Matildaa told such dreadful lies....and when Matilda called out Fire!!!!!

For those not of the Kariaotahi ilk, this was a poem I recited in Std 3 at the Christmas do and yesterday... I got to tell the Principal there was the makings of a fire in the ceiling of one of the dorms!!! I had come up early to vacuum up a leak from the ceiling (a vax to do the job not an ordinary vacuum) on the carpet in the dorm (23mils rain yesterday for those playing at home and more rain and wind today!) when I heard one of the smoke alarms beeping. Went and told the office who suggested I get a step ladder and knock the battery out..... Noooo, I thought on several levels. Couldn't find the caretaker and got sidetracked into trying to book a fare home (do not get me started on transport out here!!!!!)and when I got back upstairs again the alarm was fizzing, with a smell of burning and black smokey stuff coming out around the edges. I hastened down the corridoor to tell the boss and swapped taking a spelling lesson for homework (LOL) while he investigated. He came back to fetch me to check if the fire extinguisher that he had used had worked, and the smokey area had got bigger! Got the one senior girl out who was upstairs in the dorm, turned off the mains power, got the spelling class out and down stairs, told the DP and librarian, also getting kids out of there before zooming downstairs and ringing the school bell for at least 5 mins before people actually started to get it and move towards the shelter shed type structure away from the buildings. The boss meanwhile rang the brigade at Mullewa (who rang back 20 mins later to see if we had put it out!!!!!! Do not get me started on that one)and continued to spray the fire extinguisher about while we did roll checks etc. The boss and workmates husband then decided to get up into the roof to see if anything was happening there but that was OK. I continued to perform like a seal - need to be sure there is no sparks lurking or smouldering (Dad's voice here LOL), and that we were covered insurance wise by having proper fire people give us the OK. In a gotta love the outback moment, a local neighbour is something to do with the fire brigade so came over and gave the all clear, our caretaker turned up and isolated the smoke alarm and did things with wiring and I was left with a complete blue out of 1 & 1/2 cubes from the rest of the fire extinguisher that the boss and other members of staff had liberated on the smoking smoke alarm. Fortunately it was nearly dinner by now so got all the kids in for tea, got the boys off to their site and then got all the girls up in the library, while my workmate turned up and started cleaning for Africa. The four girls whose beds were covered with blue powder managed to get other mattresses and bunked down in various other rooms and after a mammoth two hour clean of the rooms (done by the workmate who came back in her time off) I took down the curtains and started washing everything out of the cubes, the girls clothes and bedding and then got it through the drier. I Called it a day at 2.10am and went to bed.
Dragged myself out this morning just after 6.30 thinking a lovely warm shower would be grand as it is now about 18o outside and antarctic for out here. Arrrrhhhhh, no hot water!!!! Talk about a Scandanavian moment - I was in and out like a flash, and dressed in my warmest clothes (summer clothes in NZ LOL) and thus began today. Had another quick trip into Geraldton - put a student on the plane to go home and then went into town proper to get some gear for one of the our girls and back again.
Hoping for an early night - everyone has been threatened with DIRE consequences if they so much as move an inch out of their rooms tonight and it seems to have worked.
It sounds as though it is blowing a living gale outside so hope the email holds up this weekend and we do not get cut off again. I keep saying every day is an adventure out here and yesterday was right up there. Was meant to have the night off tonight but as my workmate did so much extra to help yesterday and filled in for me till I got back from town today, decided to stay up again tonight.
So its goodnight from me LOL
Lynn