Whoops dont know what is hapening with the photos...struggling to move them into position and add labels.
The sky cape ones are "post storm".
The insect ones are of praying mantis and something else large and pretty .
Water fall ones speak for themselves.
Somewhere there is a little weaver bird.
And also Big and Little sampling a DVD that Litte received from Bobby and family for his birthday.
Friday, February 27, 2009
FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS
The season of birthdays is upon us. Happy birthday to Naomi and Ursula to Bart, and Edwin [Little] and Edwin [Big].Also anyone who is reading and who’s birthday it is!
February birthdays, bring with them difficult feelings this year, especially on Bigs birthday the 23rd, the 23rd Feb is also my Mum’s Birthday, so it’s a bittersweet day this year. She has been very much in my thoughts recently and I’m sure those of my sisters….I’m quite convinced that she is egging us on to do some posthumous celebrating on her behalf…so come March, and my return to UK, we will do exactly this!
Littles birthday weekend
It was a 6.00 am departure from Marchand on Friday 20th Feb, to ensure we collected Little at his Friday break up time of 1.30 pm ,and could get to the airport for 2.00 in order to collect Leynie [Big`s Mum] and her great friend ,Fee. No dramas en route [thankfully].
The Winchester Mansions greeted us like their favorite guests once again. The manager, Sam, whispered in my ear, that the chef had made a lovely chocolate Birthday cake for Little, which would be presented to him at breakfast the following day.
Lenie was feeling under the weather, and had the most worrying cough, explaining that she had had it for a month and just couldn’t clear it. In view of her long flight I confided in Bossy that if she was not feeling a great deal better by the following morning…we needed to find a doctor to check her out!
The following morning, with Little`s birthday upon us, Lenie rallied during Little`s birthday breakfast, which was made very special, in the open aired courtyard of the hotel, everyone at great pains to ensure that he felt special and cared for, lots of gifts from his relations in Holland [big thanks to Lenie, Bobby,Ellen ,Fee et al] a huge birthday cake with sparklers arrived, causing the entire courtyard to break out into “Happy birthday to you”,and Little to sit looking excruciatingly embarrassed.
Lenie was quite clearly struggling with her health…a doctor was called and promptly diagnosed her with bronchitis. Advising her to rest as much as possible and religiously take the strong anti biotic he prescribed.
Little`s hearts desire was to go to the movies and then go to supper at The Codfather [where we went last weekend/sushi bar/fish restaurant]. Lenie and Fee, decided to skip the movies [and busy shopping mall] and take an open air bus tour around the city and visit the “Gold of Africa exhibition” [highly recommended by the doctor].
This meant that the Edwin’s and I could focus on hitting Canal Walk…a HUGE shopping centre outside of CT [ in fact one of what I call, the “BIG FIVE”….C.T is renowned for its five huge shopping Malls]…we could order the present that he had decided on ….a FAT SAC…the most enormous bean bag….big enough to fall asleep on. Have lunch and then go to the movies.
Meeting up with the girls at the hotel late afternoon we set out for the restaurant. Despite it being a great day, I sensed that Little was missing his siblings …Birthdays have always been close family occasion for him, his brothers and sister remain hugely important … making do with telephone conversations just didn’t quite hit the spot! And he spent a great deal of the day talking about Jessie Tommy and Finn.
Sunday saw us enjoying a lazy morning , Lenie was feeling dreadful.! We set out for the school drop off and return to Marchand at around 12.30. On Little`s arrival at school with ¾ of a huge birthday cake still left, he was immediately surrounded by a hungry flock of boys begging for a slice, we left him trying to wave and fend off cake attacks!
Monday [Bossy`s birthday] was an extremely quiet day..Lenie was not up to anything other than lying in her bed with the airco on at full bore. She managed to rally in the evening and we went out for a very quiet Birthday supper. However by Tuesday morning she was very unwell, so a hastily arranged trip to the doctor in Kaimous and to our great surprise he ordered her straight to hospital in UP. Lenie was settled into her intensive care bed !!!with reassurances from the staff that they would take great care of her. We returned feeling very sad indeed. What a disaster for the girls South Africa expedition. Their plan had been to fly to Jo burg on Wednesday to stay with Fee’s relations and then onwards for a girlie bash/safari, in Sun City for a week, before flying back home to Amsterdam a week on Saturday.
Fee has made a decision to crack onto Jo berg on Wednesday and await news of Lenies progress. We are all hoping that she can join Fee at a later stage.
Thoughts of Diamond diving at Augrabies falls
In order that Fee’s time with us didn’t descend into “nothingness”, we both woke bright and breezy on Tuesday morning and traveled the 10 or so kilometers to the Augrabies water falls and game reserve,[just up the road from us] it is spectacular…not, of course on the scale of Victoria falls, but hugely impressive. Here, the Orange River thunders spectacularly, over a 185 ft cliff, into a deep gorge, carved out of granite bed rock, crashing down a further 115 ft over a series of secondary falls and cataracts,where the water sends vast columns of spray into the air. The two large pools at the base of each fall are said to be at least 135ft deep, and reputedly contain an abundance of diamonds. Being a bit of a “rock girl” myself, I found the pools strangely compelling, Fee reminded me that at least 20 people each year, are lost over the edge here…never to be seen again![ Neither would I ,if I managed to scoop a handful of rocks!!!!]
. Having left early, before the sun was impossibly hot, the pair of us sat and ate a leisurely breakfast in the open air restaurant, feeling very fortunate to see weavers making their beautiful little basket nests from about 3 foot away, and seeing a red bishop, in his full mating plumage, also saw a Laughing dove…so that’s one off my list. Infuriatingly, I forgot to take my long lens, so the photos are of very poor quality!.But they will give you some idea of what we saw.
We returned to the farm, just in time to be whisked away by Bossy , for Fee’s tour around the factory and then directly onwards to UP for Lenies visit. She has been moved out of IC,into a high dependency ward so that’s a good sign. After fond farewells to Fee at UP`s tiny airport., we thrashed back through another of the seasonal thunder storms, the 100 kilometers to the farm.
Bossy and I simply threw ourselves into bed. The past few days have been so full of worry and traveling and juggling plans that we both simply crashed.
Binky
When I went to feed Binks on Monday,I saw that he had sustained a very severe injury..The front part of his shell has been cracked and there was blood oozing from it..Binky seemed well in himself and was very pleased to receive a bundle of lettuce leaves and cucumber slices [his favorite]. I raced to find Moses,who immediately babbled away in Affricanns & Tswana and I couldn’t understand a word he said…eventually he said two words that I DID understand “Little Doggy”…I simply couldn’t believe that this injury could have been caused by Bongo…but since we were away at the weekend I had no reason to believe otherwise. Phoned Bossy to get him to talk to Moses, who confirmed that Bongo had been discovered trying to drag Binks into the kitchen. Even more upsetting…..Moses told Bossy that he felt that Binks will probably die of his injuries. Although I still can’t quite believe that Bingo did this, I am nevertheless furious with him and can’t bring myself to even look at him for the moment…he has of course no idea why I am incapable of speaking to him or stroking him, and so is very offended and down at mouth. Fee keeps telling me that Bongo is still only a baby and could have no idea that he has damaged something that was precious to me. Which is of course true…give me a day or two ,and I might find some forgiveness, but at the moment I am furious with Bongo and deeply concerned for Binks. With all the worry over Lenie, this incident seems to have taken on disproportionate importance in my mind!!!!! I even had a dream about Binks last night!
So, first thing this morning[ Thursday 26.02.09] I checked on Binks ,and he was fine hiding in a large patch of South African lilies, and very happy to receive several large slices of juicy cucumber. Simply have to keep my fingers crossed for him.
At last I have found a suitable drinking wine
Thanks to Case`s help, during his visit. I have found the first, of what I hope will be a series of spectacular white wines:
“Haute Cabriere” chardonnay Pinot Noir [blend] 2008. Produced and bottled by Achim von Arnim at the Cabriere vineyards in Franschoek. Although I am not absolutely sure, I would imagine that this wine IS available in Europe. Very elegant and utterly delicious. I paid the equivalent of 5.oo sterling a bottle [which is a great deal for a bottle of wine here],but the old maxim of you pay for what you get. is true in my experience [thus far] of S.A wines. The MD,at the Winchester Mansions did say that when I had found a selection of wines that I liked, to order through him and he would get them at trade prices for me!!!!!!
