I accepted that Sierra Leone would be a brush with the unknown and I set out with many concerns for my welfare. It is obviously a country with vast potential inhabited by good natured people who love their country and welcome visitors with hospitality, if some disregard for customer service as we know it.

There are huge infrastructure challenges and it is sad to see vestiges of something better but destroyed by the internal strife of the 1990s. It is working out slowly. There is hope. The African Land project is happening and clearly benefiting the local community.

It will take time and determination to realise its full potential. The people I met on the farm including the local native people seem fully committed to making that happen. Have the jabs and go to look.

Stephen Clark