The illusive Naartjie snake

I made this movie on the spur of the moment, in Pretoria, after seeing a couple of naartjie skins thrown into small trees along a path in the nature conservancy we were walking in. I was baby-sitting a new Macbook Pro, and decided to teach myself to use iMovie, and this was the resuly, a couple of hours later.

Imagine this sign in South Africa

Africa Got Soul!

Great idea and great sounding music, as Motown sounds are recorded with a South African, and particularly Cape Town style. I think I will look for this CD when I am there next week. I heard an interview about the group called ABAVUKI and their CD titled AFRICA GOT SOUL, as we were having a lovely long sleep in this morning.

The Oxford Times have done a review as have The Times. I see the album is widely available for online purchase, so I will probably head over to iTunes later and look for it.

Safe and Secure with Your Mail

From News 24:

Johannesburg - Rampant theft by Post Office workers has infuriated internet retailing giant Amazon so much that it will no longer send goods to South Africa by post, Business Day has reported. Anyone wanting to order directly from the US-based website must now pay for a private courier service adding about R420 to the price of a DVD. No one from the Post Office would comment. No other African country's postal service had been blacklisted by Amazon, Business Day said.

But is is OK, because Thabo Mbeki has said everything is under control - which probably, sort of, is ANC doublespeak for turning a blind eye to theft that for years has been condoned and accepted as their way of letting the toiling masses catch up.

Family Pics Time

Here is a picture taken last weekend just before we left for the airport. Jason and Michelle with Rhys and Matthew, on the deck of their wooden home on the farm, near Craddock in KwaZulu Natal. We had a really lovely time with them at the farm and at the beach - I will post some more pictures of the beach and the kids, soon.

Wrecked in Hout Bay

Stopped briefly in Hout Bay, at the famous Mariner's Wharf restaurant, to get a quick walk on the white sands of Hout Bay's beaches, and look at some of the character of the boats in the old harbour. This wrecked fishing vessel is indignantly beached there, slowly rotting away, and a favourite resting spot for hundreds of seagulls who have learned to steal right out of the hands of tourists. Ah, the New South Africa, where stealing is part of the tourism industry.

On top of the world

You can see Lion's Head to the left, and Signal Hill to the right, behind me in the photo. On top of Table Mountain on a glorious Friday afternoon. Robben Island is out there in the sea, but was covered by low clouds.

Up the mountain

This is one sight that greeted me at the top of a short ride on the cable car up Table Mountain. The weather and views were just perfect yesterday, and a group of us had a wonderful couple of hours walking around on the top of Taffelburg. The view here looks at the range called The 12 Apostles, looking down towards just beyond Camps Bay.

Well done South Africa

England 6 South Africa 15

What a tough game, but ... go bokkie go! At least I can hold my head up high when going to work on Monday! The English played a hard game, but well done the Springboks!

Go Bokkie Go!

Not sure how they got my email address, but I was kind of glad to get a message from http://www.gobokke.com/ today, because I am now getting into the spirit of the World Cup Rugby final this Saturday between South Africa and England. Can you imagine my work colleagues here in the UK actually asking me which team I am supporting? Rose might be of split loyalty, she of the British passport and extraction. Julie became a British citizen this week, in a little ceremony involving God Save the Queen and a pledge of allegiance. Some years ago, when my Zimbabwe passport expired and I duly appeared at the Zimbabwe High Commission to get a renewal - and was told in no uncertain terms by an obnoxious official that people like me (of the melanin-impoverished variety was the clear implication) were no longer welcome in Zimbabwe and I was told that like the Biblical Esau I needed to renounce my birthright to get a renewal. So having waved my passport, my actual certificate of registration as a Zimbabwe citizen, and other evidence that I had lived in Zim for more than 40 years, I left with no other option but to ask the South Africans for citizenship, and got it sorted out in weeks. So, go bokkie go!

Trevor, I want my money!

SARS means bird 'flu to many people, but in the People's Democratic and Progressively Foreward Republic of Sarth Effrika, it means the South African Revenue Service - or the tax man. They owe me a bunch of money. Oh, it might be chicken feed to Thabo, but it isn't to me. So they send me a cheque (to England) which never arrives. Trevor, old chap, give me my money back, please!

I call them to discuss. They are very efficient with their computerised knowledge bank that seems to know everything about me. Tell me that the cheque has not been presented, so they will cancel it, and do the electronic transfer I had requested in the first place. Sorted. Nope. One month later nothing. A few weeks more and we are actually in South Africa, and can get a live audience with Comrade SARS. They once again are very polite, seem to be very efficient with their computer that sucks in our banking details on 6 June. 3-4 days and the refund will be in my account. Nope.

Weeks go by, and I call again. The computer helps the call-centre lady (who is very polite it must be said) to tell me that when they cancel a cheque, they wait 21 days before processing a payment just in case the cheque is accidently deposited. The 21 days is 21 working days, but their computer cannot tell me a release date, so I refer to old fashioned paper-based calendar technology and work it out for them. Three days away - and presto, like magic, the SARS computer will sweep my money out of the Treasury's geat big bag of other people's money they like hanging onto, and it will appear in my account. Good, because Standard Bank has been getting beady with me about my credit card payment and a couple of stop orders that have had insufficient funds. 3 weeks after the 21 working days date, still no funds.

