June 28th 09
Dr JESSIE PAYNE

Thrilled and so proud to inform everyone that Jessie passed her finals with flying colours...Hurrah!
Looking forward to catching up with everyone during the next two weeks.
Kisses
Dawn XXXX

June 09..Winter in the desert

Vines in Autumn colour

We continue to potter along here in the desert, for the moment bereft of the extraordinary temperatures of earlier in the year, some days the temperature has dropped as low as 15 degrees and is close to freezing at night. These past two days the sky has been grey and overcast, the leaves of the vines have turned brown and are falling, it feels much like an early English Autumn.

Last night marked something of a landmark…I actually shivered for a good 5 minutes in bed.[ very unusual sensation after not having experienced it for such a long time!] So it’s your turn to snigger at me now, after my trying….. And failing to keep quiet about the extreme heat whilst you were all shivering and skidding around under a thick blanket of snow!
Now that you are basking in “flaming June”…don’t hesitate to guffaw and snigger!!
My mind begins to turn towards those fabulous summer months in the UK, wet sports days, rainy Wimbledon’s. Soggy Henley’s…Damp Ascots…My God how I genuinely miss it! Not that I regularly attended the “ summer circuit”…but vicariously being part of the spectacle of British summer rituals, with all of its “putting up “ with inclement weather…always gave me immense pleasure!. And those of you who are seasoned blog readers will know how much I love rain!!!..Something that “Little” has inherited from, me…even Maam is impressed by his ability to cope with a wet and Windy, Wintery Cape Town. He has gained serious street cred from his fellow Bishoptonians because of his appetite for the cold!


Farm from the front..the left hand side is where three of the main bedrooms are,and the part hidden by the trees, is the hall and lounge. NOTE Bossies charcoaled palm tree in the front looking like a telegraph pole.Farm from the drying slabs and the rear of the property...the protruding room with three long windows is the braii room...to the right and directly in front of this is the pool.

The farm continues to be paved “crazy”…the little man doing all this craziness is called “Cappy”, that’s C A P P Y, without the “R”…. Regina tells me his name is not on account of the little brown cap he wears [as I had thought] but because he originated from Cape Town!. He has progressed from the retaining walls around the pool, and is now extending some existing craziness that was half laid on the pathways around the front of the farm when we arrived. Crazy path outside bedroom windows
Carlos, who works as the night shift security guard at the factory, is a carpenter during the day, and he is laying all of the carcassing for the decking around the pool. The decking itself should be delivered by Monday.
Because of this, the preparatory work around the pool has been feverish, Carlos…. having realized that there was no straight or level edge to work to, so a great deal of concrete “ making good” had to be carried out on the surrounding steps.

Pool under construction

Pool as it has been for several months

Steps surrounding the pool Pool begins to be decked

No Flies on “Bongo chicken”
A group of about 7 were engaged in either watching or working on leveling a cement slab, [including Bossy and I],when Bongo came flying through the crowd at break neck speed and continued straight into the deep cement slab, leaving a deep footprint trail…he was so shocked by the unexpected feeling, that he jumped into the air and fell right into the deep end of the pool, which is full again and VERY cold. Most of us fell around with laughter, Bossy had a sense of humour failure when he saw the cement dissolving in great grey pools around Bongs thrashing feet, and then we remembered that Bongo needed rescuing! This little incident has done nothing to dampen Bongos spirits, and he continues to regard every element our farm life, including the people that move in and out of it, as being especially arranged for his pleasure. Bongo has not endeared himself to anyone working at the farm over the past few weeks. He has been a complete nuisance to all…when Carlos is kneeling down concentrating on fixing a wooden joint…Bongo creeps up behind him and starts tugging on his coat, or steals his hat or bites his shoes, or pings off with a tool in his mouth. Bongo really upset Cappy…when he slunk off with Cappies, cement dusting brush, scarpering into the depths of the garden. Being alerted by the screeches of rage from Cappy….. I eventually found Bongo hiding under an orange tree, but not before he had chewed the wooden handle off the dusting brush. He received a severe telling off and a smacked rump, & there was no doubt in my mind that he understood exactly why he was being punished.

