shift so may have got that wrong.

Just had a phone call from Rene, a gentleman we met in Zimbabwe 3 years ago, he is a Philipino who lives and works as an anaesthetist  in Chicago, he has just returned from Iran so we were chatting about that as it is on our possible list to visit next year. One major problem for me is that I would have to not wear make up in some of the mosques, nobody but Allan sees me without make up and even then if is put on first thing in the morning !

Tonight we were on Cafe Clayton again, but it was Jill and Geraldine's first time there. They did not get their hands up quick enough so ended up as the bussers ie stacking the dirty plates and glasses and cleaning and sanitising the tables and chairs, I was on hot food servings with husband and wife team Linda and John, a great couple. I was admiring the way John served the food, like a real pro, beautifully positioned  on the plate and no sloppy mess either, I made a comment to this effect to Linda and she replied I should hope so, he was a chef and ran a diner for many years before working for Nestle. He was good though. Tonight's food was very Italian based, lots of pasta dishes and garlic bread. A bit of a worry tonight for the ladies as a young man started fitting and Jill manage to get someone to help, he quickly recovered bless him and returned for his dinner.

There were a group of young girls on tonight and I may be wrong but they were not really into it at all and stood around gossiping, I couldn't help myself but I did go and have a few words of encouragement to them and reminded them of what they should be doing and why, I think I was pleasant!

Jill and Geraldine also volunteered tonight to help Jamie make new aprons, how kind was that.

Not sure quite what time we got back to the villa tonight but the ladies had very tired legs and feet so I suggested they had a dangle in the pool, was funny seeing them there with legs in the pool and downing a glass of wine too! Ladies you have style .

Well I have now been awake for 19 hours so I bid you goodnight. My eyes are closing so cannot even check the mistakes I have no doubt written, so apologies .

Sweet dreams

Must also mention I had a lovely chat with Hanna too , she was at my house checking on everything, thanks Hanna xxx

Monday 14th September

A little bit restless last night, not sure why though. Tested my blood sugar at about 3 am and it was low so had a glucose injection and glanced at my iPad to see Hanna had posted a picture of an ambulance outside her house, panicked a little but fortunately all had been sorted, poor Mark was in pain and Hanna had called 111 for advice, it was them that sent the ambulance as wanted to check out he hadn't had a heart attack. It wasn't thank goodness but he has to have some tests to find out the cause and what treatment to have. Needless to say I felt hopeless here but they managed. Even though Evie had to go in the car to Peterborough to pick Daddy up.

This morning I went off to the village alone as thought that Jill and Geraldine might like a lay in after their long day travelling  yesterday. My shift today was in the Cafe Clayton and I was on hot food, I was welcomed today unlike last week and the two of us worked well together. Again the strange food combinations were enjoyed by all. A funny thing happened towards the end of service as a family came in dressed as Spider-Man and Batman including the parents ..... the  Dad was the guy who still thinks I am an actress from a film so when I saw him I made him laugh by saying, hey, I know you, you were in that Batman movie!

I returned to the villa to collect the two ladies and drove them to the village to register and to give them a guided tour, plus to deliver the cushion covers they had made for the Castle of Miracles, they were delighted with them. Bumped into the family from Nuneaton who were returning today, my goodness he had had a great time. He taught me a biological fact that I had never before realised, seems his wife got pregnant because she gave up smoking, he was quite adamant about it too, she is also having a little girl after trying for 3 years .... all down the to lack of smoking.

We went off to Walmarts to collect more food, our fridge is overflowing. Had a lovely chicken salad today, even had fruit and ice cream for dessert.

Tonight's shift was Halloween and we went dressed up for the event, Jill and Geraldine as cats wearing the cats ears I had bought with me and mine and Debbie's tails. Geraldine. I have to say looked like she had just stepped out of Harrods. Made my Snow White look rather inferior.  At the end of the evening my Snow White looked even more inferior as the back seam had frayed and there was quite a long slit down the back. Good job I had a slip on too otherwise my modesty would have been on show for all to see..

Jobs  tonight for J & G was mask making and they were brilliant. Very artistic and the children made some great masks. I know my limitations so was assigned the job of 'Greeter"   I did greet and gave out bags for the children to collect their candy in but I confess to spending a lot of time chatting to the families. One Mum shed  a few years as she told how special the time there was as she felt like a real family again, all of her three boys having a great time.

