Amos comes and goes

I'm sitting on the porch of my little house and - believe it or not - the sun in shining! It's very warm, humid and calm. And the scene looks different from yesterday in other ways, too. last night we had a visitation - we were on the edge of cyclone Amos' path through the islands. The usually immaculate grounds of Piula look distinctly bedraggled: palm fronds all over the place, branches, a few trees. And most buildings have been partly boarded up. As the wind speed started to ratchet up last night, the principal (whose task I didn't't envy) directed a group of students to nail roofing iron or ply wood against the most vulnerable Windows. Mine were done between 11 and midnight as I lay in bed. I was anxious that the boys might be caught outside with debris blowing around, but they retired to safety. For a few hours the wind howled and screamed but when I woke at 4.00 all was calm again. The power's been off since 11 last night - which is to be expected.it would be good to have it restored soon - especially for the fridge. This post going live will be a signal that the power is back on. Everyone is astonished that we've had a cyclone so late in April. It brings home the fact that while climate change may hardly be noticeable in Belfast, here in the Pacific it's having all kinds of effects. 

I was preaching at the 8.00 am college service this morning and, yes, in spite of an interrupted and rather scary night, everyone was there in their best white  outfits. No power meant no keyboard, but the singing was full-on and very disciplined. The service  was followed by a very formal brunch with the staff - once again, more food than I can cope with. No repeat of yesterday's toasted sandwiches with tinned spaghetti and spam - for which I was grateful. 

Before the 3.00pm service (they just keep coming - rather like the meals here) I went down to the beautiful cave pool to cool off. You can s win about 20 metres into the cave, right underneath the chapel. The water is clear and deep with a shoal of fishes. You then reach a solid wall, but I'm told you can dive under it to come out at another pool a little further along. So far I've not felt a need to try that! 

I was due to give lectures tomorrow on the church in the Middle Ages (no, I'm not sure why, either) but the principal has declared Monday a clean up the college day, so no teaching till Tuesday. 

In other news, I am sharing my house with a number of fellow-creatures- it's inevitable in the tropics. The wooden parts of the house have little piles of sawdust, which indicate some unseen burrowing and chewing. Anything edible left out for more than a minute or two attracts thousands of tiny ants - something you have to get used to. Gecko lizards dart about the walls - welcome residents who help to keep the mosquitos down. However, I do draw the line at cohabiting with a bunch of marauding, 3 inch cockroaches, so when I was in town the other day I got hold of a pack of cockroach baits and scattered them about the house. They seem to be doing the business, which means that I now have to dispose of the corpses. 

Update: the power came on At 5.00 but not the college wifi, so I guess this post will have to wait till tomorrow morning when someone resets it. Worse news is that the college cattle farm, which is a little way in land, has been badly damaged by Amos, so most students will have to work there tomorrow. I'm being taken to a small island. - Samoa's answer to Viwa - where the early missionaries had their base. I'll hope to get this off before I go.