I'm not sure when I'll next have blogging access so here's the last blog for a while maybe (although this IS England so there should be connections somewhere...)
I'm off down to London in a few moments, to drop HR's car ready for the group's arrival on Friday morning. Then am going to stay with my friend A who has cunningly managed to get us on the guest list for the 'secret' extra Snow Patrol concert at the O2 arena (formerly the Millenium Dome). Only heard Snow Patrol album for first time yesterday but they are not bad at all so I'm sure it will be a great evening...
Please pray for my sister Liz as she's in hospital today for surgery on something that appeared a few weeks ago and hasn't disappeared despite mega antibiotics. Am not going into much detail but she's a bit worried I think. Pray for peace and that the surgery would deal with it all. And that I manage to get up there tomorrow to see her in Ipswich, if nothing else to watch a few DVDs and eat ice-cream (medicinal of course!)
Then, on friday morning early, everyone else arrives from SA! And then it's all go... I'll get some photos, apologies for the lack of photos recently. When I'm back here in a few weeks I'll try and get some loaded on! keep you eyes on the newspapers for news of the YZW's arrival and launch party, or maybe just in 'Hello!' magazine! It's all going to be hectic and crazy and very rock and roll...
Wednesday 27 June 2007
Tuesday 26 June 2007
Green and Pleasant Land - Parte the Second
Catching up with friends on Sunday night was great, but it didn't feel like I've been away 10 months, seemed like only last week...
Wandering round Leamington during the afternoon was interesting too. There was a kind of nostalgia accompanied by a definite sense that 'I don't live here anymore', in a neutral kind of way, it wasn't upsetting or exciting, just matter of fact. but that's ok, cos I now live somewhere else...
Starbucks now has a card so you can pay with that. The girl there excitedly told me that it's international, not much use in a country where Starbucks doesn't exist though... perhaps I can use it in Dubai on my return to SA later in the summer?
My niece now remembers who I am (she's nearly 2 so quite small still). She was a little wary at first, but when I let her jump on my bed and fling my teddy bear around she warmed up immediately. It's important to be just plain silly with small people. Some more quality time should follow today...
Monday was overshadowed by my long-overdue dental treatment, which isn't normally a problem. But this time the dentist must have put the needle into a nerve or something, leaving me with pain from my head right down to my shoulder when the anaesthetic wore off... I was not a happy bunny with my head throbbing and my credit card still shaking from the cost of it too. So much money, so much pain... (and the realisation that I should have just gone in hillcrest, after all, months ago).
However, you'll all be pleased to know that I feel much better today, after 12hours sleep and many painkillers. Today I'm back off to Leam to see some more family and get ready for the start of the London trek tomorrow, although I have a couple of days there to prepare for the YZW's arrival on Friday morning.
If you still haven't got tickets to see the Young Zulu Warriors in Concert:
www.godsgoldenacre.org.uk
and click on Latest News
Miss it and you WILL kick yourself....
Right, I'm off to investigate the depths of my wardrobe to see what clothes I left behind here last year, it's quite exciting as I rediscover things I'd forgotten I owned... ;-)
Wandering round Leamington during the afternoon was interesting too. There was a kind of nostalgia accompanied by a definite sense that 'I don't live here anymore', in a neutral kind of way, it wasn't upsetting or exciting, just matter of fact. but that's ok, cos I now live somewhere else...
Starbucks now has a card so you can pay with that. The girl there excitedly told me that it's international, not much use in a country where Starbucks doesn't exist though... perhaps I can use it in Dubai on my return to SA later in the summer?
My niece now remembers who I am (she's nearly 2 so quite small still). She was a little wary at first, but when I let her jump on my bed and fling my teddy bear around she warmed up immediately. It's important to be just plain silly with small people. Some more quality time should follow today...
Monday was overshadowed by my long-overdue dental treatment, which isn't normally a problem. But this time the dentist must have put the needle into a nerve or something, leaving me with pain from my head right down to my shoulder when the anaesthetic wore off... I was not a happy bunny with my head throbbing and my credit card still shaking from the cost of it too. So much money, so much pain... (and the realisation that I should have just gone in hillcrest, after all, months ago).
However, you'll all be pleased to know that I feel much better today, after 12hours sleep and many painkillers. Today I'm back off to Leam to see some more family and get ready for the start of the London trek tomorrow, although I have a couple of days there to prepare for the YZW's arrival on Friday morning.
If you still haven't got tickets to see the Young Zulu Warriors in Concert:
www.godsgoldenacre.org.uk
and click on Latest News
Miss it and you WILL kick yourself....
Right, I'm off to investigate the depths of my wardrobe to see what clothes I left behind here last year, it's quite exciting as I rediscover things I'd forgotten I owned... ;-)
Saturday 23 June 2007
Green and Pleasant Land - Parte the First
I'm back in the UK!!!!
and I am so tired that it's going to take all my concentration not to make a spelling mistake in this post...
As I type, the wonderful aromas of a roasting chicken, gammon AND pork are wafting up the stairs from Mum's kitchen, preparations for a family lunch tomorrow.
My parents made the briefest trip ever to Gatwick this morning, spending just 25 minutes in the place. By 10am we were at home having coffee, wondering why it felt like 6pm already.
