Adventures in Africa

Short break in Wilderness

2008-12-02T23:41:00.000-08:00

It's just a month since we arrived back in England - where has the time gone??

Before we left Cape Town, at the end of our (almost) two years in Africa, we drove to the eastern side of the Western Cape, which was the furthest we had been out of Cape Town by car.

We planned a route through the mountains, along the Wine Route and the Garden Route. It was spectacular with folded mountains...

...archways cut through the rock...

...and flowers lining the road:

Our destination was Wilderness, a small coastal town, with wide beaches, inland lakes and rivers, and ancient forests:

Walking along the beach, early one morning, I saw this huge jellyfish. My camera case and footprints help to show the size:

Further along the coastline it is even wilder and rugged...

...reminiscent of Argulas, which is the most southerly point in Africa, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. The weather was warm and sunny, but quite windy.

Andy loves boats, so we decided to take a canoe along the river, stopping partway, where the water level becomes too shallow to paddle.

Then, hiding our paddles and bouancy aids in the bushes, we walked up to some manmade waterfalls:

Some of the river's waterflow has been diverted into a pipe, for use lower down the hillside.

On our return journey Andy took this photo of me, over his head (I was behind him). He was reluctant to turn round and destabilise the canoe, but I think he did really well:

Another day, we followed a trail to the 'Big Tree', an eight hundred-year-old yellowood, which was over 30m tall. To get an idea of the size, you can just see Andy standing behind the information board at the base of the trunk:

We saw a curious sign, so had to go and find out what it was referring to:

This is the view:

If I had a wide-angled lens you would see that the river traces the shape of Africa, around the forest - very interesting and totally unexpected!

The viewing point for 'Map of Africa' is the top of a steep hill, which is a popular launching pad for paragliders. We had seen their colourful chutes above the hillside, from our Bed and Breakfast. In fact I was fascinated watching them and longed to have a go. Andy had NO desire to join me, but took these photos.

Getting 'kitted up':
Being strapped in front of my pilot:

In the air:
Coming into land, after 30 minutes in the air:

My pilot for the tandem ride, also took some photos in the air:

The view from the air was awesome: being able to see the lagoons, the coastline and way out to sea. I loved every moment, not feeling scared at all. My pilot has been paragliding for 17 years and is very experienced. It was a treat which made our short holiday even more special, and I will remember it for a long time.

We arrived back in Cape Town, the day before we were due to fly home, so we went to the ocean for one last sunset, with Lion's Head just in the picture:

It was very windy and cold, but the biggest hot chocolate I have ever seen soon warmed us up:

We have so many wonderful memories of our 'Adventures in Africa'. Thank you for being part of it with us.

Passing through Cape Town

2008-11-15T03:36:00.000-08:00

We finally made it to Cape Town on Saturday 25th October. So it was lovely to see the building and grounds with all the finishing touches complete.

A large sign, illuminated at night, announces CVC and greets all visitors as they climb the hill:

The outside of the building now looks like this:

The cental atrium, with the upstairs studios surrounding it:

I loved these working radios covered with colourful beadwork:

The whole place looked fantastic - bright, colourful, contemporary with traditional touches.

Still in Zambia

2008-10-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we were due to fly to Cape Town for two weeks, before returning to the UK. Then last Thursday a freak lightning strike put Radio Christian Voice off the air and all the new studios in Lusaka out of action. Andy and his team of technicians worked through Thursday night to restore the English service with the Local Languages service returning yesterday.

At the present time there are still lots of repairs outstanding, but progress is slowly being made.

Meanwhile, we have moved into the recently finished guest house, on the residential site behind the studios:

The guest house is the end one of a row of bungalows. On the residential site there are also three blocks of flats like this one:

The wooden planks set out on the drive are ready for concreting, which should keep the dust down.

Returning to the guest house, this is the view from the back garden:

Outside the back door there is a large sink for doing laundry washing, which I have just painted with stoep enamel (a stoep is an Afrikaans word for a step or patio area):

The sink is made of concrete fibre and needed sealing before use. The choice of colours of paint were, red, green or terra-cotta, so we chose the latter, to fit in with the brickwork and other paintwork on the house.

Without a washing machine, the dirty laundry was building up, so today I used the sink and hung it on the washing lines, which are situated between the blocks of flats, as our washing line hasn't been erected yet:

As the rainy season begins, the sandy Zambian soil turns to mud very easily, so everyone will be happier when these areas are concreted.

Living in another house (my seventh, in four years) is getting easier all the time...

Early rain in Zambia

2008-10-12T05:50:00.000-07:00

Zambia has a climate with three seasons: A cool dry season, from April to July, a hot dry season from August to October and a hot wet season from November to March. The last wet season was very heavy and extended into April with the final light rain falling at the beginning of May. So it was somewhat of a surprise last Friday (10th October) to experience a sudden downpour, late in the afternoon. We leave Zambia in less than a week, so I was not expecting to see any rain before we left.

It had been very windy in the afternoon and the clattering on our tin roof increased, as seed pods from an overhanging tree suddenly started to drop rapidly rather than sporadically, as in the past few weeks. The seed pods are hard, green, the size of cherries and when you step on them they squirt a sticky liquid sideways, often onto your other leg. Here they are littering the path at the side of the house:

Then I heard a peel of thunder, which seemed a long way away and noticed a few spots of rain on the dry concrete and rushed out to take a photo, just in case that was all we were going to get!

However, a short while later Andy arrived home so I popped out to collect something from a neighbour. By the time I drove back down our drive, the rain was pelting down...

...running from the roof...

...and forming pools in the storm gulleys, by the door (along with a few of the seed pods):

It only lasted for about 10 minutes, but it made the air smell fresh a clean again and settled the dust down for a while. We heard later that day that Lusaka had experienced very heavy rain and even hail earlier on Friday, and we were surprised to see huge pools of surface water at the side of the roads when we travelled to the airport early on Saturday morning.

Since then there hasn't been another hint of rain, but the downpour was sufficient to stir the mosquitos from their slumber - we have been swatting them ever since and doubling our use of insect repellent. The rain also brought a snake out of its hole, although I didn't see that one. Our guard told us he had killed a spitting cobra, very close to the house.

It seems we need to be extra vigilant in our final few days here.

Insects and trees in September

2008-09-30T06:31:00.000-07:00

As the summer approaches more insects wake up from their winter hibernation, although there are always some insects around.

The difference now is their size...

The edge of the door frame below the spider, gives a good idea of its size:

The wasp is on a floor tile, about 30cm square:

Burrowing bees, buzz very loudly as they dig into any unprotected wood. I took this photo just as it flew off the guttering:

September is also the month when the jacaranda trees are in full bloom:

Their vivid lilac blossoms create a shock of colour against the brown earth. There are many of these trees on the farm site, and also in town. When the blossom falls the ground it looks like confetti scattered along the paths:

CVC in Zambia

2008-09-25T06:53:00.000-07:00

After six weeks in the UK, I am now back in Zambia.

Monica, a friend from Cape Town, came to Lusaka recently to visit her family, so we showed them round the new CVC studios in town.

In the background, under the car port is some of the old studio equipment, which had been brought from the farm site, and set up in one of the studios, to help the presenters with the transition between the new automated playout system, which is all computerised, and their old system of inserting CD's and tapes.

The day I visited with Monica this old, but still useful equipment was being donated to another Christian ministry in Lusaka, as all the CVC presenters have been trained and are now becoming more familiar with their new studios.

Also under the car port is a waterfeature. The water runs from the top of the ball, into the bowls and is pumped back to the top again. The sound and movement of the running water is a refreshing backdrop to the busy, dusty main road in the heart of Lusaka:

Here are a few photos and a brief summary from the day of the launch - Thursday 17th July 2008...

A large marquee was erected on the carpark, for all the invited guests:

The programme included a choir from the Copperbelt, and several others musical items:

Bob Edmiston (Chairman of Christian Vision) was among the speakers:

The building was offically opened by the Honorable Mike Mulongoti, Minister of Information and Broadcasting:

Green and white balloons were released into the sky, by the staff:

Afterwards a buffet lunch was held outside, but I don't think the grasshopper was supposed to be on the menu:

There was a cake reading "Congratulations RCV" (RCV stands for Radio Christian Voice, the name of the station):

The students from Grace Academy, Solihull, were also present at the launch. Here they all are with Bob and Tracie Edmiston:

The Grace Academy students took part in a live radio programme with presenter Jimmy. This is Jimmy with Beccy and Mark, part of the staff who accompanied the students:

Behind the reception is a curved wall with a mural of one of CVC's illustrations representing the "Touch a Billion" arm of Christian Vision:

The caption reads " Radio Christian Voice, Touching lives one by one."

Outside again, CV had to pay for the relocation of a new bus stop, as the previous one had to be demolished to make way for the entrance to the site. Only in Zambia will you see a bus stop like this one...

... Since I took this photo, the white seat backs have been painted with a large green CVC - there's nothing like a bit of (free?) advertising!

Grace Academy involvement with Zambian Schools

2008-08-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

During their trip to Zambia, Grace Academy spent several days with two Zambian schools.

Prior to the trip eight Grade 10 students from Christian Vision Academy had been asked to take part in paired activities. These involved face to face discussions where each student asked and answered questions about their life, interests and ambitions, using the opportunity to find out about life in a different culture.

For this activity they used the Bible College Chapel, which also serves as a school hall for assemblies:

While this was taking place, Sarah and Katie, the two English teachers accompanying the group took the remaining Grade 10 Class for a poetry lesson:

If you look closely at the table behind Sarah, you may notice that it is in fact a billiard table! Grade 10 have their lessons in the Bible College recreation room.

Katie and Sarah then took some other lessons in Grades 8 and 9, while the Grace students visited the homes of their Zambian paired student. Many of them live in simple African homes, sharing their bed with several siblings and having very few luxuries. This was an eye opener for the Grace students who realized that even the most humble of English dwellings are quite palace-like by comparison.

After lunch there was a cultural concert, with lots of Zambian and English singing and dancing:

The day spent with King's School in the nearby village of Mukobela was very different. The village has no mains water or electricity, so the students had another cultural experience - pumping water from the village well...

...and carrying it back to school:

We took a couple of assemblies at the school, and the teachers took some lessons:

But the main purpose of the visit to King's was to help paint their newly built secondary building.

Sue, the School Principal, and I had purchased the paint and rollers before Grace arrived in Zambia, so everyone soon got very busy:

Two coats to this main hallway were completed, plus painting a few greenboards (previously, blackboards).

The group photo at the end has some odd light splodges on it, which I think rather complement the many paint splodges on our clothes!

Sue is on the far left of this picture.

On Saturday 26th July, after Grace Academy had returned to England, the secondary building was officially opened, by a friend of Sue's from South Africa:

The guests were then invited to view the newly painted building:

Sue has involved her students and staff in every aspect of this project. They even made the college style chairs:

Of course, most of celebrations took place outside, with the students and their parents:

Grade 12 students wear suits and always look very smart despite the dusty conditions and limited laundry facilities:

I have enormous admiration for the work Sue is doing in Zambia. She has not only built two schools and three churches, she has ten Zambian children living in her home:

Her 87 year old mum was also visiting her - another amazing woman!

On top of the world!

2008-08-04T12:30:00.000-07:00

One of the activities in the Grace Academy programme was a bush walk, which included climbing a local outcrop of iron ore, called Sanjay Hill:

It is a substantial pimple on the fairly flat landscape, but nevertheless, gives wonderful views in all directions.

The steep climb took a path covered with loose stones, but we all managed by holding onto overhanging branches for support and accompanied by several local kids from the farm site:

The top is made up of huge slabs of rock, which made a great place to sit, rest and take in the views:

On the hillside there are several interesting features.

A man who lives on the hillside, makes charcoal to sell locally:

However our guide, one of the Christian Vision guards, commented that this practise is gradually de-nuding the hill and making the paths unstable.

The hill's 'resident' sleeps in a natural cave, which provides some shelter from the cold winter nights at this time of year. Penny bravey posed at the entrance to the cave:

Another hole in the hill, is a mine shaft from some old workings. This time our guide refused to go into the entrance, warning us not to go in, as people have entered and not come back out!

We heard recently that Sanjay Hill may soon disappear from the landscape, as its heavy iron pyrite will soon be mined again. A steel works' is currently being built on the River Kafue. When it is complete the iron pyrite at Sanjay Hill will be 'harvested'. This project will have an enormous environmental and social impact on the area.

At present the route to Sanjay Hill is surrounded by small villages with traditional homes...

...and women carrying babies on their backs, gather sticks for burning on small fires:

I feel rather sad that this quiet way of life may go forever, to be replaced by heavy trucks thundering down the road which curently runs through the Christian Vision site.

As we were walking back a friend from a nearby village offered some of the kids a lift to the crossroads, on the back of her truck - it was another highlight and definitely not covered in the risk assessment!

Grace's Game Viewing Opportunities

2008-07-27T11:37:00.000-07:00

During their 12 days in Zambia, the party from Grace Academy had several opportunities to view African game.

The first, which was not strictly 'Game Viewing' was at Kalimba Reptile Park. Besides lots of snakes, there are enormous breeding crocodiles:

On this trip we took the children who live in the houses near to where the students stayed - a housing area on the site called Delta, so they are known as the 'Delta kids' and they really enjoyed having new neighbours. In the build up to Grace's arrival they helped make their beds and afterwards, helped to clean the houses and move furniture. Here are two of them near to a big female crocodile:

The reptile park is also a fish farm, so quite a few of them fished with African rods:

We caught five bream, which were cooked alongside sausages, which we had brought with us:

'Hedge' found a crocodile tail...

...others swam in the pool...

...but all had a great time!

An unexpected game viewing opportunity, happened when we visited the Zambian Parliament. Within the grounds are a herd of impala and we saw them leaping and running through the manicured gardens...

...before we went into the chamber, where the game was of the stuffed variety!

This is the closest I'll ever get to a leopard:

The hour journey into Lusaka passes close to a small game park called Parays. We had a school trip with Grade 10 class and saw Buffalo...

...zebra...

...and several kinds of antelope, like impala and bushbuck.

Another unexpected and rather unwelcome game encounter happened on the day we travelled to a village called Mukobela. During the football game, a boy brought a snake he had just caught - it was still alive, but stunned:

The final opportunity for game viewing happened in Livingstone, right at the end of the trip. It was a very cold morning, so Sarah and Katie, teachers at Grace Academy were trying to keep warm:

Here we saw warthog...

... and lots of giraffe...

...including some baby giraffe...

The national park at Victoria Falls only has one rhino, which is guarded all the time:

The only elephant we saw was drinking beside the Zambezi River...

...but while we were watching him, he decided to move onto the road we were on. We travelled behind him and then he suddenly turned and started to come towards us, trumpetting, with ears flared:

This photo shows how close he was, but doesn't convey the speed of the elephant, the truck reversing, the fear of everyone on board, or the screams!

It was a scary moment, which everyone enjoyed - after the elephant had moved on, of course!