Bongo has clocked that he is treated much like an indulged child, and just like a spoilt child, assumes that anyone working around the farm is not allowed to admonish him. He is largely correct…neither Bossy nor I will tolerate the way the “workers” treat animals, and in particular…dogs, but we have to balance his not being allowed to behave in a brattish way… I noticed recently [whilst working inside on my art, and having a clear view of the garden and the goings on with those working]…that a few, take great delight in teasing Bongo…they start by making cat noises to get his attention, and encourage him closer and closer…then they throw stones at him…Well that was enough for me to fire outside..paintbrush in hand…and serve the culprits a large and fearsome dollop of good old Anglo Saxon , I was so angry that I could feel tears of rage prickling in my eyes….Bossy spoke with Moses and explained very firmly, that Moses must inform his staff, if anyone is caught throwing stones at Bongo, they will be immediately thrown off the property….. Followed by arms full of large stones…from “Missus”. Further that if they continued to tease him, they should expect all they deserve from Bongo, and to remember that he is only just half grown..Weighing in at 55 kilos now…it is likely that they will have to deal with at least 85 kilos of retribution in a few months.

Art
I had a visit from Nicolene last week she works at the tourist office in Kak, and arrived to ask me if I would agree to her hanging some of my art work in the tourist office I was rather shocked, but agreed. So three representational drawings and two small abstract canvases were handed over…I’m not expecting great things as A] being Winter, we are not exactly deluged with tourists, and B] the art I produce, is most unlike that created by fellow local artists. Hey Ho…we shall see what materializes.
Two small abstract canvases : Now in tourist office
Subsequently I have been contacted by a local businessman, who is building a conference centre in Kak, which will include an art gallery .He has asked me to produce two large abstract canvases for the opening in December. So I have begun to limber up my drawing and painting skills again…… they are a touch rusty. I cant account for why I have been painting HUGE and very representational picture of peonies for the past week ..as I prefer to produce abstract work. Bossy is very confused, He dislikes my abstract stuff intensely, and now that I am producing something that he can understand he also hates that,. I have been teasing him that it will be hung above our bed. His response has been that he would much prefer a naked lady with huge bosoms…my response…if there is to be any nakedness hanging above our bed, it will be a large coloured gentleman with HUGE undercarriage!!!! The entire discussion has been dropped for the moment! And I continue with my peonies.

Unfinished Peonies Title "Amplus Quam vita" statement of fact as the piece is 3ftX 4ft6"

Clearing stumps…like pulling teeth!
Still gardening like demon, and I now have Moses support, he has arranged a few extras to help with the digging [these are the “cat callers” and the stone throwers]….these “helpers”, had obviously been pre warned about staring at me ,because they studiously avoid glancing in my direction and study their digging/raking intently, if I happen to be working alongside them…I can sense that they are MOST uncomfortable…but refuse point blank to stop doing something that gives me such pleasure. My angry demeanor over the stone incident may have something to do with their discomfort though!
We are trying in vain to get the beefwood stumps clear…its no easy task…and despite getting a tractor in, and attaching the stumps to the tractor with a large chain, they hang in for dear life, and I stand in amazement watching the tractor, reving painfully and wheel spinning in the sandy soil ….digging itself in ,almost as deeply as the stumps. We have only managed to remove two of the 8 stumps. “Moses` boys” are now engaged in digging around the stumps with hand tools to weaken them in preparation for the second attempt.

Bee directing works from the pump house

Bossy directing work from the stump

The blackened palms…reach upward into the sky to advertise Bossy`s behavior to all within a five kilometer radius. He very excitedly pointed upwards towards one today …and it does look like a new green frond is attempting to uncurl from the charcoal crown. The other remains stoic in its charcoal weeds.

Sprinkler Queen
Since my last blog, I have learned to dig irrigation ditches and insert new sprinklers and how to operate the automated sprinkler system. which is not easy, I keep forgetting what buttons to press and having warned everyone that I`m about to water a certain area of the garden…they all move to another point and then surprise surprise…the sprinklers here turn on and soak everyone!!! It has become something of a standing joke now,and everyone in the garden sniggers when I announce the sprinklers are about to go on…and stand in the middle of the lawn in readiness to jump AWAY from wherever the water decides to pop up.

