Bald Eagles

This morning Tim spotted a pair of Bald Eagles on a Douglas Fir tree down in front of our house, sunning themselves on the top branch, checking out the low tide marsh. Too far away for a good photo but this at least proves they were not the "ones that got away."

We leave tomorrow for Florida and then fly to Cape Town on New Year's eve for another two quarters of students, classes and very full lives.

The past month has been quiet for me. Tim went to Cape Town to prepare for his Community Based Research course and other matters needing the Director's attention. On his way home he stopped in Spain for the Islam Conference convened by Stanford's Spanish Centre. Students studying in Stanford's Europe, Russian and Washington DC centres presented talks on Islam in their host country. A brief stop at each end in Madrid, three nights in Cordoba, a short trip to Sevilla and one to Granada - a Spanish intensive - too much for five days so a return trip is on the wish list.

I was meant to go but had an embarrassing fall on our driveway and was laid up for two weeks unable to do much more than hobble around the house. All is now healed in time for our departure.

Happy Christmas to all!

Day of the Dead

November 2nd is traditionally the Mexican holiday remembering friends and family members who have died. I think it's a wonderfully respectful way to honor our ancestors. November 5th this year was my own personal Day of the Dead when I attended the Ancestry.com/Californian Genealogical Society "Day" at the Hyatt hotel in San Francisco.

I have been searching for my long dead ancestors for the past ten years and here I was suddenly surrounded by a thousand other eager ancestor hunters, all of us signing up for lectures in various aspects of research. I was not alone in my fetish! It felt wonderful to talk with other people who were just as immersed in the past.

Tim and I made a two day city sojourn out of the excuse of my Ancestry Day conference. We took the ferry from Larkspur to the Embarcadero, walked the short distance to the Hyatt, wandered the city, met Glenn & Mary for a meal at Piperade, took in the marvelous Maharaj Exhibition at the Asian Art Museum, sat at the kitchen counter at the Boulevard Restaurant and generally felt the excitement of being tourists for a couple of days.

Tim is all smiles to be at the same counter at Boulevard Restaurant where plans for his Service Learning book with Dwight were hatched on a paper napkin several years ago

Friend Maggie Bassendine from Northumberland happened to be in San Francisco the same weekend at the AASLD Liver Meeting. She joined us at home for five days the following week where we explored the Point Reyes peninsula as if we were seeing it for the first time. First a lunch at Nick's Cove to celebrate Maggie's birthday.

Tomales Bay from the deck at Nick's Cove

Next day was perfect for visiting Chimney Rock - the Pacific ocean on the left, Drakes Bay on the right

Tim and Maggie rounding the steep Pacific side of this eroded land spit walkway to Chimney rock viewpoint

Have to have the photo ops!

Tidal streams in the mudflats of the Estero

It rained one whole day so it wasn't all sunshine and outdoor fun, but mostly we were lucky with the weather. Tim left for Cape Town on Saturday and Maggie for London/Newcastle on Sunday. After dropping Maggie off at the Larkspur Airporter, I headed straight for the Station House Cafe to sit, watch, listen and be overwhelmingly in awe of my all time favourite musicians, Laurie Lewis, Tom Rozum, Nina Gerber and Paul Knight on one of Paul's great evenings.

Tom Rozum, Laurie Lewis, guest star Maria Muldauer, Paul Knight, Nina Gerber at the Station House Sunday Nov 13

The first half of November was good. I guess the ancestors were pleased with us!

October in Inverness/Point Reyes

Perfect October weather meant lots more hikes for us this month interspersed with friends from near and far.

Early October we spent a night in Palo Alto so Tim could fit in all his Stanford meetings as well as enjoy a fun social evening with visiting Centre Directors - Santy from Madrid and Karen from Berlin at the home of Bob Sinclair, Executive Director here on the home campus, and his partner, Ai Leen.

Two days later we were having lunch at Kenwood in Sonona followed by a tour of White Rock, one of Napa Valley's wineries, with Andrew from Kyoto.

White Rock founding owner Henri behind the wines, Tim in the middle and Andrew on the right - time to buy some wine

The following Sunday we hiked to Arch Rock with Cape Town Stanford students Claire Gibson (2008), Bridget Connolly and Lucy Litvak (Spring 2010). Photo thanks to passing hiker.

Tim, Lucy, Sherry, Claire, Bridget

 
And the following weekend we did our annual 13 mile trek from Bear Valley to Bolinas on a beautiful warm autumn day. Lots of photos here.

From left, Doree, Anne, Chris, Bill, Tim, Lori, Sherry - Megan met us at Bass Lake

In between the fun of hiking we actually did get some planning work done for courses in Cape Town in 2012. And we booked some flights, not for the 6 months in Cape Town yet, but first things first. Tim will go to Cape Town Nov 12 for a week of meetings and will meet me in Madrid for the conference Islam in Europe hosted by the Madrid Centre taking place in Cordoba over Thanksgiving. Stanford students abroad will deliver papers relating to their courses on Islam in the country of their residence this quarter. We'll have side trips to Seville and Granada with expert guides. Sounds amazing and I just had to join this adventure.