Rain storms and thunder
After my last post…I have clearly wished an apocalyptic precipitation on the area.We have spent the last week suffering immense downpours and the most massive thunder storms that I have ever witnessed. I am sure it has to do with the openness of the landscape…360 degree viewing of spectacularly angry sky scapes, cloud formations that I have never witnessed. This land really is all about extremes.
The temperature does not drop during or after, rain and thunder storms, and there is so much residual heat in the land, that when the rain eventually subsides, the ground steams, releasing more heat into the atmosphere.
Last night upon our return from visiting Lenie, the air was electric, the sky inky black, after a while sudden manic winds arrived swirling and gusting around the farm, the lightening struck immediately above the farm, knocking out all of our electricity [and sadly air co!!!!], and the rain arrived with such force it found every crack and opening in the house, so Bossy and I were variously fighting for the mops and buckets, and grabbing towels to plug the gaps. Bee slept through the entire drama, Bongo was firstly petrified [adding to the household flooding!] and then became electrically charged…pinging around the house like a mad creature, biting and tugging at any loose thing and when discovered, pinging off like a flea to find something else to attack. He must have been going for the entire two hours of the storm. When we eventually decided that the electricity was gone for good. We bumped our way to the bedroom and Bongo eventually settled down. Only to be re ignited when the electricity returned at 3.00a.m and all the lights came back on!
So this morning I am clearing the debris of the storm INSIDE the farm…no mean feat, and Moses is doing likewise outside, where branches are down and all the local flotsam seems to have accumulated on top of our little hill, from the entire neighborhood!
INTERNET
A delightful little boy named Hugo, came on Tuesday and placed the first of my trial internet arrangements in place…it’s a case of seeing if the arrangements he has put in place actually work. At the moment this is very difficult to ascertain, my connection keeps dropping out…so I will be in the middle of a long email and I loose everything. Hence such brief massages [if you are getting any at al!]. I am assuming this is as a result of the weather at the moment and am having to be very patient…so please bear with me, I will get there eventually.
Kisses to all as usual, miss you all dreadfully…special thoughts to Finn, who had to have 15 stitches behind his ear, as a result of being kneed in the head in a rugby match…please ,please send me a picture Finn [not of the injury!!],but of you with a sock tied around your head. Finn is concerned that his ear will protrude, and despite the doctor’s reassurances to the contrary…has devised his own method of ensuring that a flapping ear is NOT an option!!!!! Not sure Jessie would agree with this!
DawnXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxx
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Brush with an aircraft, on the Road Trip to Cape FRIDAY 13th Feb
Departing at 8.15, with Opa and Case, we set of on the familiar drive to the Cape. Bossy and I looking forward to collecting Little later that afternoon, and Case and Opa,looking forward to renewing their acquaintance with the “real world” in Cape Town ,for a couple of days prior to their return to Amsterdam, on Sunday evening.
A very uneventful trip, with the usual pit stops. Then….. Driving through the desert section, and approaching a steep uphill climb, with scrubby desert banking up either side, our eyes struggled to accept information being sent to them.
Just cresting from the opposite side of the hill, were wing tips!!! Becoming increasingly visible and closer! over the brow of the hill, and now immediately in front of us, the nose section, undercarriage and wheels [OUT!], all perfectly plain to see…the plane was attempting a “road land”, from the brow of the hill…..with us driving directly in his path!!!!!!!!, we could almost see the horror on the face of the pilot as he spotted us and banked heavily to his left, circling back across the desert, in the same direction from where he had come.
On the other side of the hill and at its base, were several police cars. As we approached, a policeman ran up to our window, looking understandably flustered…..breathlessly, he explained that the plane was in difficulty, and was at the point of making an emergency landing.
Why they hadn’t thought to send a vehicle ahead and stop any oncoming traffic? I don’t know for sure, but presume the urgency of the situation hadn’t allowed it.
As the policeman was speaking to us, the aircraft flew around again, thundering above us and very low, he lined himself up with the hill [now behind us…mercifully], and promptly set his plane down on the road, half way up the hill, that we had descended only moments before…it was a neat and effective land, clearly pretty desperate and incredibly dangerous, as he could have had little idea of what was approaching from the other side.
As we continued onwards, no one really said a great deal, the plane was not the smallest aircraft that I had seen, its wings stretched way beyond the width of the tarmac road….I was rather impressed by how matter of fact the entire car full of passengers was about this incident. Is the strangeness of this land de sensitizing us, from all things unexpected?
Sports day at Bishops
Little seemed very well on Friday afternoon, he was thrilled to see us and hopped into the car so that we could depart to the hotel. His sports day is tomorrow [Saturday] and we have to get him back to school for 7.00 a.m in the morning. Big ask after the long drive.
Thank fully the hotel made up a breakfast pack, which Edwin consumed on the way to school.We were dropped off by Bossy, who had an appointment at the harbor.
As we alighted from the car, I was promptly given a pot of blue face paint and instructed to paint two broad diagonal stripes across the face of any boy that approached me, as long as he was wearing a navy blue top.
.”Our” standard bearers, had blue faces, they were wearing blue tartan kilts and sashes and carried blue wooden swords in one hand and their standards in the other
Van De Bjyl [Edwin’s house & the boarding house], finding themselves suitably dressed then practiced their dance [a cross between the HAKKA and the HOKEY COKEY]along with a very rousing team “Chant”, whipping themselves up into an absolute frenzy. This was being mirrored in each corner of the pitch.
Then each “house” was hastily organized into ramshackle columns, and these “coloured and noisy snakes” began to wind their way towards the exit of the cricket pitch [where there were plenty of staff on call, to sort out the several fights that broke out between houses at the bottle neck] and walk about a quarter of a mile, through delightful leafy,well healed suburbs of Rondebosh,making for the main sports ground..
Sudden quiet decended and the event turned into a more familiar scene. The H.M, thanking parents and dignitaries et al for attending, predicting that the weather would stay fine, and declaring the 29th prep sports day OPEN…at this prompt….. the holding pens exploded once more, the chanting and hooting and banging of drums was taken up with great gusto once again…so that, the first call for events had to be repeated three times in order for several of the painted faced warriors to take their places in the first of the under 13yr olds ,800 meters .
The morning was completely fascinating….to all intents and purposes the sports day was taking place, school records were being broken, events were being run, jumps jumped, balls thrown, hurdles hurdled.
However, there was a palpable back drop of tribalism…whilst events were taking place…there were occasional outbreaks of frenzied activity from the pens,overspilling from one colour into the next, followed by a sudden surge of marshalling teachers ,and plenty of shrieked instructions to the standard bearers to keep their charges in order. I saw, one rather unpleasant “orange” scuffle, between a red and yellow boy, it was unceremoniously curtailed by a teacher wrenching the offenders apart, literally knocking their heads together, and sending them spinning back to their pens. Periodically, the huge score board, in the centre of the running track, was updated with “house points”, and the current winning house would explode from its pens…followed by the remaining three houses chanting their songs at the top of their voices to gee up their athletes.
When I had painted his face, he was happy to have two broad stripes of blue pasted across it ,just like his tribe mates, but insisted that in addition,I paint a blue moustache on his top lip…Clad in a Daliesque blue moustache, he competed his events with grace and humour and a certain degree of rather quaint embarrassment, at the nature of the fervor to which ,by default, he now belonged..
The entire event did have a very surreal feel to it, yet clearly Edwin did feel some sense of belonging. Some of his buddies came up and introduced themselves very politely…kind of strange when they were covered in assorted colours and looking rather fierce
And his new teacher, the delightful Mr. Foggerty, looking like a more rotund Harrison Ford ,in his battered and rather bleached leather bush hat, touched base, to say that our son was a star, hugely liked and respected by his class mates. Mr. Foggerty said that Little had the driest sense of humour he had ever encountered in an 11 year old, and that he [Mr. F] looked forward to his lessons with Little, as they inevitably brought him joy, and that the class seemed a better place for Edwin’s arrival .Wow, what a compliment, it does appear that he seems to have made an impact on his teacher, and watching him mooching around in a group of six or seven boys, laughing and chatting made me feel a great deal easier about all my worries.