This is such a magical place! 

Sunday 13th September

Debbie has arrive home safe and sound, she had arranged that her husband, Frank should pick her up but told him not to park up she would text him on arrival and he could just pick her up from outside the terminal, this she did but then she realised she was at .Heathrow and not at Gatwick where she had flown out of! Thank goodness Frank was on the ball and was in the right airport and at the right time.

Well I got up, I thought,  in time for my breakfast shift this morning but when I looked at my watch as I was about to get my cereal ready it was already 710 so I just grabbed a kitkat chunky and left the house to get there for my 730 start, had already taken my insulin so it was needs must.

Today I was Concierge again, a good job to have as you actually meet and greet the families. Passed on some information to the family from Nuneaton that I  promised to help last night, they are after a particular style and colour of Nike trainers from the Nike outlet store so I found the address and telephone number for them to call. It is another service offered here at GKTW , they will take the families shopping should they wish to do so, great for  families from overseas who want to grab a bargain.

Today was the time to say goodbye to a couple of families, you may remember me writing about a delightful young man, a wish child who rushed to help another wish child who was in a wheelchair at Village Idol the other day, well he and his lovely family are leaving to go back to their home in Newfoundland this morning. Unfortunately the poor lad was suffering from quite nasty sunburn (hmm don't ask what the parents were up to to allow that to happen) so he didn't make it to breakfast but his lovely sister made sure that she got 2 big boxes of take outs to take back for him and his mum., bless her she didn't want to go home and told me she would miss me so much.

I really feel that I am fortunate to be here for three weeks and working two shifts a day as a lot of families recognise you and will chat, especially when they hear the accent , I do tell them that it is them and not me who has the accent though, makes them smile. A lot of the volunteers come on the same day each week or come with a group so, as the families are only here for one week, they do not get the same chance to interact.

The Dad who thought I was an actress last night give me a big grin this morning but still hasn't remembered who he thought I was.... I decided perhaps to be Helen Mirren rather than Kate Winslett, a little more believable I thought.  Didn't see the other family from New York that are leaving today but we are now FB friends so will be able to see how their little girl gets on.

Debbie would have been so proud of me this morning because I took over her role as Boss at breakfast. There was a lovely bunch of youngsters from a church group  who had travelled a couple of hours from Tampa to volunteer, they had been to an event yesterday but all came along this morning , they had no idea of what was needed re cleaning and sanitising the eating area so as no one else was about I guided them. Before I arrived a zealous youngster cleared away a full plate of breakfast, he thought the parent had gone, but no, he had only gone for a hot drink. Shame as the food service had then shut. I volunteered him for doing some of the vacuuming cheered by his friends.

I also met a lovely young lady who originated from South Vietnam,she was tiny and looked about 10 but in fact she was married with two children aged 20 and 17

After my shift I made my way to Tarjei (Target) to get some shopping for the arrival of Jill and

Geraldine and to get myself something for dinner, have just finished off some Tilapi, mash potatoes and veg, first proper meal for a few days now. Got absolutely drenched shopping though, another real storm, let's hope for some drier days soon

Well just had a phone call from Peter, the Gentleman from Car on the Drive who is picking Jill and Geraldine up from the airport to bring here, they obviously had had a long wait to get through immigration etc but they have arrived and on their way to join me now.

More tomorrow

.

Saturday 12th September

Well, Debbie has left for her flight back to the UK , was picked up by Peter from Car on the Drive for her slightly longer trip home, not a direct flight unfortunately but via Detroit and a 3 hour stop over there. Have a safe trip Debbie and thanks again for the fun and laughter, we are indeed like minded souls.  Before Debbie went she stripped her bed and washed the sheets and towels and we remade her bed, she cleaned the bathroom and swept the kitchen floor. I have now vacuumed and washed the floors and dusted. All ready for Jill and Geraldine who arrive tomorrow afternoon. As I wanted to wave Debbie off I did not sign up for a shift this morning so will now relax until I leave for the village at 5, not very sunny though.

