Makes me think of our dear friends of the early 80’s Philip Donaldson and Tina Calamaris who sang that duet, Hit the road Jack! They were some of the wonderful young people who marched, threaded, infiltrated, joined our lives in Mthatha. He was killed in a car accident in Spain leaving 2 little boys and we have lost touch with her. So life is, it goes on and some of the people we love stay beside us and others we lose.
The time in South Africa was a bit like that, I didn’t see all the significant people I always try to see and some we did see got little of us anyway… but that is how it is, we had wonderful quality and quantity time with ‘the children’, grown up and littlies and now we are back to making do with skype! Hope we can keep it up as it might be a while before we can get back there and we will have to work on keeping up the contact. Do you remember your grandparents? I do remember mine but don’t remember having close relationships with them, perhaps they were older than we are to our grandgirls? Don’t know! But I do know that I adore being around them all, big and small, and son-in-law. Much of the trip was about Ruth’s 40th birthday – celebrated in teenager (sic) style in Cape Town with a Dr Seuss party at Tamsin’s very unfinished house, (maybe a bit younger than that.) And with sophistication and elegance in Kirsten’s Sandton home! Both very enjoyable and testaments to the Faragher ability to throw a good party!
A couple of non-party highlights were the reunion with Cynthia Mpathi and Nomfundo and Zola’s children. What a joy that was. We shared a lot of losses and loves in Mthatha and to be together again and catch up was wonderful. She is an indomitable believer in the intrinsic good of humanity and she harnesses it wherever she goes. She is presently turning her parent’s home into a thriving community garden. The other one was the visit to Jane and Allen’s farm on the Hantam River near Calvinia. (I need to squeeze in a mention of Rocherpan – Cape Nature Conservation spot – check the pics when they are ready). I have never spent any sort of meaningful time in the Karroo and much of Pauline Smith’s and Olive Schreiner’s writings came to mind as we walked around the property and heard about how people live there and how self-sufficient they are. We saw amazing kokerbooms they have a whole hillside of them. It was stony as but with many small fleshy leaved plants just starting to want to flower. The peace and quiet was almost shattering it was so complete, frosty clear skies and bright moonlight like the night Olive Schreiner’s Lyndal walked about in her semi dream, hope I am getting that right. The links that follow all relate to the last 4 months or so.
https://picasaweb.google.com/105183160149035139526/GlenmoreBeach2014?authuser=0&feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/105183160149035139526/KZNEaster2014?authuser=0&feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MkMbXOC0SLF2VCOc0qIw3NMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
Our conference paper has been selected for publication. Woo hoo! and that has given me fresh impetus to get stuck into the PhD work – so pictures will have to wait a bit as will blog posts. There is much else to write about especially being in South Africa during the elections and some of my feelings about being a South African and living here. Also about the insurance saying they will not come to the party to help repair Safety Beach, boo hoo – and our feelings of mortality. So stand by for the next several posts…
