SEPTEMBER 2009

September 2009 in the Giddy Family.

THIS MONTH
BARBARA'S THOUGHTS
PETER WHATLEY (AN ACHILLES RUNNING FRIEND) IN DOHA
START OF NIPPERS SEASON
MIKE DE KONING (MICHAEL AND JACQUI ZIVOR'S FRIEND) DIES.
SUE MAXTON (BARBARA'S COUSIN) DIES IN DURBAN
ALLY GRADE SIX WEEK IN THE OUTDOORS
MPRG STARTS THE BEACH, WALMER BOULEVARD, STRANDFONTEIN RUN
ALLY SCHOOL (CLARENDON PARK) SPRING WALK
SPRINGBOKS ARE NOW TRI-NATIONS AND WORLD CHAMPIONS
VISIT TO KEITH BRAATVEDT IN JHB AND SWIM WITH KEITH
THE MAZDA BAKKIE IS BACK AT OUR HOUSE AND IN RUNNING ORDER
NICCI VISITS US IN PE AND WE ALL GO TO ALICE IN WONDERLAND WHERE ALLY IS THE WHITE RABBIT.
ALLY FIRST TEAM HOCKEY, YEAR END BRAAI AT SUMMERSTRAND
ROGER GUSH IS VERY ILL WITH CANCER AND DIES AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER.
TRIP TO WILDCLIFF WITH CHARLES, INGRID AND NICCI'S FAMILY FROM CT.
WATERBLOMMETJIES IN THE POTJIE AT WILDCLIFF
BARBARA AND ALLY HAVE AN UNSUCCESSFUL TRIP TO CAPE TOWN FOR A GALA.

BARBARA WAS REMINISCING ABOUT THE TIMES WE HAVE HAD TOGETHER AS A FAMILY.

Barbara wrote this as a memory lane walk:

I can remember daddy and I being blown away with our four children. Not being wealthy but definitely rich as a family. We hardly went anywhere on our own, rather choosing entertainment that included all of us. (Except maybe for Round Table, but even then you kids were dragged along many times). I can remember visiting Aunty Gail and all you children putting on shows for us.

I can remember laughing a lot. I can remember all our Christmases. I can remember travelling all squashed up in the little car to various places...the farm in Durban, Barclay East, East London, Cape Town etc etc.

I can also remember getting hot bothered and frustrated in the car and daddy and I blowing a fuse and you kids getting noisy and irritable. But I can also remember daddy entertaining you for kilometers on end telling you the story of how salt was made. Singing Ag Pleez Daddy, A Frog Went a Courting (how rude you kids thought) and lots of other songs.

I can remember Sunday morning when daddy still used to have to mow the lawn and you kids in the pool and on the jumpoline and then collecting twigs for a braai for lunch. I can remember watching TV in winter and eating chips and thin sausages. I can remember your horse riding camps and scraping together some money so that you kids could have your own horses.

I can remember daddy and I really trying to provide you with what you wanted. I can remember going to granny and grandad and the four of you sitting on a blanket in the kitchen and having your supper. Or a braai and swim in the back yard. (Gran had a thing about keeping old margarine tubs and using them for plates, very weird but effective).

I can remember how your bedroom used to have wool and string stretched between the beds for some obstacle course you were building and not wanting to break it and spoil your game, so having to creep under it.

I can remember singing you children to sleep every single night and then tucking each of you in individually. You Jax always wanted me to lie on top of you when I said goodnight. Liked the weight. Michael loved Soldier Boy and Sailor (he now sings them to his boys). I can remember so so much more. Happy days, sad days, angry days.....normal family days.

Love you

HERE IS A LETTER FROM PETER WHATLEY IN DOHA. VERY INTERESTING FOR ME TO READ.

Doha Diaries 8 September 2009

It seems just yesterday that I was sitting down an jotting down thoughts in the Doha Diaries. It’s been nearly a month. and a fair bit has happened during this time.
The most noticeable event is that both Justin and Nicole are now at school, leaving Lise to be a lady of leisure in the mornings. She sleeps until 9h00. At this stage she has to get up because 3 days a week the apartment gets cleaned and she wouldn’t feel too comfortable in her sleeping attire when the 3 you Filipino’s come to clean. You never know the gender of the cleaning team, but of late it has been predominantly male.