Rather an odd sort of day so far, decided to phone a few friends and family members which was good but admit that the villa is very quiet without Debbie to chat to. I decided to try and fathom out the TV, it really is shocking, think at last I have found Criminal Intent which is at least watchable, but only just. I am not very good with remote controls either........... ask Allan!  Late lunch today was the remainder of the Ribeye steak I had the other night at Longhorns, was fine really but not quite as good as the first time when it was hot.

Now tonight's shift was as the Concierge in Cafe Clayton or Nancy's kitchen as it is fondly known. Nancy works/worked for Perkins so she is hugely influential in this area............... nothing is impossible for Nancy, if a family ask for something that is not on show then we are to ask her and if at all possible she will make it or find it, plus if she cannot do it there and then it will most certainly be available the next day for the family. Now I love Mayor Clayton but Nancy is also very special.

Slight hiccup tonight as there were three Concierges and for once I won and the job was mine for the night. Mainly I was just scanning the people's cards and the number of guests on the card, was not taxing but it did mean I got to speak to all the families which is what I really enjoy, a lot of volunteers tonight, considerably more than the 9 of us the other evening. A church group of youngsters helping and I met Ming a young Chinese,  but now American citizen who is training to be a nurse, volunteering was part of her course.. Tonight I really felt like and old hand as volunteers were coming up to me asking where things were etc and I mostly could tell them!

A lovely gentleman asked me if I was on social media and was it allowed for us to keep in contact, I said it was fine as it was he that asked, will be great to keep in contact to see how the family fare in the future.

The weather was really quite awful tonight, lots of lightening so they closed the pool and the Big Splash Bash was changed to games on the theatre. Not as many families came out for their dinner, fortunately they can order food to be bought to their villas.

I was back in the villa by 9, early shift tomorrow, breakfast this time so need to be there by 645. Only one shift tomorrow as need to be in to greet Jill and Geraldine when they arrive from the UK

Nearly forgot the funniest part of the evening, a guy looked at me when he gave me his card to be scanned and asked.me if I was an actress from a film he had watched...seems he recognised my face but couldn't remember which film. I said it was obviously one where there was a stunningly beautiful actress in it, he didn't agree with me, but then asked if it was from Willy Wonka! Quite appropriate really for those who remember me dressing up as an Oompa Lumpah for Make A Wish! 

Friday 11th September

Well one of the slowest mornings as a shift so far, we were on Lori's Magical Flight, this has 6 hang glider type double seats, 2 of which are wheelchair accessible. This ride was named after a former wish child who became a wonderful volunteer passed away at a far too young age last year, a fitting tribute to a special young lady that both Jane and I met and worked together with. We were thoroughly trained and stood waiting to put our training into practise, we operated the ride 5 times I the 4 hours we were there, I know because we had to keep a tally of the times it was used. It is a popular ride in the evening but as we have said before the majority of the guests visit the parks during the day so after about 915 there was nobody to be seen. This ride is outside and the sun was beating down on us so we were able to sit in a shady area with a huge fan going which made life bearable.the saving grace this morning was our chats with Duane and Margi. Now Margi originated from Switzerland but came to the U.S. In the early 50's, found love and stayed, her job today was as train driver but only had two early customers.

A whole paragraph for Duane, he has been involved with GKTW with his wife since the villages conception, even before the village was built. He is a friend of Henri Landwirth who we sadly found out today is at stage 3 of  Altzeimers and in a home near his daughter in Jacksonville, Florida, he is 89 now. His third wife Pamela is the President of the board of directors and today was one of four annual board meetings. Duane's  wife is on the board as she has worked tirelessly it seems on getting companies to support the village, back when the idea was conceived she was in charge of charitable requests for Proctor and Gamble. They count people like Walter Cronkite, John Glenn and Jane Goodall and many others as their friends. It was really interesting listening to how it all started and how it had changed. The expression from little acorns to mighty oaks came to my mind. He did make us laugh though as he described how one of the volunteers had told him off by wagging her finger up and down at him when he had the audacity of getting a guest a coffee of coffee, coffee pouring was HER domain  it seemed and no one else was allowed to touch the coffee. We told him of Mr Scraper's rules too, we did laugh a lot. They had left their home at 5 this morning to travel down from St Augusta, near Jacksonville where they are building a home, her for the meeting and him to spend the day volunteering. Without Margi and Duane it would have been a long morning.