After a long flight, during which I slept about 4 hours, and missed seeing the approach to London because I was snoozing, I was quite emotional to arrive back in the UK. Probably exhaustion-fueled emotions. As I closed my eyes with half an hour to go, I didn't think I'd actually sleep again, and I was rudely awoken by an extremely loud thud and the plane jolted. I started to panic, thinking we'd crashed, then I realised we'd just touched down and all was ok... But it was a bit of a shock to the system.
First impressions of being back after 10 months away:
and I am so tired that it's going to take all my concentration not to make a spelling mistake in this post...
As I type, the wonderful aromas of a roasting chicken, gammon AND pork are wafting up the stairs from Mum's kitchen, preparations for a family lunch tomorrow.
My parents made the briefest trip ever to Gatwick this morning, spending just 25 minutes in the place. By 10am we were at home having coffee, wondering why it felt like 6pm already.
After a long flight, during which I slept about 4 hours, and missed seeing the approach to London because I was snoozing, I was quite emotional to arrive back in the UK. Probably exhaustion-fueled emotions. As I closed my eyes with half an hour to go, I didn't think I'd actually sleep again, and I was rudely awoken by an extremely loud thud and the plane jolted. I started to panic, thinking we'd crashed, then I realised we'd just touched down and all was ok... But it was a bit of a shock to the system.
First impressions of being back after 10 months away:
- England does GREY in a way like no other.
- I'm in love with BROADBAND, and my parents' amazing new computer. It's SO fast!!!
- With the exception of the relocation of 'superdrug' and the disappearance of the TellyTubbies shop (woe!), Stratford-upon-Avon remains almost exactly the same as before.
- Home is always 'sweet home' no matter how long you've been away, or how few hours of sleep you've had....
Tomorrow is a day for seeing lots of people, today is a day for recovering from my long journey (and for delicious roast dinner!) nice.
oh and I'm on the same UK cell number as before, if you still have it in your phones, so please give me a call to catch up, especially if I'm not going to see you (but not until at least tomorrow)
on spelling...
apparently I can't spell 'weird'...
tsk tsk, to think that I was once in charge of a school....
tsk tsk, to think that I was once in charge of a school....
Friday 22 June 2007
vinegar pudding...the truth
no, it really is South African... this is what I found:
Vinegar pudding (or "asynpoeding", as it is known locally)
I found this recipe in an old edition of Woman's Value and although it’s not quite the same as Mama used to make, it is pretty good.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 45 minutes
Oven temperature: 160°C
Serves: 6
Batter
250ml milk
15ml butter
15ml smooth apricot jam
15ml vinegar
1 large egg
155g (185ml) sugar
150g (250ml) cake flour, sifted
5ml bicarbonate of soda
Syrup
250ml cream or evaporated milk
125ml milk
100g butter
100g sugar
Preparation
Batter:Place the milk, butter and jam in a saucepan. Heat to melt the butter and jam. Add the vinegar and set aside.Whisk the egg and sugar in a bowl over hot water until light and fluffy. Stir the milk mixture in then fold in the sifted flour. Quickly fold in the baking powder. Pour the mixture into a greased, square or rectangular 1,5-litre ovenproof dish and bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until the mixture shrinks away from the edges of the dish.
Sauce: Combine all the ingredients and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and prick the surface of the pudding with a fork. Pour the hot sauce over the pudding and leave to absorb. Serve hot
So now you know... ;-)
Vinegar pudding (or "asynpoeding", as it is known locally)
I found this recipe in an old edition of Woman's Value and although it’s not quite the same as Mama used to make, it is pretty good.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 45 minutes
Oven temperature: 160°C
Serves: 6
Batter
250ml milk
15ml butter
15ml smooth apricot jam
15ml vinegar
1 large egg
155g (185ml) sugar
150g (250ml) cake flour, sifted
5ml bicarbonate of soda
Syrup
250ml cream or evaporated milk
125ml milk
100g butter
100g sugar
Preparation
Batter:Place the milk, butter and jam in a saucepan. Heat to melt the butter and jam. Add the vinegar and set aside.Whisk the egg and sugar in a bowl over hot water until light and fluffy. Stir the milk mixture in then fold in the sifted flour. Quickly fold in the baking powder. Pour the mixture into a greased, square or rectangular 1,5-litre ovenproof dish and bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until the mixture shrinks away from the edges of the dish.
Sauce: Combine all the ingredients and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and prick the surface of the pudding with a fork. Pour the hot sauce over the pudding and leave to absorb. Serve hot
So now you know... ;-)
wierd but probably has meaning somewhere
Am now at the airport, waiting to check in. I'm a bit early, I might even get first in the queue...
Yesterday was a very interesting day, with some weirdness attached:
1. At lunchtime the dessert on offer was 'vinegar pudding'. It was a kind of warm sponge pudding with a sauce which must have contained vinegar as it did smell quite a bit. But it also had a sort of gingery taste to it. Kim and I were brave enough to try it, and it wasn't that bad actually. None of the South Africans would lay claim to it being a speciality of any particular province so I assume it must be an 'alien' pudding... Maybe I'll look it up on google later...
2. The afternoon session I attended was entitled 'Using art as a healing process with children'.
It was always going to be practical session and we weren't disappointed.
We did an exercise on listening to others and I ended up having to talk with a Zulu guy about life for 5 minutes whilst maintaining eye contact. Other Zulus in the rooms who were all doing this exercise complained that eye contact is a sign of disrespect, but they still did it. It felt somewhat like speed-dating, a concept as yet unknown in this Southern country. But it was amusing nonetheless...