His closest friend is a guy called Ross, this boy stands about ½ centimeter taller that Little, and is built like an ox as well, the two of them look like seniors…not prep school boys. I was slightly worried when Ross, announced rather proudly, that he did not take any steroids or drugs of any sort to achieve his physique! My reply was a very Mummyish “Well I should hope not!” and Little and I exchanged looks.
I noticed that they were both followed by little flocks of smaller boys; Edwin has responsibility for looking after a little Angolan boy and new boarder…Johnson, who lost both parents last year, and arrived at Bishops at the start of this term,without a word of either Afrikaans or English.
Johnson is seven…has a face that is utterly divine, but spells trouble,[ which Edwin confirms.] Clearly Edwin takes his responsibility as “Guardian”: to Johnson, very seriously, and clearly Johnson adores “Little”….Johnson had refused to allow anyone to paint his face first thing in the morning, [even the very scary Maam] until Edwin grabbed him by the hand and brought him to me, explaining that if he was his honorary “Big Brother” then I was his “honorary Mummy” and would make a good job of his face. This little kid just stared up at me with saucer eyes, brimming with confusion and all kinds of other emotions that just made me want to scoop him up and give him a hug!
Never the less he was daubed in blue and then dragged off by “Little” to join in the Haker/Hokey practice.
Whoever thought of giving Edwin, Johnson to take care of this term, played a master stroke…Edwin is a brilliantly responsible “Big Brother” and a fun one too;and it has taken his mind off of his own “losses”.
The morning ended as it had begun, with quiet being asked, for the HM`s closing speech…flowers being given to the head boys Mum…then the dignitaries were pushed hurriedly to a safe distance, as the winning “house” was announced as Van De Bjyl [Edwin’s House!!!!!!]…the noise was deafening, the commotion riotous, hooters and tambourines and drums being hurled indiscriminately into the air, sore throats were made even sorer, and the now wobbly blue stripes on the winners faces, were all but cleared by the sweat and the emotion of the win. The blue “pen” ,was filled with hugging warriors, frantic air punching, war screams and unbridled ecstasy.
Cautiously, parents began entering the mêlée, grabbing their horribly “pumped up” darlings, and forcibly dragging them back to their 4X4`s, destined for baths and a calming afternoon I imagine.
Wow!!!!! Quite the most extraordinary sports day I have ever attended!
The elusive S.A National Art Gallery
After lunch and swimming, the three guys went golfing and Edwin and I, decided to find the S.A.National Art gallery .The boys dropped us off near the centre of cape town and carried onto the golf course, and with the help of a rudimentary map [supplied by the hotel], Little and I began our search. I’m not good with maps anyway, but even Little confirmed that it was very hard to make sense of.
To our horror, not one person that we approached…not even the policemen…. knew of the National Art galleries existence, I knew that it was very close to the government buildings ,and in the end, kept asking for these. After 45 minutes of tramping, we eventually found it. An oasis of calm, in what was threatening to become a rather frightening expedition.
They were showing an exhibition of William Kentridge`s “I am not me, the horse is not mine” a multi channel projection installation of 8 film fragments. Very amusing and clever, and Little and I sat in the cool gallery in absolute delight watching it. Loops we talked of you and wished that you were with us…. you would have loved it.
A rather racy exhibition of the later works of Andrew Verster…fascinating but rather explicit [toyed with covering Little`s eyes! but decided if I had made a decision to take him into a contemporary art exhibition, I should also have the courage to explain the work].
Many works in the “ Intimate distance” exhibition, were singularly “African” and I was enjoying them for their distinctiveness, when Little came and dragged me away to watch a video piece entitled “Pissing”, unsurprisingly….. it was exactly as its title suggested, we jointly decided that the best thing about this piece, was that it was fortuitously sited next to the toilets, and we were both bursting .
To our great surprise we realized we had been in the gallery for three hours, and really ought to be getting back to the hotel to meet the golfers, so grabbing a rickety taxi, and Little insisting I put my seat belt on as he “didn’t like the sound of the engine”, we made our way back.
We did have the most wonderful weekend, full of lots of laughter, plenty of surprises,& supper in a stunning sea food restaurant in Clifton, Saturday night.
So wishing Little farewell on Sunday afternoon was hard…neither Big nor I were ready to give him back at 2,.00 on Sunday, nevertheless we walked him up to the computer room to join the other boarders and it was heartwarming to hear them all greeting him as he strode through the door before us. Shrieks of “EDDY”, “Eddies back” were very good to hear, and by the time we entered the room, Johnson was already by the side of his “Big Brother”, clutching his hand and staring rather crossly at us for taking him away for the weekend!
The Consequences of Bored Dane puppies!
In our absence from the farm, Bee and Bongo [& Binky], had been looked after by Valencia [from the office]she , and her family, had moved in on Friday night for the weekend, but had to be home on Sunday morning, so Moses had taken up the responsibility of the dogs from 10,00am.
When we returned at 8.00pm, Moses was looking very crestfallen and concerned. Bowing and ducking and wringing his hands, as we wearily, jumped from the car.
He tried to explain in Afrikaans and broken English that all had been fine, until he walked the mile or so into Marchand, during the late afternoon. But by the time he had returned:
“Little doggy…he eat the sofa!’….Bossy rather ridiculously repeated “Little doggy eat the sofa?”……
“Yes Bossy…..Little doggy…he eat up the sofa” replied Moses, delighted to have been understood!
So we raced into the farm, and sure enough Little doggy DID eat up the sofa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bongo has managed to excavate a large portion of one of the seat pads, tearing great strips of leather off and burrowing into the white foam underneath with great enthusiasm…huge amounts of little foam pieces having been spread liberally around the room.
Bee was sitting looking utterly ashamed of Bongo, who was so delighted at our return, he forgot that she had told him to look utterly crestfallen ,and was wagging and racing in circles ,doing rabbit ears and bringing little gifts of foam and leather to us…causing Bee to wince in horror.
As unfortunate as this is….I cannot see the point in getting furious with a great Dane puppy, who is left with far too many hours alone, in which to entertain himself…we cannot expect to have a “puppy saint”…all of his toys had been hidden away, both dogs had been left with complete access around the house, and there was already a small rip in the sofa from Bees claw…what is a bored 14 week old Dane going to do? RIP THE LIVING DAYIGHTS OUT OF THIS SOFA, GIVEN A FEW SPARE UNSUPERVISED HOURS. And this he had accomplished with alarming effectiveness.
This, and a companion sofa,are the pair that Edwin had “sold” to The Raisin Company,from his “Exotica Range”, for the foyer, but which we had “Borrowed” to tide us over until we can find suitable sofas of our own!. They are of poor quality leather and are foam filled…clearly not able to withstand the demands of great Danes! [Mercifully Bossy has already located an upholstery company in UP, that specializes in re covering leather furniture!]
It doesn’t bode well for our planned departure next weekend for Little`s birthday…but hey…perhaps we can find an alternative solution. Maybe we will have no furniture left at all to worry about by then.
Adieu for now
Before I forget, I have been having a little trouble with my mobile…and can’t collect any messages from my UK mail box. So if you call and leave a message there is no way of my accessing it.
Jessie is now safely back in the UK, Finn has his ticket booked for his trip our here at Easter, and Tommy continues to make great progress in the recovery from his knee op.
Can’t wait to see my family and as many of you as possible in less than a month now!
Love and kisses to all
DawnXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
PS: The man came yesterday {tues 17th Feb],to suss out our internet line and mast…its looking likely, that I may have some sort of connection at the farm by the end of the week………I cant quite express how overly excited I feel. Cusping on doing a Hakka/Hokey and chanting at the top of my voice!
7th Feb 2009
RAIN a most familiar and welcome friend!
Almost 5 months since our arrival, and this morning [sat 7th Feb] we awoke to rain!, heavy burgeoning rain, that slaps and bounces of all the hard surfaces ,making everything shine and glisten and turns the bleached ,sandy landscape several tones darker.
This is only the second time that we have seen any serious precipitation from above. Hurrah!!!!
Over the past two days the expected dry heat of mid summer, has turned into such oppressive and intense humidity that everything and everyone has sagged under its weight. Even the washing has refused to dry!. This mornings rainfall is perhaps going to clear the air, and supply all living things with a backbone again!.
