Jamie and a group of volunteers were having lunch in the dining area. The two Belgian boys were in the kitchen making coffee. One of the Belgians called out in a silly voice "Jamie, there's a snake in the kitchen". "You're pulling my leg", replied Jamie. "No, there really is a snake in the kitchen" came the reply. Everyone got up and went to have a look. It was hiding behind the dustbins. Jamie fetched his snake catching stick and managed to capture it and transfer it to a polystyrene box labelled "Live snakes". The box had been in my bedroom since my arrival, but I hadn't got around to checking the contents. Jamie said that this was a Mozambique Spitting Cobra and highly dangerous. It would have to be removed to a safe distance from camp. The box was left on the table-tennis table and everyone went back to their lunch.
I then went to the swimming pool and spent a leisurely half-hour removing leaves from the bottom, a more pleasant task than skimming elephant snot off the surface. There was still plenty in the pool however, and I badly needed a shower when I came out. Sadly, there was no water. Returning to the bedroom to change, still in wet shorts and covered in elephant snot, I found everyone standing around outside the door. The cobra had escaped from its box and gone into the bedroom. Jamie asked for a hammer and screwdriver and proceeded to remove the steel door. The snake was inside. After peeling back the steel bottom of the door and spraying it with fly-spray, he managed to catch it again and this time transfer it to a more secure cool-box.
