Fort Knox: Moving Into Our Sierra Leonean Sanctuary
Calendar week 31
On Saturday, August 2nd, we finally made the leap from living in the office to moving into our very own house. It’s a massive shift. I love the security team at the office, they were always there in the background, helpful and unobtrusive, but there’s something about having your own front door. Ironically, I actually found myself missing their presence for the first few days!
The house is a proper fortress. We have a giant perimeter wall with a sliding iron gate, and every window and porch is fitted with sturdy (if surprisingly artistic although slightly wonky) burglar bars. Then there’s the cast iron front door. It’s fully secure.
However, I have a small confession: I’m a bit claustrophobic. My instant reaction wasn’t “I feel safe,” but rather, “How the heck do I get out of here if I need to?” For the first few nights, I was genuinely anxious about locking the door. With some gentle coaxing from Auds, and me locking and unlocking it several times just to prove to my brain that it would, in fact, open. Auds (who is delightfully non-claustrophobic) even had to locked the door from the inside while I obviously stood on outside in the porch just so I could get used to the mechanics. I’m getting there, but for now, it’s a very secure “Fort Knox” indeed.
The Parlour and the “Rubber”
The house itself is fantastic, spacious and full of potential. We have a large porch where we spend most of our time; it’s currently home to a hammock and our dining setup. This leads into the “Parlour” (as the living room is known here in Sweet Leone). It’s got plenty of room for a sofa, a dining table, and most importantly, a gaming table. We’ve stocked up on board games in anticipation of those electricity-free evenings.
We have two bedrooms with en suites, and two other rooms for storage and guests. Now, when I say “en suite,” don’t picture power showers. There’s no running water yet. Toilets are flushed by filling the cistern with a bucket, which is topped up from a 100L water butt kept inside, locally known as a “Rubber.” Then there’s the kitchen, my haven and heart of the house. It’s beautifully tiled in a “kitsch” style that features a bizarre but charming mix of English tea scenes and Asian teapots. They really love a tile in Sierra Leone!
Since European-style furniture is a rare and expensive luxury here, we’ve leaned into local talent. We found an incredible local carpenter who has been crafting us simple, beautiful wooden shelves for the parlour and a pallet-style base for a mattress that serves as our temporary sofa. He’s even built us a double bed frame and some open wardrobe shelving for our walk-in wardrobe area. Yes, we have a walk-in wardrobe. Aren’t we fancy?
Summary of the Move: We’ve traded the office compound for a high-security sanctuary. I’ve survived my first few nights of “Lock-In Anxiety,” mastered the art of the bucket-flush, and started a collection of custom-built furniture. It genuinely feels like the next chapter has begun, kitsch tea-scene tiles and all.