I’m shocked that you are all still in the grip of heavy snow storms and the consequent disruption the weather brings….I imagine any joy at seeing plenty of white stuff”, has long since lost its charm, for all but the children.
I
had been avoiding making my second trip into UP, this week, because of the heat, however it couldn’t be postponed any longer.Edwin s father and colleague,Case, arrive from Holland on Monday for a week, and I have yet to get bedding, and all manner of “other necessities” for the third bedroom and bathroom. Armed with a long list, I hit the road at around 9.00 am.on Friday.
Arriving in a bustling Up at 10.00, I began to attack the list, cracking on through it and rewarding myself with a much earned coffee break at “DROS” ,[well known chain of steakhouses ,the name makes me titter every time I see it emblazoned across the building].
Here I received a surprise call from Di…what joy.
Fortified in every sense, I continued with my list, I managed to get a book on South African birds, one on indigenous plants and another of Cape Malay cuisine.
To my serious disappointment there were no suitable ” Bronco Lane throwing knives” in Tracker…some massive machete style knives in long leather sheathes. Knowing how accident prone I am, I could visualize this weapon, being nothing other than disastrous… and wasn’t remotely tempted.
The man in the shop assured me that he would be getting new stocks of “exactly the type of knife” i.e: “Bronco Lane throwing knives”, that I wanted, in the next two weeks…and that they had had “something of a run on them since Christmas”…As far as I’m concerned, this simply goes to prove that I am after the right kind of knife, and that all sensible souls out here are arming themselves against the seasonal hazard of snakes.
Disappointed, I turned my attention to accessing an internet flash stick…alas….not one to be had in the entirety of UP. Making me unusually grumpy.
At around 2.00 I gave up and made my way back o Marchand ,gliding along happily in a world of my own, following the car ahead of me at a safe distance as he was spinning along at a speed that did not need exceeding.
About 15 miles before home, I became aware of his break lightsurgently flashing, I then spotted the silhouette of what looked like a large animal ,further up,in the middle of the road [sun was in front of me]. It was, in fact, a very large policeman.. Waving at both cars, to pull over.
I had no idea of what speed I had been driving , just pleased to be heading homeward out of the heat, which I am sure had encouraged a little extra pressure on the accelerator.
After a conversation with the driver in the first car, the large policeman sauntered towards me. At the same time, the other driver got out of his car, opened his boot, and, crossed the road carrying a large box, heading towards the policeman’s female colleague, who was standing by the police car with a speed gun, on the opposite side of the road.
Thank the Lord, I had my driving licence.Taking a look at my plastic licence,this large black policeman began to quiz me as to what the“MS” stood for, before my name, assuming that “Dawn” was part of my surname.Ie : M.S Dawn-Evans.
Instead of being intimidated, I started to feel a little irritated and slightly rebellious, actually toying with the idea of inventing a fictitious set of details and taking advantage of his confusion ….Gerrit and Marrika have warned both Bossy and I, on many occasions, to keep our gobs firmly shut in just such a situation, and whatever we did to “tow the line”.
…out of the corner of my eye, I was vaguely aware of my “co captive”, placing his box of “whatever”, into the now, open boot, of the police car.
Once again. irritation surged up inside me; I made an instant decision, that I was certainly not prepared to hand over the duvet, pillows ,the sheets , towels and soaps that had been so hard won, during a hot shop in UP. Nor was I prepared to forgo the half case of red wine [Opa prefers red!] that I had purchased in a “deli” way out on the Olifant Road heading towards the airport,and that had taken me ages to find.
So I firmly set my jaw. Towing the line was one thing; being dragged over it by the nose was quite another. Just give me a ticket and let me be on my way!
After a few more questions the policeman decided to walk methodically around the car. So I decided to light a cigarette and watched my co prisoner being released and waved on his way, by a now….very chirpy lady policeman, …Why is it in these situations that the oddest things pop into ones mind! I couldn’t help but notice, she had the most enormous derriere , that I have EVER seen, it was squeezed into the tightest pair of policepersons trousers, the seams of which must have been screaming under the pressure of the repressed buttocks and thunderous thighs, underneath!…
In my mirror, I saw, the policeman was staring in through the back window at the contents of my overloaded boot. Prickles of protection for Opa`s bedding and wine starting to run up and down my spine now and I was bracing myself for a tousle…..He returned to my window and said.” In England you drive on the same side of the road…Yes?” I nodded. He continued
“The Tuareg is a fast and comfortable car,yes?”,another nod,”& I imagine that it is very easy to drive over the speed limit on these long straight roads.” No nod.
“There IS a speed limit of 80 kilometers in force here, please observe it in future…and have a safe trip home” with this he waved me onwards….Clearly he neither liked my white duvet covers nor did he drink red wine! Bossy and his friend Nikki ,who were both at the farm when I returned, were utterly gob smacked, that I escaped without having to hand over anything! I have relating this story in a slightly flippant manner, however I really never felt remotely threatened , was quite prepared to “pay a speeding fine”, but was and AM adamant ,that I would and will hand nothing else over. The moral of this tale, is to watch the speed limits and stick to them…… of course!
INTERNET ACCESS DENIED.
The reason for my grumpiness over not finding an internet device is as follows..
At the end of January, the office ran out of its internet quota three days before the close of the month.[as it had done in December], I was accused of being the cause, and fought my corner, as I had only managed to get into the office three or four times.
On Sunday 1st Feb, knowing we were back to “full capacity”, I went in and uploaded my pre written blog from my flashstick.
On Tuesday and Wednesday I spent a couple of hours catching up on emails and uploading some pictures to the blog. Apparently we have now, already, used 75% of our monthly capacity and it’s all my fault. Edwin is furious with me, it being “busy season” . Whilst I cannot believe that I am wholly responsible. I shall have to find some alternative means of interneting.
Kak has apparently got an internet café, so I may have to avail myself of this, until the mast [that has been promised since November] is erected, and functional on Gerrit`s farm. Although deep in my waters, I have a sneaky suspicion that this will disappoint.
In all seriousness, this blog, with all of its photos, does take up a huge amount of internet energy, and I may have to put at least the first half of it into “cold storage”, I had no idea of quite how many pages of “blog” there are now.
After I have printed them out [I don’t keep copies] ,I will put the data in cold storage if I can. I may even have to start a new blog; if this is the case I will put the new address on this one.
I really am feeling really very anxious, as this blog along with my email facility, is ,as far as I am concerned a “core” need, for my continued existence out here,and.I WILL NOT SURVIVE FOR LONG without it!
Birds in the” Dry Bushveld Savannah”
Armed with my “pocket guide to South African birds ,by the wonderfully named Burger Cille and Ulrich Oberprieler,I have begun the task of identifying some of the birds around the farm.
The doves/pigeons that appeared in the last post are rather sadly, “Speckled Pigeons” and can be found on cliffs, rocky hills and kloofs. [In our case on our garage roof!]
I say “Sadly”, because seeing a very similarly marked pigeon on the same page of the book, just underneath my speckled boys, I noted this brand of pigeon are called ”Feral Pigeons”…the idea of pigeons being “feral” fills me with delight…manic wild birds that fly around the desert landscape, reeking havoc and fear. Sadly it’s not to be, this “feral type”, can only be found haranguing the locals off the East coast. So I shall have to be content with my mild mannered speckldy boys, and hunt for more exotic birds, somewhere other than the garage roof!
In this respect, I decided to study the book, and ascertain exactly what I can expect to see in this “Dry Bushveld Savannah” that I now inhabit.
Henceforth, I shall dispense with pigeons and concentrate on:
Chestnut-vented Tit-Babblers, [how I look forward to seeing these!!!!!]
Zitting Cisticola[ sounds like a Fizzy” ladies” complaint!],
Long Billed Crombie [avant garde Hat!],
Black chested Prinia, [Evil ballerina?]
Violet eared wax bill,[ear buds needed I think!]
Rufous eared warbler, and the “Laughing dove”…I think that messrs Cille and Oberpieler are “joshing” me.