Patience, Mark, just call SARS again, and speak to the polite people with the efficient computer records. They tell me that indeed my 'situation' remains outstanding, and that in fact it was 'escalated to higher level support' on 2 July. The fact that it is still outstanding is mysterious to them, and they will now send a note to the 'escalated support people' to try and get the problem elevated. Can they tell me I will now get my money? Stop laughing. It's not funny. I wonder if the lovely, friendly people at the SARS Call Centre (by the way, thank you Lord, that they do not outsource to Bangalore) will be able to programme their efficient computer to refund me all the fees the bank has charged me because there has been no money in my account? You are laughing again - stop! Trevor Manual - is the South African Minister of Finance.

Was that a 4 or a 6?

Future Proteas Material

Our grandson Rhys, at 2 years old, seems to me to have a pretty good eye for the ball. Mind you, cricket runs in the blood of his daddy's family, and in fact here he is using a little bat given to him by his dad when he was about four weeks old! He has a bigger bat waiting for hin to grow into, given to him by his great-uncle and former South African Cricket Captain, Clive Rice. He loves to play with his ball and bat. This photo was taken last month on the day we left Durban at the end of our holiday there. [Clive Rice info on Wikipedia]

Crime Doesn't Pay ... Sometimes

Don't get caught looking for perlemoen in Durban harbour

When last in Durban (a few weeks ago) we were walking around the harbour near Victoria embankment, when a bakkie containing some of the SAPS' finest screeched to a halt, and the policemen bolted towards the sea. We had noticed the young man in the the photo, swimming slowly along, looking like he was hiding from someone. The cops eventually found their man, who had apparently been poaching or doing some kind of illegal fishing in the harbour. Moments later he was handcuffed and bundled into the bakkie, which zoomed him off towards a very different end to his day than he had imagined when he woke up.

Perlemeon is called Abalone in some places. Most others in fact. It is a very lucrative activity for poachers in South Africa, mostly organised by businessmen from the Far East who don't really care what happens to the coastline, or the fish, or the environment, as long as their restaurants can offer Abalone to their patrons.

English Cricket Beware

So, today is St George's Day, which explains all the English flags flying in my street as I walked to work today. Pity then that England is no longer in the running for the Cricket World Cup. Thinking about cricket, a picture just in today reveals why England had better keep worrying about being beaten at its own game by South Africa for years to come ...

photo: Michelle Vaughan-Davies

Grandson, Rhys, imagining he is facing the best English cricket can throw at him

KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

Some great benefits from work travel

In the pool with Rhys at Peaties Club, near Albert Falls Dam, KZN

Last weekend I managed to squeeze in a couple of days to see Michelle, Jason, and their boys. It was a mad scramble off the Dubai flight to get my bags and catch a flight to Durban, but what a joy to get to see Rhys and Matt (oh yes, their mum and dad as well!)

Matthew - whose big blue eyes seem to be turning brown

Kids say goodbye

This happy photo was taken at our farewell service.
The Sunday School had just presented us with a large card of 'handprints' signed by the children. They then sang a song for us. A special memory.

 

Sunrise at home

This is a picture I took about 30 minutes ago, of the view from our bedroom window.

It is spring here in Johannesburg, and as I woke up around 5.30am (typical for me on a day when I could sleep in!) I saw the light from behind the much appreciated pecan nut tree.

The darker clump near the top right of the tree is one of those plants that attaches itself to a tree and just lives there. Has been there all the time we have lived in the house.

Packing Day 1

We fell into bed some time after 1am today, and were woken by Ashleigh at 6.30 as she left for her commute to work in Sandton. It is almost 11pm now, and we have not stopped most of the day, except for a quick pizza at lunchtime, when Al & Wendy Siebbeles popped in with food and a visit ... and supper, which was also take-out food. The boxes are probably about 80% done as we are about to call it a day. The fellas from Elliots were great, and efficient. We have learned just how much stuff we had stored away for rainy days!

Actually, our gardener/church worker, who is also a Zimbo, and I were discussing this very thing at about 4pm when he helped me cart a few boxes of stuff to the church. Zimbabeans pretty much grab anything they can and hold on to it for as long as they can. This crosses cultures, colour, and geographical location. Everything has some value in Zimbabwe, and so we store it, box it, hide it, want it ... even when to the rest of the world it is ready for the local tip.

The photograph was taken at supper time, about 7pm. Daisy, one of our Jack Russells, is looking longingly at Ashleigh's chicken bones. Ash is hiding from the camera. Lamentably, the Black Label box only contained ornaments. Day 2 should see the container packed and heading off to Durban. Rose and I may still be married on Saturday ... in fact I am officiating at a wedding on Saturday, so that should remind us both!

Containing ourselves

Durban harbour Felixstowe harbour

Our home is at a high level of organised pandemonium this week, as we move closer and closer to Thursday (tomorrow) when the packers arrive, and Friday when our container gets filled and shipped to Durban, to Felixstow, and finally to Worthing. We are told the MSC vessel, the MSC Florida, will carry the container. Actually, we are doing quite well, all things considered. Rose amazes me with her methodical ways. I think we have finally learned how to actually throw the rubbish away, and give things we don't need to people who do. It is almost midnight, and there are probably a couple of hours of work left for tonight. Sleep comes on Saturday ... maybe!

One very confused individual

(Problem with the image now corrected)

Some people may well understand that this fellow is quite
obviously a confused man. Those who do not quite understand
the paradox of his ethnicity and the tee-shirt, might want to
Google the word 'boer' or just click here or here.
Thanks to Ponk for sending me the picture.