The second half of the workshop was practical art, took me right back to my school days and how much fun art was. The facilitator brought out lots of scrap materials: fabrics, buttons, wool, newspaper, glue, scissors etc and set us free in creating dolls to describe whatever we wanted to tell in a story.
Right from the word go I had no desire to make a doll, the only thing I wanted to create was a mouse. So I was relieved when she said we could also make animals.... And it's a great mouse too... (currently in my hand luggage, hoping it will make it through security here at JHB!). Very creative. In the feedback time afterwards, people presented the beginnings of elaborate stories as to what their creations represent, it was fascinating... why don't we do these things more often?
And my mouse? Well, maybe I'm feeling small. Maybe it's like the lion and the mouse aesop's fable about the small mouse freeing the lion from a snare. Maybe I'm just fed up of only seeing decapitated rodents on my doorstep as presents from my ever-thoughtful cats.... maybe it's the rats in Bidford that I'm returning to (real ones in the garden, not family members!??!)... A psychoanalyst could go on forever with these stories...
3. (This wasn't that weird but kind of cool) Had dinner with R, a friend here in JHB. We found a Christian restaurant in Lakeside, Benoni. There was extremely nice decor, except for the slightly weird paintings of Jesus with his heart out and the similar one of Mary... They projected Hillsongs live worship videos onto one of the walls, but with the music set at an appropriate level... And in the sofa corner there was Christian TV. But it was all very subtle and not in your face Christian... Everyone was very friendly and the food was good. It was very cool actually... Don't know which church set it up, there was nothing in the menu, except 'Entertainment Fellowship'...
So now my laptop battery is fading and I must get ready to check in... In a few hours I'll be back in the UK. Weird to think that I haven't left South Africa since last September, don't think I remember ever staying that long in one country (except England)!
Yesterday was a very interesting day, with some weirdness attached:
1. At lunchtime the dessert on offer was 'vinegar pudding'. It was a kind of warm sponge pudding with a sauce which must have contained vinegar as it did smell quite a bit. But it also had a sort of gingery taste to it. Kim and I were brave enough to try it, and it wasn't that bad actually. None of the South Africans would lay claim to it being a speciality of any particular province so I assume it must be an 'alien' pudding... Maybe I'll look it up on google later...
2. The afternoon session I attended was entitled 'Using art as a healing process with children'.
It was always going to be practical session and we weren't disappointed.
We did an exercise on listening to others and I ended up having to talk with a Zulu guy about life for 5 minutes whilst maintaining eye contact. Other Zulus in the rooms who were all doing this exercise complained that eye contact is a sign of disrespect, but they still did it. It felt somewhat like speed-dating, a concept as yet unknown in this Southern country. But it was amusing nonetheless...
The second half of the workshop was practical art, took me right back to my school days and how much fun art was. The facilitator brought out lots of scrap materials: fabrics, buttons, wool, newspaper, glue, scissors etc and set us free in creating dolls to describe whatever we wanted to tell in a story.
Right from the word go I had no desire to make a doll, the only thing I wanted to create was a mouse. So I was relieved when she said we could also make animals.... And it's a great mouse too... (currently in my hand luggage, hoping it will make it through security here at JHB!). Very creative. In the feedback time afterwards, people presented the beginnings of elaborate stories as to what their creations represent, it was fascinating... why don't we do these things more often?
And my mouse? Well, maybe I'm feeling small. Maybe it's like the lion and the mouse aesop's fable about the small mouse freeing the lion from a snare. Maybe I'm just fed up of only seeing decapitated rodents on my doorstep as presents from my ever-thoughtful cats.... maybe it's the rats in Bidford that I'm returning to (real ones in the garden, not family members!??!)... A psychoanalyst could go on forever with these stories...
3. (This wasn't that weird but kind of cool) Had dinner with R, a friend here in JHB. We found a Christian restaurant in Lakeside, Benoni. There was extremely nice decor, except for the slightly weird paintings of Jesus with his heart out and the similar one of Mary... They projected Hillsongs live worship videos onto one of the walls, but with the music set at an appropriate level... And in the sofa corner there was Christian TV. But it was all very subtle and not in your face Christian... Everyone was very friendly and the food was good. It was very cool actually... Don't know which church set it up, there was nothing in the menu, except 'Entertainment Fellowship'...
So now my laptop battery is fading and I must get ready to check in... In a few hours I'll be back in the UK. Weird to think that I haven't left South Africa since last September, don't think I remember ever staying that long in one country (except England)!
Wednesday 20 June 2007
and we're off...
I'm writing this from my hotel room in Benoni, Joburg... am up for CASNET for the next 2 days, networking with the most amazing people from all over South Africa who are working with children and education and NGOs etc. I always meet the most interesting people here, usually with interesting African names too, that make it hard for me to remember from one meeting to the next.
In any case, we'll be discussing 'psychosocial support' over the next few days.
Then, on Friday night, I'll be heading up to the Northern Hemisphere ;-)
Am rejoicing that have finally managed to pack within the weight limit and feel virtuous. The cabin crew moved my rucksack from the overhead locker on the flight here this afternoon which nearly sent me into a panic as I'd slept most of the flight and to wake up and find your laptop not where you'd put it is quite scary... I nearly shouted 'hey someone's taken my bag!', but then remembered where I was and asked the extremely attractive pilot, who happened to be sitting nearby, to assist me. Nationwide airlines, eh. They are so nice.
In any case, we'll be discussing 'psychosocial support' over the next few days.