Grace Academy to Zambia

2008-07-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

I was shocked to realise that it had been five weeks since I posted anything on this blog! Where has the time gone? The answer to that is in this posting's title - Grace Academy came to Zambia for twelve days, from July 10th-22nd, so I am just recovering from the hectic weeks prior to their arrival and of course, their time here.

Although the planning had been going on for many months, the pace increased as the arrival date approached. We had had a busy two months with many visitors coming through, with its accompanying hospitality, so I think I was already in a low state. Ten days before Grace arrived my body reacted and I came down with laryngitis, finally going to the doctor two days before the due date. I had lost my voice completely, so on 10th July, when I met the party of 12, plus a film crew from Christian Vision's Creative department, the sound coming out of my mouth was very strange indeed!

Nevertheless, it was a group of very excited young people who were ushered into the VIP lounge at Lusaka Airport, while their visas were being prepared. We had hired a bus for the various trips, but it was rather a squash to get all the luggage on board:

This is one of the first group photos I took, with one of the Zambians:

The eight students and four staff from Grace Academy, Solihull, UK, had been fundraising for many months for this trip. A packed programme was about to unfold. After some rest, they had a welcome braai where they met the senior managers, and had their first taste of Zambian food and vibrant song and dance.

An early morning tour of the farm on site was an eye opener for them. Most had never been to a farm before; they didn't know how maize flour (to make nshima, the staple food of Zambia) is milled...

...or hadn't ever been up-close-and-personal with a herd of bulls:

From the farm we moved to the school on site, called Christian Vision Academy (CVA). It was Sport's Day; a wonderful way to break the ice. Besides all the usual track events there was the sack race...

...the egg and spoon race (unboiled eggs)...

...the water race...

...the bottle race...

The Grace students were split between CVA's houses, so they were competing against each other. This is Elliot with his relay team:

Tall 'Hedge', whose name is also Elliott, was popular with younger children:

The winning team was a delighted, Joshua House:

It was a wonderful start to the trip...

Quirks, Comments and Comparisons

2008-06-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

I love my digital camera. Being able to take as many photos as I want, download them onto the computer and then choose the ones I want for this blog and other outlets, is a wonderful facility - which is almost free!

I rarely delete any photos, and find that looking through my photo record, after downloading, actually reminds me of the activity or event, especially of the things I've forgotten, which are sometimes the most interesting.

So here are a few which fit the heading above:

What's this? Snow in Zambia?

Of course not! It's actually tiny polystyrene balls, which blew right across the site, when the packing boxes for the windows were opened. The new grass made an ideal landing place for the 'snow cloud', but it will be very difficult to sweep up!

How many people can you get on the back of a (Zambian) lorry?

Obviously, always one more!

June in Zambia is quite cold:

We have had a fire in the evening recently.

This is where cream of tartar comes from:

It is the seed pod of the Boabab tree - commonly known as the upside down tree:

Steve ordered a 'Sweat' and Sour Chicken pizza off a menu:

He said it was delicious!

This is how your chicken comes in Zambia:

Anyone for lungs, heart, liver and feet! I do put everything except the feet into a stock.

This is a Zambian 'motor' bike:

Two litres of petrol lasts two weeks!

Finally, what should have started this posting:

In seven local languages.

First Aid

2008-06-15T02:56:00.000-07:00

Last week I attended a first aid course, along with 20 others from Christian Vision Zambia. The course was held on site, for three full days.

I took a first aid course, many years ago, so this was a refresher course, but I was surprised by how much I had forgotten, or never learned!

Here are some of the group in a break (still feeling rather formal, I think!):

One of our trainer's, Adam, with 'Annie', the dummy on which we learnt how to do CPR (Cardio, Pulmonory, Resuscitation):

At the end of the second day we went outside to practise emergency lifts:

Two people can perform a three-handed lift, if the patient needs back support (4th hand):

...or a stronger, larger, four-handed lift:

There were many other lifts, including fireman's lift, 'piggyback' (which was called 'pick-a-back'!),and 'cruddle' (another term I hadn't heard of and wonder if it's a corruption of the word 'cuddle', as it's the traditional 'wedding lift'):

...and this one - the human stretcher:

We learned the recovery postion:

...and had great fun with bandages - this was for a shoulder covering:

...an elevation sling:

..some nifty head coverings:

...a emergency neck restraint (which utilised a piece of card, inside the bandage, very effectively):

...and the very complicated, spine immobilisation, (requiring seven bandages, a long under-arm splint, and several other bandages for padding - which made me wonder where one would find all those bandages, in an emergency!):

The final bandage is called the 'ring' bandage, used for stabbings or impalements:

One topic I hadn't covered before was snake bites, which was very interesting, especially in the light of recent encounters... (see 'Slithering Snakes' below)

Work and Play

2008-06-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

It has been quite a while since I showed photos of the work currently taking place to prepare the new radio studios for Radio Christian Voice, in Lusaka...

Henry, from CVC Cape Town, completing the finishing touches to the wall boarding in studio 6, or is that 7?

Michael, from Cape Town, working on the 'crones' (hundreds of connections), training Frank, a Zambian technician:

Steve, also from Cape Town, but now on secondment for two years in Zambia:

Jordan, from USA setting up 'Nexgen' - the automated playout system for the studios:

Stuart, from UK, in his 'office' - obviously having a tough afternoon:

Kalele, Charles' son, on work experience, pulling cables:

The gardeners, laying turf outside:

As the guys had worked 13 days without a break, we booked a sunset cruise on the Kafue Queen:

Henry doing his 'Titanic' impression:

Andy - still smiling!:

The food - making everyone smile:

Two adorable children, making me smile (The hat says "CAUTION, PARTY ANIMAL BELOW"):

The Kafue River is one of the major rivers in Zambia:

The route took us between hills and provided some great views to soothe the soul:

With a magnificent finale:

Slithering Snakes!

2008-06-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

Since living in Zambia, I have had a few encounters with snakes.

In February, perhaps the most hair-raising of them all, happened when I was sitting on the garden bench, enjoying the late afternoon sun. The bench was against the house wall n the patio and I was sat at one end of the bench.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, a noticed movement at the other end of the bench. Glancing in that direction, I saw a snakes head appear between the bench seat and the arm rest. I'm afraid I forgot all instructions to stay still, jumping up and dashing to the other side of the patio as far away from the bench as possible. Of course, this sudden movement startled the olive brown snake, which was about the thickness of a plastic waste pipe and very long. It retreated across the garden to the rockery, and I watched it aghast slithering away over the grass, relief and annoyance washing over me: relief that it didn't attack me and annoyance that I wasn't able to take a photo of it!

However, recent visitations by snakes, to the house, have been photographed. The first is a young mamba, about 60cm in length and the thickness of cable wire. It came out of the top of one of the pillars holding up the verandah, whilst the brickwork was being varnished:

By the time I took this photo the poor thing had been hit by a guard's stick several times!

The next snake is a puff adder: the snake that kills cattle on the farm. They are very slow and lazy, so do not move out of the way when disturbed. Cattle step on them and get bitten. This one was near the drive, where there are rocks protruding out of the soil:

About a metre in length and about the thickness of a plastic waste pipe, again it was killed by Brian, our guard on duty:

The final snake was also a young green mamba, which I killed! Again, it was on the patio and at the time I saw it, there was no one around, so following the example I had witnessed a few days' earlier, I used the broom to strike it several times, until I could see that it was dead.

Here it is being held by, very brave, Henry, showing its length as around 60cm:

I hope that is the last for a while, now that the painting and varnishing has finished.

Manic Month of May!

2008-05-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

With three days to the end of the month, I was alarmed to see that this is only my second posting during May. Apologies to those who visit regularly - you must have thought I'd given up blogging. I would love to spend more time writing the blog and posting photos, but my schedule has been somewhat crazy recently.

We have had a house full of guests for two weeks, so my domestic duties have increased. Each evening I prepare a meal for five hungry men, who have huge appetites. I can barely keep pace with them emptying the fridge and store cupboard. I often have to ring Andy to bring in more groceries and I make frequent trips to the farm for fresh produce.

When I do have time to get onto the internet, I usually try to catch up with emails. Our connection is still very slow, so the best time for me to go 'on-line' is either very early in the morning or late at night.

However, I have a small 'window of opportunity' now, as I don't have to prepare a meal this evening. In Lusaka, there is an excellent takeaway called 'Curry in a Hurry!' We have tried it a couple of times, so tonight Andy will pick some up on his way back from town. The food will need heating it up, after the hour-plus journey from Lusaka, and it will be thoroughly mixed by the bumps, but I am really looking forward to the treat - and no sticky pans to wash up afterwards!

One of our guests, Stuart, from the UK, will hardly be able to stand the journey with the aroma of curry filling the car, so I hope they don't let him nibble on the way home.

Since my friend, Sue, left on 6th May I have also been very busy with two huge projects:

The first has been ongoing since October, but is almost complete now. I have been taking an Open University course called Creative Writing. I have been able to send in my assignments via email and I am linked to about 20 other students in an on-line conference site.

I have really enjoyed the course and learnt a lot in the process. Now, I have one week to go, for the Examinable Component Assignment to arrive at Walton Hall (OU HQ). Bizarrely, this assignment cannot be sent by email, it has to be sent by 'snail mail' or hand delivered. I therefore have enlisted the help of a friend in the UK to print off my assignment and post it for me.

No, I haven't sent it yet, and perhaps I should be using this time to complete another draft or finish the commentary which has to accompany it. However, I felt I needed a break, and after all, I would normally be preparing and cooking by this time (6pm), so I feel justified in spending the time blogging.

The other large project I have been working towards, is a trip by a school in the UK, to Zambia in July. I was asked to take over the programme planning and organisation of the trip, back in March, so recently the project has been gathering speed, with me communicating closely with the staff and organiser in UK.

I have especially enjoyed putting the programme together, thinking of the range of visits and activities they can do whilst here. The trip occurs during the final weeks of the UK summer term, so all the activites need significant educational value. The eight students and four staff are linking up with two Zambian schools; the first is the Christian Vision Academy, based on this site.

This is part of their building:

The other school is Kings's School, Mukobelo, a village about an hour's drive from the CV site:

I visited the school recently to discuss our visit in July. The Principal is Sue Chapman, from the UK. She is an amazing person, known locally as 'Pastor Sue'. If you want to know more about her pioneering work in Zambia go to www.dayspringafrica.co.uk

Here is Sue outside their new secondary school (which they have been building for three years!):

When I approached Sue, she suggested that the UK students might like to paint the inside walls. This is an excellent idea, which really fits in well with some the trip's objectives. She too has a July deadline, having set her launch for 26th July, but the students have already moved into some of the rooms, with the builders working round them.

I'm afraid I couldn't resist taking this photo of their toilet facilities:

Well, Andy has just phoned me to say he is leaving Lusaka now, so I'd better lay the table and warm the plates, ready for the 'hungry hoad'.

PS: I hope you've noticed a spot of alliteration in this posting!

Out and about around the site

2008-05-13T11:55:00.001-07:00

I now have a bicycle, so I have been riding to different locations of the Christian Vision farm, here in Zambia, taking photos.

First of all, the farm, where maize milling is now taking place. The process, from field to plate is as follows:

It starts with storing the dry cobs in a barn:

Then, the kernels are removed by machine (I missed that one) and spread outside to bake in the sun.

Then the winnowing takes place, as the kernels are tipped from one bucket to another, for the wind to remove dry husks, before being stored in sacks:

Then, the grinding process begins to make maize flour, known locally as mealie meal. The kernels are fed into a very noisy machine...

...ground into flour and packed into sacks:

The sacks are then stored ready for selling onto the Zambian market.

Of course some is kept on the farm to make nchima, the staple food:

The farm is also the hub of vehicle maintainence:

...and the place where farm workers depart from. They were going up to a top field to repair fences, that day:

The cattle are scattered around the farm. These just happened to be passing through when we were there:

Two milking cows come in twice a day to be milked by hand:

Here is the expert milker, who filled a gallon bucket in about five minutes:

It took my friend, Sue a little longer...

...and I was almost a none-starter - I was laughing so much!

The mother of this month old calf, died just after it's birth , so it is being raised by hand:

Besides hundreds of chicken, there are two other animals on the farm. Two orphan sheep, which Farm Managers', Gavin and Mary Anne, are rearing in their garden. They've given them the names, Samson and Tara:

Next, to the current radio station, which was built in a mango orchard:

There are eight separate buildings, like this one, which I think houses the technical department:

The gardens have matured over the past 14 years, making a very peasant working environment:

Even the generator building has a mango tree:

The only problem with having separate buildings connected by paths, is in the rainy season. Presenters moving from the Production Building to the Studios often get soaked!

The other 'technical' site is set on a hill, called 'Mount Zion':

Mount Zion is the site of a transmission tower, currently sending the FM signal to Lusaka. When the studios are relocated, the transmission tower will receive the signal from Lusaka and forward it onto the main transmission site for rebroadcasting on Shortwave. I like this photo because the clouds forming in the background create an unusual effect:

Hills can only really be appreciated from a distance, but I hope this photo of the steps leading up to Mount Zion, convey it better:

Mount Zion is also a great location to watch the African sunset:

The little blip on the horizon, immediately to the left of Sue's head is Sanjay Hill, several kilometres away. This rocky outcrop of iron ore is on the western boundary of the farm.

Towards the southern boundary, not far from the Kafue River flood plain, the fields become very marshy in the rainy season. This is a storm lake, which will probably dry out in the coming months:

Another area is the 'compound', a residential area for farm and maintainence workers on the site:

They are small one and two room homes, with running water, toilets and electricity, where people can grow their own vegetables and raise 'village' chickens, where children play in the sun and women sit and cook outside on simple African fires. I'm still waiting for an invitation inside...

Green Zambia

2008-04-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

Apologies, to regular visitors to this site, for my extended absence recently.

We left a very green Zambia on 9th April. I took these photos from the plane window:

The surface water will now begin to disappear and the dense vegetation, to die back, as the dry season takes hold. There will be no more rain in Zambia until November by which time these views will be very dry and brown.

In contrast, when we arrived in Cape Town I walked round a nearby lake, which had shrunk in our absence. I hope you can see where the waterline used to be...

Cape Town has winter rains, so during the next few months this lake will refill back to its previous level.

On a different topic, but not unrelated to the Zambian wet season, I took this photo as we were driving along the highway recently:

Can you see the butterfly?

Visitors of the animal kind!

2008-04-11T01:30:00.000-07:00

The road to the Christian Vision farm passes by a small game farm. Often, especially when we have been traveling back from town in the late afternoon, we see antelope near to the boundary fence.

Recently we saw a whole herd of impala, running parallel to the fence. This was a spectacular sight. The impala are very nervous of noisy vehicles, electric windows being lowered and excited passengers (!) so capturing a photo of them is often difficult.

However, I managed to get these shots the other day - a magnificent male impala, also known as a rooibok (red buck)...