The school day starts very much the way it started in SA with me getting up at 5h30 to wake Justin and Nicole. Nicole needs to be ready by 6h40 and Justin by 7h10 as their transport arrives at these times. Nicole travels to school in a mini bus taxi ( I thought that I had got away from them). The vehicle is air conditioned and each of the occupants is insured. This is a door to door service so it is rather convenient, albeit a bit on the expensive side (costs QR1100 per month). Justin has a slightly later pick up as he has a personal driver that is shared with two school friends. This at a far lower cost of QR500 pm. These pick up times will all change in about 3 weeks time once Ramadan and Eid are over as schools will be opening at their normal times of 7h00 (Justin) and 7h15 (Nicole)


They each seem to have settled in at school. Nicole spent last Friday with a friend from Singapore and Justin has befriended a number of Canadians and they all went out on Thursday evening. Justin was due to catch a taxi back to our apartment but it was so busy that there was a 1 ½ hour wait so he decided to walk home (at midnight). It’s only a 10 minute walk and is quite safe. Even Nicole could do this an come to no harm. I believe that Lise stayed up until he got home. The difference is that I have been here for 4 months and know that it’s safe whilst she is still coming to terms with the lifestyle change.


Justin’s whole school has fewer children than Grade 11 at Grey and his whole grade comprises of 20 students. Class sizes are 10-12. Nicole’s school is a little bigger and her grade has 41 students split into two classes with no further admissions unless someone is leaving. The focus over here is on small class sizes.
Nicole came home from school and asked if she could go on a school organized skiing trip to Switzerland. I don’t know anything further as I am awaiting some information from the organizing teacher. I would Imagine that it would be towards the end of December when she is on holiday.


We are quite spoilt in SA when it comes to buying school uniforms, although, by comparison, we pay too much in SA. The only outlet in Doha that supplies uniforms is a place call Zaks Outfitters and it is fast becoming the most hated place in Doha for the Whatley’s. I eventually resorted to having Justin’s uniform made by a tailor. Zaks is located on the busiest street in Doha and phoning ahead to find out whether or not they have the stock is a waste of time as they never answer the phone. To date I have to make 4 separate trips and do still not have everything as they are the only suppliers of lab coats for Justin and Nicole’s schools.

In some areas our children are ahead but in others they are behind, particularly in Mathematics. Justin spent nearly a month tutoring Nicole to bring her up to speed as she had not covered about 2/3 rds of what she was expected to have done. Some of this would have been done during the 3rd and 4th terms in SA. They both have to study a foreign language and are doing French. Justin will have to do 3 years in 2 so this will be a tough ask. On the other hand, his ICT and IT is well in advance of his peers


When a foreign child goes to strange shores, they are always taught the choice words first. An Egyptian at Justin’s school recently returned from an athletics training camp in SA and was choice Afrikaans comments at his classmates. Thinking that Justin was from the UK, he let off a barrage, only to be politely told “ek sal jou bliksem”. Needless to say, the language was not repeated.

We are in the middle of Ramadan at the moment and it is quite an experience over here. We have a 5 hour work day( 8h30-13h30), but most of the expats tend to get in earlier and leave later. Maybe it’s a work ethic thing. During the day it is relatively quiet but once the sun sets, you don’t really want to be on the road. The local appear and is seems as if the evening degenerate into one big food fest that carries on until the early hours. A short sleep, some more food, a bit more sleep and then off to work. Back from work and sleep until sunset. The body clocks must be completely broken by now.


I decided to try the fast for a day and I must say, I did not find it particularly hard. Not eating is quite easy, but you do tend to get thirsty. I went to an Iftar dinner last week at an Iranian restaurant. The food was superb.

This weekend I will be venturing into the desert for the first time. I will be travelling with some colleagues to the Inland Sea so I will be able to test the off road ability of my car. I believe it takes about an hour to cover the 26km to the Inland Sea once you leave the tarred roads. One colleague is known as GPS, another is SOS (he is always towing people out of the sand) so I suppose I will be called NoviS. It will only be short trip as it is still quite hot out there. Thankfully the temperatures are dropping with day time temperatures hovering at around 40 and at night they are dropping to the high 20’s. A month ago they were in the mid 40’s dropping to the low 30’s. Humidity is still extremely high and if you step outside wearing glasses, they instantly mist up. We have about another 3 weeks of the really hot and humid weather and then things moderate significantly.