Then, on Friday night, I'll be heading up to the Northern Hemisphere ;-)
Am rejoicing that have finally managed to pack within the weight limit and feel virtuous. The cabin crew moved my rucksack from the overhead locker on the flight here this afternoon which nearly sent me into a panic as I'd slept most of the flight and to wake up and find your laptop not where you'd put it is quite scary... I nearly shouted 'hey someone's taken my bag!', but then remembered where I was and asked the extremely attractive pilot, who happened to be sitting nearby, to assist me. Nationwide airlines, eh. They are so nice.
Monday 18 June 2007
preparations...
I'm in the final packing stages for coming to the UK. First of all I'll be stopping in Johannesburg for a conference and then on Friday night I'll be attempting to sleep in an overnight plane up to London (not sure I'll be able to settle, it's altogether too exciting..!)
But actually I'm undergoing mixed feelings about coming back to the UK. Although I am SO looking forward to catching up with people and to show off the choir and all, I know that returning from somewhere like Africa can bring out strange reverse culture shock and all that, which I'm not looking forward to, and I'll be back long enough to feel it too.
I've also been undergoing a sort of 'dark night of the soul' recently, which is causing me inner turmoil and angst about a lot of things. It's like God has taken all my 'securities' and pulled the carpet out from underneath them and is watching to see what I'll do about it. It's a whole cross-cultural mishmash of issues that is giving me one long big headache and I can't see the way out of the woods clearly yet. I'm sure it's one of those 'challenging times' upon which I will look back and see God's hand clearly moving to take me on to another place, but that doesn't really help much when I feel like I'm in a big pit and things keep falling in on top of me.
I'm sure a change of scene is just what I need and no doubt the 10hour flight will reset my thinking somewhat or at least provide space and distance for me to gain some clarity. Please pray for some kind of resolution in my thinking.
In the meantime, my housegroup prayed for me tonight and all I wanted to do when they stood round me was to fall about laughing, had to really concentrate, but still I managed to stop myself by chewing my thumb... hurrah for cool people to hang out with! ;-)
But actually I'm undergoing mixed feelings about coming back to the UK. Although I am SO looking forward to catching up with people and to show off the choir and all, I know that returning from somewhere like Africa can bring out strange reverse culture shock and all that, which I'm not looking forward to, and I'll be back long enough to feel it too.
I've also been undergoing a sort of 'dark night of the soul' recently, which is causing me inner turmoil and angst about a lot of things. It's like God has taken all my 'securities' and pulled the carpet out from underneath them and is watching to see what I'll do about it. It's a whole cross-cultural mishmash of issues that is giving me one long big headache and I can't see the way out of the woods clearly yet. I'm sure it's one of those 'challenging times' upon which I will look back and see God's hand clearly moving to take me on to another place, but that doesn't really help much when I feel like I'm in a big pit and things keep falling in on top of me.
I'm sure a change of scene is just what I need and no doubt the 10hour flight will reset my thinking somewhat or at least provide space and distance for me to gain some clarity. Please pray for some kind of resolution in my thinking.
In the meantime, my housegroup prayed for me tonight and all I wanted to do when they stood round me was to fall about laughing, had to really concentrate, but still I managed to stop myself by chewing my thumb... hurrah for cool people to hang out with! ;-)
and the strikes continue...
it's now the third week that the kids haven't been to school.
they are getting bored.
the passport situation for some of our choir is also getting desperate.
but nothing doing as long as the strike continues as the home affairs office is closed.
there's been some violence but nothing too much round here.
perhaps there are some distinct advantages to living on a hill in the middle of nowhere.
they are getting bored.
the passport situation for some of our choir is also getting desperate.
but nothing doing as long as the strike continues as the home affairs office is closed.
there's been some violence but nothing too much round here.
perhaps there are some distinct advantages to living on a hill in the middle of nowhere.
I wrote this on Sunday when it was...
Comrades Day
Today is the day when all of South Africa turns its gaze upon the sleepy R103 old main road from PMB to Durban as thousands of runners descend on KZN’s winter warmth to run the race of their lives.
Here are some facts about the Comrades’ Marathon:
The route is 89.3km (does that make it the longest in the world)
12,000 runners from all over the world fly in to participate
The runners start at 5.30am
They must finish within 12 hours to receive a medal. At 5.30pm the stewards block the finish line and there’s no glory for you. (except the personal sense of achievement of having just run so far)
All the top spots this year went to Russian runners.
The route goes round some extremely windy and steep hills overlooking the Valley of a Thousand Hills.
In order to see the runners go past near us, one had to get up this morning at 4am…
… which is precisely why I missed most of them, arriving as I did at 10.30am to the road already pounded by thousands of feet. (there was NO WAY I was getting up so early on my weekend off) We’re about 30km from PMB and the race started there this year (they alternate directions each year), so runners passed through early.
By the time we (me and a few of the choir guys who’d returned from an all night choir competition and couldn’t sleep!) got down, the onlookers were already packing up. This was a bit disheartening for those few straggler runners who were encouraging each other along at the back. Several ‘rescue buses’ passed us, mostly devoid of runners (yet, it was still early remember). I imagine they would have picked up a few people on the way later on.