...and this female impala in a Zambian bush setting.

We had some wild creatures entering our home recently: some welcome, others not!

Pulling back the bed covers recently, our friend Steve discovered he would not be sleeping alone that night:

These stripey skink lizards are very common.

Then, we had a visit from a tortoise. It didn't enter our home voluntarily, but was brought in by our guard. I would have liked to have kept it as a pet, but Andy felt it best to return it to the wild:This is Misty, an abandoned kitten that a friend staying at the farmhouse found a few weeks ago:
But these 'visitors' were not welcome at all...

...a tiny frog in the shower. I removed it to outside and wasn't too concerned until I later found several, again in the shower. Then we saw them in the hall and even found some in the bedroom.

For the next few days we played 'hunt the frog' around the house, trying all sorts of ways to prevent them coming up the drain outlet pipe into the shower. Andy opened the drain cover and discovered hundreds of baby frogs in there, some making their way along the near horizontal drain pipe into the base of the shower.

We asked the site maintainence team to come and sort the problem out - which they did most effectively, but the result was that later that day, dozens of baby frogs were jumping around outside. Most were well camouflaged, but here are some on the green wall outside the back door:

We then discovered some in the kitchen, but we think our resident skink lizard, who usually resides beneath the freezer, enjoyed them for supper - we couldn't find any in the kitchen the next day!

So perhaps we won't be so hard on our lizard friends in future...

Zambian culture

2008-04-05T23:33:00.000-07:00

Zambians love special events, especially if they involve dressing up, eating good food and dancing to loud music. We have been invited to several recently, so here is a sample of Zambians having fun!

A ladies luncheon, where you spend more time standing up than sitting down...

Dancing wasn't obligatory but infectious:

Church is always an opportunity for singing and dancing too:

You expect audience participation at a concert:

...but at this one some of them actually led the dancing:

(Some of these people are radio presenters from Radio Christian Voice!)

Travelling through town, one Saturday, a wedding party was in the next lane. The three cars were decorated with ribbons and flowers, but what made it unusual was that all three were blasting their horns continuously.

Another aspect of Zambian culture, in common with most other African countries, is the way that goods are carried on the head, especially by the women:

This is Eliza, the local lady who helps me with various household tasks. She has worked here for 12 years. Recently we were taking several bags of groceries up to the nearby cabin, which we have been getting ready for one of the South African workers to live in. Eliza automatically put the bags into a large laundry basket and lifted it straight onto her head. African women learn to carry goods on their head at an early age, so that the back muscles become very strong. By the time they are fully grown they can carry heavy weights without straining themselves.

I asked Eliza if she wouldn't mind me taking her photograph and showing it to you. She has a beautiful, typical Zambian smile:

Zambian Insects

2008-04-05T22:49:00.000-07:00

As you can expect, living in the Zambian bush presents many opportunities for encounters with very large insects. Some of them are rather beautiful and fascinating when you see them close up.

This stick insect was clinging to the meshed door guard:

I think this is a grasshopper:

There are some enormous furry caterpillars...

...and equally enormous ants, who obviously eat the caterpillars:

This is an edible caterpillar, but I haven't tried it!

Back online - briefly!

2008-04-01T03:19:00.001-07:00

We have been experiencing internet difficulties recently. The internet provider for the Christian Vision Farm in Zambia is located in Kenya. The service is extremely slow and often unavailable. Andy discovered that the allocation for the month had been reached, so no more availability until the 1st April. From the 18th of March we have had virtually no signal so Andy is currently trying to find an alternative provider.

Yesterday the installation of a signal from the transmitter tower on the new site directly to the farm some 35km from Lusaka, was started. Today it continues to be installed to it will be another day before he knows whether this plan will work.

There are internet cafes and coffee houses with internet facilities in Town, so whenever we come through we try to have lunch at one of them and get online, while munching our lunch.

Today being 1st April I eagerly tried to get online to discover that the signal had not improved. So I am now sitting in Kilimanjaro Cafe writing this post.

Perhaps if I was able to go to Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, I would be able to get a better signal!!

Trip to Lower Zambezi

2008-03-15T23:15:00.000-07:00

While Adam is with us, we decided to visit the lower Zambezi, the area beyond Victoria Falls, taking in Lake Kariba and the confluence of the Kafue and Zambezi Rivers. This is a vast area of the Southern Province of Zambia, the deepest parts of the Zambezi river forming the border with Zimbabwe.

The Kafue River meaders through Southern Zambia and we crossed it twice: first by bridge, then by pontoon, except that when we reached the pontoon, it had broken down...

...and a queue of cars had already formed:

After waiting for about two hours and learning that the pontoon was unlikely to be repaired that day, we phoned our contact at the camp site, who sent a boat for us and all our belongings. We wondered whether the car would be in one piece when we returned, but paid a local to guard it with the promise of further money when we returned in two days.

We then travelled down the very fast-flowing Kafue River for several km, amazed at the many dugout canoes, until it joined the Zambezi:

Kiambi is a beautiful resort overlooking the Lower Zambezi, just past the confluence with the Kafue river:

Sunsets are spectacular:

We camped in small two-man tents:

...with a lovely swimming pool nearby:

The second day was spent on the Zambezi River, reached via steep steps, which were under renovation:

...and a rather narrow path, which became very slippery when it rained:

But once we were back in the boat we saw lots of wildlife along the Zambezi. At times we were very close to Zimbabwe - I thought this tree, teetering on the brink of collapse, was very interesting - almost prophetic!

We saw groups of hippos, with their ears and noses protruding above the water:

...several elephants, especially later in the day:

...and the magnificent fish eagle:

The highlight of the trip, however, was having the opportunity to catch Tiger Fish. This was the first one that was landed, by Andy:

Tiger fish put up a fierce fight to be reeled in and landed:

We all hooked several, often seeing them leap out of the water. Some managed to get away and others were so strong that they broke the line before they could be landed.

I even managed to catch one (with quite a bit of help):

...and this monster was caught by our boatman, Tobias:

...and even though Adam didn't manage to land one into the boat, he kept on smiling to the last cast!

After two nights at Kiambi, we were taken back up the Kafue River to the Pontoon - which had now been repaired. It is obviously a very busy crossing and a vital link for local people:

It was a relief to see the car again, obviously very well looked after!

Fishing at Kalimba

2008-03-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

Kalimba reptile park, just outside Lusaka is also a fish farm. I has four lakes, which are artificially stocked each week, available to the public for fishing.

Our son, Adam doesn't eat meat at present, but enjoys fish, especially if it's been freshly caught. So he and Andy set themselves up with 'African rods' - just bamboo sticks with a line and hook, a pot of worms and plenty of patience!

Adam was delighted when he caught his first bream:

...and after a couple of hours they had a decent catch of eight fat bream:

...plus one ugly catfish - which was thrown back:

Near to the lakes, there are thatched shelters where you can enjoy picnics:

...and of course have a braai:

It was a excellent day out and Adam returned home feeling very happy - and full!

Reptile Park

2008-03-11T20:46:00.001-07:00

Kalimba Reptile Park, Lusaka, has some interesting residents:

These are Nile crocodiles and there were plenty of them. This was just one of the enclosures:

Another section had the breeding Nile crocodiles in a huge lake - the females were gigantic:

There were also Zambian long-snouted crocodiles - they were much smaller:

This enormous python had recently been fed - look along its body...

There were smaller, non-dangerous reptiles too; tortoises...

...and terrapins; this one was sunning itself:

There were several African snakes behind glass, which unfortunately didn't photograph well. But this is the black mamba:

The 'black' refers to the colour of the inside of the mouth. It is actually olive coloured, with a paler coloured underside. The head is coffin-shaped!

Hard Hats necessary

2008-03-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

Our older son, Adam, arrived in Zambia recently. Andy took him to see the progress of the studios in Lusaka; the site is still a building site, so hard hats are necessary:

Adam had a bit of fun watching Andy explaining some alterations, but we decided to have further fun!!

"Is that hat too small?"

"I'll get you a bigger one"

"I think there's a spare one over there"

"That's much better! Now, where did you learn semaphore?"

If you can think of different picture captions - do let me know!!

Here is another interesting photo that Adam took: What's happened to the transmitter tower?

It's just a reflection in the car window!

Wildlife in Zambia

2008-03-06T01:49:00.000-08:00

Often in the afternoon monkeys come into the garden, passing through to higher ground. Most of them are scared by any humans, but this one came close enough to photograph, as he sat in a nearby tree...

...and then ran off:

On our way into town, we pass by a small game park, which we have yet to investigate. The other day I saw this magnificent male impala, close to the boundary fence:

Then, two female ostriches:

It's rainy season in Zambia and the dirt road to the farm looks like this, after a downpour:

It takes an hour just to travel 25km, and even in a 4x4 you're sliding all over the road - it's like mud-skating!

Zambian Cuisine

2008-03-01T11:12:00.000-08:00

Here is my first attempt at using the bread maker:

Unfortunately there was a power cut towards the end of the cooking time, cancelling the programme. This caused the uncooked loaf to collapse, so I finished it off in the oven!

Novel, I know, but remarkably effective - it tasted delicious!

So did this village chicken, which someone very kindly brought us to try:

It just goes to prove that looks can be deceiving - you can't judge a chicken by it skin, or a loaf by its crust!

Storms in Lusaka

2008-02-29T06:21:00.000-08:00

On this last day of February - Leap Day, I decided to change my header photo, to reflect our current location in Zambia.

The weather has been very mixed since arriving two weeks ago and besides some blazing sunsets we've also had some monstrous storms.

This was the sky as I hurried away from the shopping centre on Wednesday:

Thankfully I was heading into blue skies:

At lunchtime today the thunder and lightning started again, sending a deluge of rain, which continued for about 30 minutes:

Although the sun hasn't returned, there is now no sign of the pool of water on the grass, but it is littered with twigs and there's a loose cable running off the roof and across the lawn.

Hmm, I wonder what that was for?

Settling into Zambia

2008-02-25T10:27:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Zambia 10 days ago, and Andy has just left again!! He's gone to the UK for a few days for some urgent meetings, so I'm continuing the settling in process.

This is our new home. It's a spacious bungalow, on a hill top, overlooking the farm:

From the hilltop, each evening we have a great view of the sunset:

At sunset yesterday, another storm was on its way across the farm:

The lake formed after a storm - I wonder if there are any fish in it?!

We visited Marianne and Gavin who manage the farm. They've adopted two orphan lambs, now about one month old:

The new studios in Lusaka are progressing, after some materials' shortages, halting their building for a couple of months. The green roof looks very impressive as you approach.

This photo was taken from the back:

This is looking through what will be the main entrance:

Behind the studios, flats are being built to house some of the staff:

I took this photo because I was fascinated by the scaffolding:

This last one is of the foundations of a house, being built next door:

There are some rather unusual shaped rooms here - don't you think?

Baby Burke

2008-02-15T01:39:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I wondered if I would get the opportunity to see Donna and Daniel's newborn baby, before we left for Zambia.

This was taken at their baby shower on January 12th:

Cicely Grace Burke was born on Monday 4th February:

Donna brought her into the office this week, so I was thrilled to actually meet her.

Donna and Brigitte (a very proud grandmother!):

Thanks Cicely, you are beautiful baby!

Birthday Weekend

2008-02-12T23:22:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday was my birthday - this year I'm the same age as the last two digits of the year I was born!

I had expected to spend this birthday in Zambia, but we're still in Cape Town, so I looked through the tourist information leaflets to find a different way to celebrate the day.

The San Culture and Education Centre, called !Khwa ttu (the ! is a click made with the tongue) only an hour's drive away, sounded just the thing. As this was primarily to be an outdoor visit I decided to check the weather forecast: Thunder storms were expected on Sunday, but Saturday would be fine and very hot. Deciding that sunscreen was better than waterproofs, we packed a small rucksack with sunhats, binoculars and lots of water and headed off up the West Coast again.

!Khwa ttu is a living, San-owned project, preserving the 10,000 year old culture of the San people, who were hunter-gathers throughout the vast area of Southern Africa, long before international borders and Europeans established the different countries. Like many indigenous groups the San culture has been marginalised and this piece of land was purchased and given to the San by a Swiss foundation.

The land is bush spreading from this hill down to a valley, which becomes a waterhole in the winter rainy season.

Different kinds of buck, birds and other wildlife live on the land; these are springbok:

Our three-hour tour took us on a trail viewing the landscape and game from this interestingly decorated, tractor-drawn truck:

It included a nature walk where we learned how to identify the different animal spoor (tracks):

Our guide had plaster casts of each animal's footprint, which he demonstrated in some loose earth. This is the track of a porcupine:

However, it was one thing to see it demonstrated and quite another to identify them in the bush! A handout showing the differences would have been helpful here with more time to ponder the tracks found crossing the path.

The next skill we were shown was trapping. This was a trap for a guinea fowl:

We then walked to a replica traditional village where we sat round the (unlit) fire listening to stories and watching demonstrations of ancient skills connected with the San lifestyle.

Here the guides are showing how the animal skills were worn as clothes for men, women and children:

Two different methods of making fire, by friction, were demonstrated:

The one woman guide showed how the shell of an ostrich egg was fashioned into jewellry and explained that the women were responsible for the gathering of berries and herbs, whilst the men did the hunting:

We then moved to a part of the village which was the domain of the (San) men only and shown how they prepared for a hunt, their tools and the place where the meat was dried to make biltong (dried meat). The eland is a special buck for the San people and many of their rituals are connected to ancestral worship.

Here, Andy is holding an arrow, the tip of which was first made from bone and later made of metal. The poison was applied to the base of the tip, which separated from the main shaft of the arrow, upon entering the animal's hide. The shaft could then be recovered from the track and the tip recovered when the animal succumbed to the effects of the poison:

These photos of San rock art were taken in the Iziko museum:

This was the rock art at !Khwa ttu:

...with this explanation:

...a kind of San graffiti!

At one point we were taken to a boma, which is a word used in many parts of Africa for an enclosure or camp. In this case it was a place with rough bench tables, where we had refreshments and escaped from the hot sun for 30 minutes.

During this time we had a lesson in the four main languages of the different San tribes. Our four guides represented these tribes and languages, only one of whom could speak good English. However, he translated for the other three. There are four main clicks which typify the different tribes, which we tried to replicate, placing our tongue in a particular position and following the instructions. Andy was much better at it than me, as I have difficulty even whistling! Nevertheless it was fascinating to learn about and amusing to try.

Another light hearted event was visiting the 'bush toilet':

Not knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised:

As you can see there was even toilet paper and hot water (heated by the sun) for hand washing. The panoramic views of the bush were a bit of a surprise, until I realised I couldn't be overlooked!

The whole trip to !Khwa ttu was fascinating and added much to our South African experience.

On my actual birthday, I had a surprise breakfast brought to the flat by Hendriette and the family:

A basket filled with muesli, yoghurt and fruit (my favourite breakfast food) together with a really creative calendar for 2008:

The title photo was taken at the Sciencentre and shows me standing in Swaziland!