If you are a person that really likes performance or luxury vehicles, this is the place to be. In SA you might see a few in JHB or Cape Town and us plebs in PE may see the occasional Porsche or Mercedes AMG. During the past week, between Justin and me, we have seen the following vehicles:

Bugatti Veyron x2(R13 mill)
Ferrari
Lambourghini Galardo
Maserati
Bentley x 3
Rools Royce
Ford GT
Nissan XR
Porsche GT3
Mitsibishi EVO
Viper
Aston Martin DB9

I have not bothered with the Mercedes, BMW,Jaguar, Porsche Cayman, or Porsche Cayenne as these are common place. It is really unbelievable to see how much is spent on cars over here.

On that note with me thinking of my dream car (Aston Martin DB9), it’s time to say good bye for now.
Peter Whatley from Doha.


Today is Sunday 13th and I am halfway into September and this is the first Blog of the month. Not like me!

Saturday 5th:
This morning we did a Moffat Run. THere was a nice big group of us. Susan, Jacqui and Brenda met us half way up River Road and they turned back at Walmer Park with Mike Dean. A little later this morning we watched our Springbok Rugby team being beaten by the Aussies in Brisbane.

Last Sunday was our first Nippers of the season. Deon had a whole lot of media coverage and we had a good turnout. We offered free hot dogs and ice creams. Deon started the morning with a talk to the Nippers and Parents.


Here is my report email:


For those who were at Summerstrand this weekend: we had the most awesome morning. There were about 80 Nippers on the beach on Sunday. We had a whole bunch of first timers and to each one of you we are really happy to have you join Summerstrand Nippers.


Conditions
The wind was blowing from the West and this helped to make the waves perfect for swimming and boarding; even if they came through in huge sets.

Clothing and uniform: We apologise if you wanted to purchase new clothing but we are just now in the process of setting up a sponsorship agreement and want to have all the clothing branded before we hand out or sell any outfits.

New parents: Deon started the morning with a talk to both parents and Nippers alike. We tried to give new parents an idea of what Nippers is about and how they can be part of this great family activity.

Activities:
We began with some games and then Flags and Water activities. We were all pleasantly surprised at how warm the water was. I heard one Nipper decline the offer of a wetsuite as he would be too hot.
The U10's had a great time learning to enjoy the surf. THe U12's did some good swimming and body board exersizes and the U14's took malibu boards out and the really brave ones enjoyed the power of the waves and surf.

Juniors:
We had a good contingent of Juniors assisting. These are last year's U14's who have now moved up. They assisted with both the coaching and with the hot dogs. Thanks to all of you.

Coaches: we had Deon, Hannes, Lyn, Varrin, Andrew, Bruce, Shareen, Donald, John and some others all providing coaching to the Nippers. We encourage all Mom's and Dad's to become part of Nippers in some way. We are all volunteers and no one is an expert.

Level Tests: please remember that we need a copy of the Nippers ID book or Birth Certificate if you are a first timer. And if you are a first timer or you are moving up to a new age group then we need a letter from your swim coach or other suitable person to confirm that you have swum the following times:
Under 10’s have to swim 300 meters in 8 minutes
Under 12’s have to swim 400 Meters in 10 Minutes and
Under 14’s have to swim 400 Meters in 9 minutes.

Peter
7.09.2009.
082 550 3174

I traveled this week to Queenstown, Aliwal North and Sterkspruit. Stayed over the first night in Umtali in Aliwal and the second was at a Farm B & B 60kays other side of Queenstown. Interesting but neither night was what I was hoping for.

Ally was on her outdoor adventure camp this week. She left on Wednesday morning for Kirkwood where they had all kinds of adventure activities including Foofie Sliding into the river, building a canon?, Mud baths, making their own Pootjie Kos pot. They also visited the Cheeta Breeding program that we had visited last Sunday. Ally was quite pleased that she had been there and could be a "Guide". As I arrived back in PE I drove straight to her school where I collected her. As though she had not had enough she went to Jive this evening.

Saturday morning 12th September:

There had been a number of calls and SMS's about this morning's run. I had decided to run down to Hobie beach where I would meet Adrienne and run for an hour. The MPRG decided to run up to Walmer Park and back down Villiers Road before turning back home. When I got down to the beach I met up with Dion Mc Connel who was going for a Marine Drive Cycle. Susan, Adrienne, Brenda and Caroline were in our group. Brenda is a friend of Jacqui Zeelie who also ran with us last weekend and Caroline I met this morning. She was waiting for Nicky and Robyn but they were not there and she decided to run with us.