Later on I watched the race end on TV, with the final few minutes of the 12 hours plus commentary. It was touching to see runners helping each other to the finish line. I was moved to see 4 strong white guys carrying a black guy over the finish, he’d obviously not been able to make the last little bit. Another guy fell just before the end, kept trying to get up and not managing to do so, his legs wouldn’t behave. And yet he kept on smiling. It’s strange how you suddenly really want him to get up and get going, to encourage them. I think it’s respect for the length they have just run and the mammoth effort they’ve put in.
Any runner friends tempted to try next year? I think my 5km on the treadmill doesn’t really come close to what these athletes put themselves through. I’m a long way off Comrades standard..
All the kids and volunteers from here were sponsored to have a fun day starting at 5.15am with face painting and t-shirts and running through a braai, soccer match, games, the monthly birthday party (and ubiquitous cake).. By mid-afternoon, volunteers and children alike were grumpy, overfed and short-tempered. I don’t think many will have trouble sleeping tonight. But a good day was had by all.
Today is the day when all of South Africa turns its gaze upon the sleepy R103 old main road from PMB to Durban as thousands of runners descend on KZN’s winter warmth to run the race of their lives.
Here are some facts about the Comrades’ Marathon:
The route is 89.3km (does that make it the longest in the world)
12,000 runners from all over the world fly in to participate
The runners start at 5.30am
They must finish within 12 hours to receive a medal. At 5.30pm the stewards block the finish line and there’s no glory for you. (except the personal sense of achievement of having just run so far)
All the top spots this year went to Russian runners.
The route goes round some extremely windy and steep hills overlooking the Valley of a Thousand Hills.
In order to see the runners go past near us, one had to get up this morning at 4am…
… which is precisely why I missed most of them, arriving as I did at 10.30am to the road already pounded by thousands of feet. (there was NO WAY I was getting up so early on my weekend off) We’re about 30km from PMB and the race started there this year (they alternate directions each year), so runners passed through early.
By the time we (me and a few of the choir guys who’d returned from an all night choir competition and couldn’t sleep!) got down, the onlookers were already packing up. This was a bit disheartening for those few straggler runners who were encouraging each other along at the back. Several ‘rescue buses’ passed us, mostly devoid of runners (yet, it was still early remember). I imagine they would have picked up a few people on the way later on.
Later on I watched the race end on TV, with the final few minutes of the 12 hours plus commentary. It was touching to see runners helping each other to the finish line. I was moved to see 4 strong white guys carrying a black guy over the finish, he’d obviously not been able to make the last little bit. Another guy fell just before the end, kept trying to get up and not managing to do so, his legs wouldn’t behave. And yet he kept on smiling. It’s strange how you suddenly really want him to get up and get going, to encourage them. I think it’s respect for the length they have just run and the mammoth effort they’ve put in.
Any runner friends tempted to try next year? I think my 5km on the treadmill doesn’t really come close to what these athletes put themselves through. I’m a long way off Comrades standard..
All the kids and volunteers from here were sponsored to have a fun day starting at 5.15am with face painting and t-shirts and running through a braai, soccer match, games, the monthly birthday party (and ubiquitous cake).. By mid-afternoon, volunteers and children alike were grumpy, overfed and short-tempered. I don’t think many will have trouble sleeping tonight. But a good day was had by all.
Thursday 14 June 2007
more travels
I've been to Johannesburg for a long meeting, but it was good to touch base with other partners. Then we went to try and sort out visa problems again in Pretoria...
No sign of all the strikers on Wednesday though, despite there being a general strike called... we even managed to fly home without any trouble at the airport.
And now I'm getting ready to leave next Wednesday for Johannesburg again, for another conference on my way to the UK. It's all go...
No sign of all the strikers on Wednesday though, despite there being a general strike called... we even managed to fly home without any trouble at the airport.
And now I'm getting ready to leave next Wednesday for Johannesburg again, for another conference on my way to the UK. It's all go...
Friday 8 June 2007
Friday
More and more children are enjoying an unexpected holiday as the public workers strike continues and the violence increases. In Durban yesterday 5 people were killed during a demonstration outside of a hospital. Schools are being forced to close as threats continue against those who try to work. There are demonstrations in all the major cities and now the ambulance service in Durban have stopped working because of the risk caused by the striking. The situation is bad in hospitals too. It’s all a bit crazy. We’re a week into it now, and the plan is ‘indefinite’. Wonder if this has hit news in the UK or not? At least out here in the Styx we don’t fear riots or demonstrations, at least not yet…
It’s been an atypical evening here so far too. Our farm got broken into so we had to send people over to sort that out, then my car key fell out of my pocket and I had to do a major torchlight retracing of steps to find it. Just as I found it I was chatting with some staff and we heard a car go past on the track and then hit something and crash. So we had to send all the men we could find to go and help out. They had to turn the car to the right side round. The driver wasn’t hurt, thankfully. All this before 7pm!
On a lighter note, I experienced a new shopping centre today in Hillcrest.
It’s so new it’s still being built.
Only in Africa would they open up the shops in a half-built infrastructure.
At least the parking was free, but I had to negotiate builders and cordoned off areas to find a space and everywhere was a bit dusty with that construction dust. The escalators didn’t work and the lifts seemed temperamental. I ventured for the stairs, so far minus banisters (but they were lying nearby!) The shops don’t seem to mind, it was all quite bizarre.
But none of that was as bizarre as the curry-flavoured focaccia I bought for lunch.
Now that is just wrong. Curry and focaccia.