Zandri, who is the lady who runs the guest house where we stayed for the first month that we arrived. also loves gardening [, unlike me she is not quite so “hands on”] and has offered to come and give me advice on what plants: shrubs trees etc will work in our location…she tells me that here on the farm where we are only 7 kilometers away from her house, the climate is slightly different, the frost pattern and rainfall levels both differ notably from her own garden.!
We are focusing on the area immediately in front of our front door…the entire border is to be cleared of its existing ferns, which are to be saved and temporarily potted up, one tree is to be left along with a stunning large cycad. Once this has been done and the ground deep dug, we have to add wheelbarrows of the red sand that everyone around here insists on referring to as “soil”, add mountains of compost and phosphates and fertilizer and only once this is done can I begin replanting…..The motto that she has left me with is” rather dig a 100 Rand hole and put a 1 Rand plant in, than the reverse”…preparing the soil is the key to creating a healthy garden. I have to say that irrigation also seems key to the process, and am starting to consider myself as something of an irrigation Queen. It has caused me immense irritation that several of the irrigation pipes in the “new” boarder, have been breached by the overzealous digging by my helpers…the problem is I give explicit instructions [including to take care of the irrigation pipes] which are then translated by Moses and something is always lost in the translation! Whilst Moses is a great help,he is very Gung Ho in his approach to gardening, attacking plants with brawn and not taking a Long view as to their future. I have lost several plants in this way and am currently mourning the loss of a large clump of mature stralitzias, bougainvillea and a wigelia.

The money lender and the hat thief.
Moses has taken on the mantle of something like the local head honcho…his position here has separated and apparently elevated him from the rest of the factory staff, and as a result of his abstinence from booze, he is regarded as something of a reliable “head man” to sort out all kinds of disputes and is often visited by locals asking for help/advice. Because he is earning a comparatively decent income [supplemented by his chicken farming],and he lives very frugally, he has spare cash, and is now acting as the local money lender. His interest rates are fearsome…1Rand for every 1Rand loaned. I find this rather shocking, but Bossy tells me that this is less than these people get charged by the more formal types of money lending institutions that they are able to approach.
Every Friday afternoon [they all finish work and get paid on Friday lunchtimes],Moses puts on his best clothes, and walks the 1 ½ kilometers to the factory, so that he is standing outside the gates in time to collect his dosh…and hand out more loans, or the odd piece of advice.
The sad thing about all of this is that the money is rarely loaned for honest reasons in my opinion…but to support the boozing that goes on from Friday to Sunday night…come Monday, most of the men that have loaned money, have empty pockets again and are further indebted… I have asked Bossy if Moses understands that he will reach a point where there is no hope of his recovering his loans…Bossy`s response is that Moses is certainly not stupid, and will exact a return in any way he can: Viz : goods or services or favors to the effective value of the outstanding loan ,which he can then either use personally or barter onwards.
The black and coloured people here, have something of a Sub economy, bartering is used widely. So Moses is never short of Taxi rides to Kuruman where his home is, nor is his family short of food or clothes.
Part of me applauds his industry, the other sees him as taking advantage of the depressing spiral of life that a great deal of the factory workers live. Bossy sais that Moses attitude is very matter of fact….id he wasn’t in a position to do it, someone else would be. I am very fond of Moses, he really does look after us here, he has grown more and more used to our ways and to the dogs, and whilst Bee still gives him a wide berth. Moses has started to develop a very endearing relationship with Bongo; I catch sneaky glimpses of him playing with Bongs in the garden. Yesterday Moses and Bossy and I were sitting on the steps surrounding the pool watching Carlos finish the 4th plank of decking!!.
Bongo, noticing there was some action going on outside… arrived, and from his higher position behind us..Snoofled my hair, licked my ear and briefly rested his jaw on my shoulder, then did the same to Bossy, and to my amazement did the same to Moses [and Moses let him!]…sadly Bongo finished his “Lurve” session, by trying to pinch Moses hat and scamper off with it…causing Bossy and I to hoot with laughter and Moses to screech….as he is VERY protective of his beloved hats!

“Little`s first solo flight”
Little has a five day break from school starting on Friday 5th June, and is flying solo from Cape Town for the first time. I am torn between feeling grateful we don’t have the long drive and panicked that he will get misappropriated ,lost, or find himself arriving along with his tiny overnight bag… in Guatemala.
He arrived safely and looking Mr. Cool, as he jumped off the jet, with 20 other passengers at UP`s tiny airport…sunglasses on the top of his head, overnight bag in hand and was very embarrassed by the huge cuddles of relief that I showered him with when I greeted him. He has spent much of the time he has been here, quading with the boys from across the road and I see him only at meal times, when he returns looking like a sand monster! Bossy has just taken him back to Up to catch his return flight to school [Wed 17th]…Only a few more days before we collect him on the last day of term and head straight for our flight to the UK.