I guess I should end on a birthday note because Saturday 29th October was a pretty magical day on the San Francisco Bay. Tim and I had lunch in Sausalito with Steve James, Tony Bucknall and Tim Jacques who were on a 9 hour layover in San Francisco travelling from Auckland to London. Added to the party was an Aussie friend of Steve's and the Brazilian girlfriend of his nephew, both living here in the Bay Area. We had a perfect window table that seemed to dangle over the water. The cosmopolitan company and lively conversation interspersed between ferries and yachts and water sports and stunning views seemed quite other-worldly.

A birthday to remember, but I forgot to take my camera ...

Home on the Ridge

I don't get around to writing about our humdrum home life because I think it's a bit boring compared with travel. But, since we live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, let me try and describe the routine here on the Inverness Ridge.

It's not often warm enough to lounge outside but today happens to be balmy and I'm on the deck, computer on my lap looking out onto Tomales Bay. Pretty nice. That thin strip of blue is Lagunitas creek feeding into the Tomales Bay fjiord at low tide - high tide it's all blue. Some of those splodges of green across the bay are rows of vines; our local Point Reyes Vineyards produces a tasty Methode Champenoise.

Each morning Tim and I take a 3 mile walk around our ridge - up to the top and down again before breakfast. For the last few weeks we've ventured out on a 10 mile hike on Fridays. We pack yummy sandwiches as an incentive to reach a half way picnic point and feel really good by the time we're back home again. We've been lucky with the weather so far. Cool and foggy which is pretty typical for summer here.

The Inverness Ridge with its customary cover

One of our favourite trails with lots of shady trees

 There's lots of live music in our neighbourhood, the kind we like, Bluegrass. Locals night at Nick's Cove, some Sundays at the Station House Cafe and then, if we feel like a big excursion (an hour from home!) the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley hosts some marvelous shows. Last week we were there to enjoy an evening dedicated to Bill Monroe, founder of Bluegrass, on his 100th birthday. This was hosted by Laurie Lewis who brought some of the most versatile musicians onto the stage - Bill Monroe died in 1996 but his legend is alive.

We had dinner before the show with our Berkeley friends Nigel and Barbara Renton who we met in 2002 on a river rafting trip with Laurie and her partner, Tom Rozum.

We love it when children and grandchildren come to visit. Caitlin was here this last weekend with Randy and the twins, Will & Kai - lots of laughs and games with trains.

Tim, Caitlin with Will, Randy with Kai

Some visitors to look forward to - Erin and her fiancée, Dario, soon I hope. Tim's colleague Andrew Horvat from Kyoto, Lucy and Bridget, Stanford students from the 2010 Spring Quarter and our Northumberland friend Maggie Bassendine for a few days in November.

Travel - could I possibly write without a reference to leaving home? Tim goes to a meeting in Dallas next month, and in November we'll go to Cordoba over Thanksgiving where the European Stanford Overseas Centres will be holding a conference on Islam, an opportunity to learn about the evolution and presence of Islam in Western European, and hopefully see a bit of Spain.

Reunions

Reunion: The state or act of reuniting. A gathering of relatives, friends, or associates, at regular intervals, or after separation. A family reunion. 

Earlier in August Tim and I flew to Geneva, Illinois, close to Chicago, for a Stanton Family weekend reunion.Tim's cousins, children of his aunt Sis, have been meeting like this for years. This was our second reunion and the first time a representative of all four Stantons, Tim's father, his two brothers and Sis, were together. 

What made the weekend extra special was the visit to White Thorn, home of the Stanton family from 1930 on. Not only that, Bill and Jane Van Nortwick, organizers of the weekend, live in Bill's mother, Sis's home in Geneva.

White Thorn in Wayne, Illinois

Family Archery - that's Tim's dad with the bow and arrow

An air of strong connection prevailed over the weekend and we left radiating history and family memories recorded in our minds and on photos, all of which we took with us on a visit to Jim and Lucy, Tim's mum and dad, in Boca Grande, Florida. We spent a week with Tim's remarkable parents, hearing their stories and passing on some that we'd learned in Geneva.

The Stanton family reunion really linked into the obsession I've had this past year with Ancestry.com, searching for my relatives, building up a family tree, seeing how many descendants branched out from those initial couplings, so many years ago. I have gone back as many as 7 generations and met a lot of cousins online via Ancestry.com's message service, which resulted in actually meeting up with four in England, as per my June blog. Earlier this month, I added a fifth, 4th cousin once removed, Tom Miller, whose ancestor is the brother of my great grandfather, John Garlick's father-in-law. Doesn't seem too far removed, does it!

In front of the gorgeous garden at Tom Miller's Mountainview home in the San Francisco Bay Area

Chile Wrap Up and Home to the Sunny San Francisco Bay Area

Santiago, when we finally made it, was a treat. Not too cold considering it was midwinter with nice friendly people, good food and an interesting city to roam around on my own while Tim went to meetings. The director of the Santiago program, Ivan Jacsik, and his staff arranged a fun wine tasting and lunch at Santa Rita Vineyards when the meeting ended.

Nearly all the directors of the Stanford Overseas Centres, the staff in Santiago and Stanford, Palo Alto

Tim and I had arranged to stay in Chile after the meeting, to spend the weekend at a country lodge SW of Santiago with Ivan. Tim rented a teeny car and the three of us piled into it with all our luggage and set off to the remote Residencia Historica in Marchihue where we settled in for the evening, sitting in front of a blazing fire before dinner. The calm scene was interrupted by a slow rumble that began to shake, roar and yes, scare me stupid! Not content with living on the sleepy San Andreas fault, we travelled all the way to Chile to experience my first temblor since arriving in 2000. It was only 5.7magnitude. Nothing to get too excited over, according to the locals.

On Saturday we drove to the coastal town of Pichelimu to breathe in the cool Pacific air, take a hike along the sea wall, check out the local Saturday market, and enjoy another splendid meal - lunch at the La Gloria Restaurant. Ivan ate sea urchins and sea squirts - mmmm.... I didn't  have my camera that day so was unable to capture this delicate moment.

Back to our lodge for an afternoon siesta followed by another roaring fire sans earth tremor. Pisco Sours were ordered according to Ivan's excellent fine tuning, not too sweet, followed by more good food. After dinner the three of us began a very serious game of pool and ended the evening in much mirth.

Starter for dinner that night. A nicely dressed 'moulded' salad with mozarella topping. Pisco Sour not quite finished and a glass of Chilean red

And then the giggly game of pool. Tim in action, Ivan looking on

We returned to Santiago the next day with a stop at a very popular craft market. And more food. And then spent the night with Ivan in his beautiful apartment with the snow-capped Andes in his front yard. Monday we headed back to Buenos Aires, getting a last look at the magnificent mountains.

The flight back home was uneventful. Bit of a let-down after the 5 day outward journey!

It's good to be back in the Bay Area - perfect summer weather, not too much fog, long days and good hikes.

Santiago

We made it! This is the view from the hotel room

Unravelled Travel - Volcanic Disruption.

July 7th
Tim and I set off for Santiago, Chile. First a flight across the country to Washington, Dulles. Then a short wait til we board the Buenos Aires flight.

July 8th.
We're sitting in the Red Carpet Club in Dulles Airport, Washington, in the same seats we occupied less than 24 hours ago. Why are we still here? Well we really did board a plane and set off for Buenos Aires last night, in luxurious business class, with the special service that comes with travel in that class on a newly reconfigured United plane with lie-flat seats - oh sweet sleep!

And it was indeed a wonderful night with starry skies outside. Only problem was when we woke, the map showed us heading north,  not south, somewhere near the northern tip of South America. Never mind I thought, my TV screen had not been working at all and Tim's was showing us heading north so the whole system obviously needed re-booting.

Not so. A short while later the captain's voice announced a slight change in plan. Chile's Puyehue volcano was spewing a fresh cloud of ash closing down the airport at Buenos Aires. So our plane was turned about and redirected to Miami, to refuel. And then, two hours later, we were shuttled back to Washington, Dulles, IAD!

And now we have checked into tonight's flight to Buenos Aires, in Economy class, a long night ahead of us.

I would rather go home!

July 9th 
Over a flight of dry Rose wines for me, an Argentinian malbec for Tim and a couple of late afternoon snacks in the wine bar at the airport, we realise we should spend the night in Washington because we can only get on a Buenos Aires - Santiago flight on Sunday night. 

The United representative works magic and gets us upgraded seats for Saturday night's flight and here we are now in the Westin hotel, waiting for our flight tonight, in the comfort of fluffy white sheets with food vouchers to spend.


July 10th
We've landed in Buenos Aires! And once again we're seated in the Red Carpet Club, for the fourth consecutive day, waiting for our next flight to Santiago. At least we're in a different city/country!

Around midday today the ash cloud returned and put a stop to all flights in and out of Buenos Aires. We're on tenterhooks. Will the ash clear by 8:50pm when our flight is due to leave? 


July 11th, Day 5 and we are still not in Santiago - our flight last night was cancelled. We spent the night at a delightful hotel, the Bel Air, in the Recoleta district of Buenos Aires and woke to discover that the earliest booking out of here to Santiago is Tuesday 10:15.

We walked the streets of BA today making up for the hours we've sat in airport terminals. Tiring, but blissful. Tonight we're booked into a highly recommended restaurant close by, the Fervor. And according to the airline websites, lots of flights left EZE airport today, so hold thumbs we'll get to Santiago tomorrow!

Tim having coffee at the Bel Air hotel this morning

Dog walker outside our hotel adds some color to the street

Visiting England

Nearly a month since I last posted a blog - shows how seductive London is. The final week in Cape Town was all about packing. Very boring. Here are some English highlights -

Naz makes some adjustments for a walk on Wimbledon Common with Gareth & Cameron

Cameron learning to stick out his tongue at his dad

As always, I've enjoyed my stay with Gareth and Naz especially getting to know new grandson, 3 month old Cameron. It's been wonderful being part of their home for two weeks, watching Naz, such a devoted mum, walking the three dogs most mornings, added walks with Gareth some evenings, lunches. and suppers, and meetings with long standing friends: Maggie Bassendine from Northumberland and her Australian partner, Roy Jackson, for lunch at the British museum, Mary & Rob Whitfield in Reigate. A great shopping day in London with Clare Dillon, lunch with Ian Jones from Oxford, and also Steve & Anne James and Brenda Bucknall.

Rich rewards on a visit to Hull to find the graves of ancestors. I met my 4th cousin once removed on Ancestry.com. Jo Robinson lives in Hull, as does her mum, Pauline. We drove to Hook, Swinefleet and Whitgift, three towns that feature prominently in our ancestors lives. In the churchyard at Hook Pauline was the first to find this grove of Garlick graves. Someone in the family must have had some money way back then ...

Pauline Searby, my 4th cousin. with me, in the midst of our ancestors 

The remains of my ancestors. The LH grave is my 4th gr grandfather Jonathan Garlick.

Jo Robinson was not the only 4th cousin once removed that I would be meeting on this trip. A week after Hull I set off to Wadhurst by train to meet Stephen Withers who whisked me off to his home to meet his cousin, Donald Green, both 4th cousins once removed on my paternal grandfather's mother's side. I also met Don's wife,Sylvia, on Ancestry.com - it's a marvelous resource! Stephen's wife,Jane Ann made us introductory tea after which we retired to the local pub for lunch, followed by more tea, this time with scones and clotted cream - yum!

From left, Stephen, Don's wife, Sylvia, Stephen's wife, Jane Ann, & Don

Lunch in the pub at Rotherfield. Don on the left, Stephen in the middle.

 Home at last - Thursday June 23rd, Californian time - a whirlwind 6 months!

A Field Trip, A Funeral and an evening of Breyani

May 13/14/15 was our Field trip weekend in the northern Cederberg, about 300 km from Cape Town. Sunny days, lots of rock art, nice walks, some horse riding. (Click on the link to see the photos.)

A year ago we did the same trip over the same weekend, staying at Traveller's Rest Guest Farm. The area is out of cell phone range and last year, just before disappearing into the quiet zone,  I got an sms to tell me an old friend had died that morning, May 14. This year, as we entered cell phone range, the first text message I received was one to say my cousin had died on May 14. I think next year I will avoid the Cederberg on that day in May!

One thing Tim and I have not been able to organise while living in Cape Town is getting away at weekends and it felt really good to be out of the city for the first time. We had another foray into the country on Wed 18 May when we drove to Swellendam to meet my brother and his wife, Thane and Elize, for lunch on a gorgeous, sunny winter day. It happened to be a public holiday that day, for Municipal elections throughout the country so there was little traffic on the road. It's a long drive just for lunch - about two and a half hours each way, made worthwhile by the views first of the Elgin Valley, and then, once we'd crossed Houw Hoek Pass, of the majestic Langeberg mountains all the way to Swellendam. We met at the Old Mill House on the main road and had lunch in the garden.

Neil Garlick's funeral, Tue May 24, was held in the Good Shepherd Church opposite Kirstenbosch's stone cottages on a typical Cape winter day. There was a burst of drumming rainfall during the service - I think the heavens were giving Neil a resounding welcome! After Neil's burial at the Plumstead cemetery we all gathered in his home for tea and eats, an opportunity to catch up with relatives that I don't see too often. Neil planted the roses on his lovely property and his daughter, Margaret, developed The Terrace Coffee Shop at Chart Farm, where you can pick roses and sit down for a peaceful snack while the world hurries by on the M3 freeway.

Wednesday May 25 we enjoyed a night out with the students at the Baxter Theatre where we saw the show Breyani by David Kramer. Tim and I saw the same show in December with Kay McMahon, visiting from our Inverness home. Kay nearly went back the next night she loved it so much.

Breyani is the name of a spicy rice dish that combines a variety of ingredients to produce a mouth watering meal. This show, a "Breyani of Music", highlighted all the fascinating styles and instruments brought to the Cape over the centuries, from slaves, colonists and passing ships.

Neil Garlick 8 Sep 1917-14 May 2011

Neil Garlick was my father's cousin, my first cousin once removed. He was born a month before my dad. Although we lived in the same town, our families didn't socialise much. We had loads of cousins, too many to keep up with. It was only after my dad died in January 2000 that I became interested in the Garlick family history. This led me to Neil who had a wealth of papers and documents and his own notes about his parent's families.

Neil was delighted to share his stories with me. And so began many years of visits to his home on Chart Farm, and many conversations about my great-grandfather, John Garlick, who had come to Cape Town from Boston, England, and founded a retail store that became one of South Africa's famous department stores: Garlick's.

About a month ago Neil took to his bed. Always an active man, over the past few years he was no longer able to get around without a walker and finally, even the walker became too much for him. His mind remained sharp as a razor, never missing a thing, with a memory that put me to shame. In early June 2008, three years ago, I took Neil on a trip to Nelspoort in the Karoo, where his grandfather had established a TB sanatorium. On the way we nearly ran out of petrol on a stretch of very lonely road, due entirely to my foolhardiness. Last week he reminded me of it. I'd forgotten.

I saw him on Wednesday and Thursday last week and told him I'd be away for the weekend but would see him again on Monday. That was not to be. He died peacefully on Saturday evening. I will miss him and the visits to his home, the many conversations and especially his reflections on working in the family business.

At the Nelspoort Sanatorium, 2nd June 2008

Early May News

The 12 day holiday over Easter Weekend, Freedom Day and Workers' Day seemed to bring Cape Town to a standstill so it was a good time to burrow down. We're both over our colds, getting back on the mountain for healthy hikes. We managed two this past weekend - what a change from being bundled up at home, cold and miserable!

Saturday we walked local, to the contour path in Newlands forest up the hill from us. It's a good trudge uphill, and then a marvelous long track that winds its way through indigenous forest with sporadic views out east to False Bay and the Hottentot's Holland mountains. The contour path averages about 300 metres above sea level and runs all the way from the west side of Table mountain, then around Devil's Peak, and finally along the flanks of the eastern side of Table Mountain as far as Constantia Nek - could take a good day to walk the whole trail.

Sunday was mothers' day and we joined my daughter, Nan, for a short 1 hour ascent above St. James/Kalk Bay. We love this loop hike, starting at Ou Kraal. Nan and I got to do a lot of chatting at the top, once we were up the never-ending steps and incline. The sea looked pretty angry; big waves, muddied waters close to the shore, but the sun was out for us and the fynbos was green and healthy. The giant Protea Cynaroides was in flower, looking stunning. Sunbirds flitted from bush to bush, twittering busily. Quite magical.

Protea Cynaroides

This weekend we will be in the northern Cederberg with the students, following the Sevilla Rock Art trail. Bound to be some photos.

Til then ...

Winter comes to Cape Town

Easter Sunday today. Last night, after two glorious sunny, but cool days, the rain began. It's always good to think that the dams are filling, the swimming pool in the house we rent too, and the cold is always a reminder that we are heading home soon. Six and a half weeks for me before I go to London to check up on Cameron.

Cameron is growing - latest pic from London

Tim and I were heading to Hermanus this weekend but were both too sick to be sociable. Such a pity because Nan, Daniel and the children are there, staying with friends, and we were looking forward to a good old reunion not only with my daughter and family but with John, Judy, Alan, Di, Mike, Louise, Catherine and Glynn.

The ailment is the common cold. I've been searching the internet to find out why we say we caught a cold - I always thought catching was a sign of excellence. You catch a ball, a thief, a fish for supper, perhaps a rabbit too, something to be proud of. Why would you want to catch a cold and where did that expression originate?

I found a definition at The Free Dictionary see Verb, item 20, meaning contract but nothing on the origin of the expression. Looking at all the definitions for the word catch, I was almost sorry I started this search. And I guess that just shows how Tim and I are spending our weekend, feeling under the weather, trawling the net!

Readers in other parts of the world may wonder why Friday and Monday are both observed as religious holidays in South Africa, a country of so many diverse people and beliefs. Why do South Africans deserve this four day weekend? Isn't one day enough to hunt for Easter eggs?

And this year, two days after Easter Monday, we have April 27 Freedom Day, a good day for a holiday being the anniversary of the first democratic elections in South Africa in April 1994.

But hold on, as if that isn't enough holiday-ing, May 1st falls on a Sunday so Monday May 2nd is another day off for the workers and guess how many South Africans get out of town on Thursday April 21st and begin work again on May 3rd?

Wait, I know it's a few weeks off, but I spy another holiday on Wed 18th May. "Election Day" for local government elections in all the provinces.

You can imagine how these "holidays" throw the Stanford Centre's Academic Schedule into turmoil. Students are having a ball!

Last week we drove up the West Coast Road to !Khwa ttu, the San Cultural and Educational Centre, to learn about the San language and lifestyle. We followed that up with the Pieter Dirk Uys show Desperate First Housewives at Evita se Perron, in Darling. Photos of the day here. Pieter Dirk Uys as always such a great entertainer!

Dinner with the Stantons begins again

Tim and I really look forward to our evenings with the students every quarter. We have four of them over to our house for snacks and drinks on Wednesdays and then walk down to the Wijnhuis restaurant for dinner.

There was a time when I would cook and we'd eat at home, but we changed to the restaurant because it is much more fun for the students to got out to eat. And I was running out of recipes!

Here are two photos from our first dinner on Wednesday. Camil Diaz brought her camera - thank you Camil!

Anne Sophie, Judee, Sherry and our amazing waiter, Ritesh

Sarrah, Camil and Tim

Tomorrow we're going to the San Cultural Village, !Khwa ttu, up the West Coast, close to Yzerfontein, with the students, to learn how the San people once lived when the Dutch came to the Cape in 1652. After that we drive on to Darling to watch Pieter Dirk Uys perform in his show Desperate First Ladies at Evita se Perron.

April news

Tim got back from his trip to the US minus his precious computer and his suitcase. Fortunatly the latter was not missing. It just missed the connection in Frankfurt and arrived 36 hours later. His computer has gone. Strange thing was that when he was back home in Inverness, my computers, stolen last July, turned up in Marin County. Is someone trying to tell us something?

We've had a spurt of sunny windless days and Saturday morning found me back on the slopes of Table Mountain, the first time since January 31st. Bliss!! I didn't venture off the beaten track as I love to do, but stayed on the level jeep track. Meanwhile Tim did the big loop, up the left side, through the indigenous forest to the contour path and a long walk at 300 metres above sea level until he joined the track back down again. Lucky him ... I hope to be able to do that soon.

The new "Spring" quarter has begun. I was at Orientation Lunch last week where, after lunch, students got to meet the faculty. See photos. We ended off this week with our first Sites of Memory class at Groote Constantia, followed by the Welcome Dinner at the Jonkershuis restaurant in the beautiful grounds of this wine estate founded in 1685.

We had four very special guests with us who we were lucky to meet last year when Grant Parker was the Stanford faculty in residence. Grant's mum and dad, Mavis and Dick Parker. And Marie and Dick van der Ross. Dick vd R's family had lived in Strawberry Lane, near Groote Constantia, a coloured community evicted by the Group Areas Act in the late 1960's. We stopped by the plaque commemorating the people who lived there, met our guests and heard a bit about the area from Dick vd R.

Strawberry Lane, Stanford students and guests Dick Parker, Marie van der Ross and Dick van der Ross. The plaque is on the left of the green fence and not up in the trees!

Here's a link to some photos of yesterday afternoon/evening.

A Welcome to Cameron in London

Two weeks in London chilling with baby Cameron Mir Allden Lloyd, daughter of Naseam Mir and my son, Gareth Allden Lloyd. I had a wonderful stay, was very spoilt, walked with the dogs every day and really enjoyed getting to know my new family. Naz is a brilliant mum and I can see Cameron and Gareth are lucky guys!

Walk in Wimbledon Park

My last day ... Hi Dad!

Between Crutches and Cameron's arrival

It's 5+ weeks since my fall in Newlands forest and my ankle is well on its way to recovery. Back on the mountain trails in three weeks hopefully.

The Stanford quarter is almost over. Classes finish this week and next week is final exams, farewell dinner and flights back home for the students.

Tim will also go home over the break - to visit his parents, attend a meeting, check in at Stanford and spend a night in familiar Inverness, in that order. So we're almost at the half way mark for this half year.

Days are filled with reading papers for classes, too many hours at the computer, and work of the domestic sort. We do manage to slip in a few memorable moments like eating good food, drinking yummy wines and socialising with fun friends.

And seeing Nan and Daniel and my two Cape Town grandchildren. Not enough of them, but at least they're not too far away. N&D have sold their house and are looking for a replacement in a bigger village, closer to the sea, shops and schools, and also closer to Kommetjie Waldorf school where they both teach.

For the past two weeks, in the Genocide class, we studied Rwanda. Tim and I watched 2 Documentaries and 4 feature films on the Rwandan genocide after which I was a bit of a wreck for a few days. Such brutality is hard to imagine so to see it enacted on screen is shocking. And to watch the denial of the West was pretty appalling.

To take my mind off Rwanda I read The Heart of the Hunter, a thriller by Deon Meyer - his books seem to get better and better and it is such a pleasure to read about events taking place in and around familiar addresses. But I had to wonder about my shift from genocide to crime and murder - is there some deeply embedded need to dwell on the dark side in us humans?

Baby Cameron - March 3rd 2011

Clever Naz gave birth to baby Cameron last week after three long nights in hospital waiting for pills to induce labour take effect. They didn't so finally she had a c-section on Thursday. Home by Saturday. All is well and my son Gareth is a very proud and happy dad!

I am off to London this Saturday - just can't keep me away.

Freedom ....

After two weeks in a hot, sweaty, constricting boot, hobbling about on crutches, I am finally free! What a difference to be my own person again compared to being locked up at home, dependent on Tim and friends every time I needed to see what the world was like outside my front door. Of course I forgot to take a photo of my "injury". But maybe I forgot on purpose. Who wants to remember incarceration!

I guess the low point was when Tim went off to Johannesburg last Thursday, on the field trip that we had planned together. I had made bookings with all the places we were to visit and with the coach company to get us from the airport to the B&B's and beyond. Thursday night they went to the Market Theatre to have dinner and see the Hugh Masekela show Songs of Migration, just before it closed on Feb 13th. HM is a unique performer and he led his stage team on a journey of song reflecting different migrations in Southern Africa and other parts of the world.

Next day, Friday, they went to Constitution Hill, the site of the old jails, one for men and one for women, now the Constitution Court. Then to Liliesleaf farm in Rivonia, once the headquarters of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the ANC, where the treason arrests were made back in the 60's. Following on, the Apartheid Museum described the years from 1948 to 1994, and lastly an unscheduled quick drive through Soweto with a stop to see Nelson Mandela's home which happens to be in the same street where Bishop Tutu lived, both Nobel prizewinners.

Saturday began in Pretoria's Church square with a bit of background history from Sally Roper who was on hand both days to guide and inform. Next the Union Buildings, then the Voortrekker Monument and finally the new Freedom Park, built to memorialise freedom fighters who died in all the wars, starting with the San, the indigenous peoples of South Africa.

I vicariously enjoyed the trip through Tim's descriptions when we chatted in the evenings. It was almost as good as being there.

The King's Speech finally opened in Cape Town on Friday and I was lucky enough to be picked up and taken to the afternoon show. Understated humour together with overt emotion - brilliant is too small a word to describe the film.

I'm reading Adam Hochschild's King Leopold's Ghost about the Congo for my genocide class. It's a great history lesson and really well written for anyone with the stomach for greed and gore.

We had a fun Valentine's supper last night with Breda and Billy, our Irish friends who we met at the Wijnhuis last year. B&B brought the meat, spuds, salad and pud, Tim bought bubbly and assorted bottles of yummy wine. He braaied too - everything was perfect and made even more so today by my release from the boot!

We celebrated my freedom with lunch at the Casa Labia the former Muizenberg residence of Count and Countess Natale Labia.

Crutches

I suppose over my many years I must have used many a crutch to help me along the road, but I've never needed the medical variety until earlier this week.

Not only crutches, but a hot and sweaty moonboot too. It's a whole new world! A very much slower one, a deliberate planning of out how to get here, how to get there. How long it takes to get to the kitchen to make a cup of tea and bring the steaming liquid back via furniture stops. I stand still, let go of the crutches, move mug from one surface to the next within arm range. Back on the crutches, move to the middle of the next two posts, lay aside crutches, move mug to new position, and so on and so on until finally I sit with a huge sigh and wonder if the trek was worth it!

Tim and I were taking our usual hike in Newlands Forest last Sunday. We'd walked along the 300 metre contour path and had just begun the descent to the woodcutter's trail. I love this path. It's not all that well known, narrow and twisty and rocky and somewhat overgrown and I immediately started slowly jogging with a sigh of immense pleasure, remembering discovering the route back in the nineties when I had three Jack Russell terriers in tow.

A large black insect with long trailing legs flew across my path forcing me to duck and take my eye off the path. Searing pain dropped me to the ground with immediate huge swelling - it didn't feel or look good!

We met five wonderful women who helped strap my ankle and stayed close by me as I slid downhill on my behind, or hopped along, supported by small tree trunks and a borrowed walking stick. Finally we reached the forestry road where a National Parks worker fetched me in his truck and took us home and I could shower and ice and ice.

Monday's visit to a physiotherapist concluded I needed an x-ray and the report of that indicated a small bone fragment torn off the outside ankle bone. Tuesday then saw me strapped into the moon boot, needing crutches too, for at least a week. Then one to two weeks of moon boot alone.

These past few days have been hot and humid. But it could be worse!

As I mentioned earlier, life has slowed down a bunch. Maybe it's time to get some of my projects finished?

A brief outline of a busy month ...

Nearly the end of January and the Stanford program is into it's fourth week now. Our days are full. Weekends we try and hike both days, one with Nan and family if possible. Regrettably there is no time in the week for roaming the mountain trails before work. Well, I guess if we didn't read for so long in bed when we wake we could hike. But lazy sloths we are, and reading is compulsive for both of us.

Tim is just finishing off Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, a book I also read. Fascinating, science-fictiony, marvelous story-telling. And I turned the last page today of The Fear by Peter Godwin. If you haven't already read Mukiwa and When the Crocodile Eats the Sun do so asap. And then read The Fear. The three books take you from an idyllic, peaceful, wealthy, although not a democracy, nation through the transition to democracy and then to bankruptcy and unimaginable violence.

I hadn't realised how much The Fear would tie in with the genocide class I take on Thursdays, almost the same course I took last year. I liked it so much I'm doing it again! Not exactly. I was drawn to the gap in my knowledge of the history of Southern Africa and am so lucky to have the opportunity to study with the students again.

Alternate Fridays see Tim and me with all the students in the Sites of Memory Class. So far we've only had one class and that began in the crypt at St Georges Cathedral with a chance meeting with Bishop Tutu much to the delight of all as Bishop Tutu insisted on shaking hands with each and every one of our group of 29!

After tea and a talk by John Parkington we walked up Government Avenue to the South African Museum to see three exhibitions there, first one on the people of South Africa, next the rock art of the San and lastly a marvelous exhibition curated by Pippa Skotnes and Petro Keene displaying the art of Leo Frobenius and his team who came to South Africa from Germany in 1928 and painted some huge canvases of the rock art he saw in Zimbabwe and Lesotho, some of which were bought by the SA Museum in 1931 and kept in storage for years and years.

This coming Friday we'll hold the second class, visiting the Prestwich Memorial and the Slave Lodge, learning about the early days of Cape Town.

With all this work there is little time to devote to a social life outside of work, although I have started playing bridge with my old group from the 1990's who still meet each Tuesday evening. So far, two weeks in a row, I (and my partner) have been consistent in coming 2nd from the bottom both evenings!

Each Wednesday we take four students to dinner to our favourite restaurant around the corner from us in Newlands, The Wijnhuis. Our first evening was last Wednesday and we'll keep it up until the end of February. It's a really nice way to get to know the students in smaller groups. Here we are with Ariana, Danielle, Leslie and Natie, all looking very satiated! Thanks to Ritesh for taking the photo with Leslie's camera! Ritesh is the reason we keep going back to the Wijnhuis. He is by far the best waiter I have ever met. He knows what wine we like and has it chilled to just the right temperature for our arrival. He can even predict what we'll order which isn't very difficult because we always order the same dish! Well, almost always...

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!

We said farewell to 2010 on the lawns of Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens enjoying a concert with Johnny Clegg and his group. Long picnic first, a leading act, and then finally Johnny Clegg was onstage to much joy and dancing as all 6,000 at the concert stood and rocked to the truly South African rhythms.

Our friend Kay was visiting from Inverness and she joined us, as well as my daughter, Nan & Daniel. We sat next to our good Cape Town friend, Lucille, owner of Ivydene Guest House, who took the photo on the left. Kay took the photo of the concert, right.

It's nearly 7pm on January 6th as I write, sitting outside on a chilli-hot breathless day, the third in a row of scorching temperatures.



On Monday Jan 3rd, we spent a blissful evening with Kay on Table Mountain, first hiking around the top, admiring the views, and then watching the sunset from the summit bar sipping a cool glass of Sauvignon Blanc enjoying the stunning view from the top of the mountain, see photo. Thank goodness Kay took her camera - here we are in the gale before sunset on the front side of the mountain - that's the city you can just see on my right. Monday was the last of the windy days - we were lucky to get up - the cable car was closed most of the day because of "gale force winds". We ended the evening with dinner at the Africa Cafe - such a fun restaurant, it's worth checking the link.


The Stanford program began on Tuesday with Orientation and a lunch and I was there to enjoy the food and the course outlines by faculty, and to take photos, of course (with a little  help from Kathleen Levitt so there is even a photo of me!)

It feels exciting to be starting another quarter with 23 fresh faces and a number of new courses on offer, together with some of the same from last year. This week is all Orientation, ending with a dinner for staff and students on Friday at Solms-Delta in Franschhoek.

Two new staff have joined the Stanford Centre this year. Jen van Heerden will be assisting Janice McMillan with the Service-Learning placements, and Jessica Lothman has settled into Freeland Lodge with the students as their Resident Assistant.

Last year Claire Gibson, who was a student with us in 2008, filled both those roles. She was an important part of the Stanford family last year and we miss her enthusiasm, her bright face and happy smiles, and wish her luck at Mills, on her medicine track.

Another year begins ...

2011 has arrived - here's hoping for peace, health,  happiness, fun and adventure!

Tim and I were in Johannesburg for Christmas, with my sister and her husband, Gill (with me on the left) & Michael and their large extended family. Great gatherings and lots of fun.


As well as enjoying good wine and the best of Christmas fare, Tim and I squeezed in a few hours of exercise with Will and Jen, hiking in the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens. Someone had to take the photo - thanks Jen!

Here's another photo of the typical merriment around the dinner table - from left, Sherry, Tim, Polly, Michael, Gill, Jen (peeking in the gap), Will, and Michael's nephew, Michael Collins.

Back home to Cape Town and five days of extreme winds. Very unpleasant. And then the weather turned strangely tropical in this Mediterranean climate zone. Yesterday, New Year's day, we woke to thunder and lightning and heavy rain pounding our tin roof.

Thankfully the clouds cleared up by lunch time leaving in their wake a gorgeous afternoon and a warm, windless evening. For the first time since our arrival in Cape Town, we were able to eat under the stars on our veranda. So all was looking good. But this morning we woke to more rain which didn't really clear up, so we pretended it was winter and went to a movie (You will meet a Tall Dark Stranger - not as funny as I'd read it would be.)

Stanford students began arriving today with more to follow tomorrow. Orientation occupies the rest of the week. I left my camera in the SAA lounge in Johannesburg so I won't be able to take photos. Boo hoo. I've been trying to get it picked up by someone passing by the domestic terminal but so far, no luck.