Each month is based around one of the activites or places we have visited together:

I discovered that Jaco and Helena have been working on this for the last few weeks, in preparation for my birthday. It is a very special memory, reminding me of the places and people who have made our time in Cape Town such a blessing.

Sciencentre - Cape Town

2008-02-11T22:45:00.000-08:00

As a former primary school teacher, I've always enjoyed educational visits. The opportunity for hands-on activities on a scale that is difficult to reproduce in the classroom appeals to my visual and kinaethetic learning style. Seeing practical applications of scientific principles explained clearly, especially if they are set in an interactive and fun activity, I believe, are the best way for people to learn and discover for themselves.

The Sciencentre, located in Canal Walk, one of the largest shopping malls in Cape Town, is just such a centre of excellence in science and technology. Andy and I had visited Canal Walk a number of times, and seen the entrance to the Sciencentre. I must admit that the impression from the outside was of a place just for primary-age children, with a few mazes and puzzles for them to investigate. How wrong I was!

The first exhibit is a new one, still being installed, all about recycling. There's a small wormery, linked to clear diagrams describing the process from organic waste to organic fertiliser, which they called 'worm tea'. The plan is to install a huge wormery, where people can see into the various layers, showing the decomposition process. We learnt that the Nelson Hotel, which I had visited with Jaco and Helena a few months ago, have installed their own wormeries, and the 'worm tea' is used on their organic gardens. If we had known about it we could have visited the facility for a tour.

This section of the Sciencentre also encourages recycling of household waste, separating glass, metal, paper and plastic. Although the domestic refuse collection of Cape town has the slogan "Reduce, Re-use, Recycle" displayed on the side of its vehicles, I have yet to see this being applied practically. In the UK we are encouraged to separate our recyclable materials, some of which are collected from our doorsteps, others like cardboard, batteries, clothes and shoes, we are encouraged to take to the local authority refuse centre. In Walsall, our Borough, recycling has now become commonplace and whilst there is always room for improvement, the recycling process is fairly efficient, reducing the amount of waste going into landfill. In South Africa, most recyling is still not done at source. Those at the bottom of the social spectrum can rumage through the refuse bags once they have been dumped on a landfill site, removing anything of value, including recyclable materials. In my opinion this is not a very effective recycling method. However, chatting to one of the Sciencentre's guide's revealed that some areas of Cape Town are now introducing doorstep collections of recyclable materials, and this is at least a step in the right direction.

All the exhibits were of high quality and clearly explained. The basics of physical science, such as light, sound and mechanics, along with many puzzles exploring conceptual thinking strategies, kept us engrossed. We were only able to experiment with about a quarter of them in the time available to us.

This one demonstrates how ultraviolet light reveals the fluorescent properties of some chemicals:

...and this demonstrates the principle of sound waves travelling through pipes, producing notes of different pitch:

...and here is an impression of Jaco's hands in nails:

There was a massive geographical map of southern Africa on the floor, with the political boundaries marked. Here my right toe is pointing out Table Mountain:

...and Helena is sitting in Botswana (a country she will be visiting in March):

The Sciencentre has just achieved a Guiness World Record for the largest working cell phone:

The centre is also home to a giant walk-in camera, with 360 degree images of the surrounding area. Situated on the roof of the shopping mall, the live images are reflected onto a two metre screen, in a darkened room:

At this point the lens was pointing in the direction of Table Mountain. The lens can be focussed by raising or lowering and the guide played with the moving images of cars and people, placing small ramps onto the image, making them look as though they were climbing hills.

The Sciencentre does a lot of educational work with school and college groups and Hendreitte learned that as home schoolers they can join with a larger group for seminars of particular topics. I'm sure they will be back at the Sciencentre very soon.

More Museums in Cape town

2008-02-10T06:39:00.000-08:00

Visiting museums has become one of my favourite pastimes recently. As the time for Andy and I to leave Cape Town approaches, I been discovering lots of fascinating places, and enjoying some wonderful trips out with Hendriette, Jaco and Helena.

We visited the Cape Town Holocaust Centre, which is similar to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, but much smaller:

On the stairs, leading to the museum, some beautiful patchwork of appliqued and embroidered Jewish symbols are displayed:

Next door is the Jewish Museum, which is very modern. It has an unusual spiral staircase, which is only supported at the top and bottom:

This photo was taken from a postcard I bought at the museum.

A Jewish Synagogue on also on the site. Jaco had to cover the top of his head, as is customary for males entering a Jewish Holy place. Paper caps and prayer shawls were available for communal use:

In the synagogue, this replica of a candelabrum from the Yad Vashem museum, remembering the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust, was displayed at the front.

On the same day we revisited the Iziko Museum, which has huge skeletons on display:

This is the mouth of a very large great white shark - scary!

And this is a replica of one of the large dinosaur skeletons, found in South Africa.

Another day we visited the National Gallery, also part of the Iziko Museums. Part of the Sasol Wax Art award, this unusual display, made entirely of wax paper, depicted a bedroom and bathroom:

I hope you can see the straws used to make the sink taps and also for the base of the toilet.

These are examples of the work of another finalist in the wax art award:

Another section had sculptures made of scrap materials:

This life-size horse was made from weapons and armory...

...and this working model of a lion chasing a tourist was made from unrolled drinks cans.

These museums surround the 'Company's Gardens', where a statue of Cecil Rhodes is siuated. As my maiden name (name before marriage) was Rhodes, I just had to pose beside it:

Die Strandloper - Seafood Restaurant

2008-02-08T07:43:00.000-08:00

Mark Gallardo, Andy's colleague in CVC Miami was here recently. He came with us on the West Coast weekend, although he had only just landed in Cape Town, following two night flights (to London, then to Cape Town), so I don't think we can, in any way, blame Mark for the dismal success on the fishing trip.

By way of compensation, during his week here, we visited a seafood restaurant which is also on the Cape West Coast, but much nearer to Cape Town. Die Strandloper is not posh! Terms like 'rustic', 'rough and ready', or even 'makeshift' are more appropriate.

As you can see, there is no permanent stucture, just tents, made from fishing nets, situated right on the beach.

The cooking takes place over open fires and is served either straight from the fire or in pots, like these:

There's no washing up as paper plates are used, together with no knives and forks: mussel shells serve just as well:

There's no waste either, scraps off our plates are just tossed to, what must be, the best-fed seagulls on the West Coast:

Entertainment is provied by a guitarist who circulates round the tables, singing requests:

There's even an amusing weather forecast:

And the food, of course, was delicious. Crayfish twice in one week can't be bad!

West Coast Weekend

2008-02-08T07:05:00.000-08:00

The last weekend in January was spent on the Cape West Coast of South Africa. We travelled to the Elands Bay near the Cederberg region: an area of outstanding natural beauty.

The purpose of the visit was to fish in 'Verlorenvlei', which means "lost marsh". It is in fact a huge natural lake, formed when the estuary closed to the sea. Recent rains opened it for the first time in 12 years, making the water more brackish than freshwater.

Andy caught ten like this small carp, all of which were thrown back as they were too small to eat.

Brigitte was far more hands-on than I was, I'm afraid. This fish, Oliver caught, was probably the largest of the day, but still too small to braai.

Our host, Brink, took us to see the house that his great-grandmother was born in, near to the 'vlei'. Her great-grandmother was one of the first German immigrants to settle in this area, in the late 1700's. The cottage is a traditional cape cottage, with a thatched roof, often referred to as a fisherman's cottage.

Elands Bay is popular with surfers and the high-tide mark was littered with interesting shells, just right for beachcombing. The next morning, very early the men returned to try to catch some sea fish.

This juvenile shark was found trapped on the beach and released back into the sea.

Elands Bay is on the crayfish trail, but those who dive for them must hold a license. There are very strict rules about how many can be taken at one time. Brink's brother caught these crayfish, the only seafood that was eaten that weekend!

But this glorious sunrise, more than made up for the lack of fish.

Paintball Africa

2008-01-21T05:34:00.000-08:00

Paintball Africa is the name of the place where 17 of the staff from CVC South Africa went last Saturday. It was really good fun, despite some fear and trepidation from yours truly at the outset, which transformed into courage and near recklessness during the course of an afternoon!

It must have been the hidden stress of trying to keep the event secret from Andy, or maybe some latent aggression I wasn't aware of, which needed an adrenaline boost to kick it off. I was also having a little trouble with my camera on that day, so the following photos have some strange lines across them.

However, this was the whole group before we started:

Andy and me in some none-flattering protective clothing:

Andy after one of the games:

Stocking up on paintballs, ready for the final, 'last man standing', game, which Brad the man in the middle, won:

As we went into this last game I went round giving out paintballs, to various people who had run out - talk about arming your enemy with amunition!!

Back in Cape Town

2008-01-14T08:36:00.000-08:00

We are now back in Cape Town, after spending Christmas and New Year in the UK. Our night flight was delayed at Heathrow for two hours, making an already long flight even longer.

As the plane was coming into Cape Town I took this photo of Robben Island, much closer and from a different angle to the one on the outward journey. The view across to Table Mountain was not so clear as that day before Christmas:

Cape Town is a very windy place, especially in the summer. The South Easterlies are very strong and therefore windsurfing and kitesurfing are both very popular sports. The best place for these wind driven sports is Table Bay, which is also a popular spot to watch the sunset.

However, the last few times we have visited Table Bay at the end of the day, it has been almost too windy to get out of the car. We venture across the wooden walk ways only to have our legs stung by the sand, as it is blown along the beach. The expedition lasts about two minutes before we cannot stand the battering, hurrying back to the car for shelter.

So this photo was taken from the car, but shows seven kitesurfers taking advantage of the winds with the wind rushing over Table Mountain in the background:

World Jigsaw

2008-01-04T11:55:00.000-08:00

While we are abroad, our dog Lady is being cared for by my niece, Naomi, and her husband, Matt. They are also house-sitting for us, so when we return home we stay with Andy's mum, only three miles away.

However, Naomi and Matt were going away for a few days, so we stayed in our house from New Year's Day until today. We had invited some friends from Burnley to stay too, so we enjoyed some long walks with Lady, played some games and did a 3-D jigsaw of the World. Here is the completed puzzle, which sits on a cardboard ring for stability:

The puzzle builds up from the South Pole, with the North Pole being the final, very tricky piece to insert. It has a trapdoor, to help it to be put in place:

Happy New Year - 2008

2008-01-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

I hope that 2nd January is not too late to wish everyone a "Happy New Year". The new year came in quite uneventfully for us. Just Andy and I and his mum waited up to see the New Year in. We tried to send text messages to Adam and Peter, and then regretted doing that as we had a message at 2.30am announcing the delivery of one of them! Since the 2000 celebrations there seem to be many more fireworks locally, so for about 15-20 minutes there are bangs, so we usually wait until these have died down before going to bed, but by 2.30am we were sound asleep.

We watched the countdown from London on TV this year, and saw one million pounds go up in smoke at a spectacular fireworks display, along the Thames River, with the London Eye as its centre piece. I can't help feeling that it was a huge waste of money, but I will probably be considered a kill-joy. Fireworks are incredible displays of colour, but surely they only need to last a few minutes - not 20 minutes!

Christmas family get togethers

2007-12-30T12:55:00.000-08:00

Why is it that within a few days of Christmas, it all feels a long time ago, and we are now gearing up for the New Year? We have spent much of the last week on the road, travelling back and forth to London and the M40 has become very familiar to us. But we have also had some lovely times with both sides of our family.

Early on Christmas Day, five of us, plus presents, squashed into the car and headed down to Chalfont St Peter to spend the day with Andy's sister and family. Their spacious bungalow was beautifully decorated for the festive season:

They also had three different trees, spread around the house:

The table was fabulously set for 12 people with gold and red crackers:

And we ate a traditional Christmas lunch of roast turkey with all the usual trimmings, followed by Christmas pudding:

But as often happens on Christmas Day, when we have enjoyed a large dinner, the creatively decorated Christmas cake, wasn't cut into, that day:

Even the Tibetan Terrier, Archie, joined in the fun:

We had previously planned to stay in London at Adam's flat for a few days, but due to some of us having colds we decided to return to Walsall the same day, leaving Andy's mum at his sister's for a few days.

It was lovely to spend a couple of days with just the boys, catching up with all their news. My mum came over for dinner one day and then on Friday we had my extended family gathering, over at my younger sister's house in Chase Terrace. Although it was overcast, the rain held off and we wrapped up against the biting wind as we walked round Chasewater, a large reservoir used for watersports. Andy missed the walk, as he had had a very early start to pick up his mum and return her to Walsall.

We then watched a slide show of my neice's round the world trip, earlier this year, exchanged gifts, shared a meal and played a very complicated game - a modern version of the detective game Cluedo. We were able to take our dog, Lady, with us and she really enjoyed the long walk, plus another short walk 'round the block'.

It had been my older sister 's birthday the day before, so she blew out one candle...

...and Andy blew out the other one. (I was amazed that I managed to catch the action!)

Then yesterday (Saturday) we took Adam back to London, calling at his previous flat to pick up several items that he couldn't carry on the underground.

On our journey through Central London we passed Nelson's Column...

...with South Africa House behind it.

We then passed the end of Downing Street, where the Prime Minister lives...

...and saw Big Ben in the distance:

Part of the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben is actually one of the bells, but most people think it is the name of the clock tower.

The Houses of Parliament are huge ornate buildings, also known as the Palace of Westminster.

Our route then followed the River Thames...

...crossing the Vauxhall Bridge, with the modern MI6 building on the left (home of fictitious character James Bond):

This strange piece of modern architecture, in Vauxhall, which represents a launching pad, reminds me of the unfinished elevated road in Cape Town:

When Adam first moved to London three years ago he lived in a first floor flat, in Stanmore, which is the last station on the Northern Line (Black line of London Underground map). After a year he moved closer to the city, to Highbury, into a shared house overlooking the Arsenal Football Club stadium.

The next move was only a short distance away, to Islington High Street. This is just outside the Congestion Zone for vehicles driving into Central London who have to pay a fee. This second floor flat was above a shop and Adam's room was on the third floor. Then in July he moved south of the River Thames, over the Vauxhall Bridge, to a spacious ex-council flat, on the third floor. Again, this is just outside the Congestion Zone.

He certainly keeps fit carrying his bike up and down four flights of stairs every day, not to mention the cycling around London, which is free!

"HAPPY CHRISTMAS!"

2007-12-25T00:02:00.000-08:00

On this Christmas morning, I want to send greetings to anyone 'logging on'. I don't think I have ever been on-line before on Christmas Day, so this is another first, for me.

It is still dark in Walsall, UK, and the weather forecaste for today is rain - no 'White Christmas' for us, this year. In fact on Sunday I learnt that Birmingham has only had nine 'white christmases' since 1945. However, this was sunrise two days ago, on a frosty morning:

Amid all the festivities, family gatherings, food and friendship, it is good to remind ourselves that this is the day set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who came as the gift of a baby and 33 years later gave mankind to the greatest gift of all - His life!