It wasn’t too bad, but no self-respecting Italian would ever make that combination, or buy it for that matter. It looked innocent enough, but no… the curry flavouring was lurking beneath the cheesy top…
The only other bit of news is that I have found myself shamelessly addicted to Facebook… I can’t be the only one to be sucked in to this mode of communication… it’s so ridiculously easy to use. So far I’ve discovered that at least 2 of my friends are pregnant and one more got married ages ago (thanks for telling me guys! ;-) )
It’s been an atypical evening here so far too. Our farm got broken into so we had to send people over to sort that out, then my car key fell out of my pocket and I had to do a major torchlight retracing of steps to find it. Just as I found it I was chatting with some staff and we heard a car go past on the track and then hit something and crash. So we had to send all the men we could find to go and help out. They had to turn the car to the right side round. The driver wasn’t hurt, thankfully. All this before 7pm!
On a lighter note, I experienced a new shopping centre today in Hillcrest.
It’s so new it’s still being built.
Only in Africa would they open up the shops in a half-built infrastructure.
At least the parking was free, but I had to negotiate builders and cordoned off areas to find a space and everywhere was a bit dusty with that construction dust. The escalators didn’t work and the lifts seemed temperamental. I ventured for the stairs, so far minus banisters (but they were lying nearby!) The shops don’t seem to mind, it was all quite bizarre.
But none of that was as bizarre as the curry-flavoured focaccia I bought for lunch.
Now that is just wrong. Curry and focaccia.
It wasn’t too bad, but no self-respecting Italian would ever make that combination, or buy it for that matter. It looked innocent enough, but no… the curry flavouring was lurking beneath the cheesy top…
The only other bit of news is that I have found myself shamelessly addicted to Facebook… I can’t be the only one to be sucked in to this mode of communication… it’s so ridiculously easy to use. So far I’ve discovered that at least 2 of my friends are pregnant and one more got married ages ago (thanks for telling me guys! ;-) )
Wednesday 6 June 2007
trouble
So i think the situation is that 'going on strike' was outlawed under apartheid, so now in the new South Africa it's an expression of freedom as much as anything else. And so the Public workers started striking this week and the whole thing is rapidly turning violent.
Some schools were closed the first day, some stayed open. About half of our kids got sent home. Now it's become too dangerous for most schools in KZN to open as there are threats of violence towards staff and pupils if they go to school. Mad. I guess going on strike makes a point, but there's little point if it's all going to end up on the violence route. Surely we've been there before? The kids, however, think it's great! One more week of unexpected holiday!
As for myself, I've not managed to follow too much what is going on, having been really ill for the past 2 days. I'm now fully drugged up on strong antibiotics to combat a mean sore throat, and have been told to 'avoid situations that push my heart rate up' to try and bring my pulse down to a reasonable level as a brief episode of tachychardia was disturbing my sleep, and my awake times, since Sunday. Apparently there's no damage to my heart, quite disturbing nonetheless to think that a 'simple cold', as this started out, could even cause damage like that!!
Try as I might, it's quite hard to avoid 'stressful situations' in a job like mine. The newest problem is that now there are 4 people in the choir who might not have their passports all sorted in time, all unforseen problems. I'm not going into elaborate details, but please pray that if God wants these 4 in the UK ,He'll move a mountain or something.
3 of them are held up by aforementioned strike action, the fourth one is in relation to my earlier posting on Pretoria. I am speechless at the response we received from them today. I'm not kidding when I question some people's ability to read English and to work through an application appropriately. This one situation has cost us more money than should ever be necessary for an NGO to have to spend to correct a mistake by the immigration office. It is nothing less than a disgrace that is causing head and heartache for these people who only want to sing and raise awareness about the AIDS pandemic in their home country. I am ashamed to be associated with such people. What should be a simple procedure has been blown up into a major problem and it now looks like we'll have to return to Pretoria AGAIN next week... I am not a happy bunny, and I'm not the only one. I need to go now and rest so that my pulse returns to somewhere near where it should be...
Some schools were closed the first day, some stayed open. About half of our kids got sent home. Now it's become too dangerous for most schools in KZN to open as there are threats of violence towards staff and pupils if they go to school. Mad. I guess going on strike makes a point, but there's little point if it's all going to end up on the violence route. Surely we've been there before? The kids, however, think it's great! One more week of unexpected holiday!
As for myself, I've not managed to follow too much what is going on, having been really ill for the past 2 days. I'm now fully drugged up on strong antibiotics to combat a mean sore throat, and have been told to 'avoid situations that push my heart rate up' to try and bring my pulse down to a reasonable level as a brief episode of tachychardia was disturbing my sleep, and my awake times, since Sunday. Apparently there's no damage to my heart, quite disturbing nonetheless to think that a 'simple cold', as this started out, could even cause damage like that!!
Try as I might, it's quite hard to avoid 'stressful situations' in a job like mine. The newest problem is that now there are 4 people in the choir who might not have their passports all sorted in time, all unforseen problems. I'm not going into elaborate details, but please pray that if God wants these 4 in the UK ,He'll move a mountain or something.
3 of them are held up by aforementioned strike action, the fourth one is in relation to my earlier posting on Pretoria. I am speechless at the response we received from them today. I'm not kidding when I question some people's ability to read English and to work through an application appropriately. This one situation has cost us more money than should ever be necessary for an NGO to have to spend to correct a mistake by the immigration office. It is nothing less than a disgrace that is causing head and heartache for these people who only want to sing and raise awareness about the AIDS pandemic in their home country. I am ashamed to be associated with such people. What should be a simple procedure has been blown up into a major problem and it now looks like we'll have to return to Pretoria AGAIN next week... I am not a happy bunny, and I'm not the only one. I need to go now and rest so that my pulse returns to somewhere near where it should be...