Well Debbie's last shift done, Pirates and Princess again but this time outside by the pool and slightly different jobs too. Debbie was on Pirates tattoos and face painting and I was doing the same for the Princesses. Not too bad  although one little girl wanted red lipstick and she did look a little like Marilyn Monroe, well the lips did if not the child. The children were all so excited  as all the Disney Princesses made an appearance  as did Mayor Clayton and his lovely wife, Ms Merry. The highlight for the children was the arrival of the Mermaid Lorelei, she arrived in a wheelchair and elegantly slipped into the pool where she flapped her fin around for quite a while swimming around . Think it was Taylor, one of the volunteers who was following her around with puppy dog eyes , he met her last week and when Dan told me, I said he must be smitten, he liked my choice of words!

Tonight we did slip off as soon as the party had finished, asked to be excused the clearing up as we wanted to get a meal out as it was Debbie's last night. Off we went to TGI Friday's again , after all it is Friday! Had a good meal and a chat with the waitress who we had to explain the term 'kitty' to, same language again but alien choose of words.

Well it is now 1120, not too busy a day but am now tired.

Thanks for joining me Debbie, it was fun, hope you enjoyed it too. We really did laugh at similar things and we laughed a lot xxx

Thursday 10th September

Before I start today's posts I would like to add a couple of points from yesterday's. Firstly I inadvertently forgot to mention that I had a FaceTime call with both my daughters and one granddaughter. Hanna and Evie were in bed 7.30pm as they had just got back from Evie's swimming lesson, Lucy had not long put Martha to bed so I arranged to ring her today, did chat with her and Neil though.

The other thing I didn't t write down was about one of the lovely children at the Village Idol , A young lad, probably about 8 years old rushed over to offer help to a young lad in a wheelchair. He pushed him outside to sign up to do a performance, pushed him back and then on to the stage where he positioned his chair so that he could see the audience and sing. When the lad had finished his song he went back on to the stage and wheeled him off again . How special was that, they were both Wish children too. Made my eyes water, or as Debbie puts it, I washed my eyeballs!

Okay, now to today - I have to confess that so far the highlight today (apart from seeing Martha and hear her saying Grandma) was our lunch. We had decided that with a fairly easy first shift we would go out and have a proper dinner, oh my, did we! We went to the Longhorn Steak House and both had the Ribeye, Debbie with a jacket potato and me with mash, we both had asparagus. It was delicious, a really top steak and the trimmings were great too. To coin a well used americanism it was truly awesome! We have had 3 meals out now, the rest of the time we have snacked albeit healthy snacking  so it was just wonderful to have a real meal.

This morning firstly, it was Mickey Mouse in Julie's Safari Theatre , our job again was to guide the families in and offer to take pictures with their phones, cameras or tablets. We would also de clutter them of bags, hats, sunglasses etc. not a huge number of families but those who came were given a real show by Mickey. We even had our pictures taken on Debbie's phone with him too.

I went back into guest services to see about a paver stone I was looking for for a Make A Wish volunteer in the UK  who had been here with her son, Adam in 2011. They eventually found where it was (it had been moved from its original place because of the building of the new Town Hall) and they emailed me a picture of it which I have sent to the family in Cornwall. Have already received a reply thanking me and saying it had bought a lump to her throat, sorry Rachel, hope Adam enjoys seeing it too.

We also went into the House of Memories and bought a few more bits and bobs to take home as gifts. Sorry Frank, still nothing for you.

No word from Allan today but not really expecting to hear anything as doubt if he has any signal up a mountain.

Tonight was the first repeat shift for Debbie as we both did Winter Wonderland again. Debbie  was Elf Front of House  and ho, ho ho'ed every family into the line so they could come see Santa and of course, get a beautiful gift. I was again in with Santa ( at the photographers request,  well he asked if I was joining him again this week, so I took that as a request!)  it was so much busier than last week, 60 families came through, one 'family' consisted of a large group of Down syndrome children, one of whom was a wish child. They were great and so excited to see Santa. This was not the case with all the children, some seemed  to be scared stiff, in fact tonight there were such a lot of scared children. Santa really tried and succeeded in most cases to relax the children enough to get their picture taken. I did help a little as when a child was sobbing I started singing Jingle Bells and believe it or not, despite my singing she stopped and we got a smile! I expect possibly in sympathy. There was a large group of Disney volunteers there tonight which was a great help as regular volunteers were low in numbers.