We had a stunning run up Walmer Boulevard, along Strandfontein and back down 2nd ave. Some of the group went on to run Admiralty but Susan, Caroline and I had to be back for Ally's Spring walk.

The Spring Walk was a really festive event. There were hundreds of parents and children. We all had a nice easy stroll down Church Road, bottle neck over the foot bridge over 6th ave. Then along 5th ave and down Villiers Road to the top of Settlers park. There is a watering and sweets table for refreshments and then a really nice walk in the park.

Another Bottleneck as we cross the stream. Barbara and I took our shoes off and made our way up back to the top and back to the school grounds. The Springboks were playing the All Blacks on the North Island and this was a bit of a distraction but the main event was still in play and the children were having a great time running around the field.

The school had arranged for Ice Creams donated by Bushy Park Diaries, pop corn and juice. Then there is the traditional handing out of chocolates. What happens is that the children are asked to bring a chocolate to school and then their tickets are placed into a box and there is a lucky Dip for the chocolates. I estimate that over a 100 chocolates are given out. Ally received one as well but later gave it to Jessica as she had not been a lucky child. Barbara and I had walked together while Ally Sprinted ahead and as far as I can make out was 3rd or 4th girl home.

I went to work to try and clear some of the mountain of emails that I receive when I am away from the office. I try to leave emails alone when I am in the field and to concentrate on the shop where I am currently working. The SA Springbok team beat the All Blacks in Hamilton NZ. It was a fight to the last minute and we only just won. The All Blacks have this amazing ability to fight on to the final whistle. This win means that SA are now Tri Nations and World Champions.

Ally had rehersals at St Saviours and we visited Charles and Ingrid to find out if they were going to be coming to WC next week. They phoned later to say that they would come and make a plan about their home and Jamie. I had to do a few Tip Runs. The old Bakkie was now at our house. I had taken it to Five Ways which is now down in North End. Now the vehicle was back in running order I would use it for rubbish etc. I carted a pile to the tip and then loaded a second pile at Michaels house. It is amazing how quickly we accumulate rubbish at our house. We should be reducing it to a manageable amount soon.

Jessica had stayed with us and we went to the DVD shops at the Bridge to see if we could buy the next Shield Series but they had sold out of both this and the 7th series of 24. After collecting Ally from Drama we stopped off at the Chinese and bought our supper there.

Weekend 19.09.2009.
This week we had our Business Financial Year End. Michael recently resigned from Russells and moved to Ellerines. He is not entirely satisfied where he is and is now looking to re-apply at Russells.

Monday we started off with Cell Group at Owen and Patti Biggs in the Greenacres housing complex. They have a really smart house there.

Tuesday evening we stopped off at Michael and Lene where we spent the evening playing bridge while Ally was at rehearsals.

Wednesday I flew to Jhb. Suzanne Braatvedt collected me from the hotel where the rest of the group was staying. Mecure Hotel. Corner of Malibongwe and Republic Road.
Keith arrived at his house just as I arrived there. After a quick drink Suzanne and I left to collect Julia at her Water Polo that she plays at the school swimming complex.

I was pretty tired and after supper said my good nights. Keith and I were up early and drove back to the swimming pool where he and I did over an hour of swim training. He swam 1.2kays and I must have done about 800 to 1000 meters. I really enjoyed it. I need a few laps to warm up. But my last ten laps of freestyle I was able to keep up with Keith. This had been a bit of an eye opener for me. While I am able to swim I do not have any confidence in my ability as I tend to swim short distances and only very occasionally. Also I hardly ever swim in a pool. I should really start this kind of training and get myself fit for both Nippers and Triathlon.

He dropped me off at work in Randburg where I spent the day before flying home for PE. At the airport I met up with Paul Leonard and a coleague of his: Craig from Durban. We spoke about the success that Alec Riddle has made of his life: he became a Christian in the last number of years and has basically never looked back.

Nicci had driven from CT on Wednesday and there is an interesting story she tells: Some time ago the word Adoption came into discussion between herself and Christian. She explained to Chris (5 years old) what adoption was and then asked if he knew of anyone who was "adopted". He thought for a while and then answered that he could not think of anyone. Nicci went on to quiz him on family and specifically Granny's family. No! He could not think of anyone.