Saturday 2 June 2007
The Lobola Event
Aunty P, who I work with, has finally received all her Lobola payments from her boyfriend and the festivities can begin in earnest. The Lobola is the payment that a man pays to a woman’s family when he wants to marry her, the going rate now is about 12 cows. So today a small gathering of us from here drove down into the valley to help her celebrate. In classic ‘African’ fashion, the timings went completely out of the window…
It took us about 2 hours to get to P’s house, from whence the procession started. There they loaded up the cars with gifts of food for her boyfriend’s family. Problem number one (after our delay, it should have only taken us an hour to get there) was that the person bringing her skirt had car problems and so P had to be whisked off to collect it.
After the traditional standing around for what seems like an inordinately long time, we set off up the bumpy track to make our way to P’s boyfriend’s house in Swayimane. We were blessed by the fact it’s not rained for a while, or that track would have been impassable in my Toyota, a combi and a little hire car, each one heavily laden with people and food.
Trouble was, in all the commotion, we kind of got cut off from P and ended up waiting for ages by what I like to call ‘the last house in Swayimane’ (as it’s the last one when you are driving out before you hit miles of sugar cane plantation.). Eventually she showed up, looking amazing in her traditional get-up.
And so we finally made the last procession down to her boyfriend’s house, arriving shortly after 2pm, when the original estimated time of arrival had been around 11am. In the meantime, one of our platters had to be sacrificed for the greater good of feeding a good number of people waiting around. There were still a couple of platters left so no-one minded!
The next job was to deliver the food and drinks to the family. This involved all of us processing in, singing in Zulu, with the offerings on our heads. I was handed a 5litre plastic bottle of cooking oil, possibly slightly easier than the 10kg bags of rice, or the crates of 12 bottles of coke/beer. In any case, it must have been quite a surprise for his family to welcome several ‘white’ girls attempting to sing the Zulu melodies. It certainly beats Saturday afternoon in front of the TV in the UK!
Only after all this had been accepted could we re-process in as a group escorting P to what will be her new family one day soon. They accepted her in and, after some Zulu dancing, some official and some less official from a group of guys who’d obviously been at the beer since 11am (when we were supposed to arrive!), we were escorted to the marquee which was just about big enough for all of her family and friends.
The Europeans were given the table of honour (something I’m not sure we’re that comfortable with, but you can’t really argue with the hosts) along with P and a few other friends. Our girls, who we’d brought from here, and everyone else just got chairs/benches. The traditional curry and rice combo was soon in coming, this time dessert wasn’t just custard and fruit, but also masses of cake…
The difference this time (from the other wedding/graduation etc ceremonies I’ve attended) is that the boyfriend’s family were all outside and only came in to present the sheep that they then proceeded to slaughter (thankfully, outside. And I politely declined the invitation to go and watch, especially as aforementioned sheep was presented at the same time as the curry!)
Perhaps I did miss something though as various parts of the sheep were brought in to be smeared onto P, and then whatever part of the animal that contains the bile was attached onto P’s dress. No one could explain what the significance of that was, but I hope it wasn’t horrible.
The meal was followed by lots of singing and dancing, quite spectacular. But all too soon it was time to head home, before darkness fell and the extremely drunk guys remembered they were carrying guns. I suppose there are certain risks taking attractive Zulu teenage girls and 20something yr old volunteers into a valley party, but it’s not as dangerous as some might think. Everyone was very smart and I think everyone knew where they stood. The men were interested, but wise enough to maintain a distance. However, some guy did hand me his cellphone and asked me to put my number in, but as he’d not bothered to really chat to me there wasn’t much hope for him. I’m also at a minor disadvantage that most people think I’m about 24, which I should take as a compliment that I look so young. I think they’d run a mile if they knew my real age!!
Despite my best efforts to get everyone back into the vehicles, we had to wait for the sheep to finish roasting which had to be consumed on the way back, in the dark. I’m so glad that I know those valley roads well, even in the dark. We only came across 3 lots of cows blocking the roads
It's on days like these that I really know I'm in Africa!
PS : apologies if this is slightly less coherent than normal, my cold has broken through into the most hideous sore throat, which I'm hoping to sleep off in a little bit...
PPS: my cellphone is fixed, I've found an even quicker connection speed ;-) and I'm back in the world of MSN messenger, Skype etc etc. So give me a nudge if you see me online!
It took us about 2 hours to get to P’s house, from whence the procession started. There they loaded up the cars with gifts of food for her boyfriend’s family. Problem number one (after our delay, it should have only taken us an hour to get there) was that the person bringing her skirt had car problems and so P had to be whisked off to collect it.
After the traditional standing around for what seems like an inordinately long time, we set off up the bumpy track to make our way to P’s boyfriend’s house in Swayimane. We were blessed by the fact it’s not rained for a while, or that track would have been impassable in my Toyota, a combi and a little hire car, each one heavily laden with people and food.
Trouble was, in all the commotion, we kind of got cut off from P and ended up waiting for ages by what I like to call ‘the last house in Swayimane’ (as it’s the last one when you are driving out before you hit miles of sugar cane plantation.). Eventually she showed up, looking amazing in her traditional get-up.
And so we finally made the last procession down to her boyfriend’s house, arriving shortly after 2pm, when the original estimated time of arrival had been around 11am. In the meantime, one of our platters had to be sacrificed for the greater good of feeding a good number of people waiting around. There were still a couple of platters left so no-one minded!
The next job was to deliver the food and drinks to the family. This involved all of us processing in, singing in Zulu, with the offerings on our heads. I was handed a 5litre plastic bottle of cooking oil, possibly slightly easier than the 10kg bags of rice, or the crates of 12 bottles of coke/beer. In any case, it must have been quite a surprise for his family to welcome several ‘white’ girls attempting to sing the Zulu melodies. It certainly beats Saturday afternoon in front of the TV in the UK!
Only after all this had been accepted could we re-process in as a group escorting P to what will be her new family one day soon. They accepted her in and, after some Zulu dancing, some official and some less official from a group of guys who’d obviously been at the beer since 11am (when we were supposed to arrive!), we were escorted to the marquee which was just about big enough for all of her family and friends.
The Europeans were given the table of honour (something I’m not sure we’re that comfortable with, but you can’t really argue with the hosts) along with P and a few other friends. Our girls, who we’d brought from here, and everyone else just got chairs/benches. The traditional curry and rice combo was soon in coming, this time dessert wasn’t just custard and fruit, but also masses of cake…
The difference this time (from the other wedding/graduation etc ceremonies I’ve attended) is that the boyfriend’s family were all outside and only came in to present the sheep that they then proceeded to slaughter (thankfully, outside. And I politely declined the invitation to go and watch, especially as aforementioned sheep was presented at the same time as the curry!)
Perhaps I did miss something though as various parts of the sheep were brought in to be smeared onto P, and then whatever part of the animal that contains the bile was attached onto P’s dress. No one could explain what the significance of that was, but I hope it wasn’t horrible.
The meal was followed by lots of singing and dancing, quite spectacular. But all too soon it was time to head home, before darkness fell and the extremely drunk guys remembered they were carrying guns. I suppose there are certain risks taking attractive Zulu teenage girls and 20something yr old volunteers into a valley party, but it’s not as dangerous as some might think. Everyone was very smart and I think everyone knew where they stood. The men were interested, but wise enough to maintain a distance. However, some guy did hand me his cellphone and asked me to put my number in, but as he’d not bothered to really chat to me there wasn’t much hope for him. I’m also at a minor disadvantage that most people think I’m about 24, which I should take as a compliment that I look so young. I think they’d run a mile if they knew my real age!!
Despite my best efforts to get everyone back into the vehicles, we had to wait for the sheep to finish roasting which had to be consumed on the way back, in the dark. I’m so glad that I know those valley roads well, even in the dark. We only came across 3 lots of cows blocking the roads
It's on days like these that I really know I'm in Africa!
PS : apologies if this is slightly less coherent than normal, my cold has broken through into the most hideous sore throat, which I'm hoping to sleep off in a little bit...
PPS: my cellphone is fixed, I've found an even quicker connection speed ;-) and I'm back in the world of MSN messenger, Skype etc etc. So give me a nudge if you see me online!
Friday 1 June 2007
ho hum...
well, there's not that much to report at the moment really.
I'm struggling to fight off a cold so that means I've been working in the office and then catching up briefly with the kids after work and then chilling out in my house. This has been a good week for Zulu lessons though and I'm now onto chapter 13 of my book (only 4 more to go!) .
Tomorrow I'm off to a traditional celebration of Lobola in the valley, which should be good. I'll put a proper post up about that next week. It's the celebration of when a man has finally paid all the 'cows' for the woman he wants to marry and only then can the sheep be slaughtered and the festivities begin. Should be interesting. Need to find my long skirt...
The weather has now settled to a 'cool' 25 degrees C, tough life eh, it means that in 22 days when I get out of the plane at Gatwick I'm still going to feel cold, probably. The whole weather, season, academic year differences thing has really got me confused! Hence the stinking cold!!!
For all you 'facebook' fans, I'm now registered, but haven't got around to seeking people out yet, I know it's taking off big time so please look me up and add me to your 'friend' list if you get chance! ;-)
oh and my cellphone is apparently fixed, picking it up this afternoon so hopefully I'll be back to fast internet connection (and that means photos!) later on today! ;-)
Have a good weekend, whatever you get up to!
I'm struggling to fight off a cold so that means I've been working in the office and then catching up briefly with the kids after work and then chilling out in my house. This has been a good week for Zulu lessons though and I'm now onto chapter 13 of my book (only 4 more to go!) .
Tomorrow I'm off to a traditional celebration of Lobola in the valley, which should be good. I'll put a proper post up about that next week. It's the celebration of when a man has finally paid all the 'cows' for the woman he wants to marry and only then can the sheep be slaughtered and the festivities begin. Should be interesting. Need to find my long skirt...
The weather has now settled to a 'cool' 25 degrees C, tough life eh, it means that in 22 days when I get out of the plane at Gatwick I'm still going to feel cold, probably. The whole weather, season, academic year differences thing has really got me confused! Hence the stinking cold!!!
For all you 'facebook' fans, I'm now registered, but haven't got around to seeking people out yet, I know it's taking off big time so please look me up and add me to your 'friend' list if you get chance! ;-)
oh and my cellphone is apparently fixed, picking it up this afternoon so hopefully I'll be back to fast internet connection (and that means photos!) later on today! ;-)
Have a good weekend, whatever you get up to!
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