Well part of this trip is coming to an end as Debbie returns back to the UK on Saturday morning, so just two shifts left to do for her. Let's hope tomorrow is as good as today

Wednesday 9th September

Really had a good nights sleep and woke at 630,  had set the alarm for 6 am but for next Monday by mistake so all was a bit of a rush as had to be at the village for a 730 am shiift

Today we were in the Ice Cream Parlour. Now you might wonder who in their right minds would want ice cream for breakfast , well let me tell you lots and lots of people do! We were really busy all morning, right the way through to 12 when we were relieved by two more volunteers.

Debbie was on top form today and forget the name Popeye or Boss, we may now have to call her Nigella as she invented a brand new Milkshake. A guy wanted a peanut butter sundae, a particular type of sundae of which we didn't have the ingredients, but this didn't  stop Debbie, she came up with an alternative all of her own making which according to the guy was amazing, yummy, mmmm, fabulous, here kids you try - too many superlatives to remember. Now the recipe is soon to be patented and I am not sure I can yet share it without a donation to Make A Wish or Give Kids the World. You will not be disappointed !!

The funniest part of our shift was when the Oreo Sprinkle machine became clogged and I asked for some help from Nigella, oops the top came of and there were pieces of Oreo biscuits everywhere including the floor. We had hoped it had gone unnoticed but when we turned around there were several families all chuckling to themselves , we asked them to pretend that nothing had happened though so think we got away with it. This was a whole morning shift 730 until noon and we were really quite busy, always families in, there is an express breakfast there too where there are eggs, waffles and pancakes, all freshly cooked, today by Linda. We certainly got through a few large tubs of ice cream.

On our return home to the villa we actually both got straight into the pool which was really warm, then a bit of sunbathing before getting our late lunch, early supper.

Tonight was a 630 start for one of my favourite shifts - Village Idol. All together there were 18 acts, 6 of which were renditions of Let It Go, also a couple of break dancing acts, and one of my favourite songs by Katie Perry, yes Roar (played at every Tigers home game). My role tonight was lining up the competitors and showing them to the famous Green Room - okay perhaps it was just lining up behind a curtain. Debbie was front of house, watching the children didn't fall off the stage, holding up the Applause sign and more importantly letting off the Streamer Cracker when the winner was announced, tonight it was winners, as , of course, everyone was a winner! Deservedly so too.  My jaw was aching from smiling so much.

To me the best act tonight were a sister and her two brothers, they did Let it Go but in their own inimitable style, really funny.they were and they so enjoyed it, ages probably 16, 15 and 11ish.

Another great day. Night now as it is 11.20 and we are to be in the by 8 tomorrow. Please when I get home don't anyone ask me if I had a nice holiday'!

I must also add that I managed to chat not only to Evie this evening but also to both Hanna and Lucy, oh and Neil said hi too!

Tuesday 8th  September

600 o'clock start to the day with a phone call from Allan via Messenger ie a free call, brilliant to be able to talk to someone via mobile to iPad with no time delay and no cost. Great reception too.

Allan had a good flight to Moscow but said the 5 1/2 hour trip from Moscow to Ulaan Bataar was the most uncomfortable ever with barely any leg room. On arrival they found it much colder than they expected but went off to view some statue and then off to the National Park for a bit of a trek. Lunch he said was indescribably bad, pieces of leathery mutton with lumps of fat attached. He was extremely tired but it was a long day for them.

I did forget to let you know that my expected house guest, Ann from Pennsylvania had to call off her trip at almost the last minute. Unfortunately her sister in law had been involved in a very nasty car accident and is in a bad way so Ann felt she needed to stay at home to support her family. I was so looking forward to her stay as we don't really know each other yet as we only passed a few words together last year.........namely Chicken in your Pants

Our shift this morning was in the Castle of Miracles again but with a Nickelodeon character, who turn out to be Aang from Avatar, seems he has saved the world so we of course, thanked him and shook his hand. If I knew how to add the picture of the three of us I would but unfortunately I don't.