On Sunday the children at our church in Birmingham presented a informal tableau of the Nativity story.

Andy's birthday journey

2007-12-24T01:26:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, (20th) we travelled to the UK from Cape Town. It was a 12-hour day flight, which some people would find too long and boring. But I much prefer it as I can read, write, enjoy the view, and so on, without my sleep pattern being disturbed. When we finally arrive at our destination I can go to bed and enjoy a good night's sleep.

So our journey home last week, which also coincided with Andy's birthday was quite enjoyable. With our frequent flier points we can now go into the BA lounge before the flight, where complimentary drinks and snacks, papers and magazines are provided, in pleasant surroundings. I mentioned at the lounge reception, that it was Andy's birthday, wondering if they could do anything special for him. When we were settled with our drinks and papers, suddenly over the microphone a voice sang "Happy Birthday Mr Andy James..." and fellow travellers gave him greetings. Then, on the plane, when our breakfast arrived, the flight attendant offered Andy a glass of champagne, normally only offered to Business and First Class travellers.

As you can see there were quite a few empty seats in our section, so we had excellent service throughout the flight. Finally, when we came through Passport Control at Heathrow, the officer, noticing his date of birth, wished Andy a 'Happy Birthday'!

When we took off from Cape Town the plane headed south, over the coastline and I managed to capture this shot of our shaddow:

Then it leveled out and the seat belt sign went off, so I quickly moved to the other side to take a photo of the peninsula, down to Cape Point:

As the plane circled round, heading north, I went back to my seat on the right side to take some aerial shots of Table Mountain.

This is about half way down the peninsula, with Hout Bay on the foreground. Although you can't get a very clear photo through a plane window, I hope you can see how extensive and flat the Mountain is, forming a letter 'n'. The little peak to the left is Lion's Head.

This is Robben Island, looking back across the Northern Suburbs (our apartment is situated in there somewhere!) Robben Island is where Nelson Mandela, and other political prisoners were imprisoned for many years, during the South African Aparteid years.

Our plane followed the West Coast of South Africa, as it headed north, and I thought this cloud formation over the land looked really pretty - like snow!

Finally, after flying over the sea for several hours, we then crossed over the coastline of Nigeria, to continue over North Africa:

All in all, a very interesting flight!

Longest - shortest days of the year

2007-12-19T11:54:00.000-08:00

As we approach the longest day of the year, in the southern hemisphere, we head for the northern hemisphere, where it will be the shortest day of year, and also Andy's Birthday.

I cannot think of a more fitting way to celebrate his special day, than to share some more spectacular sunrise/sunset photos taken recently.

Enjoy!

We're not often up at 5.30am, but this was a morning I took Andy to the airport.

Sunset over the Atlantic Ocean, with a container ship, in silhouette.

Sunset behind Table Mountain, making it look on fire.

These last three were taken last Saturday evening, within a few minutes of each other.

Happy Brithday, Andy!

Out and about in December

2007-12-18T04:23:00.000-08:00

Recently I visited two small towns near to Cape Town. Both are situated in beautiful countryside, with high Mountains and on the Wine Route.

People driving along the N1 (the national highway, which eventually reaches Johannesburg) see the massive granite boulders of Paarl high up on the hillside.

Paarl is Afrikaans for 'pearl' and the town really fits it's name. In the town centre, this large Dutch Reformed church is an example of the beautiful buildings found there:

But our main reason for visiting Paarl was to see the Afrikaans Taal Monument situated on Paarl rock. It is one of the most famous Afrikaans monuments erected in South Africa and dedicated to the Afrikaans language. The monument is shaped in several tall obelisk-style columns and is visible a great distance from Paarl.

When you approach the monument you realise that it is most unusual. It is impossible to take one single photo, which encompasses the whole monument, so here are a few of its different aspects:

There is a graph-like quality to the monument, with the heights of the different sections representing different contributions to the Afrikaans language. The columns here represent Western European languages and the humps represent Africa's indigienous languages and cultures. The curves of these two elements form a bridge which is the base of the main column...

... which represents the origin and development of Afrikaans and the shorter one the Republic of South Africa.

It stands in water to signify that the language needs care to grow...

...and is open ended to indicate that the growth of Afrikaans is a continuing process. It is 57m high.

This is looking out from the base towards the indigenous language 'humps'...

...and this is looking towards the base from those 'humps'.

There are also two small columns, representing the contribution from the Malay language and culture, but I don't have a photo of them.

These words sum up the attitude towards the Afrikaans language by many South Africans:

'It is our pride'.

From Paarl we travelled to Franschhoek (which means French Corner). The Huguenot memorial Museum is dedicated to French protestant refugees who fled France in the early 18th century, following persecution for their faith.

This is the Huguenot Memorial set against the craggy mountains...

...and this represents the French bringing their culture to the tip of Africa. (A lake stood between the scupture and the grass, so it was very difficult to take this photo.)

The gardens had some enormous protea flowers...

...and nearby is the Museum, which sadly we had to dash round.

On our journey home we passed a garden centre with seasonal advertising...

...which initially I thought was to act as scarecrows!

Then, another day I took Helena and Jaco to the Castle of Good Hope, in Cape Town.

This is the main entrance with bell tower above - the oldest bell in South Africa.

This ancient omnibus wasn't just for decoration. Later on two magnificent horses were harnessed to it, exiting the castle to travel round the Cape Town streets - for an extra fee.

The horses performed another function: demonstrating the quiet effect of a wooden road, constructed specificially for the Governor who slept directly above it.

This is the original road, the sleepers placed vertically and embedded in tar, and it really was a lot quieter than the other paving surrounding it.

We watched an old ceremony for opening the castle doors...

... and had a guided tour of the dungeons and torture chambers.

This is the story of the Three Guns:

Great-big Gun...

...Middle-sized Gun...

and Tiny-little Gun...

But like all other guns, it can make a lot of noise, when fired!

To round off our day in the city, I had booked a high-tea at the opulent Mount Nelson Hotel, a colonial establishment, famous for its afternoon delights:

We could return to the table as many times as we liked and we nearly rolled out of there, such were the wonderful cakes and pastries.

National Holiday

2007-12-16T09:12:00.001-08:00

According to Afrikaaner tradition, 16th December was called Day of the Vow. On this day in 1838, 470 Voortrekkers (Pioneers), mostly women and children, prayed asking God to give them victory over thousands of Zulus who were about to attack them, at the Battle of Blood River. They promised to remember it as a day of thanksgiving for ever. God did indeed answer their prayer as only three Voortrekkers were injured, but over 3000 Zulus were killed.

The African National Congress (ANC) commemorates the 16th December as the day it started to arm their soldiers to overthrow Apartheid. Over this weekend the ANC has been holding its National Congress and is electing a new president, who is highly likely to become the new President of South Africa in 2009. Live coverage of the National Congress in on two of the four TV channels and films about the struggles to overcome Aparteid fill another channel.

In 1994, the New Government of South Africa renamed 16th December a Day of Reconciliation; a day to focus on overcoming the conflicts of the past and building a new nation.

So this is a long weekend in South Africa with many people beginning their holidays. It is quite common for people here to take four to six weeks holiday at one time, with many industries closing down completely, rather like the 'industrial fortnight' which still happens in parts of the UK and the French August holidays, when large parts of the country shuts down for the whole month.

Building update

2007-12-14T05:08:00.000-08:00

It's almost 3.3opm on Friday afternoon, on the day that the building trade breaks up for their Christmas holidays, here in Cape Town. However, the workmen disappeared before lunch!

So, what about that perimeter fence they were building? Well the wall directly in front of our apartment looks exactly the same as it did at this time last week. However, on the other side of the building there has been a little progress:

With the building trade closed until into January, this is how it will remain for the next few weeks and there's nothing that can be done to change it.

On a more positive note, this is how the first floor looks today, with the building clean and furniture in place.

I asked Andy why the tables have holes down the centre - for computer cables, of course!

All that remains now is for a few plants dotted around and pictures on the walls, to make it look less sterile, and that all important ingredient - staff! There are in fact lots of staff working in the basement and on the second floor, where the studios are located.

This is Michael, who has been working away, for days, in the server room, making those vital studio connections - what a star!

Israel final posting - I hope!

2007-12-13T05:31:00.001-08:00

This should be the final posting about our trip to Israel in October. I hope it hasn't been to 'bitty' to follow and that the photos have given you at least a taster of the range of sites we visited and things we did, during the 10-day trip.

Our final day took us to Meggido, a huge archeological site dating back 6000 years, of 20 superimposed cities. It was one of the walled cities that Joshua took, on entering the Promised Land and later King Ahab had stables here.

I felt that this stone feeding trough completely shattered my concept of the manger that Jesus could have been laid in:

This stepped water shaft (with Andy climbing up it) and tunnel , also dated from King Ahab, the water being supplied by a hidden spring which helped the city withstand future invasion:

But our main reason for visiting Meggido was to see the place where the final battle of Armageddon will take place, as told in Revelation.

Bob Edmiston, Chairman of Christan Vision, led this teaching and spoke about the 'end times' a fascinating topic.

The Jezreel Valley is vast, crossed by arterial highways from the north, south and east. It is bordered by Mount Gilboa, Mount Tabor and Mount Carmel. Tabor is the highest mountain in Israel, traditionally the site for the transfiguration of Jesus, told in both Matthew and Mark. Carmel is the mountain where God consumed Ezekiel's sacrifice in a dramatic way, winning a decisive battle against the prophets of Baal. And Gilboa is the place where David lamented the death of both Saul and Jonathan.

This photo doesn't really begin to convey its size and significant location:

From Meggido we travelled to the ancient sea port of Acre also called Akko in the Bible. It was a major location for the Crusaders of the 12-13th centuries to set up a knight's city. Few would deny the extensive damage that the Crusader's did to the Christian Church in their zealous quest to retake the Holy Land, but now, hundreds of years later, we recognise their contribution in defending certain sites for later generations to visit.

In Akko, we saw enormous well-preserved vaulted Knight's Halls...

...and some of us followed one-way tunnels which reemerged at this colourful market, outside of the crusader city. Finding our way back to the rest of the group was a little tricky.

The last city we visited was Caesarea, yet another huge archeological site from the time of King Herod the Great. This copy of one of the finds, made us smile...

...and the sea reclaiming Herod's palace was a stark reminder of the transitory nature of the great Roman Empire...

This Roman theatre has been restored for use as a concert venue...

...and a Japanese group demonstrated the amazing accoustics:

I thought it interesting that we had started our tour in Jaffa, where Peter received a vision to take the Gospel to the Gentiles, and ended it in Caesarea, where he came to visit Cornelius, who became the first Gentile (non-Jew) Christian.

Caesarea was also the place where Paul was imprisoned and appealed to Rome to hear his case, making his final journey from Caesarea to Rome.

We had a much to contemplate while we watched our final sunset.

This is the Place - Tim Boxall

2007-12-08T07:22:00.000-08:00

Tim is the Financial Director for Christian Vision, in the UK. After our trip to Israel he sent this stunning photo of sunrise over the Sea of Galilee, together with the following thoughts and poem.

Enjoy!

Tim writes:

Often in Israel I heard the words “This is the place…..” or “This could be the place……”!!

It started me thinking and this was the result:

THIS IS THE PLACE

This is the place where heaven came to earth
This is the place where redemption began
This is the place flowing with milk, honey and fresh promise
This is the place
This is the place

This is the place where humility graced the oppressed and enslaved
This is the place where freedom took root
This is the place where forefathers found hope
This is the place
This is the place

This is the place where truth smashed the lies
This is the place where the new plan unfolded
This is the place where friends laughed together
This is the place
This is the place

This is the place where miracles broke out
This is the place where the church drew first breath
This is the place where the Spirit freely came
This is the place
This is the place

Is this the place where He met with you?
Is this the place where His words became true?
Did you hear him say “walk with me my friend”?
Is this the place?
Is this the place?

Wherever your place is, He’s there with you
His promise to fulfill
His freedom to bring
Share it well, it’s not yours to keep
Friend, wherever you go
THAT is the place!

Christmas in South Africa

2007-12-07T07:29:00.000-08:00

A friend in Brazil asked me about Christmas in South Africa.

In many ways it is similar to UK, but in other ways it is similar to Brazil. In both Brazil and South Africa Christmas occurs in summer, whereas in UK, it happens in winter. The climate largely dictates how people celebrate the festival, which is also the summer holidays. Both countries are much larger than UK and some families travel great distances, involving plane journeys, to see one another at Christmastime. Families in UK also travel to be together, but the distances involved are generally much shorter.

Some of the traditions of Christmas are also similar for Brazil and South Africa. Both countries make far more of Christmas Eve than we do in UK, where Christmas Day has always been the main event, although these days more and more churches are holding Christmas Eve services too.

I asked our friends Hannes and Hendriette about some of their traditions. They are Afrikaans, so I guess this will be reflected in what they told me and will be different from say, black or coloured South Africans, and even other white South Africans from English descent.

In South Africa many families gather together at the largest house, including grandparents, second cousins etc. They have what they call a ‘Christmas bed’ which is everyone who doesn’t have a proper bed, sleeping on the floor of the main room, next to each other, there is no need for lots of blankets and it is very warm.

On Christmas Eve everyone gathers round the tree (although the Christmas tree is a recent addition) where all the presents are collected together. Grandfather, or the oldest person, reads out who each present is for and who from. Then the youngest child, takes the gift to the recipient, who opens it and thanks the giver. It is a very long affair, where everyone sees everyone else’s present.

Many people go to church on the evening of Christmas Eve, including those who don’t go during the rest of the year. The churches have candlelight and the people sing carols like in UK. At Midnight all the church bells in the town ring, announcing Christmas Day. After church, people go home for a feast. This will be a cold finger buffet, called skilpadjies (skul-pikies), which means ‘little tortoise’, so called because of the size and shape, of the savoury and sweet dishes. They have lots of different koekies (tiny cookies, which are similar to our Vienna biscuits with different fillings).

On Christmas Day some people will go to church again and all the church bells will ring again, before starting the main event – which is the big braai – the BBQ with lots of meat! There’s no Turkey, or traditional Christmas dinner as we know it, just lots of salads prepared beforehand (often pickled salads which keep for days, and the meat (steak, chicken, pork, lamb, SA sausage) often marinated and vacuum packed weeks before, ready to go on the braai).

The sweets are usually cold desserts (jellies, creams, with fruit, trifle etc). They don’t have Christmas pudding, but some people have Christmas cake. They have mince pies, but also other pastry pies with jam, coconut or custard.

The emphasis with the food is preparation beforehand or dishes that are quick and easy to prepare. Most activities take place outside, rather than inside. They play games on the beach or in the garden (touch rugby, soccer, cricket and so on), play 'pass the parcel' and other party games.

