The Queens Birthday was held on the 12 August and was a holiday throughout Thailand. Mothers Day is celebrated on the Queen’s birthday so Sarnelli House had their party in the Jesus and Mary Hall on Sunday 11th. The Mothers Day party displayed the dancing prowess of the Viengkhuk girls, and the singing skills of the girls from Nazareth House and the Jan and Oscar House boys complete with guitar accompaniment. The House of Hope kids danced very seriously and St Patrick’s boys combined break dancing with crotch clutching hip hop style dancing. After the entertainment all the housemothers sat in front of the stage with a row of kids facing each one, the child at the head of the row pinned a flower over the heart of the housemother and waied her. (Thai style greeting with hands pressed together while bowing). Then all the children sitting down on the floor waied the mothers together bending low to the ground as a sign of deep respect – it was a very lovely moment and was followed by lots of hugs and tears.
The Sunday party was a welcome respite for the kids as Saturday and the holiday Monday were spent in the rice fields weeding the rice. The amount of weeds pulled out was in exact proportion to the diligence of the individual. Some of the ex Sarnelli girls who have moved to Nazareth House like Pat the Rat and her gang wandered around, umbrella in hand so as not to darken their complexions, casting unhelpful comments to the workers and sneaking off early. Other kids like the smaller Sarnelli boys – Puerk, Dtoey etc loved it and got right into helping while wallowing and playing in the mud and annoying the girl. The kids although they were tired said that being out in the fields all together was fun.