Nevertheless, after my early morning swims and armed with my Christmas binoculars, I shall take my coffee and survey the area behind the farm ….from a safe distance of course…...being clad in only in a black “one piece” , flip flops and without my BroncoLane throwing knife![for the moment]
RETURN HOME
I have booked a flight home for two weeks in March. I arrive on 10th and return to ZA on 22nd, Finn will be returning with me to spend much of his Easter hols here.
I am bursting to see Jessie, Tommy and Finn, Jane, Taz and and David and as many of my brilliant and wonderful friends as I can. I always knew that I had an exceptional family and group of friends. But its only now, that I am several thousand miles away, that I realize quite how many very special people surrounded and quietly supported me, it has meant such a great deal to me to have constant stream of emails and photos, letters, texts and phone calls from home. I can’t quite explain how fortifying they are, and how much I appreciate them.
I was chatting to Di, who moved to Malta for four years, in response to her husbands job commitments, and she knows exactly that feeling of separation …there are so many very kind, and good people out here…but apart from Bossy and Little, none that I have any cherished connection with…maybe its early days, but I feel the ties of home pulling at me almost continually and accepting this “distance” grows harder and harder ,as the weeks pass.
But hey…I`m British and stoical, and my stiff upper lip is pert and strong [about the only thing that is !] ,I continue to be amazed and fascinated by this land and its people, that I find myself sharing .
Having forced myself back to my art. I have found enormous comfort in immersing myself once again in Phalo green and cobalt turquoise and the rainbow of tubes in my art boxes… I had quite forgotten what a messy artist I am, and how much I enjoy being covered in colour or charcoal dust. Clearly its an important part of the creative experience for me! I did [temporarily] resolve the issue of “lack of supplies”…necessity being the mother of invention…but am building up a worryingly long shopping list for the UK. I think that I shall have to bring an almost empty and very large, suitcase, and will undoubtedly return with it hitting the scales at “excess” point.
I am going to post this now [without the usual pictures], but I will sneak them on at some point in the future.
We depart to Cape Town, tomorrow [Fri 13th!] to take Opa and Case to the airport and then the following weekend for Little`s birthday bash, followed by a few days with Leynie back at the farm, so the next two weeks are going to be very busy.
As promised: here is an exact replication of Jessie’s account of her experiences in Ethiopia, I imagine written at speed, in a dingy internet café, somewhere in deepest darkest Ethiopia. She is traveling with fellow Imperial medic and final year student Jess Longley,and they had already spent 5 weeks working in a hospital in Gonda prior to departing for their hill tribe treck.
Take care in the “melt down”.
Blowing kisses on the lips to all [lets hope the wind is going in the right direction!]
DawnXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXWednesday, February 4, 2009
Winter wonderland
How are you all?, thanks to BBC world and SKY, we are aware of the weather there, and knowing how England simply “Shuts down” under more than 1cm of light snow, I have visions of you all wrapped in many extra layers. Starting with thick vests and ending with copious scarves around your necks and bobble hats on your heads [not bobbling, I might add], drinking brothy steaming soup, and doing a lot of foot stamping around braziers of roasted chestnuts….. even roasting oxes on the Thames… Its amazing how rapidly one starts to romanticize these events when your not in the midst of it.
I hope that everyone is OK and managing to negotiate treacherous roads without mishap.
They said last night, that the bad weather was set in for the next 6 weeks, this means that I shall catch the end of it in March when I return for two weeks…..Lord only knows where my vests are! I imagine many of the locals are now wearing the contents of a missing box of my assorted “Dawn`s summer/ vest tops/bikini’s & swimwear” [so its says on our manifest], to be perfectly frank much of the content of this missing box, was full of “things” that are rashly purchased at the ninth hour, with hot holidays looming and which you only dare wear once [or not at all!] Knowing that no one you meet will ever see you again. So I’m not missing the box, but I may have cause to regret the loss of the vest tops come March. Anyway,I`m thinking of you all and if I could send you some warming sunshine, I would.
[I will try very hard, to contain any comments relating to heat/sun etc, but cant promise I posses either the patience or attention span. so please forgive]
BEYOND THE GREEN GATES
Beyond the green metal, electronic gates, that contains the farm house, its buildings and gardens. Lie the vineyards to the front, they stretch out to Geritts land, on one side ,and drift along the contours of the sandy soil, seeping idly towards the Augrabies road And on the other, are separated by the access track to the farm, a large storage shed [full of Bossies “erotica furniture”] and the campon beyond that.
Beside the vines, stand Quiver trees and the odd camel thorn, which apart from the vines are the only tall vegetation, the rest being grey green low growing, scrubby grasses tufting out from under massive piles of iron streaked rocks and huge oval boulders that were cleared, many years ago, in order to create the vineyards.
Behind the farm is a small coralle, which at the moment contains, Moses decreasing flock of chickens, then the drying slabs which are separated from the uncultivated moonscape land, by patches of thick, sinuous reedy grasses that stand about 12 foot high.. They begin to wave the moment the desert winds pick up and I now use them as wind gauges.
I rarely venture into this moonscape, as at this time of year, snakes come out of their hidey holes to bask on the huge boulders in the unbearable heat [whoops] ,to warm their cold blood.
I have no desire to see how Bee,Bongo or I,would cope with a puff adder, mid saunter.[still not equipped with my bronco Lane throwing knife !].
The land here is so richly deposited with minerals, that the moonscape is liberally sprinkled with pink quartz and fools gold!,[you can kick it around its so plentiful ] and, I`m convinced rough diamonds.[these are not so plentiful, and I haven’t actually found one yet!.]
... Far beyond this moonscape, just visible on the horizon, lays our other neighbours land. Nickoo,a very conservative soul,who,I sense we see only, because he currently rents our vines.
For the past evenings, once the heat has dropped out of the day and before the sun sets, I have slipped Bongo in his bright blue acrylic“puppy collar” and clipped on his garish red woven lead, which is sadly, all I could find !.and taken both he and Bee into this, “great beyond.” Both Bee and I are suffering from the excesses of the recently departed season, and conversely, Bongo is weighty enough, to endure gentle walking for half an hour on his lead. All three of us benefit from the change of scenery .Living behind the green gates can be a little like living in a bubble. Whilst there is plenty of garden and sand dunes for the dogs to pad around in, these walks provide a good break.
Bongo has been walking around for weeks now, with a permanently orange snout, from his sand dune exploits. He delights in dive bombing them, using his nose as the attack point, Im sure that he is also convinced about the diamonds. These he believes, lie deep under the dunes .Once his nostrils are completely blocked!, he uses his paws at breathtaking speed, and like a thing possessed ,to scrabble into the dunes, and only stops when he unearths a small stick or a clump of grass, which for him, appears as valuable, and infinitely more interesting than a diamond.[I have to admit that I don’t share his view] .
So having decided that all three of us are going cabin crazy. we now walk. The dogs sit waiting for me to press the remote control,and once the gates groan open, Bee pelts off, leaving me with a little black slithering snake of a Bongo ,thrashing around, flashes of black and blue and red., until finally he calms,and begrudgingly accepts that for the moment ,I am tethered to him..
Bee changes her soporific approach to life, the moment she is beyond the green gate, and becomes a wild and dangerous creature. With her vast body mass, she pitches and wheels on her hind legs, pirouetting, leaping and charging, without the slightest regard for us or for the vines. I stand, gob smacked, by her antics. Bongo is seriously impressed…so seriously impressed, that during her quieter moments he sidles up to her kissing her jowls and telling her she is “some kind of Bitch”. As we turn towards home, she has exhausted herself, and he is able to walk by her side, proudly and urgently wanting her to take notice of him.
We return, hot and exhausted from these half hour forays into the “wilderness”, the dogs simply lap water and collapse onto the cool tiles ,and I am energized and ready to crack on with whatever it is I have chosen to do.
Wet noses and wagging tails [or not!]
I have decided that my recently acquired troglodytic lifestyle,[ caused solely by the temperature], is very unhealthy. Added to which, I have developed an alarming coke habit..not so as to impact on my septum you understand. Coke zero [which only I, drink] is being consumed at the most alarming rate, I must be sleepwalking [something of a family trait!],because I bought several liters of the stuff on Friday, and by Monday, was forced to go cold turkey, as none was to be had in the entire household, simply had to resort to Mr Vaughn’s wine..more about this later!.
Having an appointment with Mr Laterghan, the vet in Up, this morning,[Monday 2nd]
I decided to forgo my usual cans of coke on the trip, and armed myself with several bottles of iced water, which the dogs also need for the lengthy round trip.[they struggle more than I do with the lids!]
This is the first time that both have been in the car together, and I was wondering if it would work. Bee has always been a brilliant car dog and Bongo has displayed all the traits of following in her footsteps. They were both stars!!!!, its no fun driving for an hour, being “prodded” at the vets, and then back in the car for another hour.
Mr Laterghan, heralded Bongo, to the assembled and very full waiting room, as the pup that arrived on Christmas day, close to being permanently paralyzed.[there is a new spin on it!].
You could tell that not a soul believed him, as Bongo was, at that exact moment, sitting on top of a recumbent Bee`s back, with his legs splayed either side of her immense girth [like he was riding a horse] biting at her lead, throwing his head from left to right, doing his pretend “big dog” growls. And she was completely ignoring him.
Mr Laterghan whisked him up into his arms and onto his table and gave him a thorough exam, he kept looking at Bongo shaking his head and saying with a broad grin, “Bongo,Bongo,Bongo, how is it possible”. Bongo, sat looking at the vet ,very seriously, with his huge water buffalo eyes, and then decided he had been given an invitation to leap up and lick Mr Laterghan`s chin and bite his collar, wagging furiously. This man seems truly amazed that Bongo escaped any long term damage from his injury.
He then introduced himself to Bee very gently[having been informed of her partial deafness],I had requested more eye drops for her, as we have run out of the supplies I brought with me. He asked if I would take some photos of her eyes and email them to him, strange request, but he wants a colleague in Cape Town to look at the pictures and give his opinion, Both dogs given worming tabs, Tick treatments,[hugely important here as these disgusting creatures lay their eggs in the SAND!!] Both had jabs. Bongo also had his microchip injected [ouch!]. Despite his full waiting room, the vet insisted on walking with us, back to the car, watching how Bongo moved and simply shaking his head with delight at how this little chap is growing up. Finally he said “you know you have yourself a great dog there.” I just beamed….. How ridiculous…… I felt as proud as if someone had praised one of my children, Coupled with the fact that Bee has been christened by the locals as “the dog that you can take to church with you”…[praise indeed ,for these people take their churchgoing incredibly seriously]…
So, at least my dogs are paragons of virtue and health….I need to do some serious catching up!
Before we departed for the vets this morning, I did the first of my early morning swims…IMPRESSED? I was!
Disappointingly, I managed only 7 lengths of the 10 meter pool, before I needed a break, so this is now set as a target to move up from. 10 next time and then “infinity and beyond!”
Little
We have not seen him since we dropped him off in Cape Town on the 20th January, but we have heard from him, and he seems bouncy and chatty and ..Dare I say it…glimmerings of happiness are starting to pepper his conversation? He spent last weekend with a friend’s family in Cape Town and …joy of joys…..had a bumbling family weekend with them, which I know he will have thoroughly enjoyed. Cant quite describe how much I am looking forward to spending the weekend with him on the 20th Feb.
Oma [ Big`s Mum,] fly’s into Cape Town from Amsterdam, on the same day,and the weekend promises to be fun,Oma will return with us to the farm to celebrate Bossy`s birthday on the 23rd [payback day for him I think!.]And spend some time with us before continuing her Africa tour, to see friends in Jo berg. Once again plenty of anticipated joy at seeing Oma, traditionally we make each other hoot with laughter, she is a lot of fun and I know,is desperate to see how we have settled into our new lives.
RETRACTION
Following a long conversation with Jell,I have promised to explain her lack of communications from Ethiopia.
A severe bout of D+V, rudely announced itself during her return trek, from the hills. As a result she had taken to her bed in Gonda for several days and was only forced up, as they had to travel onwards to Adis Ababa, where she thought that she would find internet, still suffering, she was unable to move far from her bed and sadly the hostel had no internet. She was utterly horrified by the “howler” I emailed her, having discovered she was back from the hills,and having read the last blog she asked me to post a short explanation of her tardiness.
How are you all?, thanks to BBC world and SKY, we are aware of the weather there, and knowing how England simply “Shuts down” under more than 1cm of light snow, I have visions of you all wrapped in many extra layers. Starting with thick vests and ending with copious scarves around your necks and bobble hats on your heads [not bobbling, I might add], drinking brothy steaming soup, and doing a lot of foot stamping around braziers of roasted chestnuts….. even roasting oxes on the Thames… Its amazing how rapidly one starts to romanticize these events when your not in the midst of it.
I hope that everyone is OK and managing to negotiate treacherous roads without mishap.
They said last night, that the bad weather was set in for the next 6 weeks, this means that I shall catch the end of it in March when I return for two weeks…..Lord only knows where my vests are! I imagine many of the locals are now wearing the contents of a missing box of my assorted “Dawn`s summer/ vest tops/bikini’s & swimwear” [so its says on our manifest], to be perfectly frank much of the content of this missing box, was full of “things” that are rashly purchased at the ninth hour, with hot holidays looming and which you only dare wear once [or not at all!] Knowing that no one you meet will ever see you again. So I’m not missing the box, but I may have cause to regret the loss of the vest tops come March. Anyway,I`m thinking of you all and if I could send you some warming sunshine, I would.
[I will try very hard, to contain any comments relating to heat/sun etc, but cant promise I posses either the patience or attention span. so please forgive]
BEYOND THE GREEN GATES
Beyond the green metal, electronic gates, that contains the farm house, its buildings and gardens. Lie the vineyards to the front, they stretch out to Geritts land, on one side ,and drift along the contours of the sandy soil, seeping idly towards the Augrabies road And on the other, are separated by the access track to the farm, a large storage shed [full of Bossies “erotica furniture”] and the campon beyond that.
Beside the vines, stand Quiver trees and the odd camel thorn, which apart from the vines are the only tall vegetation, the rest being grey green low growing, scrubby grasses tufting out from under massive piles of iron streaked rocks and huge oval boulders that were cleared, many years ago, in order to create the vineyards.
Behind the farm is a small coralle, which at the moment contains, Moses decreasing flock of chickens, then the drying slabs which are separated from the uncultivated moonscape land, by patches of thick, sinuous reedy grasses that stand about 12 foot high.. They begin to wave the moment the desert winds pick up and I now use them as wind gauges.
I rarely venture into this moonscape, as at this time of year, snakes come out of their hidey holes to bask on the huge boulders in the unbearable heat [whoops] ,to warm their cold blood.
I have no desire to see how Bee,Bongo or I,would cope with a puff adder, mid saunter.[still not equipped with my bronco Lane throwing knife !].
The land here is so richly deposited with minerals, that the moonscape is liberally sprinkled with pink quartz and fools gold!,[you can kick it around its so plentiful ] and, I`m convinced rough diamonds.[these are not so plentiful, and I haven’t actually found one yet!.]
... Far beyond this moonscape, just visible on the horizon, lays our other neighbours land. Nickoo,a very conservative soul,who,I sense we see only, because he currently rents our vines.
For the past evenings, once the heat has dropped out of the day and before the sun sets, I have slipped Bongo in his bright blue acrylic“puppy collar” and clipped on his garish red woven lead, which is sadly, all I could find !.and taken both he and Bee into this, “great beyond.” Both Bee and I are suffering from the excesses of the recently departed season, and conversely, Bongo is weighty enough, to endure gentle walking for half an hour on his lead. All three of us benefit from the change of scenery .Living behind the green gates can be a little like living in a bubble. Whilst there is plenty of garden and sand dunes for the dogs to pad around in, these walks provide a good break.
Bongo has been walking around for weeks now, with a permanently orange snout, from his sand dune exploits. He delights in dive bombing them, using his nose as the attack point, Im sure that he is also convinced about the diamonds. These he believes, lie deep under the dunes .Once his nostrils are completely blocked!, he uses his paws at breathtaking speed, and like a thing possessed ,to scrabble into the dunes, and only stops when he unearths a small stick or a clump of grass, which for him, appears as valuable, and infinitely more interesting than a diamond.[I have to admit that I don’t share his view] .