On Wednesday evening Nicci dropped Ally off at Drama Rehersals at the Opera House in Russell Road. After dropping Ally they left and on the way home Christian (6 years old) asked his mother: "Is Ally really Granny's child?" Taking into consideration the previous discussion that had happened about a year ago, Nicci was expecting some kind of refering back to the adoption discussion. ANd here is the Punchline: When Nicci asked why he asked this question his response was: Is Granny not too old to have a child? It still did not occur to him that Ally was adopted. Wonderful how children's minds work!

Friday morning was Jessica's Athletics day. We went down to Clarendon to support her. Lene and Daniel were there. Jessica did very well winning her class heat and coming third in the Sack Race.

Saturday morning 19th I left before 5am and ran with Gerald to Hobie Beach where we met up with Adrienne, Maryna, Susan, Suzanne, Mike, Pat and Ronelle. We again ran the Walmer Boulevard, Strandfontien and Admiralty Way route. This morning Gerald and I did over 20kays and felt it. There was a strong West Wind and this made certain sections tough while other parts of the run were relatively easy. I was really tired after the run but it had been an excellent morning & I was happy to have had the exersize.

A while later I took Ally to Summerstrand lifesaving Club where she had been invited to a Braai with the children who had played in the First Team Hockey. Ally had only made the team a few times but this was sufficient. It was a pleasant affair and I ended up staying a little longer than I had intended. Ally went home with her friend Roz Crankshaw (Dad = Stewart), Ken was there, Grant and Ingrid, parents of Brittany and Chelsea were there, Clint and Claire came to open the bar, I think it is Estelle from the Radison Hotel was there.

This afternoon I took the old bakkie to the tip with a load of rubbish that had accumulated over the week. Barbara has this lamb that she is taking care of. It looks like and acts like a dog. Sleeps on the couch with the dogs, messes in the house like the dogs and runs to the gate to greet people arriving like the dogs do. With the big dog and lots of little dogs there seems to be an ongoing mess in the garden. Nicci's children elected to come with me on the back of the bakkie. It was cold and dirty and uncomforatble on the back of the bakkie but this did not seem to worry them. When we arrived home their skin was freezing to touch.

Ally had her last production of ALice this evening. It was Nicci's family, Micheal's family and ourselves there. A very good play with lots of children having a ball acting in front of an appreciative audience. The show had no real meaning or story line. Just a mish mash of music and song with a vague reference to the original Alice. Ally had the part of the White Rabbit. She was very good in this role, acting her part out and singing wonderfully. She seems to love the action of this kind of show.


Dawn Wrote:
Hi there,
You are living a busy life! We were down at the Bow River with the boys yesterday afternoon after picking them up at school. It is lovely in Fish Creek Park at the moment, with the trees all changing from green to gold and the boys had a good time playing in the water. On Thursday I went hiking in the mountains - the Headwall Trail. Again, beautiful scenery, although we hiked in the rain on the way to our lunch stop. Reminds me a little of Tsitsikamma, but higher mountains. The group I hiked with snow shoe in winter and since I have decided that this will be my winter sport I am glad to have found them. We are missing Brenda and the rather hectic lifestyle we lived in the 3 weeks she was here but have slipped back into routine again - I will be going back to karate next week after the summer break (everything stops here in summer as everybody makes the most of the long summer days).
Enjoy the rest of your day,
Take care,
Dawn

Nicci and her family left for home on Monday morning. I was at Cell Group this evening. It was held at Bobby Stevenson's home. He has a beautiful home. Chatting to him about politics I discovered that he knows Patrick's Mother in Law -- Sheila Camerer who is presently the ambassador for Poland. Rina Nel -- FSAM for the PE area, resigned finally this week. It has been really tough for her as she has battled with a decision to continue to live in PE or to move to East London where her husband has a business. Roger Gush has been undergoing some really tough surgery (Leg and hip amputated) to try to cure the cancer that he discovered that he has. However it now appears that the surgery has not been able to get rid of the cancer and it is now terminal.

His wife Tory has kept us up to date through an internet connection called Caringbridge. Meanwhile his sister, Jenny, has moved to Canada. She had tried to obtain US citizenship but so far her efforts have been to no avail since Ian died.

Wednesday this week was the start of a week of holiday for me. I took Barbara's car to the panel beater (Dean from our church) in First Ave Walmer. I had scraped the passenger side bumper and wanted to maintain the good looks of the bakkie. He quoted me R400 and had the job done before 4pm that afternoon. I also did a lot of running around and shopping for our Wildcliff trip.

