The workmen beat jute on metal stakes to soften it. It looks silky, although the strands actually feel rough and scratchy.

After the jute has been batten, machines press it together into tight bales, ready to be shipped overseas. Dad says that the machines were built over a hundred years ago in Liverpool! They are very noisy. Jute dust fills the air. The workmen wear scarves over their mouths so that they don't breathe in the dust. 

Sometimes Kona and I arrange to meet our friends down here by the river. Its a good place to play Kana Machi, because there's a lot of open space to run about in. 'Kana Machi' means 'Blind Fly'. The fly is the person who has been blindfolded, and who has try to catch one of the other players.

Everybody else  dodges in and out all around the fly. Sooner or later, somebody is too daring and gets caught. Then that person puts on the blindfold, and the games begins again, with the new fly.