So having decided that all three of us are going cabin crazy. we now walk. The dogs sit waiting for me to press the remote control,and once the gates groan open, Bee pelts off, leaving me with a little black slithering snake of a Bongo ,thrashing around, flashes of black and blue and red., until finally he calms,and begrudgingly accepts that for the moment ,I am tethered to him..
Bee changes her soporific approach to life, the moment she is beyond the green gate, and becomes a wild and dangerous creature. With her vast body mass, she pitches and wheels on her hind legs, pirouetting, leaping and charging, without the slightest regard for us or for the vines. I stand, gob smacked, by her antics. Bongo is seriously impressed…so seriously impressed, that during her quieter moments he sidles up to her kissing her jowls and telling her she is “some kind of Bitch”. As we turn towards home, she has exhausted herself, and he is able to walk by her side, proudly and urgently wanting her to take notice of him.
We return, hot and exhausted from these half hour forays into the “wilderness”, the dogs simply lap water and collapse onto the cool tiles ,and I am energized and ready to crack on with whatever it is I have chosen to do.
Wet noses and wagging tails [or not!]
I have decided that my recently acquired troglodytic lifestyle,[ caused solely by the temperature], is very unhealthy. Added to which, I have developed an alarming coke habit..not so as to impact on my septum you understand. Coke zero [which only I, drink] is being consumed at the most alarming rate, I must be sleepwalking [something of a family trait!],because I bought several liters of the stuff on Friday, and by Monday, was forced to go cold turkey, as none was to be had in the entire household, simply had to resort to Mr Vaughn’s wine..more about this later!.
Having an appointment with Mr Laterghan, the vet in Up, this morning,[Monday 2nd]
I decided to forgo my usual cans of coke on the trip, and armed myself with several bottles of iced water, which the dogs also need for the lengthy round trip.[they struggle more than I do with the lids!]
This is the first time that both have been in the car together, and I was wondering if it would work. Bee has always been a brilliant car dog and Bongo has displayed all the traits of following in her footsteps. They were both stars!!!!, its no fun driving for an hour, being “prodded” at the vets, and then back in the car for another hour.
Mr Laterghan, heralded Bongo, to the assembled and very full waiting room, as the pup that arrived on Christmas day, close to being permanently paralyzed.[there is a new spin on it!].
You could tell that not a soul believed him, as Bongo was, at that exact moment, sitting on top of a recumbent Bee`s back, with his legs splayed either side of her immense girth [like he was riding a horse] biting at her lead, throwing his head from left to right, doing his pretend “big dog” growls. And she was completely ignoring him.
Mr Laterghan whisked him up into his arms and onto his table and gave him a thorough exam, he kept looking at Bongo shaking his head and saying with a broad grin, “Bongo,Bongo,Bongo, how is it possible”. Bongo, sat looking at the vet ,very seriously, with his huge water buffalo eyes, and then decided he had been given an invitation to leap up and lick Mr Laterghan`s chin and bite his collar, wagging furiously. This man seems truly amazed that Bongo escaped any long term damage from his injury.
He then introduced himself to Bee very gently[having been informed of her partial deafness],I had requested more eye drops for her, as we have run out of the supplies I brought with me. He asked if I would take some photos of her eyes and email them to him, strange request, but he wants a colleague in Cape Town to look at the pictures and give his opinion, Both dogs given worming tabs, Tick treatments,[hugely important here as these disgusting creatures lay their eggs in the SAND!!] Both had jabs. Bongo also had his microchip injected [ouch!]. Despite his full waiting room, the vet insisted on walking with us, back to the car, watching how Bongo moved and simply shaking his head with delight at how this little chap is growing up. Finally he said “you know you have yourself a great dog there.” I just beamed….. How ridiculous…… I felt as proud as if someone had praised one of my children, Coupled with the fact that Bee has been christened by the locals as “the dog that you can take to church with you”…[praise indeed ,for these people take their churchgoing incredibly seriously]…
So, at least my dogs are paragons of virtue and health….I need to do some serious catching up!
Before we departed for the vets this morning, I did the first of my early morning swims…IMPRESSED? I was!
Disappointingly, I managed only 7 lengths of the 10 meter pool, before I needed a break, so this is now set as a target to move up from. 10 next time and then “infinity and beyond!”
Little
We have not seen him since we dropped him off in Cape Town on the 20th January, but we have heard from him, and he seems bouncy and chatty and ..Dare I say it…glimmerings of happiness are starting to pepper his conversation? He spent last weekend with a friend’s family in Cape Town and …joy of joys…..had a bumbling family weekend with them, which I know he will have thoroughly enjoyed. Cant quite describe how much I am looking forward to spending the weekend with him on the 20th Feb.
Oma [ Big`s Mum,] fly’s into Cape Town from Amsterdam, on the same day,and the weekend promises to be fun,Oma will return with us to the farm to celebrate Bossy`s birthday on the 23rd [payback day for him I think!.]And spend some time with us before continuing her Africa tour, to see friends in Jo berg. Once again plenty of anticipated joy at seeing Oma, traditionally we make each other hoot with laughter, she is a lot of fun and I know,is desperate to see how we have settled into our new lives.
RETRACTION
Following a long conversation with Jell,I have promised to explain her lack of communications from Ethiopia.
A severe bout of D+V, rudely announced itself during her return trek, from the hills. As a result she had taken to her bed in Gonda for several days and was only forced up, as they had to travel onwards to Adis Ababa, where she thought that she would find internet, still suffering, she was unable to move far from her bed and sadly the hostel had no internet. She was utterly horrified by the “howler” I emailed her, having discovered she was back from the hills,and having read the last blog she asked me to post a short explanation of her tardiness.
She said that she had been moved deeply by her work in Ethiopia, and particularly by the hill tribe experiences. She wouldn’t/couldn’t, go into any depth over the phone, but did explain that on a purely personal level, the conditions were about as basic as it gets …no running water ,electricity, no toilet facilities.nothing.They had slept in tents, and the weather plunges to below freezing at nights. She said that they has lost all sense of time there and when she and Jess realized that it was time to go back to Gonda, they had hugged each other and wept with absolute joy. To be leaving! And then felt immensely guilty, at all that they were leaving behind!. They had been warned by the charity that they represented, that they would not cope, for very long in this situation, and she felt that they were at cracking point on the day of their departure.
She has promised that she will write a piece relating her experiences in Ethiopia, and as so many people have asked how she is, I will post it on the blog. Don’t expect it anytime soon though. When last I spoke they were heading to some remote spot on horse back! Roll on her safe return to the UK mid February.
How to secure a doctoring position within the NHS without using your name
Jessie will be cross with me for posting this bit, but I have to. She, along with all other final year medics countrywide, had to submit job applications to the NHS during late summer; this is a new system where they are not allowed to reveal on their application forms, what university they attend, or their names, and they apply as a “number”.[as far as I can understand this was to stop the “jobs for the boys” system, the predecessor of the “new system”]
The job application process is like a UCAS form but about four times the length and with a medical bent. At some point on the forms Students are asked to list what hospitals they have preferences for working in, although the system is so flawed, that any preferences, are rarely taken notice of, as a result of the points system that a medical board use to grade every application.
Only those students graded in the top 10% ,will have their preferences actively considered. Those that fall anywhere below this level, get hurled into several “melting pots” based upon their grade, and this is where their “preferred” hospital choices, can affect each students application negatively.
. If you have requested that you work your F1 & F2, years at high profile London area, teaching hospital, and you score an average mark on your application, then your number is tossed into the lowest melting pot. If you score an average mark, and have asked to work in, a less high profile provincial hospital, then your number is thrown into a middle melting pot.
This is why you hear stories in the press, of recently qualified doctors, who despite having an excellent study record and exam results throughout their training, find themselves without any job at all, once they have qualified, as their application must have been scored either averagely or poorly and they may have applied to high profile hospitals. Leaving them firmly “out in the cold”.
[This is a very simplistic explanation, and for those of you who know the process more intimately, I apologize for the generality of my account. In essence though, I believe that this is how the process works.]
The entire application process is therefore very tactical, and I know that Jessie thought long & hard before deciding how to pitch hers.
That she chose to go the “all or nothing approach” Is my only claim to any involvement in her success, Its clearly genetic! But probably has more to do with some inner confidence on her part.