The church (Megan) had arranged a Talent Show with the children. It was well supported with Ally and Jessica singing "amazing Grace" and Amber winning the competition with a piano recital and a song.

Thursday morning we were up early. Charles and Ingrid met us just after 5am and we left for WC. We had three stops: Storms (Where Barbara and I ordered a delicious egg pita and Ally had her normal Cheese Burger), Sedgefield and Albertina. We filled up in Heidelberg and arrived at WC at about 12.15 (7hours). After a cup of tea, Charles, Ingrid and I walked up the Wilderkrans trail.

We had plenty of time and had a nice easy walk with a stop for a biscuit and apple at a rock which I have now decided to call 15 minute Rock. I suggested that we walk on to the Waterfall. Ingrid was a little cautious until I told her that it was only 15 minutes to the waterfall. We carried on and it turned out that it was almost exactly 15 minutes. The level of the stream was lower than I have ever seen it. We walked on rocks that should be covered with water.

We all enjoyed the walk and by the time we had walked back up to Talari we were nice and tired. Nicci had taken part in a Show Jumping competition in Cape Town on Jinx, the horse that Barbara had given her. And had had a clear round which qulaified her for the finals which she won. We were so proud to hear of this first attempt to take part in competition for so many years.

Nicci also took part in the next event but was eliminated. They arrived at WC late afternooon. This evening we enjoyed a braai. We also lit a fire indoors but had too much wood, too wet, doors open etc etc and ended up with smoke in the house which made the house stink of smoke.

I had a number of attempts to get the Sattelite Dish working but everything failed. I will have to get a technician to have a look. We also plan to buy a DVD player for those cold wet days. Today was Bryce's Birthday and he had a few friends over to play and to enjoy a cake for celebration.

Friday morning we had a relaxed start to the day. Barbara and Ally left for a Gala in Cape Town at about 11.00am. We set the Tom Tom to find the pool in Belville. Once they had left the rest of us climbed into the Bushpig and headed up the Fynbos Road to Ena's Falls.

Here we had a look at the Barafu Hut and the falls which again looked very sparse with hardly any water falling. Barafu Hut is a very basic overnight sleeping place as well as serving as a shelter for someone who is up there. It is a bit of a worry that there is not toilet anywhere up there. Toilet paper and the resultant littering can be quite disgusting as we experienced on the Kilimanjaro Hike.

At Ena's Pools we stopped for a bit of a Picnic. Abigail had come with us and was taking care of Christian and Aaron. The three of them decided to start the walk home. Charles and I inspected the water pipe. It appeared that the water was still at a level that there would not be an interruption of the water flow to Rain Frog Dam however it may be neccesary to build a weir of sandbags if the drought persisits.

Nicci, Zara, Ingrid and I drove back. Abigail had walked on with Christian and Aaron. Charles and Stefan walked back. We met Abigail on their way down and they told us that they had seen a snake. Abigail had the presence of mind to halter Star who may have been bitten if he had worried the snake. She cautioned the two children and even had the courage to photograph the snake. It was later identified as a Berg Adder which is a particularly agressive snake and has a very toxic venom.

We picked a few Protea and then headed back to Talari for tea. We heard from Barbara that she had a bit of a disasterous trip. It seems that she had the wrong swimming pool. They, unknowingly, waited at this wrong pool in Belville industrial area until someone pointed out that there was not going to be a Gala there today. They then phoned David Glover (coach) and ultimately decided to not do any swimming as they were already so late.

Instead they drove to Cathy's new flat where they spent the night playing Pictionary and cards. They drove back to WC the following morning. Stefan had bought some Water Blommetjies on the road and he added this to his Potjie. I have included dome in formation about the Waterblommetjie at the end of the Blog as well as a recipe for a Potjie. The taste is quite distinct as is the texture of the vegetable.

Stefan also added a special Potjie Spice that he had found. The result was a really delicious supper even though we could not see what we were eating as we sat outside that evening.

An early night and we were up late the next morning. Charles and Ingrid left for home. Charles is busy with his proposal for his doctorate and only has a few months to submit it. While he has all the information that he requires, he has to put it into a format that will be acceptable to the University of Johannesburg where he is studying. Unfortunately he forgot his computer and had to turn back to WC to collect it.

