news........and more arty-farties

Hi, just a quick update on some of this week's events in the Eastern Cape.......

Winter arrived, not with a whimper but a bang.... after roasting our way through 31degree C days last week, we suddenly had our coldest day since 1955 on Monday, and yesterday was only 1 degree warmer. It has been great if, like me, you are one of those freaks who thrive on foul weather!

We went to the Port again this weekend, and met up with Max's sister and her husband there, it was good to be able to spend time with them. On Saturday the weather was glorious, and the sunrise great.

We watched the Super14 rugby final (Max was the only bulls supporter at the pub we watched it in, so I'm sure I do not need to describe the painful crowing that went on when they scored in the final minute, and beat the Sharks by a hair!!!) That evening it was so lovely, so after sunset we went for a walk at the lighthouse.

There were photography fanatics all over the place!!!

By Sunday, we awoke to a very different picture!

Cold, wet, and gale force winds.

We went and returned via the Maitlands River mouth, which is a beautiful unspoilt beach about 20km from PE. On the way there it was sunny and stunning,

on the way back the sand was blowing across the beach in streams, very beautiful but most unpleasant to stand around in!

The wind was so strong that the rain was horizontal and this poor guy had to hold his umbrella in front of him to keep dry!

2 massive cold fronts swept across the country, resulting in nearly all the road passes through the southern and eastern mountains being closed by snow. Sadly quite a few people have died of exposure throughout the Eastern Cape.

There was such a heavy hail storm in Plettenberg Bay that it looked like it had snowed.

Speaking of Plett, there was a cool incident there this week, a helicopter pilot was taking a honeymoon couple for a flip, and they spotted a 3.5metre long great white shark, checking out a pair of surfers. They went low and waved to the surfers to warn them, but the guys thought they were just being friendly, and waved back! By now the shark was getting even closer, so the pilot swooped down and used his roter wash to frighten the shark away. Luckily the honeymooners had the presence of mind to catch a photo of the shark and the surfers, if you look carefully you can see a reflection of the rotor blade too! I lifted this photo from pprune, (the pilots chat forum) where one of the guys kindly posted it. Well done that chopper pilot, there are times when going below authorised height is justified, and I think potentially saving the lives of a couple of surfers qualifies!
We even had a little hail ourselves last night ....This was the stunning view from our dining room window this morning!

And as promised, here are more of the new paintings, as you can see it's been a busy and productive week! :

sailing, 900x1100

baobab3 600x500

kokerboom, namaqualand, 400x500

old shopfronts, central, 300x300

terrace cottages, richmond hill, 300x300

cora terrace, central, 300x300

richmond hill terrace, winter 300x300

wave 400x400 (this is another of my wax experiments)

farm near knysna, 600x500

swellendam farm with sheep 500x400

flowers on windowsill, 400x500

irises on windowsill 300x300

contemplation 300x600
beach outing 300x300

and Portuguese church 700x900 (again thanks to Sheila for the photo inspiration!)

Cheers for now...............