This was a fairly short shift as Aang only stayed for 3/4 hour but we stayed on to help another volunteer, Jojo as she was by herself . We didn't have any more children come in to do or see their stars so we helped replenish the Dream Pillows in the secret hiding place away from the children's eyes. Think I have already said that every child, not just the wish child get a pillow from Hermes the Owl, Jill and Geraldine have been busy making pillow cases for these pillows and are bringing them with them next week.

As we had finished by 10 am we decided to drive to the Premium Outlet Store for a couple of hours , my suggestion too Jane! Only bought a couple of things, a bag for holidays and a nail buffing kit, really impressive too. He started off at $50 but in the end we got 2 for that price, we were happy so that was the main thing. Had lunch in Starbucks,  no Costa in the U.S. much is the pity. Got back to villa about 230

Tonight's shift was in Mayor Clayton's Cafe, we arrived early as we wanted to be food servers, that seemed to work as I was asked to serve hot food and Debbie was on the salads. I went to the hot food station which I have worked at many times before and greeted the two other volunteers with a hello and what would you like me to do - stony silence so I tried again really cheerfully - no response at all.at this point Eric,who was in charge came over and said to me it seems you are not needed here so could you go on the drinks station. I was more than a little annoyed at the lady who was so rude by ignoring me that steam was coming out of my ears. I decided that I would go tell her that the way she behave was out of order as we were all volunteers and should respect each other... she feigned innocence so I accepted that but it still rankles a little, especially as she disappeared fairly promptly at the end and did not come to help with the table clearance.

Now I actually really enjoyed my shift although it was very tiring and busy. In all we had 9 volunteers doing the work that normally has 23 volunteers doing. I single handedly served every single person who came to dine with a massive choice of drinks, every conceivable fizzy drink, tons of ice,  iced tea in 4 different versions, coffee , tea and hot chocolate too. I now think I am a serious contender for Head Barista now and may even apply for a job in Costa when I get home. I really wish that I had one of those FitBits that counted how many steps you take as  I probably would be world champion today!

Funny bits today were  Peter, an English chap who comes to volunteer every year as his son had had a wish before he passed. Peter let calling me Mary, as in  Mary Poppins so I would keep breaking into my version of Supercalifrachalistic , we did make a few people smile.

Off to my bed now as a very early start tomorrow, Ice Cream for breakfast shift. Yummy.  Also Allan is going to ring about 6 am.

Goodnight

Monday 7th September

Another early start as had set the alarm to the correct time to wake up but unfortunately the phone was set an hour early so was awake at 530 am, had hoped to speak to Allan before he got on his plane to Ulan Bataar but missed him, he has arrived safely though as got a missed call and message from him.

This mornings shift was scheduled to be in Julie's Safari Theatre where Mickey Mouse was coming to meet the children but almost as soon as we got there we were asked if we minded going to the Castle of Miracles as two volunteers had failed to show up. Goofy and Pluto were also taking it in turns there to meet the children but we were on a much more important mission.

Each wish child that comes to the village is given a star which they bring to the castle and decorate either with their name or a picture, whatever takes their fancy. This star is then placed in a magic box where the Fairy Stellar comes to take it away and when the children are asleep she places it is the Star Tower where it stays forever. The family can return the following day and can see the star in the tower, it really is quite special. Today we had a returning wish family, quite a group of them in fact as they had come to the village to donate money they had raised since they had lost their little boy. It was very emotional as there were a lot of tears being shed. The family could see lots of photos of the time they had spent at the village, obviously with pictures of their lost child. I gave  one of the ladies a hug and told her to remember how happy they had all been and she nodded in agreement . They then moved on to the Star Tower to find the young lads star, Debbie did  this bit and again there were lots more tears, including Debbie who used the wonderful expression, we are not crying we are washing  our eyeballs! How wonderful,  as she said it made them smile and lightened the mood.

Our next port of call after we had finished the shift was to try out a new supermarket, we sure know how to live. Today it was Publix which did have the edge by a country mile, a really good choice of fresh food and relatively normal people. There was a lady walking around in her curlers which did make us smile as to be honest even a good hairstyle would not have done much to improve her looks!  We also met Beryl who was shopping with her husband, she hailed from Nottingham and lived across the road there from William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, she was a sweetheart but we did have to gently edge away. Beryl had lived in the U.S. For 62 years already.