The post-Christmas celebrations, with the daily braai, carry on for days, as they are now in holiday mood. Many people will spend Christmas at a holiday resort with their extended families, at the beach etc. This continues until after New Year. Many businesses are closed until well into January.

The photos I have used to split up the text above were all taken at Tyger Valley Shopping Centre, our local shopping mall. I didn't walk the entire length of the mall, but I expect the same themes are repeated. The decorated mall is quite tasteful and certainly bright and colourful. I noticed an emphasis on Christmas trees, particularly in shop windows, which is curious especially as Hendriette said that 'trees are a recent addition'.

This was the post office...

...the chemist....

...the sewing machine shop... (you may not be able to make out the optical lighting strip looking like a thread, running through the display of sewing machines - very clever)

...the jewellers...

...and this was the window of the outdoor activities store...

In their other window this sand sculpture of a Santa wearing 'Crocs' caught my eye...

Now, that does remind me of Rio, where right along Copacanbana Beach sand artists appeal to photographing tourists to support their craft.

I doubt there would ever be a Christmas display in the UK like this!

Fence update

2007-12-07T06:03:00.001-08:00

Last Friday I wrote about the perimeter fence to the studios being built in Cape Town.

I said that the workmen had finished about 3.30pm, being a Friday afternoon. But then, around 5pm a lorry arrived and unloaded piles of bricks, so maybe the workmen had run out of bricks, and I had misjudged them!

Nothing more happened until Monday morning, but on Tuesday it looked like this...

and today at 3.30pm, with no workmen in sight and three days later, the wall looked like this...

Hmm - not much different!

However, on the other side of the property, by the car park, there has been much activity. A digger excavated for the footings, and today concrete was poured ready for bricklaying to commence on Monday morning...

In addition, the existing wall, in front of the building is being altered and extended. Here the workmen are making a channel to house cabling for the new electric gate...

On a related topic, Andy had mentioned that the gardener would be coming at some point this week to tidy up our small yard and cut back a very spikey and severely overgrown cactus.

On Thursday as I returned from my early morning run, I saw him working near the new fence, clearing away some overgrown bushes. However, he was working on the wrong side of the wall, cutting back the bushes where the plover birds had been nesting. When I saw him I wondered if he had misunderstood what he had been asked to do. He said had been told to clear by the wall and to see me about gaining access to our yard. I pointed out that the area he had just cleared was not actually part of the land belonging to CVC, but not wanting to disappoint him I said that I thought the Council would be very appreciative of his work (I didn't mention the nesting birds!).

I then opened the gate and he worked in our small yard, which was very overgrown. This is a photo of next door's yard - our's looked very similar to it before it had been cleared...

Now our yard looks like this... much better.

As you can see, although still small, our yard is twice the size of next door's and it was twice as overgrown with weeds. The lower branches of the large cactus had grown right across the first patio window and covered the steps. I had never been able to get outside through those doors and people sleeping in that bedroom had commented about the strong broad leaves banging against the window, when it was windy. I had done some weeding a while ago, but didn't have any gardening tools to dig out long roots or cut back the cactus. However, I did have some strong gloves (which I had bought for use on the Habitat project), and I lent them to the gardener.

So now the yard looks lovely and tidy and anyone sleeping in that room should have a better night's sleep.

Incidentally, I'm not using American English, I am calling it a 'yard' not a garden, because to me, a yard is an area of paving - it could also be called a patio, but I would use that word for an area of paving which looked out over a garden. A garden is somewhere with plants and grass, and as you can now see the only plant in our 'yard' is the cactus. It's not very pretty to look out on, but much better now. It is also very hot for sitting in, after midday, when it is in full sun, until after 4pm, when the wall casts a shaddow, making it cooler. I sometimes sit out there in the late afternoon to read and write in my notebook, but I can generally only stand it for about an hour, now that summer has at long last arrived.

Galilee - Part 2

2007-12-06T00:24:00.000-08:00

Throughout our trip to Israel we visited several kibbutsim, often having lunch there. My stereotypical view of a kibbutz was quickly shattered as we saw that not only are these very modern communities but they have diversified into some unusual industries.

For example, one we visited near the Golan Heights, is at the centre of the Israeli film industry. Here, they dub foreign films into the Hebrew language and insert subtitles onto films. We watched a documentary film about the Yom Kippur war in 1973, told from the point of view of one tank commander. It included a lot of original footing from that battle and how the small tank troop miraculously overcame the much larger Syrian tank troops. It was a present day demonstration of how God has preserved the State of Israel and protected them through their recent wars.

Another Kibbutz, called Ein Gev, is situated on the shore of the lake. Tourism is the main industry here, with a large shop and tours on a small train around the site. Evidence of the 1948 War of Independence is spread throughout, kept as tourist attractions.

Quite a lot of archeological digging and preservation has taken place on the site, also. This is an example of an ancient olive press.

Dairy and ostrich farming are their other main incomes. Although the ostrich is not a kosher meat for Jews, this kibbutz raises and trades in ostrich meat to secular Jews and foreign tourists. Our guide demonstrated the size and strength of ostrich eggs, by standing on them. One egg can make an omelet large enough to feed 14 people!

Ein Gev also has a large fish restaurant where we ate St Peter's fish. The story is recorded in Matthew chapter seven, where Jesus told Peter to open the mouth of the first fish he caught and use the coin found in it to pay the temple taxes.

On the tables were interesting place mats: some were quizzes, others were lists of the most common Hebrew words, with the translations in several languages. The Hebrew language uses a unique script, very different from this Roman script. There are 27 letters in their alphabet and no vowels, but modern Hebrew does include some dots and dashes, similar to those used in shorthand to denote the vowels. They also start writing from the right hand side of the page, like other Eastern languages. Many of the information sheets and shop signs had the English on the left and the Hebrew on the right, balancing the text beautifully.

I was fascinated by the language and although I cannot understand any of it, I collected some examples of everyday use of Hebrew, like promotional leafets at the supermarket. The currency of Israel is the Shekel, which replaced the Pound in 1980. There are currently around ten Shekels to one British Pound, which made it very easy for currency conversion.

Having spent a day both around and on the Sea of Galilee, the following day we travelled to the Upper Galilee area to the region of Cesarea Philippi and right up to the Lebonese border. We stopped at a military garrison which had been used up to 1967 to explore the trenches and underground tunnels, at the end of which there were look out bunkers into Syria. This was not the place for those suffering from claustrophobia.

This sign post indicated the direction of some important cities and metal cutouts of soldiers on the bunkers added realism to its former use.

Now, the outpost is used to display artwork made from disused vehicles and military hardware.

We then travelled to Ceasarea Philippi, named by Herod's son Philip. The roman Emporer Augustus had given Herod the Great the city of Paneas. Herod had built a palace to Caesar there and dedicated it to the Roman god Pan.

It is also the source of the River Jordan, at the foot of Mount Hermon.

We collected bottles of Jordan water, for posterity!

However, the main reason we had come to Caesarea Philippi was that it is the site of a very important question that Jesus asked his disciples: "Who do men say that I am?". Peter's answer showed that he had received special revelation from the Holy Spirit: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus then declared: "you are Peter, and upon this rock (Petrus) I will build my church."

These words from Matthew chapter 16 are recalled in a sand pattern.

The metal roller has the pattern of the words printed into it, so as it is rolled over the sand in the base, the text appears in several languages. This is the English version,.

As had happened in many of the key locations in Israel, one member of the group shared some teaching on this point before we split up to look round on our own. Here we found a low wall surrounding an old olive press. This photo only shows about half of our large international group.

The Galilee region is known as the 'bread basket of israel'. Fresh water from the lake is used to irrigate their crops. Israel pioneered the 'drop feed' method of irrigation. Nowhere did we see sprinklers spraying crops, distributing water to unnecessary places. Israel's method is to take the water directly to the roots of the plant, so that as little as possible evaporates or is wasted growing weeds. In this way they have truly transformed some of their former desert regions. The vision of Israel's first president, David Ben Gurion, was to make the Negev Desert bloom and he is buried there.

In many places we saw huge banana plantations, some envelopped by netting like on the Mount of Beatitudes, or with blue bags covering the developing bunches, presumably to protect them from disease or to delay the ripening process.

Before returning to the hotel we travelled to the northern most tip of Israel, at the border with Lebanon.

From this lookout post from the 70's you can see the border quite clearly. It is where the green area changes to brown, in this photo. A road on the Lebanese side runs just in front of a large plain dotted with military bunkers, and Lebanese villages in the distance.

From this vantage point we were able to see just how lush and green Israel is, compared to its neighbours.

On the quay side at Tiberias this water feature in the shape of the Sea of Galilee, shows where the River Jordan enters and exits. It has powerful jets of water spraying diagonally across the centre from both sides and showed the water level, in metres below sea level.

Lit up at night I thought it made a very powerful statement, literally and metaphorically!

This last photo is unique, in the sense that I know that no one else has one like it. It was taken late one evening at the hotel, when a drama group presented their version of the events that took place at Masada.

It was a rather odd play, presented in Hebrew, but Marie Louise and I, the only people from our group present, understood most of it and quite enjoyed it.

Galilee - part 1

2007-12-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

Our few days in Galilee were some of the most memorable moments of our time in Israel, during October.

This is the view from our hotel balcony in Tiberias, on the western shore. The Sea of Galilee, which is actually a lake, is such a tranquil place, the colour and freshness restores weary bodies and tired minds.

We travelled out to the centre of the lake in a boat similar to this one.

Once in the centre, the engine was switched off. We worshipped and had some teaching from the scriptures related to Jesus and the disciples on the lake.

The sun streaming through the clouds created a great atmosphere.

The hills surrounding the lake are also beautiful. The Sea of Galilee was one of the highlights of the trip.

We disembarked south of Tiberias, at a Museum called 'The Jesus Boat'. In 1986, when the level of the lake was extremely low, the remains of an ancient fishing boat were uncovered by two brothers, both fishermen. Archeologists were immediately brought in, and the date of the wooden structure was determined as 1st Century. A difficult recovery and restoration process then followed, as once the wood was removed from the mud it disintergrated quickly.

The museum tells the story of the find and the boat is on display. Only 9 metres in length, with only the hull remaining, it nevertheless brings the images of Jesus and the disciples, in a boat on the lake, vividly to life.

Our next stop was the Mount of Beatitudes, which remembers what is often called by Christians, the 'sermon on the mount', or another interesting description I've heard is the 'beautiful attitudes', where Jesus told the crowds who followed him, about the manifesto for the Kingdom of God.

A large Catholic church dominates the hill now, but this is part of the view looking down the hillside towards the lake. The buff coloured area between the water and the green area is a banana plantation, covered with netting.

We were told a story of a group of 1000 people who obtained permission to sit on the hillside with a speaker at the bottom, near the lake. No amplification was required as the acoustics of the natural ampitheatre worked perfectly, further reinforcing the idea of Jesus speaking to huge crowds of people.

Close by is a place called Tabgha where the 'feeding of the 5000' miracle is remembered. In the church is an ancient Byzantine mozaic floor, and jutting through this floor is a rock from even earlier times, which some believe is the actual spot where five loaves and two fish were multiplied.

Capernaum was our next location, a place which is mentioned many times in the gospels. It was the place where Peter, Andrew, James, John and Matthew were called to be Jesus' disciples.

Now, it is a huge archeological site - almost the whole town has been uncovered.

The excavations which are believed to be Peter's home lie under a modern church building, the centre of which is an open area, looking down into the ruins. But they can also be seen from the outside, beneath the building.

This octagonal shaped building is raised on concrete pillars and appears to hover in the air, reminding me of a space ship landing. It really looked very odd, and contrary to what I tried to show in an earlier post about the contrasting architecture in Israel, this was the one place where having ancient and modern together, didn't work.

Also in Capernaum is a huge ancient Synagogue, with 1st century excavations beneath, believed to be the synagogue that Jesus taught in.

The Jewish decorations on the columns were very clear:

The star of David, on the left,

The Menorah, seven-branched candelabrum, at the top,

This was a very curious one, a carriage for carrying the Ark of the Covenant.

The story was that the Ark always had to face Jerusalem, so synagogues were built that way. But for some reason this one wasn't, so a carriage was built and the Ark could be moved into the right place at the appropriate time!

End of Year Celebrations

2007-12-02T04:57:00.000-08:00

We are now in the end-of-year season and we have been to several celebrations recently.

On Friday 23rd November the staff at the Cape Town studios went for a meal together to celebrate Christmas.

As often happens at such events, some of them wore silly Christmas hats. Here from, left to right, are Donna, Brigitte, Nicky and Tanya.

The event was held at Bloemendal, a restaurant on the Durbanville hills, overlooking Table Mountain in the distance.

At this time of year the 'tablecloth' forms on the mountain top. That day it looked more like a train with steam pouring out of its chimney. It was an extremely windy day, so that could explain the unusual cloud formation.

Bloemendal is a wine farm and now the vineyards are green again, with miniture bunches of grapes beginning to form.

I thought it was somewhere we had never been before, but when we arrived I recognised it as the place we had come on the day I arrived in Cape Town, for a three week visit, in September 2006. The restaurant was the location for the launch of the film 'Faith Like Potatoes'.

On Sunday 25th our church had a picnic on the school sports field.

South Africans are famous for their braais, which are giant BBQ's filled with charcoal. Some have legs and others are made from oil drums cut in half. When they were all lit and cooking the meat, a thick fog covered the area, in the middle of which were most of the men!

Why are braai-ing, BBQ-ing, bar-b-ing, churrascando (portuguese), and any form of outdoor cooking, predominantly a male domaine?

It was a very hot day so parasols and gazebos were essential.

There are lots of young children in the church, so they had fun on the bouncy castle...

... or kept cool on the water slide.

Then, on Wednesday 28th November the ladies in the church met for their final home group. The group I attend joined with another one for breakfast (at 10am) followed by 'Secret Santa', where everyone buys an inexpensive gift, wraps it and places it in a large washing basket. We then took it in turns to select a gift from the basket. Here are a few of the ladies and their gifts...

Before the event I had been told of a game they sometimes play where the person opening their gift can swap it for someone elses, but as the game commenced each person showed their gift and kept it.

Immediately I took my gift from the basket I noticed how heavy it was, very conscious of our severe weight limit on the homeward journey in a few weeks time. The bottles of bubble bath and hand cream were beautiful but I knew I could not take them home, so looked for an opportunity to swap. However, none came: I think they had abandoned the idea.

So, as the last lady opened her gift I plucked up courage and explained my predicament, asking if anyone would like to swap their light gift for my heavy one. I ended up with a handmade necklace, which I am delighted with. It will be a lasting memory of Wednesday mornings spent with these wonderful ladies and some gorgeous babies. Before we finished on Wednesday they all prayed for Andy and me, blessing us for future.

Lastly, my dance studio held its end of year exams. I had taken the Bronze Preliminary Exams in July, entering for Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango and Rumba. I passed them all and have been working towards the next level since then, which is Bronze Intermediate.