Barbara was still driving and we decided to take the bushpig up the hill to collect some firewood. We went to the meadow in the pine forest area that we had discovered previously. The wood cutters have made a mess of the area and there are logs and trees lying all over the place. We had soon loaded as much as the bakkie can take. Some of the group walked back while we drove home and off loaded. Stefan fetched a saw and made some firewood more suitable for the indoor fireplace.

Barbara arrived quite tired having had a headache and struggling in heavy traffic. She also forgot to fill up at Heideldberg and the warning light of the petrol guage was lit. Stefan and I drove up to the Clay / Kaolin Dam where Paula has her camera's set to record Baboon activity. (Kaolin is used as the active substance in liquid anti-diarrhea medicines) Paula has calculated that the Baboons lick the Kaolin to assist their digestion process as the Wattle seed that they eat probably gives them diarrhea.

Kaolin is also used in ceramics, medicine, coated paper, as a food additive, in toothpaste, as a light diffusing material in white incandescent light bulbs, and in cosmetics. It is generally the main component in porcelain.

It is also used in paint to extend titanium dioxide (TiO2) and modify gloss levels; in rubber for semi-reinforcing properties and in adhesives to modify rheology.[6]

The largest use is in the production of paper, including ensuring the gloss on some grades of paper. Commercial grades of kaolin are supplied and transported as dry powder, semi-dry noodle or as liquid slurry.

It was quite dissapointing for us to see how poorly the wood cutters employed by Working for Water had Ringbarked the Wattles. It was so ineffective that the wattles were flowering and looking as healthy as if nothing had been done at all. Stefan and I attacked some of the offending Wattle Sapplings.

The day's activity ended with us on Oak tree meadown swining across the stream with children and adults taking part. Christian cannot get enough of this activity. I tried to pull some of the offending Wattle sapplings out but the bigger ones need mechanincal assistance or a saw and poison.

Supper this evening was a non event as everyone was really too tired or had been snacking through the afternoon. Freek and friend Martin had been to see us today. He has a number of proposals for WC including repairs to the road which could be important as the rainy season starts. He will fax his proposals to me and I will discuss them with the trustees. He told me that we still owed him R300 from the time of Mike (the builder). R

ather than dig into the past I agreed to pay him. Mike had been the builder who had done a huge number of jobs at WC including renovation of both Talari and Xairu. When his bother was in an accident last year we lost touch with him and he stopped coming to WC. Freek had been dependant on him for transfer of funds that we owed. It seems that there was an amount of R300 that Mike had never paid over to him.

This evening the rain started to fall. And it rained throughout the night. By morning we were concerned that we would not be able to drive out if the rain continued. My solution was to stay in bed and finish the book that I was reading. The author was Dave Morrell. It had started out a good story line with some Christian history of the Spanish Inquisition woven into the plot. But towards the end of the book the plot became impossible and the final impact was not that good. However I did what I rarely do and stayed in bed till after 08.00am reading.

Meanwhile the rain had let up and the weather forcast was for a more or less clear day. The Talari Dam had filled a good few millimeters and was looking a whole lot healthier. We can only hope that there is sufficient rain in the mountians to restart the falls and the streams of WC.

We decided to take advantage of the couple of hours of no rain and once I had arranged with Keith to go ahead with the Bushpig in case we battled to clear the steep part of the road and needed a tow, we packed up to leave. Cleaning the house always takes quite a while. Stefan had cleaned out the pantry and the fridge of old (past sell by date) food and we had quite a few black bags of old stuff to dispose of. I loaded this into the bakkie and asked Keith to take this to the tip later in the week.

Just as we were about to leave it began to rain again and we then "rushed" to complete our packing. Once we were all loaded up, I rode ahead with Keith and Stefan and Barbara drove behind. It was really not nearly as bad as we had expected and they cleared the slippery area on the west side of the weir (entrance to WC) with ease.

We filled up in Heidelberg and started a long trip home. We had left WC at about 14.30 and arrived home at 20.30. The traffic was particularly heavy on the N2 with every one heading home after a long weekend. It was overcast with intermittent rain for most of the drive. We stopped off at Plett where Ena had made some soup for us. She also gave us some more rusks.

Ally had slept for this first half of the trip. Ally does not like this type of meal and so asked us to stop at the Steers at Storms River for a Cheese Burger. It had started to rain heavily shortly after Storms River and the last part of the trip was increasingly tough. We made it home without incident. Nicci and Stefan had arrived home (Cape Town) about an hour before us.

Here is a piece of writing found in a restaurant that Barbara copied onto a serviette:
My comfort zone.