Tonight's  shift was Halloween and we had different jobs, Debbie was on face painting and painted a young Non English speaking lad who requested a Spider Man face, this was done very successfully , so successfully in fact that he asked for Dracula next............ his Grandma said no and Debbie was very relieved!

I had to desert my post for a while as I knew my blood sugar had dropped and I needed to get back to the car to get it sorted. Must admit I did feel rough but soon got back and felt better. Now maybe I was a bit of a mean Trick or Treat person because when the children asked me for a treat I requested a trick first. I had them winking, clicking  their fingers, whistling, singing, hopping on one leg and whatever they could do. My best by far was the young girl who pretended to steal my nose, that old trick we have all done with our children......... I asked her to put it back and she said no because my husband might fart and I would be better off not smelling it!  That child will go far and is incredibally astute. 

Back to the villa for a light supper and now ready for my bed.

Goodnight x

Sunday 6th September

Well we had already made the decision to take the day off today as neither of us had completely got into the time zone and as I said last night I was absolutely shattered when I went to bed. I did sleep until just before 6 am which was lovely.

Allan rang me from Costa where he was with Hanna, Lucy, Evie and Martha, he did it on Messanger so I could see them on the screen as well, Martha and Evie looked pleased to see me. Martha can now say a few more words.... Hanna and Evie but not yet Grandma, will have to work on that when I get home. Allan is packed and ready for his trip to Mongolia tomorrow, I do hope he has a great time and that we get the occasional chance to chat. He is going for a 4 day trek and then to spend some time with a Mongolian family and watch the annual Eagle Festival, I would have loved to have gone too apart from the fact that I am a bit too much of a 5 star girl for that. I need a flushing toilet, a comfy bed and hot running water for bathing. Good job we are compatible!!!

Debbie is very like me in many ways, today a couple of ladies she met in a bar in Iceland on one night only drove 31/2 hours from Jacksonsville, Florida to see us.  We had a wonderful time and laughed so much from the word go. It all started with us trying to explain how taken she was with Tito, the lovely dwarf we met on Thursday. The story started with why she was so fascinated by him, goes back many years it seems when she was on holiday in the U.S., Lake George in New York State with her children who were then quite young, you know the age when children will blurt out embarrassing questions when they see something that for them is out of the norm. It seems that two dwarfs arrived driving a rather large car and rather than risk her children asking any awkward questions, such as why are they so little she tried to distract them by telling Frank, her lovely husband that there was a Big and Tall shop just over there. Now that made us laugh but when she actually demonstrated how these dwarfs walked that we absolutely dissolved into hysterical laughter....... you do really have to have seen it to believe it but imagine a dog walking on its bottom because it had worms or the action of a dog 'humping' a bitch, have you got the picture?

We made the decision to go to Celebration, Steve took us there last year and I thought it was such a pretty place that I suggested going there for a walk around and a spot of lunch. We got to Publix as there was a car park but we weren't sure we were in the right part so we went in and asked, the young man did indeed give us directions, however they were not completely accurate so pulled up outside one of the beautiful houses and the three of them knocked at the door while I waited in the car ready to snap a picture of them. The lady that opened the door had a heavy french accent and a not so heavy yappy dog and she very kindly pointed us in the right direction.

When we found somewhere to park we set off looking for the area I visited last year and stopped to look at a map of Celebration, a very helpful young man asked us if we needed any help and he gave us a recommendation for a place for lunch, thanks Tony it was brilliant. We did pop into Woof Gang, the shop for pampered pooches and Debbie bought her first gift to take home, don't get too excited Frank it's not for you!

Next stop was the restaurant Columbia, a Cuban restaurant, the food was excellent and we must have stayed in there for a good three plus hous chatting and laughing.  At the table there was a leaflet saying that during September they donated 5% of the takings to charity and the customer had to decided which charity they wanted to donate too, I asked all if they were happy for me to put a tick by GKTW and they were.

We got back to the villa about 6 pm and after a few pictures Brenda and Wendy made their way home. Ladies it was great to meet you and I did so enjoy your company. Remember to come and see us in the UK .

Now watching BBC America, a James Bond film, Casino Royal.

Back to the normal routine in the village tomorrow, oh apart from something I forgot to mention , I had a call from Dan in the village, he is currently doing  a Video about it and has asked me to be a voiceover as I can talk properly !!!!!! Watch this space.