Last night I took seven different exams: Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango, Rumba, Cha-cha, Boogie and Eastern Swing. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to mix exam levels, so although I didn't feel ready for some of them, at the next level, I decided to enter.

My previous teacher, Wesley, has now moved back to Johannesburg, so this is Ivan who came from Kosova to South Africa as a child. His mother, Marina, is the head of the dance studio, and he has been dancing for many years. He is an excellent teacher: very patient, but also clear with his instructions, persevering until I get it right.

I have really enjoyed the dance class. It has not only given me a new hobby, which I can continue in the future, but it's also been a great place to meet and get to know other South Africans from very diverse backgrounds.

Land use changes

2007-11-30T05:32:00.000-08:00

The piece of land to the side of the Cape Town Studios has seen a few changes over the past few months.

When my mum visited in May, it was a decent piece of grass with a few trees round the edge. People living in our apartment block would walk their dogs over it, as it was regarded as a communal site.

Then, the building work started in earnest and it was used as a place to store sand and bricks, while the land was being purchased by CVC.

Then, all the trees which were to the right, nearest to the road, were moved so that pipes and cables could be laid.

The trees were spread randomly over the grass-cum-building site.

In fact the only grass left by this stage was right at the edge, near to the entrance to the apartments. During this time, permission for building on the land was being obtained.

Then this week, the builders started work on a perimeter wall, which will enclose this side of the site, improving security and privacy.

First, on Monday, two parallel lines were marked out across the land, a few metres from the edge, in an 'L' shape.

On Tuesday, a digger arrived and dug out a trench between the lines, again in an 'L' shape.

Yesterday (Thursday) concrete mixers arrived and filled the trench.

And today, the builders started the brick laying, building some of the columns.

Being Friday, they had all disappeared by 3.30pm, so I assume work will continue next week. However, Andy tells me that it is unlikely to be finished before the builders finish for their Christmas break, which starts on 15th December, so we will probably not see the completed wall before we leave on 20th December.

I'm pleased that a small piece of grass and a few trees have been left near the edge, for dogs, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, plover birds and other creatures to enjoy, once the grass has recovered.

Some of the trees which were moved are still looking rather sad - I do hope they recover to bloom once again.

Israeli Architecture - past and present

2007-11-28T23:31:00.000-08:00

The architecture of many of Israel's new buildings is ultra modern. The contrast with the ancient archeological sites is stark and at times hard to grasp, but as we witnessed at our very first location, the old and the new sit comfortably side by side, a symbol of the current State of Israel.

This was taken in the Old City of Jaffa, with Tel Aviv close by.

The Yad Vashem Holocaust museum is a example of modern Jerusalem. A bridge-like structure over the entrance has the verse from Ezekiel chapter 37, verse 14 ("I will put my breath into you and you shall live again, and I will set you upon your own soil...") in both English and Hebrew, carved into it.

I have been able to capture only a third of it in this photo...

The main museum is vast and built almost entirely underground. Its prism shape can be seen from inside and light enters through windows running the entire length of the top edge.

In the grounds there were many sculptures and symbols to the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust of the Second World War. Here is just one of them.

The most moving memorial, as far as we were concerned, is dedicated to the 1.5 million children who died. This entrance leads to an underground room, with just 5 candles and hundreds of mirrors, creating 1.5 million images of the tiny flames. As you gaze at the lights the only sound you hear are the names, ages and country of birth of each child who died. The tape takes two months to play from start to finish, obviously only during museum opening hours.

In the old city the Jewish Quarter has been beautifully restored, with courtyards and patios, intermingled with ancient ruins.

Most of the streets are still narrow and arches have been rebuilt in places...

...and I loved the way this new wall has been built attached to the limestone bedrock, the modern apartments opposite complementing the street.

This blending of old and new is achieved because every building in Jerusalem, by law, has to be constructed or reconstructed using a limestone facing brick, so everything you see is the same colour.

Our tour took us through the playground an orthodox boys' school. I contrasted it with schools I used to work in. This playground was an open thoroughfare for the community, something which would not be allowed in UK, but the boys were playing with balls and diablos, chasing each other round, just like young boys anywhere. It was really interesting to see how they were dressed: casual shirts with black trousers, skull caps and prayer tassles hanging from their belts. The teacher on duty, standing in the archway of the imposing building, had a bushy beard, like many Orthodox Jews we saw.

Another interesting structure we saw was the construction taking place of the largest synagogue in the old city. However, I was surprised to see that an ancient Muslim minaret (tower) had been left standing nearby. The Jews will not destroy any holy site, even if is an offense to them.

Throughout the Jewish Quarter we saw many excavations and visited several of them. This is the remains of the Roman Cardo, the main street of the Roman-Byzantine city, called Aelia Capitolina, which was built about a hundred years after Jerusalem was destroyed in 70AD...

...and this is a section of the city wall in the time of King Hezekiah, built in the seventh century BC. Notice the thickness of the wall, wide enough for two way traffic (horse-drawn, or course!)

In total contrast, and to round off this little guide through Israeli architecture, a 21st Century building was spotted through the coach window on the last day on our journey down the coast - I've no idea where it is!

The Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem

2007-11-28T04:24:00.000-08:00

On our trip to Israel, in October, we entered the old city of Jerusalem through lots of different gates, many of which are very interesting.

This is the Golden Gate, which as you can see is now bricked up. In front of it is a Muslim graveyard. It is the gate facing the Mount of Olives, on the east side of the Temple Mount, which is now a Muslim Holy site. The Bible tells us that it is through this gate that Jesus will return into Jerusalem.

This is the Damascus gate, the most ornate of all the gates. It is on the north side of the city, where the road to Damascus used to start.

This next gate is called Zion Gate. It connects the Armenian Quarter with Mount Zion, which is outside the city wall on the south west corner. The outside of the wall is covered with bullet holes from the British invasion in 1947.

This last gate is called the Dung Gate, also on the south side. It is the closest gate to the Western Wall of the Temple Mount and so called because it was through this gate that the city refuse was taken out of the city.

The other gates are called, Lions Gate, New Gate, Herod's Gate and Jaffa Gate. One thing that amazed us was how vehicles entered and exited through some of these very narrow gates.

The walls of the old city can be walked in places and If I ever go the Jerusalem again, I will make walking the ramparts a goal. The view from the walls must be wonderful and I'm sure you can get a much better feel of how the different quarters of the city fit together.

Sunset and Full Moon rising from Lion's Head

2007-11-27T03:44:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we watched a really lovely sunset followed immediately by a full moon, rising behind the Mountains to the East. We had been told that the best views were from Lion's Head, which is the right 'hump' on the header photo at the top of the blog, showing Table Mountain. On mine Lion's Head isn't immediately visible, I have to move the picture the right to see it.

The Lion is the green mountain in front of Table Mountain, seen easier in this photo. The rump of the lion is known as Signal Hill, which used to house one of the warning beacons for sailors at sea.

Lion's Head is the peak and it is lower than the Table. You can see it here taken from the top of Table Mountain, from a different angle.

It was our first time to Lion's Head and Signal Hill, so we didn't know what to expect. We realised immediately that is very popular for 'sundowners', especially when there is a full moon. As we were looking for a parking place we saw dozens of others, doing the same, many of them with ruckracks and hiking boots. The climb up to the top of Lion's head is quite steep, although an alternative, gentler route can be found and we were quite prepared to make the climb.

However, we had driven almost to Signal Hill before we found space along the road, so we decided to walk back towards Lions Head, along a path which overlooks the sea.

On the eastern side it was really windy, but the western side, where we were walking was sheltered, so we were rather glad we had not tried to climb up Lion's Head.

This is the closest we got to Lion's Head, with the Twelve Apostles in the background. We found a bench and it was beautiful just sitting looking out to sea, watching the setting sun...

...sunset and Lions Head...

...sunset and Andy's head!

Then we walked back to the car park before it got too dark, watching the lights come on all over the city. We were not quite sure where the moon would rise, then we noticed a light growing in the distance, and very quickly the moon rose over the mountains. It was a very special moment.

Desert Disasters and Other Adventures - part 2

2007-11-25T10:09:00.000-08:00

(Apologies for keeping you in suspense with this part 2 - internet problems!)

Hobbling from the donkey line, Zilneia and I hurried to find some running water, to rinse off our stinking feet. The donkey excrement had run right down my leg into my sock and trainer, so I stripped my foot, swilled both the sock and shoe under the running tap and replaced the fairly clean trainer onto my foot. Despite applying plenty of soap, the sock still looked filthy and smelt awful, so I wrung out the surplus water and then carried it to our next location in the Bedouin village.

Everyone was reclining on mattresses in concentric circles drinking sweet tea from small glasses.

Andy really liked the tea, but it was far too sweet for my taste. After three glasses (the normal custom) we had fresh bread baked on a stone, which was delicious.

By now the entertainment was in full swing, with audience participation encouraged. Several people tried accompanying the lyrist with a strange instrument which was played by striking the inside of a pot in different places, rythmically.

Davi, Zilneia's husband had definitely got the knack and kept the rythym going for several minutes, whilst working up quite a sweat.

Then, we moved to a different tent for our food, which was again enjoyed reclining at low tables. Andy and I sat with Marielouise (from the skipping camel) and Donna (centre), Oliver's daughter, who was five months pregnant at the time.

By now we were used to the usual Israeli starters: pitta bread with humus and salad, followed by BBQ'd meat and corn on the cob. We were all ravenous after our long journey and earlier camel adventures!

More entertainment followed, including some niffty drumming, which we tried to replicate...

Before retiring to bed some of us took a short walk to look at the desert stars, but were rather disappointed due to too much light pollution from the Bedouin village.

This is the ladies' section of the communal sleeping tent: very basic and cramped.

The men's section was on the other side of a very thin and low dividing curtain, but privacy was obviously not a priority as one long side of the tent remained open all night.

A friend, Charles, from Zambia, who was sleeping very close to the open side, told us that during the night he woke up with a start, aware that something was licking his face - it was one of the large guard dogs which roamed the courtyard! (Poor Charles, perhaps one day I'll tell you about some of his other 'animal encounters', when he first moved onto the farm radio site from the city, in 1994. Now he's turned into quite a farm boy raising chickens on his own small holding).

Please note Andy's absence from the photos above; only I slept in the communal tent. Andy and I had infact been offered a room, but I refused to sleep there - it just didn't feel right coming all the way into the desert and sleeping in a room...

Nevertheless, it was Andy who had the last laugh, as not normally being a 'morning person' he woke at 4am quite refreshed, compared with me, who hadn't slept a wink!

The reason for our exceptionally early start was to climb up Masada before sunrise. Masada had been built as a Roman fortress in Herod's kingdom; somewhere the armies could retreat to and regroup. However, during the fall of Jerusalem in AD70, the almost abandoned stronghold was taken over by 1000 Jewish zealots who held out against the Romans for 12 years. We climbed the western side, up the Roman seige ramp, which they built to try to gain access to Masada.

Sunrise over the Dead Sea was spectacular...

Then, we had a tour of the huge fortress. This is a model of what it looked like at its height, showing Herod's palace built on the northern face - the coolest side.

The story of Masada is amazing. The Zealots had plenty of supplies and abundant water from the huge cisterns which collected the water which cascaded down the many desert wadis (the engineering involved was amazing for the time). However, they knew that the Romans would eventually succeed in their attack, so agreeing between themselves that they didn't want to be taken prisoner and become Roman slaves, they decided to take their own lives. When the Romans finally broke through the defences, they discovered only corpses. It was a huge blow to Roman pride.

Now, besides being an important archeological site, it is the place where all Israeli soldiers complete their basic training. We were fortunate to witness this as several troops of soldiers marched up the ramp shortly after we arrived at the top.

Also, Masada now has a synagogue, which can be used for weddings and bar mitzvah ceremonies. Our guide, Tsvika told us he had been married at Masada 19 years ago.

After a lengthy, but excellent tour of Masada, we descended via the cable car on the east face and travelled to the Dead Sea resort for a dip in the salty, oily water. The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth at over 400m below sea level.

Charles (from the story above) and his wife Joyce, who cannot swim, are the black people floating on the surface. It was a wonderful experience, but you were certainly made aware of any skin irritations, as they smarted in the salty water.

I demonstrated that it is possible to read in the Dead Sea...

...and these two Australian radio presenters exprimented with Dead Sea mineral mud packs.

Our last stop before leaving the Negev Desert was to visit Qumran, where Biblical manuscripts, now known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, were discovered in caves, by Bedouin shepherd boys in 1947.

This is one of the caves, which we couldn't climb up to, just photograph.

Whilst we had been in Jerusalem we visited the Scroll Museum, called 'the Shrine of the Book', where some of the Dead Sea scrolls are now exhibited. The roof has been constructed in the shape of the lids of the earthware jars, in which the scrolls were discovered.

The museum told the story in photographs of the discovery and subsequent authentication process. Some of the scrolls were made of copper, others were parchments, all preserved wrapped in linen. A few dated back 4000 years, others 2000 years, but all are priceless and have reinforced the many of the Old and New Testament Scriptures.

A portion of the book of Isaiah was the central exhibit, with many other documents and artefacts displayed.

Desert disasters... and other stories (part 1)

2007-11-16T07:17:00.000-08:00

I'm breaking with the chronological order of our Israel trip to recount some hilarious escapades from our brief time in the Negev Desert, southern Israel.

When you look on the map, the northern end of the Dead Sea is only a few km from Jerusalem, but our 3-hour journey, to the south of it, had to negotiate around the West Bank, the area of Judea and Samaria which is controlled by the Arabs.

Since the Palestinian seige in the Church of the Nativity in 2002, and the building of the controvertial West Bank barrier, Bethlehem has been off limits to tourists. Our coach paused to overlook the Bethlehem valley...

...and follow the line of the West Bank barrier as it snakes its way across the land.

We also saw another barrier, errected by local people living on the overlooking road, who had been subject to sniper attacks during the recent conflict. The view has been painted onto the concrete slabs, probably to make it less intimidating to walk past and also remind them of what the view looks like.

As we travelled further and further south, the land became more barren and eventually recognisable desert. We pulled into the Bedouin village just before sunset and just had time for a camel ride.

A few of my very close friends will know that I'm not keen on horses (or similar creatures). I once was bitten on the backside by a wild donkey and pushed a few steps forward by a camel. My horse-riding trips have all been rather traumatic experiences, so much so that I refuse to go on one now.

However, I had decided to have a go on the camel and I was determined to be in the first group, so that I wouldn't loose my nerve watching the others. Our rather ugly beast was sitting on the ground ready for us to mount and I must say he did look rather harmless.

The double seat, was very uncomfortable, and the rising up to full height a bit scary (I think hysteria was setting in).

On a camel ride your body moves in a slow vertical circular movement, spiralling forward. When the beast rises from its scabby knees and then sinks again for you to get off, you lunge forward precariously. My knuckles were white from gripping so tightly.

But we were soon distracted by some very funny antics, taking place a few camels in front.