News from Home
Our tenants have asked to extend their tenancy by two months pending a decision on moving to London. .[ I’m wondering if their decision has anything to do with fighting off those chimera toads!!!!!] Bossy and I are assuming that they will go at the end of October, and we have asked our letting agent to begin marketing it again a.s.a.p

My sisters Taz & Jane have done a wonderful job of getting my Mums house on the market, we received an offer within 7 days of it being marketed…we are still a long way off completion, and eventually waving a very fond farewell to Lime Tree cottage. I pray that it all goes through without hic-ups as I cant bear for Taz and Jane to suffer another winter with the responsibility of housekeeping it alongside their own busy lives.

Finn is back at his Dads in Streatley, having just completed year two… and his exams at Newcastle. He will be working at his Dads business over the summer, but in typical Finn style has plans afoot on a business for himself which I wish him lots of luck with.

My poor Jessie, has, as I write, finished her written finals, completed her medical practical, and undergoes her surgical practical tomorrow afternoon. [Tues 16th June] I had a great Skype conversation with her on Sunday…she looked fab, but was clearly very tired and still extremely stressed. Roll on 5.00 p.m tomorrow afternoon, when she is done and dealt. She is of course convinced that she has failed her finals. So extreme is her concern, that she is refusing to open a large manila envelope sent to her by the hospital in Chichester, because it is addressed to Dr J Payne.
I have tried to reassure her that it’s perfectly normal [for her] to think that she has failed, and if she was remotely happy after any examination I WOULD worry. Whatever the result…I assured her that I am so proud of her, and that she should now, OPEN HER ENVELOPE.
Her results are out on 24th June…the day before we get back! Whatever…… she can look forward to spending a chilled two weeks in South Africa when she and Tommy, Little and I fly back on the 9th July.
I just spoke to Jess to wish her luck before this afternoons surgical practical …she was on great form and was predicting that she was bound to get testicles.She had started her medical career with them…. aged 16 our GP in Kingclere, offered to allow her to shadow him for a week during the summer hols,the first patient that come through his door was a young guy with a lump on his testicle,which after asking the young mans permission , Jessie was asked to examine!. I agree.... it would be rather poetic if she should finish with the same part of the anatomy as she started with.
When I spoke to her last night, she hadn’t been presented with testicles!!! She just sounded so relieved that her entire set of finals were now finished, and was supping on a large glass of celebratory red wine!
Tom has been a star…he has been in constant touch with her and has been a great support to Jell during these very difficult somewhat extreme weeks. His knee is really mending well and strengthening by the day, and he reckons on starting group training within 3 weeks. Quite where he is going to play is still undetermined, but very sensibly he is considering speaking to Newbury /Henley & Chinnor. As he has to hold down a full time job as well as re engage with his rugby…and it makes sense to go for local clubs whilst still in the early stages of his “return to the game”. It seems like such a long time ago, that he took the injury now, its been a long and harsh recovery. at last he can see an end to it.

Once again it has been far busier for everyone at home than it has been for me here in this wintery desert…so Love in heaps going to Jessie, Tommy & Finn. To Taz and Jane. To my dear Dotty, who is the bravest bird I know. To Loops.... crack on girlie and HUGE thanks for the itunes recommendation, I have also uploaded several “talking books”, I have never listened to talking books before! but have decided they may come in useful for our long flights….

To Pam, who is now installed in her new kitchen and busy with her dogs on the summer show circuit,to Lizzi who I hope is no longer hobbling. To Viki who is a constant “touchstone” for me. Lenie and Fee in Holland.[ loved your letter & photos Fee!] To Amanda and Lucy B for their very welcome and funny emails, to dear Marie, Tracey, Kim and Di, …Now ……this is the problem with naming people, I know that I have missed out so many names, please forgive .
We are all looking forward to catching up with as many of you as we can whilst back…but I may have to defer to October as the diary is now so packed that I’m already feeling guilty that I will hardly see Tazzy and David, who once again are generously putting Big Little and I up for two weeks. Can’t wait to see everyone.

Kisses on the lips for all.
DawnXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX