A walk in the Park......

Parenting is one of those tasks in life for which we are least prepared, and yet it is the most important one we will ever do. To complicate matters it is crammed with paradoxes.... we train them to grow up strong and independent, then miss them like mad when they leave home and go to live halfway across the world.

We avoid showering our kids with all the put-downs we experienced as kids, so that they can grow up with good self esteem, and they pick up on our attitudes to our selves rather than what we are saying about them, so it all perpetuates anyway.

By the time we finally get to middle age, and grow up and learn to like ourselves, our kids have already grown up and are dealing with their own insecurities! But just when it seems that we have blown it, (and don't get me wrong here, our kids are great people!) along comes a second chance! Grandchildren arrive when we are settled and know who we are, and they are a delight! .... except that they often live far away because we did such a good job on the independence thing!

We went through all these dilemmas until our daughter and son in law left Zimbabwe a couple of years ago, and moved nearby. Now, at least one of our grandchildren is able to spend time with us, and we really enjoy our times together.

Last weekend we went for a long walk, and the little guy gamely trotted along with us (ok, lets be more accurate... he ran circles round us!)

He had hundreds of questions about the war memorial at the park entrance....

We looked for rats next to the big pond, where Max photographed them once before....

We fed fish in the pond next to the conservatory.......

He was enchanted by the pergolas....

But his absolute best was hamming it up on the stage of the outdoor thetre where a Shakespeare production is put on annually!

It was sheer delight for all of us.

Raindrops are fallin' on my head....

........ and I LOVE it!!!!

I know, I know, i must be some kind of freak, but i have always preferred foul weather!

To be honest, this doesn't really qualify as foul, it is actually delightful, gentle scattering of big fat warm raindrops, 22 degrees C, and that fabulous deep grey light which tends to intensify colours which would normally look bleached and washed out in the bright sunshine.

So here are a few views of our favourite spot, St Francis..... as seen this weekend.

Even on the way here on Friday evening, there was the promise of rain, the most stunning clouds we have EVER seen.... as a distant rain squall was lit by the low sun coming through the clouds in patches. (Unfortunately we were on a section of road where there was no stopping, so I just had to shoot it through the bug splatted windscreen)

then all of a sudden we were in the thick of it for a short way.

and then the sun reappeard through the clouds.

There was a power failure that evening just after we arrived and settled in, so we lit a couple of candles and read a bit, and had a really early night.

But for me an early night usually means insomnia... so at 2am, the lights were back on, and I was photographing the yacht basin!

Of course the cool thing about waking up early on a cloudy morning is that the rising sun brings with it some lovely views.

Later in the day we went off to Cape St Francis, to watch the sea at the "wild side". When the rain was a bit heavy, we sat in the car and enjoyed watching the waves on the rocks, and a young couple climbing around.

Then as it eased, we went off to the lighthouse, which looked suitably ethereal in the wet air.

The famous unique vegetation type known in the Cape as fynbos was really at its best.... fascinating tiny leafed plants covered in dainty flowers, with a wonderful herb like aroma as you brush past it.

this little beach house overlooking Seal Point surf spot reminded me of an Andrew Wyeth painting.

and finally to a little track leading off to the west along the coast.... looking towards Oyster Bay, and Thyspunt, where the controversial pebble bed nuclear reactor is very likely to be built despite heavy public opposition.

today has been a wonderfully lazy one, sleeping, eating, watching old movies, and going for the occasional stroll between bouts of rain.... BLISS!

Hope you are not sick of sunrise strolls yet!

We woke up just before sunrise this morning (which is not as horrible as it may sound, because the sun is rising after 7am now) and decided a stroll in the fresh morning air would be good. Our tenant moved out of the cottage we renovated a while ago and we wanted to check on it.As we got around the corner from the cottage the sun peeped through the mist over the sea. This is such an interesting part of town, the mix of old and new is very evident, as you can see from the modern lamp post and tall building with old terrace cottages in between, and right nearby, an old streetlamp is also still working. Even the cars parked in the street mix old and new!

Through the golden mist we saw a large ship being brought into harbour by the tugs.

And this was our destination, this little row of cottages was built as officer's quarters in the mid 1800's, using sandstone from the quarry nearby. This later became Russell Road, which leads to the sea from the old Cape Road. The single story green one in the middle is ours. I had such fun renovating it, as soon as things settle down a bit here I will share some of those pictures with you. The street the cottages are in overhangs the cliffs formed by the old quarry.

Across Russel Road, there is a lot of urban decay. For example look at this old Art Deco building, they may have been Mansions in the '30s but they certainly aren't any more! The good news is that the Municipality is being quite pro-active in putting measures in place to reverse the trend, and upgrade the area, so let's hope we see some positive changes here soon.

On the way back we took lots of photos of the cute cottages in the area, to use as references for more paintings. (If you look at the latest post in my art blog in the section on BUILDINGS you will see a series of 6 small paintings done around here.) I really enjoyed doing them, and plan to do more as soon as i get more canvasses that size. We went past Croick Cottage but there were no signs of life so we decided to be merciful and not barge in demanding coffee....kind hey? Instead we took this pic of the moon on its way down between the lamp post and roof.

I have spent today sorting out all my paintings for the forthcoming exhibition....I have posted them over at arty farty musings, so even though you may live far away, you don't have to feel deprived! I wish I could post you some of the nice soup I plan to make for the opening, but maybe, knowing my legendary culinary skill for burning or wrecking everything I cook, you are actually lucky to be at a safe distance!!

Another sunrise stroll.....

On Saturday morning, we woke up before sunrise, and the view from the front door was wonderful and misty....

we realised the sun rising through the mist would probably look cool, so off we toddled to the beachfront, for a rather chilly stroll along the pier.....

Imagine our disbelief when, in a quest for a bit of natural beauty, we were confronted with a giant tv screen at the entrance to the pier!! What next, is there no escape from man-made canned entertainment!?

Mad dogs and englishmen go out in the midday sun, in this case mad dogs and south africans get up before dawn and freeze their buns off on the beach!

Note the sensible people wearing warm jackets.... and then if you take a close look you will see two INSANE people who had just emerged from a swim.... Each to his own I guess!

The boating guys were also there, getting ready to launch, and as the sun rose they took off across the water.

Actually I adore the cool weather, and later in the day it got to 31 degrees C, (Sheesh, talk about global warming, this is supposed to be the beginning of winter!!) so it was bracing and lovely on the pier, waiting for the sun, and it was really worth the wait...

After catching the sunrise it was time to play....

black and white mode....

And water droplets on the railing...

Then yesterday it was clear, and the sunrise was altogether warmer, in colour and temperature!If you can bear to see more sunrise pix, and are not bored to death by now, here they are.

(I have to confess, I took off in my dressing gown again, because I saw this big ship coming in and didn't want to miss it, and before I knew it was down the road and across the park, oh well the neighbours must be used to it by now!)

I might be scarce again for a few days.... my solo art exhibition is coming up on 29th May and I have to paint like MAD to get enough done in time.

catching up

Can you believe 2 weeks has whizzed by.... it has been a time of hectic activity, punctuated by wonderful "stop and smell the roses" moments.....

Before we went on the trip to Capetown which i covered in the previous 2 posts, Our son and his fiance arrived for a visit, which was delightful. we had some good times together. one evening, they all met at the beach, and i joined them there when i finished hanging some curtains for a client....

the sun was setting and the moon was rising like a giant red ball....

we had a memorable meal together.

In my last post i promised a few photos of the return trip from Capetown....

on our last day we popped over the mountains to visit an old friend in Scarborough, near Cape Point, and stopped to take a picture of the Atlantic, because it was such a lovely shade of turquoise.

On the horizon we spotted a cold front wedging in from the South West (the cold air forms a wedge which pushes in under the warmer air, causing condensation. ) Within an hour our sunny day was bleak and misty, and this is the view from almost the same spot on the way home an hour later.

we left Capetown early in the morning on the Tuesday after Easter.

.... It was misty and so the sunrise had a wonderful ethereal quality about it....
Approaching George, i wanted to show you the beautiful Outeniqua mountains which form a backdrop to the town, but they were shrouded in cloud. George is known as a trecherous airport to fly in and out of because of the position of the runway in relation to the mountains, and the way visiblity can disappear so fast. In fact this mountain range that you see peeping through the cloud is the one that claimed the life of the ex-captain of the SA Cricket team, Hansie Cronje, in an airplane accident.

(Speaking of cricket, well done to the Aussies for winning the world cup. There is serious rivalry between their team and ours, but i have to say in all fairness that the best team won, they were so consistent, in contrast to our erratic "brilliant one day, abysmal the next" team! Cricket fever seems to have gripped our country, and every night the park resounds to the sounds of boys hitting balls and dustbins which masquerade as wickets!)

However, I digress.... back to George, where we stopped in on the way through,

and saw this sad image of the cost of progress, the stunning old Post Office building, marred by the communications tower behind it.

and we discovered something we had never noticed before, a railway museum, so naturally we went crazy taking pictures of the lovely old steam engines we found there....

During the week after we got back, the whole "camping at the office while wrapping up the business" took on a ridiculous tone, as my desk was used to display some goods for sale, and i was reduced to working on the floor with the dustbin as my desk!! However some order has been restored, and i now have a ratty old table to tide me over!

one day during the week I had to go and supervise an installation for a client in Summerstrand, and on my way back, as I was stopped at a traffic light (we call them robots!!), I glanced to the right and saw such a wonderful sight... there was a group of about 20 dolphins swimming past!

I zooted into the nearest parking bay and ran to the beach, just in time to catch them going past the Pier.

After watching them for a while, I raced off to Kings Beach, hoping to catch them again. Unfortunately the beach is so wide at low tide that, by the time I got to the water, there was just time to get a distant view of the stragglers surfing on a wave!

So i took a few shots to show you the amazing expanse of pristine beach which is our main swimming beach, i was so lucky to practically have it to myself!

however, if you turn your back on the sea, you see something the city planners should have been lynched for!! On the edge of all that pristine natural beauty, they positioned the Manganese ore dumps and the oil tank farm!! GGGRRRRRRR. It has been worked out that, to reposition this eyesore at the new deep water harbour at Coega, and reclaim the land from all the pollution will cost 3.8 billion Rand. So, while many developers are keen to turn the land into something tourist friendly, few are prepared to spend that much up front, before development can even take place, and then gamble on getting a return on the investment over the duration of the 50 year lease, which is all the Harbours Authority, who own the land, are willing to grant.

The following weekend, we both woke up early, while it was still dark, and Max had the brilliant idea of going to watch the sunrise over the sea. Off we went, intending to go to the pier, but the lights reflecting in the harbour were so stunning, so we went up the hill to South End, and had a wonderful time photographing the sunrise....

made more interesting as a ship was escourted into port by a pair of tugs...

this is my favourite pic taken that morning...

and then as it got lighter we started exploring the surrounding area.

South End is on the southern bank of the Baakens River, the mouth of which forms the harbour. It is a fascinating area, and bears the scars of Apartheid. In the old days it was a thriving mixed community, with a couple of mosques, cheek by jowl with Christian churches. The population was a mix of white, coloured and Malay. When the infamous group areas act was proclaimed (stating that each racial group must live in its own area and no mixing was allowed, naturally the prime areas close to town were saved for the whites, while coloureds, Indians and blacks had to move to areas on the outskirts) the area was the scene of forced removals, and families had their homes bulldozed to the ground, and the land sold to developers. Little survived of the old community, apart from the three remaining mosques. It is now mostly covered with townhouse complexes. (If you go back to the post about the fires, it was a south end complex which burnt down.)

One of the remnants of all this destruction is an old church, now in ruins.

Sadly developers are building around it at the moment, and before long it will be inaccesable to the public, so we took the opportunity to photograph it thoroughly for posterity.

Then we spotted a graveyard down the hill, and had to go and explore....

on the way down we passed the lovely old ice rink building, now in a sad state of neglect.

On the grass verge we saw some graves (you can see the white walls around one), and the headstones were all in strange writing, we assume Malay or Arabic. The dates were around the mid 1800s, so even in those years, long before official Apartheid, the Moslems were on the road verge, and the Christians in the official walled graveyard!

I bet if you examine the historic areas around where you live, you will also find signs of this kind of separation, whether class snobbishness in England, or racial division elsewhere, the sad fact is that humans have practiced "separate development" throughout the ages, and, whilst it may have reached an Official and evil degree here in South Africa, it is none the less present throughout the world. It is easy to point fingers, but we all need to examine our attitudes, and it is shocking how deep rooted it is.

As a person who grew up in a snobbish upper class British Colonial family, lived through apartheid and the war of independence in Zimbabwe, and came to South Africa at the height of petty apartheid, I opposed the values held by my parents and the previous Governments vigorously. Yet if I am brutally honest, it shocks me how often i have to challenge myself with deep rooted attitudes i have absorbed without question. It was a real eye opener to see that cemetary, and the division that was already entrenched in the 1800s. I think all we can do, as we seek to live in hopefully more enlightened times today, is to keep questioning these things as we recognise them in ourselves.

We ended our walk at the yards of the old narrow gauge steam railway, on our way to a hearty breakfast overlooking the sea at Wimpy. It was a delightful way to start the day and prepare for the craziness of the week ahead...

And finally the reason for my scarceness... the Homemakers Expo which took place from 26 -29th April in the old Feathermarket Centre which i showed you here.

I not only had a stand to showcase my painting, but was also responsible for designing and putting together the entrance, stage, information and extra eating areas, so sleep was a rare commodity last week!

I'll end this marathon with one of my latest paintings.... Backlit daisies, oil on canvas, 900x900mm, R1200 excl postage.