To her utter delight [and as usual disbelief], she has been graded in the top 10 percent, and is thanking her lucky stars that she had the courage to apply for “South West Thames” encompassing many of the teaching hospitals, that attract top consultants and professors, under who’s wings she will fly for the next two years.
Her preference has been positively accepted and she will find out where she will formally begin her F1 & F2 Doctoring years upon her return to the UK. All of this, is of course dependant upon her passing her finals which take place in a couple of months.
Despite this MINOR hurdle,I want Jessie to know that I am so deeply proud of her.[I know that she will be squirming with embarrassment when she reads this rather public congratulation] She deserves great applause, six hard years of intense study, of financial and practical and occasionally emotional hardship, borne with the most incredible focus, have to be acknowledged.
Unlike so many of her co medics at Imperial, Jessie has had to rely largely on her student loan and where she could, part time jobs. Latterly NHS bursaries, grants and an award, have all have helped her to “hang on in there”, but it has been, by no means easy for her. Her ability and intent to doctor has never been in question, but the practicalities of achieving this goal have been incredibly hard won…Woops lets not tempt fate…. the finals have yet to take place, but regardless of this Jessie; you are a bright and shining
star in my universe, and I’m totally unabashed about everyone knowing it.
My Boys, will not need me to explain that they are not being marginalized in any way by this statement, for each of them knows that they also shine equally brightly for me, and all for different reasons, such is the joy of being mother to many.
,I do know, that they will all be equally delighted for Jessie.
Mr Vaughn’s wines.
As promised, an update on my sampling of South African whites. ..Pretty disgusting, although a marginal improvement on the local wines….but so far, none to my taste . I regret bitterly taking his recommendation for Vaughns own lable “good everyday drinking white” and rashly buying three!, the last half of the first bottle found its way into a spaghetti bolognaise. Clearly I am going to have to upgrade to the BLING range!!!!!!
I know that south Africa has something of a track record in wine producing..Never on the scale of France ,but with over 350 years of viticultural experience, there are decent wines out there, I know it.
Maybe my preference for the complex white French burgundy styles, will eclipse anything South Africa can produce, but …somewhere out there is a wine waiting to be discovered and sent by the case load to the Northern Cape.
Update on art
OK…I have made a very tentative start, and am already frustrated because I cant access the materials I need…no convenient, if outrageously expensive art shop like in Newbury, certainly no “discounted” supply shop, as at university….I have hit that “sourcing problem” again…and can see that its going to cause many more frustrations.
So rather than get cross, I am trying to turn my irritation into production and think of what else I can use. not necessarily in my art boxes !….lateral thinking rules out here….So as I bid everyone a fond farewell I’m still thinking how to circumnavigate the “art materials problem “ and hope that by the next post, I will have found some solution.
Incidentally, Bongo has been utterly fascinated by my arty antics…and insisted on helping me at every stage. In reality he has been a complete blixum, and has left dog prints all over a large sheet of very expensive water colour paper, that survived its trip from the UK . I took this picture of him when he finally decided to calm down, and simply lay right in the middle of the 1.3X 1.8 sheet!!!
Blowing kisses on the lips to all.
DawnXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
She has promised that she will write a piece relating her experiences in Ethiopia, and as so many people have asked how she is, I will post it on the blog. Don’t expect it anytime soon though. When last I spoke they were heading to some remote spot on horse back! Roll on her safe return to the UK mid February.
How to secure a doctoring position within the NHS without using your name
Jessie will be cross with me for posting this bit, but I have to. She, along with all other final year medics countrywide, had to submit job applications to the NHS during late summer; this is a new system where they are not allowed to reveal on their application forms, what university they attend, or their names, and they apply as a “number”.[as far as I can understand this was to stop the “jobs for the boys” system, the predecessor of the “new system”]
The job application process is like a UCAS form but about four times the length and with a medical bent. At some point on the forms Students are asked to list what hospitals they have preferences for working in, although the system is so flawed, that any preferences, are rarely taken notice of, as a result of the points system that a medical board use to grade every application.
Only those students graded in the top 10% ,will have their preferences actively considered. Those that fall anywhere below this level, get hurled into several “melting pots” based upon their grade, and this is where their “preferred” hospital choices, can affect each students application negatively.
. If you have requested that you work your F1 & F2, years at high profile London area, teaching hospital, and you score an average mark on your application, then your number is tossed into the lowest melting pot. If you score an average mark, and have asked to work in, a less high profile provincial hospital, then your number is thrown into a middle melting pot.
This is why you hear stories in the press, of recently qualified doctors, who despite having an excellent study record and exam results throughout their training, find themselves without any job at all, once they have qualified, as their application must have been scored either averagely or poorly and they may have applied to high profile hospitals. Leaving them firmly “out in the cold”.
[This is a very simplistic explanation, and for those of you who know the process more intimately, I apologize for the generality of my account. In essence though, I believe that this is how the process works.]
The entire application process is therefore very tactical, and I know that Jessie thought long & hard before deciding how to pitch hers.
That she chose to go the “all or nothing approach” Is my only claim to any involvement in her success, Its clearly genetic! But probably has more to do with some inner confidence on her part.
To her utter delight [and as usual disbelief], she has been graded in the top 10 percent, and is thanking her lucky stars that she had the courage to apply for “South West Thames” encompassing many of the teaching hospitals, that attract top consultants and professors, under who’s wings she will fly for the next two years.
Her preference has been positively accepted and she will find out where she will formally begin her F1 & F2 Doctoring years upon her return to the UK. All of this, is of course dependant upon her passing her finals which take place in a couple of months.
Despite this MINOR hurdle,I want Jessie to know that I am so deeply proud of her.[I know that she will be squirming with embarrassment when she reads this rather public congratulation] She deserves great applause, six hard years of intense study, of financial and practical and occasionally emotional hardship, borne with the most incredible focus, have to be acknowledged.
Unlike so many of her co medics at Imperial, Jessie has had to rely largely on her student loan and where she could, part time jobs. Latterly NHS bursaries, grants and an award, have all have helped her to “hang on in there”, but it has been, by no means easy for her. Her ability and intent to doctor has never been in question, but the practicalities of achieving this goal have been incredibly hard won…Woops lets not tempt fate…. the finals have yet to take place, but regardless of this Jessie; you are a bright and shining
star in my universe, and I’m totally unabashed about everyone knowing it.
My Boys, will not need me to explain that they are not being marginalized in any way by this statement, for each of them knows that they also shine equally brightly for me, and all for different reasons, such is the joy of being mother to many.
,I do know, that they will all be equally delighted for Jessie.
Mr Vaughn’s wines.
As promised, an update on my sampling of South African whites. ..Pretty disgusting, although a marginal improvement on the local wines….but so far, none to my taste . I regret bitterly taking his recommendation for Vaughns own lable “good everyday drinking white” and rashly buying three!, the last half of the first bottle found its way into a spaghetti bolognaise. Clearly I am going to have to upgrade to the BLING range!!!!!!
I know that south Africa has something of a track record in wine producing..Never on the scale of France ,but with over 350 years of viticultural experience, there are decent wines out there, I know it.
Maybe my preference for the complex white French burgundy styles, will eclipse anything South Africa can produce, but …somewhere out there is a wine waiting to be discovered and sent by the case load to the Northern Cape.
Update on art
OK…I have made a very tentative start, and am already frustrated because I cant access the materials I need…no convenient, if outrageously expensive art shop like in Newbury, certainly no “discounted” supply shop, as at university….I have hit that “sourcing problem” again…and can see that its going to cause many more frustrations.
So rather than get cross, I am trying to turn my irritation into production and think of what else I can use. not necessarily in my art boxes !….lateral thinking rules out here….So as I bid everyone a fond farewell I’m still thinking how to circumnavigate the “art materials problem “ and hope that by the next post, I will have found some solution.
Incidentally, Bongo has been utterly fascinated by my arty antics…and insisted on helping me at every stage. In reality he has been a complete blixum, and has left dog prints all over a large sheet of very expensive water colour paper, that survived its trip from the UK . I took this picture of him when he finally decided to calm down, and simply lay right in the middle of the 1.3X 1.8 sheet!!!
Blowing kisses on the lips to all.
DawnXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