I used to have a comfort zone where I knew that I would not fail. The same four walls and busy work were more like a jail.
I longed so much to do the things that I had never done before, but stayed inside my comfort zone and paced the same old floor.
I said it does not matter that I was not doing much. I said I did not care for things like commission cheques and such.
I claimed to be so busy with things inside my zone, but deep inside I longed for something special of my own.
I could not watch my life go by just watching others win. I held my breath, stepped outside and let the change begin.
I took a step and with new strength I had never felt better before. I kissed the comfort zone goodbye. I closed and locked the door.
If you are in a comfort zone, afraid to venture out, remember that all winners were at a time filled with doubt.
A step or two and words of praise can make your dreams come true. Reach for your future with a smile. Success is then for you.

On my return from Heidleberg I was able to phone Derek Malan 021 950 7100 and he put me on to Zanne Olivier at Duivenhoks projects (working for water overberg) in Heidelberg 083 354 4746 / 028 722 8014. Zanne has taken over the management of the project of wattle clearing at WC from Davie Adendorf and his successor. Zanne is well aware of the problems regarding the quality of work at Wildcliff (they refer to it as Palmeira) and is working on the problem and promises me that she will be presenting a solution to Keith. Zanne tells me that they have discussions, in this regard, planned for this week.

Another identified problem at WC is the Fire Hazzard. With the volume of dry wood lying around it is a possibility that we could have a fire there which may become uncontrollable. Paula will talk to a neighbour about assisting with building a fire break and clearing a section. Possibly starting above the Heron House. The fallen branches also means that we are not able to access the area to clear out saplings. Burning is dependant on us being able to Bulldoze the fallen branches into a central area and then working with the weather, wind and a team of people to contain the fire.

29.09.2009.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The last three days of September. I had three more days of leave. This is what is known in our company as Priveleged Leave. It is a long service perk to have a fourth week in the year as leave. If you dont take the leave you lose it so what ever you do you make sure that you take this extra week of leave.

I had a number of things to do: I work on a list and was able to do most of them. I had wanted to visit ADT as they were the sponsors of our clothing for the season ahead. I had to collect the old Merc from Michaels house and to wash it. It leaks and I had to clean out the back seat.

My own car was filthy from the WC trip. I seemed to have gathered more dust inside the car than ever before. I got the printer working at a cost of R90. I sorted out the stuff that Charles had brought back from WC for us. I was able to licence the Bakkie. Cathy's Daewoo is due soon but I will have to do this vehicle next month.

Ally had her social engagements with her friend Hanna Obrie. They have a market day at school next week and were hard at work making bracelets and sign boards. She is back to swim training. One evening they all met for movies at Walmer Park. A really nice group of young people that David Glover has sowed a deep sense of team spirit.

WATERBLOMMETJIE
The name comes from the Afrikaans language and literally means 'small water flower stew'. Known in English as Cape Pondweed, Cape Hawthorn or Cape Asparagus and scientifically as Aponogeton distachyos) found in the dams and marshes of the Western Cape (South Africa). The buds (waterblommetjies) are usually ready to be picked in the months of July and August (South African winter).

The taste can be described as much like stewed green beans with a hint of pumpkin.

Some believe that the early Dutch settlers (circa Jan van Riebeek’s time) used waterblommetjies as a vegetable (and hence a source of vitamin C) in desperation, since their early farming initiatives had been somewhat less than successful. The alternative tale is that the Voortrekkers harvested them as a food source, since while on trek, they were unable to grow anything. Whichever is the truth, waterblommetjie bredie is a well known and much respected local delicacy, popular with foreign tourists.



Waterblommetjie Potjie

Potjiekos is a fireside method of slow cooking in a traditional three
legged cast iron potjie pot

500g breast of shin of mutton
15ml cooking oil
3 onions, sliced
5 ml salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
125ml dry white wine
3 potatoes, peeled & sliced
1 kg fresh waterblommetjies
or 2 x 410g cans waterblommetjies
2 tomatoes, peeled & chopped

Cut the meat into portions. Heat the oil in the potjie and brown the
meat over moderate coals. Add the onion and fry gently until
translucent. Season with salt and pepper. Heat the wine in a small pan, pour it over the meat, cover and simmer over low coals for about 2.5 hours, until the meat is tender. Layer the potato, waterblommetjies and tomato in the meat, cover and simmer for another 30 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. Serves 6



Peter
30.09.2009.