Night

Saturday 5th September 2015

Early start this morning as we had to be at the village for 7.30 as we were on the breakfast shift and I really had to wash my hair before leaving.

We both enjoyed our shifts, doing slightly different jobs, Debbie was clearing tables and interacting with the families, she really enjoyed it. I was on hot food, a job I have done quite a few times before but not in the new building. As in previous years the weird combination of food that seems to be required on one plate amazes me. Today's offerings were cheese omelettes, scrambled eggs, salsa, cheese sauce, hot maple syrup, pancakes, mushrooms, a type of ratatouille looking mixture, biscuits (a sort of scone), pancakes, French toast, sausages, fried potatoes and yes, some people had the lot!!! Some even came back for seconds. This was just my section, there was waffles, toast, muffins, fruit etc, etc also. Some families stand out for no ther reason than the amount of foods.

The characters we met today... volunteers, not those from Disney, were James, who was the runner on my section and Mr Scraper who was Debbies's boss! Mr Scraper was very insistent about how the tables should be cleared, but he really taught Debbie well, more later! James was really good apart from when he accused me of letting the serving ladle slip into the omelette tray, I of course denied it and blamed him!

Everyone mucks in to sanitize the tables and chairs and vacuum the whole floor area, we finished about 11am, just in time for them to set up for the lunch time.

We made a decision not to get any food shopping and went back to the villa to relax a little and take in some sunshine around the pool, it was really hot and my iPad came up with a warning sign telling me it needed to cool down, I agreed with it and went back inside to the air conditioning. 

As we were back to the village for 530 we had a late lunch again and I wish I had taken a photograph of it to share....... Debbie should actually be renamed Popeye as she loves spinach and her plate was piled high with the stuff but we were both very healthy again. While we were getting lunch ready a lady and gentlemen arrived to repair the smoke detector and to make sure the phone was okay. I can't remember if I said about this was both the phone and smoke detector were making us bleeping mad as all they were doing was beeping. Had the telephone man round and he said the line was fine but it was the phone that was faulty, new phone, problem solved. Now normally when a smoke detector bleeps it means a new battery is needed, not so this time, it had three new batteries and still beeped so the conclusion was the unit was faulty and a new one was fitted ...... success thank goodness.

Now to our evening shift, again in Mayor Clayton's Cafe, this time we were both given the task of stacking, clearing and sanitising the tables much as Debbie had done for the breakfast shift. 

Now for another name for Debbie, we have already had Popeye but tonight she got the well deserved title of 'Boss'. Boss gave all the volunteers instructions of how things must be done and boy did she know what she was doing!! We worked along with a great bunch of volunteers tonight, everyone did as Boss told them and we had lots of fun and laughter. We met Lori and her lovely daughters, the family had been recipients of GKTW hospitality themselves as one of the daughters had been diagnosed with cancer when she was a two year old and now the family have moved to Florida and they have become volunteers themselves, the girls were now 17 and 15. We all had such fun and chatted with a few families too. Some young children were up on the stage singing and dancing and giving bows, Lori and I went to join them singing Twinkle twinkle little star, it was great.

Now 99.99999999% of the families here are wonderful and so very, very appreciative of  what is provided for them here and especially what the volunteers do - we did however have the 'joy ' of running around for a family tonight, fetch me this, fetch me that, with no please  or thank you's. They also came in late and stayed for ages, three bottles of tomato ketchup were emptied, they were all full at the start as that is one of our roles to check the condiments are there and full. Everyone of us agreed that they were challenging but of course we said nothing and smiled all the time, well outwardly at least. Now to the other 99.999999999%, well they were all amazing, some made us feel very humble with their love and care for their children. I could add so much here about them but perhaps those things will stay in my heart and head.

Now back to the Boss, we all really worked as a team tonight and had fun, thanks Debbie, aka Popeye. 

Got back to the villa just after 9 o'clock but my back, feet and legs were about to give out on me so we plumped for toast, bagel, smoked salmon and cream cheese plus a glass or two of proseco. I was completely worn out so didn't manage to finish this blog last night so am doing so at 6 am. I slept really well and hope that my body clock is knowing where it is at now. So not goodnight this time but good morning!