Poor Marielouise (Cape Town) was almost thrown off every few steps as her camel did a little jig, throwing its leg out, first one side and then the other. Andy took this, rather blurred photo (I was hanging on for dear life!), and was doubled up, he almost fell off! Everyone travelling behind was helpless with laughter for the short ride.

I can't say I enjoyed the ride, but it certainly was an interesting and hilarious experience. I must have been reeling from bravado, because I suddenly decided to clamber onto the back of a donkey for the return ride. They say 'pride comes before a fall' and I very nearly did...

Please notice two things about this photo: the first is the clean, white trainer in the foreground, and the second, the way my donkey is trying to overtake the donkey to the left. You can't actually see one other thing, that the saddle has slipped round his flank and I am leaning to the left to keep my balance.

My left leg was becoming trapped between the donkeys, so the handler moved the lead to the other side, but...

...now notice that my donkey is trying to overtake on the other side, hysteria is setting in again, and I am pushing away from that donkey.

I was becoming increasingly aware that my right leg was coming dangerously close to the tail of that donkey - with predictable consequences...

Zilneia (East Timor) and I after the trip! Oh dear! Actually, it doesn't look half as bad as it felt and smelt!!

The Southern most tip of Africa

2007-11-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

Recently, we visited the most southerly place on the African continent. It is called Cape Argulhas and marks the point where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean.

The lighthouse rises out of fishermen cottages, which are now a visitor centre and shop.

At the top is this warning notice - spot the deliberate spelling mistake (hint-which word needs a prefix?).

It was very windy, but it didn't stop us beachcombing. Our friend Hannes offered to help...

I washed my 'treasures', including some wonderful sponges and pieces of seaweed, placing them round the bath to dry, but the fishy smell lingered for days!

Here's something I didn't bring home - a dead baby shark.

A rare picture of Andy sporting the latest in holiday gear...

He must have been feeling paticularly jovial that day...

In Cape Argulhas motorists swerve to avoid tortoises...

We also visited this cave, but as you can see the tide had already turned.

Rememberance Day Birthday

2007-11-11T09:13:00.000-08:00

Today is Rememberance Day, often called Poppy Day, by school children, remembering the 11th hour of the 11th Day of the 11th month of 1918, when the First World War ended. The poppy was chosen as the symbol of the Royal British Legion, who raise funds to care for those injured during war and the families of the bereaved by war. Now, Rememberance Day is used to remember all those who have been injured or who lost their lives in all wars since the First World War.

Today is also the 13th birthday of a special lady. Helena is the daughter of Hannes and Hendriette, friends of ours, so in tribute of her becoming a teenager, here are a few photos.

That gorgeous smile...

a hardworker...

the adventurer...

the comic...

a beautiful young lady.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HELENA, love from Andy and Lynda.

Spring in Cape Town

2007-11-09T10:36:00.000-08:00

When we arrived back in Cape Town a couple of weeks ago, it was definitely much warmer than when we had left at the beginning of October, so we thought that Summer was just around the corner. The evenings were a little chilly, but most days the sun shone, and temperatures were in the 20's. Just as the days are shortening in the northern hemisphere, so they are lengthening in the southern hermisphere, and we have had some beautiful evenings.

This photo is just one of several stunning sunsets.

On the first weekend we decided to take a final trip to Hermanus to see the whales, following the coast road, rather than the motorway. It was a beautiful trip. We stopped in a small town, called Gordon's Bay, sat on the sea front, and ate some of the freshest fish, that we've ever tasted.

Then, we followed the coast road round an area known as the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve. This is a UNESCO designated site having three specific zones: core, buffer and transition. Every biosphere also has three special functions: the conservation of landscapes, eco-systems and species; development which is socio-culturally sustainable; and logistical support related to local, national and global issues of conservation.

This all sounds very grand, but basically it is an area where there are no fences keeping nature in and people out! Biosphere reserves are commitments by communities to conservation, to ensure their children and grandchildren will enjoy a healthy environment and sustainable lifestyle (taken from the brochure).

Well, we think it is working. The area is certainly one of the most beautiful in the Western Cape.

This is Cape Hangklip, a rocky outcrop, forming a cliff face with the beach. The road diverted behind it and then continued along the coast again.

We needed a cup of tea, rooibos, of course (rooibos means red bush, in Afrikaans, and only grows in the Western Cape. It is a popular and healthy tea), so we stopped at a protea farm.

Protea's are native to South Africa. They are most exquisite and detailed flowers. We bought a bunch of proteas grown on the farm.

Although the journey to Hermanus is much longer, via the coast road, we were not disappointed. We had just parked and started walking along the cliff path when we saw lots of whales in the bay. Many of them were breaching and it made a spectacular display.

We were so glad we had made the effort to travel to Hermanus. I think it is our favourite place - so far!. The following day there was an announcement in church that summer had arrived.

On 31st October it was very hot and humid, with temperatures in the low 30's, and we really thought that summer had arrived.

However, November has been much cooler, with quite a lot of rain and some very strong winds. I had put away our quilt, as we hadn't used it for a few nights, but this week I got it out again, as we were piling blankets on the bed to keep warm. Also, I took most of my warm clothes back to England, thinking that I wouldn't need them again, so my wardrobe is very limited at present.

It seems that summer is a bit further away than we thought.

Mount of Olives to Garden Tomb

2007-11-08T01:38:00.000-08:00

The Mount of Olives is now a Jewish graveyard and the location which once marked the place where Jesus ascended to Heaven, is now a Moslem minaret. Nevertheless, the Mount has one of the best views of Jerusalem.

This is just a small portion of the view, focussing on the Temple Mount. It is on Mount Moriah that Abraham took his son Isaac to be sacrificed, and where God stopped him at the last moment, supplying a ram, caught in a thicket, as the sacrifice. Mount Moriah is where Solomon built the first temple, which was destroyed and rebuilt around 500BC.

In this photo, the eastern and southern sections of the old city wall are visible, just beyond the road which cuts to the picture in two. On the Temple Mount the Moslem shrine to the Prophet Mohammed, called the Golden Dome of the Rock, can be seen.

In the foreground are Jewish tombs on the Mount of Olives.

You may be wondering what the stones on top, the small window and cans are for. Each time the grave is visited a stone is placed on top - flowers would soon wither in the heat. The window is for a lighted candle - maybe the cans contain small candles, like tee-lights.

There are few tress and hardly any olive trees on the Mount of Olives - these were the only two we could see at the top.

This man was offering a 'donkey taxi' down the steep 'Palm Sunday' route to Gethsemane. I was disappointed we were not waving palm branches.

On the night Jesus was betrayed he met with his disciples in an upper room. They shared a Passover Meal together and Jesus explained how he was to become the sacrificial lamb, the meal was remembering. He took the bread and broke it saying "This is my body, broken for each one of you". Then he took the Cup of Redemption at the meal and said "This is my blood, poured out for you." He spoke of what was about to happen, telling them to remember his sacrifice each time they shared the meal from then on. Today, Christians celebrate the meal and call it 'communion', 'breaking bread' or the 'eucharist', depending on their prefered denomination.

The site now regarded as this room is in Mount Zion, directly above where King David's Tomb is located.

This is the exit from the Upper Room. From here Jesus and his disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane - the word means 'olive press'. In those days the Mount of Olives would have been covered with olive orchards, and the fruit would have been brought to Gethsemane for pressing to make olive oil.

Today, visitors cannot enter the garden, but in places you get fairly close to some of the olive trees.

Some of the trees have most unusual trunks, sprouting fruiting branches at odd angles.

Some have enormous trunks and have been dated over 2000 years old. They still produce olives.

Returning to the narrative about Jesus... After he was arrested, tried and sentenced to death, he carried his cross outside the city to a place called Golgotha, the 'Place of the Skull', also called 'Calvary' which means 'bald place', for crucifixion.

It was a quarry where stones for the construction of Herod's Palace and extensions to the city wall were mined. It still retains a skull-like image on its crumbling surface. Today the cliff face overlooks a busy bus station, but can be seen from a viewing platform in the Garden Tomb, close by.

When the Roman soldiers had confirmed that Jesus was dead, his body was taken down and laid in a tomb hewn out of the rock. It is easy to see that this tomb could well have been the place where Jesus was laid. There is so much credible evidence, relating to the tomb and its location, which convinces me.

You enter through a small opening, which has a channel running in front for the sealing stone to be rolled in front. There is a small window, which throws light onto the place where Jesus was laid, although it is still very dark inside.

The place is not a raised platform but a hollow, showing the end for the feet. The head end (behind the wall to the left) has a slightly raised area, as a pillow.

A plan of the tomb helps to make things clearer, with the body laid in section 4.

On the Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead, as he told his disciples, and appeared to Mary Magdalene in the garden.

This sign on the door states the angel's declaration to Peter and the other disciples who ran to the tomb to see for themselves.

This is the heart of the Gospel in John chapter 3, verse 16,

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. "

Photos from Israel Trip

2007-11-07T13:47:00.001-08:00

I have, at long last, sorted out my photos and put them in a flickr web page. click here They are mostly photos of people on the trip in various settings.I still have plenty to talk about on the blog!

Unfortunately, I wrote about each photo in the wrong place (in the comment box), so if you want to read about them you will have to click on the comment for each one. As you can immagine I was quite disappointed to realise my mistake, as it took several hours to work. I will try to correct it, over the next week. I'll also put a link to the photos at the top of the page.

Back to blogging

2007-11-06T01:06:00.000-08:00

I was quite shocked to see that I've only written one blog entry in the last month. I also realise that the previous entry about Israel, may seem to a little strange to the people who don't receive my e.newsletters.

I started blogging, back in February as a way of posting my photos, which up to then, I had usually send as an attachment to my newsletters. However, the Internet in Cape Town and Zambia is rather slow and sometimes unpredictable, and I had huge diffculties attaching any document to an email. Hence the blog. It was also a great way of writing more frequently, more of a diary, which is what I understand a blog to be: a log on the internet, which can be shared with other users. I had toyed with the idea of stopping my newsletters, but when I mentioned the thought, I was asked to keep writing the weekly emails, as they both provide more of a summary of recent events and can be printed off for those without internet to read.

So, I have kept both going for that last nine months. Sometimes I feel it has been successful, as I have chosen different topics to highlight in each, or I have used the blog to focus on one particular events, and of course match to photos. It has also provided an opportunity to talk about the photos. I enjoy that part, especially finding unusual things to photograph and chat about.

The sixth of the month is a little late to join National Blogging Month, but I certainly intend to post more regularly from now on.

So what about the Israel thing?

We travelled to England on 7th October and joined others from Christian Vision, from around the world, in Israel on 11th October. It was the two-yearly International Conference, but also a sight-seeing tour of the Holy Land. We returned to UK on 21st October, and then flew back to Cape Town on 25th October. Our time in UK was useful to catch up with family, although it was very brief and rather too hectic.

In Israel I took far too many photographs, and over the past week have been sorting through them, trying to decide which ones to put on a Flickr account. I did try posting some the other night, but they crashed and Andy has been too busy to help me out, so far. So, at present I am dithering, somewhat, not sure what to post here and what to post on Flickr.

In the meantime, life moves on and I am wondering whether to just get back to talking about life here in Cape Town - after all the blog title is "Adventures in Africa"!

So after all that rambling, you'll have to wait and see what I post tomorrow!

Jaffa, Arrival in Jerusalem and Western Wall

2007-10-29T03:40:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the many photos I took in Israel...

This is the only orange tree growing in the old port of Jaffa. It is suspended by wires to the surrounding buildings and grows in a huge pot. The Jaffa orange company now has orange groves in the Negev Desert.

The old city of Jaffa (also Joppa) with the modern skyscrapers of Tel Aviv in the distance.

We arrived in Jerusalem at a viewing place, overlooking the city.

The blowing of the shofar over the city.

Sharing bread and wine together, overlooking Jerusalem. Notice the arrangement of the glasses.

This is the men's section of the Western Wall, taken by Andy. Many Orthodox Jews were in traditional dress, with long curled sideburns dangling beneath their black velvet hats. They never wear colour only black and white. All men had to cover the crown of their heads with a skullcap.

The women's side of the Western Wall is smaller. We didn't have to cover our heads, but modest dress, covering the shoulders and knees was essential.

Women at the Western Wall. Notice the paper pushed into every crevice and even on the floor. Once a year, when the Wall in cleaned these prayers are removed and buried at the Mount of Olives.

One evening we visited the recently excavated Western Wall tunnels. This is the largest stone in the wall, weighing around 500 tons, equivalent to 100 elephants. It extends from the left of the picture right up to the people standing on the right. It is thought to be the closest point to where the Holy of Holies would have been situated in the Temple, before it was destroyed by the Romans in AD70. Notice how each stone has been faced with a inlaid pattern round the edge. These stones are 2000 yrs old, dating back to the time of Jesus.

More photos to follow ...

South African Culture - past and present

2007-10-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

My friend Hendriette home-schools her teenage children. A former music and maths teacher, she and I have quite a lot in common, and I really enjoy spending time with the family (her husband, Hannes, works with Andy at CVC).

Last Friday I accompanied them on an educational trip to Worcester, a small town about 100km from Durbanville. We visited a living museum called Kleinplasie, which demonstrates the lifestyle of the early Dutch settlers.

Our journey took us east of Cape Town over the Hottentots Holland Mountain range, where we had panoramic views of the wide valley below. The town of Paarl (it means pearl, which is what my mum, unknowingly called it!), is built in the shadow of enormous granite boulders, the landmark of the town.

The early trek farmers overcame massive obstacles when they ventured into the 'hinterland', creating a path through the mountains, taking their families and possessions on these carts.

This thatched home, known as a Kapstyl House, is an example of the type of temporary dwellings they built on arriving in an area they could settle into.

They built water mills, which powered the mill stones, which ground the wheat, which the settlers used to bake bread.

Once a week the museum staff light the bread oven and we looked forward to eating some fresh bread. It takes several hours just to heat up the oven. Then the coals are removed and the bread is baked. Sadly this was not due to be ready, until we after we left.

There were over twenty different buildings, some of which had been reconstructed on the site, showing how the farmers used the climate, the environment and their skills to cultivate crops and fruit in the lush valleys behind the mountains.

Worcester is on the wine route, so grapes were one of the earliest fruits cultivated here. However, I was surprised to see this floor, which was constructed using apricot stones set in cattle dung! It was really pretty and didn't smell.

Besides numerous chickens and ducks there were a few more unusual animals...

...huge African tortoises....

...a couple of very fat and ugly pigs, whose faces were almost obscurred by their enormous bodies...

...and a large white turkey with its tail feathers fanned out.

We left the museum and drove a further 50km to the tiny hamlet of Magregor to visit a friend of Hendriette, called Amanda - an amazing lady with a fascinating story, which I would love to tell, one day.

It was a lovely day and I learnt so much about the early Afrikaans culture, the later hardships of black africans and the present lifestyle of ordinary South Africans.