Driving back from Ennis this afternoon, I heard an item on RTE Radio One on the Camara Project, which accepts computer equipment from companies and individuals, refurbishes it and sends it to schools and other educational institutions in Africa which is in dire need of IT equipment and know-how.

The minimum requirements for the computer equipment is a PIII (Pentium 3 chip) PC - they don’t accept MACs because these are difficult to maintain and fix in Africa. First thing they do is wipe the Hard Drive completely to guarantee that the old data cannot be retrieved in future. Then they install a Linux-based Operating System (long live Tux!), and some educational programs including a HIV/AIDS awareness program. The refurbished machines are then shipped out to several countries in Africa, where they are put to excellent use.
This strikes me as a tremendous project as it avoids perfectly good computer equipment being dumped and contaminating the environment, and in the process it recycles the equipment so it can be used in health and education in Africa. So if you are upgrading your computer equipment don’t just dump it - visit the Camara website. Or just send them a donation.

Met Eireann are reporting that the April just past is the driest and one of the hottest on record (i.e. in more than 250 years). If the old adage that April showers bring May flowers is to be believed, then May is going to be decidedly lacking in flowers this year!

Today the temperate was in the low 20s Celsius which is unusually warm for the 2nd of May in these parts. While others are walking around in short sleeves, I am still loathe to dispense with my light summer jacket. I feel very comfortable in the heat - but it never gets really hot here in any case. Though I have a sneaking suspicion that we are in for a scorcher this summer. The prospect of a long dry hot summer doesn’t frighten me, but it does worry me that we will have a drought which will mean major water shortages. This country is entirely unprepared for drought, not having a single solitary dam or water reservoir of any consequence.

And the climate has changed radically since I was a teenager. Back then (in the 1970s), we would get weeks of hard frost at a time accompanied by cold sunny days. Now we’re lucky to get more than a week of frost and it doesn’t freeze as hard as it did back then either. This Winter past, I counted 8 nights of frost! Climate change is a reality that is fast beginning to bite! And we are totally unprepared.

Since Sunday I’ve put two coats of paint on the two end walls of the attic which has the “accent” colour. The rest of the attic will have to wait until Saturday for the first coat of the main colour - with a bit of luck I’ll be able to apply the second coat on Sunday. I should mention that the paint we are using is a natural silicate paint called Biofa which can be purchased direct from Biochrome Imports (Ireland) Ltd., Tulla, Co. Clare (tel: 065-6835559). As Biofa is a natural product, it is much easier to clean brushes, rollers and containers afterwards as they wash out in warm water and soap which I can then dispose of in my garden as the waste is biodegradable, taking care never to pour any down the drain however.

Once the walls are finished, the floor will need to be mopped and then varnished - using an eco-varnish of course.