As the team get ready to head out to the Gambia to visit Ceesay Nursery School next month, they are on the look out for old, unwanted mobile phones. They need old (i.e. not smartphones) but working, unlocked Nokia, Samsung, etc, phones for use by the families of children at the school.

The main purpose of the phones is to enable the school to contact the families should the need arise, and to enable families to report illness and get help if their child becomes ill.

If you have an old handset that you no longer use and wish to donate, please get in touch with Diane Fisher on email: dianefisheruk@gmail.com, or by phone: 07443 193 413.

Although there are no known cases of Ebola in the Gambia, on September 7, before the new school term started, we held an Ebola Awareness and Prevention Community Day. The day was attended by the whole school community, including the teachers, parents, grandparents and other family members.

We sent educational, factual information to Mr. Ceesay, head teacher, which included simple, visual posters to display at the school. Diane discussed this information with him to make sure he understood it well and could teach it to others. He photocopied the poster and gave every family their own copy.

We also sent money to cover purchasing strong disinfectant soap for each child and the school. During the meeting, Mr. Ceesay explained the importance of correct and thorough hand washing and each attending family was given a free cake of strong disinfectant soap. Classroom teacher Adama demonstrated and worked with each child so they knew what to do.

We have developed clear procedures in the event that Ebola arrives in the Gambia. These include placing buckets of chlorine solution at the school doorway, to be used by all on entering and exiting the school and after all trips to the toilet, changed each day. If any family or compound has any member who becomes ill, they must inform Mr. Ceesay and keep their children away from school. Any family attending a burial must inform Mr. Ceesay and be reminded not to touch the body under any circumstances. Any child with any symptoms who arrives at school must be immediately taken to a healthcare facility. The person taking the child must protect themselves at all times. Mr. Ceesay will inform Diane immediately if he hears of any cases of Ebola in the Gambia.

Today was sunny, but the coldest day so far – freezing most of the day and the first day I really have felt the cold, despite wearing my rather unattractive Eskimo hat!

I left behind Crystal Palace Park and headed again through suburban London towards Streatham. In the grounds of Norwood Grove, the building that caught my attention was not the Grade 2 listed mansion, which had a rather dilapidated air, but the charming fairy-tale cottage ‘Lodge’ on the lane before Streatham Common. On a cold, frosty day like today, the wood smoke coming from the chimney pots and the weathered picket fence made it look ever so self-contained and cosy. It reminded me of the historic wood keeper’s cottage in Queen’s Wood, north London, now home to the delightful Queen’s Wood Cafe and Organic Gardens.

Today’s walk, between Grove Park and Crystal Palace, was the longest one, so that now I have completed it, I feel more confident that I will actually be able to complete this Capital Ring walk.

One of the best bits was the discovery of a tranquilly sited bench at the end of Railway Children Walk in the lovely Grove Park. It was dedicated to “the memory of local resident Edith Bland. Better known as the authoress E Nesbitt”, one of our favourite children’s writers. If you haven’t read The Railway Children, so eternally popular that it was made into a radio play, then a BBC television series and even a stage production, it would be well worth your time! I think I am due for a reread.

The rest of the walk was a mixture of south London suburbia, adorned by some wonderfully ornate houses with quirky carvings, and woodland and parkland walk.

The highlight for me had to be the wonderful Dinosaur Park (see image), in Crystal Palace Park, built way back in 1852. My grandnephew Nico loves dinosaurs and so this clip all about the park, along with a link to follow it virtually, is just for you Nico!

I had company walking today. I was joined by long-time friend and former colleague Charles Stobo (see image). This was a much shorter walk (only 4 miles) but especially interesting for me because of the company. My friend Charles is an absolute fount of knowledge on all things historical, particularly military history. Over the years he has helped me so much, to ‘fill in the gaps’ that my own education (or lack of early application!) has left me.

The second section of the Capital Ring takes the walker from Falconwood through Eltham, birthplace of the great comedian Bob Hope, to Grove Park. On the way is the lovely 14th century, English Heritage-managed Eltham Palace and gardens.

The highlight of this walk for me was the moving and poignant story of the Gallipoli chapel in Holy Trinity Church, in Eltham. Charles filled in my history gaps as to the whereabouts and the whyfors of the Gallipoli Campaign against the Ottoman Empire (now in modern Turkey) during World War One.

The church literature told us about the former vicar, Revd. Harry Hall, who had volunteered to serve in this campaign as Chaplain to the Territorials. He was an extremely brave man, staying with his men in the height of battle, to give Holy Communion to the dying soldiers. When he survived and returned to his parish, he set up a memorial to the men of the 29th Division who did not return to Britain. This was the St Agnes Chapel (or Gallipoli chapel) we saw, with wonderful stained glass and a memorial to every man who died there.

I am so grateful to Charles for making this story come alive, even showing me on maps where the action was.

I completed my first walk today – 6 miles down, only 72 to go. I am going to keep these blogs short (always a problem for me…) but I just don’t want to bore all of you to death! You want to know more, come join me for a day and we can talk.

I took the DRL through East London and started at Woolwich Arsenal. I loved today! I learned so much London history – all about the old arsenal where guns were stored (there is a museum for those of you that like this sort of thing), the Thames Barrier – a fantastic feat of engineering that literally stops the water going up river, to keep London from flooding – should be useful for us as global warming bites and an inspiration for our American friends, after Sandy.

It was a lovely sunny day so I really enjoyed walking by the river, then through woodland and across Woolwich Common – a ‘fresh’ day, as my English friends would call it.

Highlight of the day – discovering London based sculptor Margaret Higginson’s gem in the Amnesty Peace garden of Charlton House (see image). This dignified and triumphant lady is called Portage – Representing Women’s Burden Overcome. A good omen, I feel, for this walk to raise funds for the Gambian children of Ceesay Nursery and Primary School.