A Hike in Newlands Forest

Tim and I try and walk in the forest as often as possible and today we were lucky enough to be accompanied by the son of our Irish friends who brought his camera, so here we are, the proof!



Of course it could be, since we don't look at all tired, that we are posing against a backdrop. So here is the view in the opposite direction, of the sprawl of suburbs. Way over on the far side, almost hidden in the smog, you can see the outline of the Hottentots Holland Mountains.

Africa Cafe Welcome Dinner

The students had their Welcome Dinner on Friday 8th at the Africa Cafe in Cape Town. Click on the link to see some photos

Wildlife trapped in our garden

Tim and I watched Guineafowl Drama for an hour or so this morning and decided that birds do indeed have teeny brains.

Ma and Pa Guineafowl brought their 5 chicks into our garden this morning, but then couldn't find their way out. It was easy for Ma and Pa to escape. They can fly. But the chicks were tiny, their little wings mere stumps of feathers on the sides of their fluffy bodies. They were stuck in our garden. Yippee, a replacement for the ravens I miss so much back at home in Inverness!

What made it worse for the babes is Ma and Pa abandoned them to the next door garden leaving their chicks squealing over on our side.

A fence separates the properties. It has wooden slats with a small gap between each slat. It begins about a foot off the ground, secured to a brick foundation wall. The chicks couldn't jump that high. New Balance to the rescue. I ran to fetch Tim's new shoe box and placed it up against the wall, hoping they could jump to that level and then get to the next. After a lot of false attempts, they made it - now all they had to do was fit through the gap in the slats.



Up and down the wall the chicks scurried, trying this gap,then that gap, with Ma & Pa on the other side of the fence, egging them on. First one was through, then two, then three. But the last two were just too chubby. Ah, wait, no, the fourth got pushed by the fifth and it was also safe next door.



Poor number five. It didn't have the strength in its feet to push itself across the gap. Sherry to the rescue - I tiptoed up behind it and gently eased it's little bottom, and plop, it landed on the other side to join the family.

We thought the rest would be easy - escape from the next door garden guarded by a big black gate across the carport. I figured the chicks could easily slip under and Ma & Pa could fly over. But no, Ma & Pa were determined to get through the gate posts which were far too close together. They tried very hard until "Ping, oh yes, we can fly."

I last saw the family trotting down our road. I hope they made it as far as the safety of the park and don't become roadkill after all that hard work!

The Work Begins

Monday January 4th began early for Tim, the day the Stanford students officially began their quarter at the brand new Bing Stanford Overseas Centre in Cape Town. Introductions and orientation and decisions on which courses to take was the flavour of the day. (Please note spelling - we're in Cape Town, communicating in the local brogue.)

All the faculty, including those from Cape Town University, came to an extremely yummy lunch on Monday, catered for by Lindi Kriel, David's wife. Each lecturer gave a brief course outline, at the end of which Tim and I wanted to sign up for all.

I posted some photos to a web album so please check it out and meet the students and lecturers yourself.

The University of Cape Town's Summer School is about to start with some courses I'd love to do. Added to all the Stanford classes I also want to take, this will not be a summer holiday!

Cape Town is windy this week with Tuesday the hottest day of the year (all 5 days!) It was only 36 deg Centigrade here in Newlands, but in other parts of Cape Town it got to well over 30 C! I wallowed in our teeny pool for the first time since we moved in.

Tim and I have been to two music evenings at a small venue/cafe not too far away from where we live. While it's been nice to hear live music in a similar environment as the Station House, the quality is just not the same as "Paul Knight and his friends"! We're very jealous of the line-up at the Station House this weekend. Laurie Lewis, Tom Rozum and Nina Gerber - our very best favourites!

I've just finished reading Zeitoun - Dave Eggers gripping story about what really happened in New Orleans during Katrina. We're also reading South African literature (for one of the Stanford courses) starting with Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton.

Happy New Year!

Welcoming in the new year with Claire, Breda & Billy over a Champagne/Jazz Brunch at the Winchester Mansions, Cape Town. Claire took the photo but I managed to slice her in from another shot. Thanks Claire!

Strange weather here today. The notorious south-easterly wind, the "Cape Doctor" has kept the mountain covered in a thick blanket of cloud, dark and gloomy on the Newlands side, white rolling tablecloth on the Cape Town side, while Sea Point basks in brilliant sunshine and crowds of day trippers gathered on the promenade to picnic, play ball games, and frolic in the icy sea.

The Stanford students begin arriving this weekend and classes start on Monday. Finally Stanford's Cape Town Overseas Centre will hum with activity.

Yesterday our resident assistant at the student housing, Claire Gibson, arrived. Claire was part of the 2008 Spring Quarter pilot program. We feel so lucky to have her here. The students are so lucky too!

Ayanda and Nathaniel visited on the last but one day of 2009. We had supper and then danced up a storm.







Finally, little bit of chilly UK - Gareth and Naz, Loch Ness, Scotland.

Christmas Eve in Cape Town

Click on the photo for a better view of our party of friends last night. From left to right, Pieter Jolly, Pieter's sister, Clare Dillon (who both visited us in Inverness last year), Sherry, Breda McCrea, Tim and Billy McCrea. We met Breda and Billy at our favourite restaurant, The Wijnhuis recently. They are from Ireland and full of fun.

You can tell how romantic our sundowners were, beneath the patio trees, drinking bubbly, munching on snacks, wearing Santa hats Clare brought from London that sparkled Season's Greetings.

Clare decorated us all in glow bangles and glow necklaces, appropriately festive for dinner of gammon, ostrich balls, sauces, veggies and an aubergine salad.

Good wine, food and lots of laughs. Merry Christmas to all!



Two Christmas Eve baboon stories.

Billy and Breda told us that during the lead up to Christmas, to escape the shopping frenzy, they decided to be good Irish tourists and drive to the tip of the Peninsula, Cape Point, in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve.

They parked in an advantageous position and rolled down the windows of their car to admire the broad canvas of fynbos and sea. Soon a baboon strolled up; "how adorable" they thought until it showed great determination to climb into the car through the open window.

Lots of scuffling and shoo-ing away ensued and finally the window was up, the excitement was over, and they were alone in the car. Or so they thought. A movement behind them caught their attention and would you believe: during the struggle with the young fellow at the window, an enormous baboon had calmly opened the back door and sat himself down in the middle of the back seat, patiently waiting for his turn to engage with these visitors to his domain. Breda was sure he was pleading with her in Irish, but Billy would have none of it and yelled some strong Irish verbiage, frightening it out of the car.

They were lucky they had no food in the car because the baboons would not have left if there had been anything to eat.

The second baboon story.

Pieter has a cottage in Smitswinkelsbaai, a tiny community near Cape Point that has no road access. The only way to get to your cottage is down a steep hill, carrying all your provisions. On this occasion Pieter was making his way back home, up the hill to his car. As he crested the rise he noticed a tourist bus returning to the city, 65 km away. On top of the bus, above the driver's cab, sat a huge baboon, hanging onto the slim railing, the air rushing past his fur, looking like a beautiful brunette in an open sports car, hair flying, mouth wide, lips bared, revealing the pleasure of being at one with the elements.

Pieter, weighed down by his rucksack, rushed forward to alert the driver, arms waving. The more vigorous Pieter's waves became, the more he aroused the attention of the Japanese tourists who waved back at him with great enthusiasm. Some stood up in the bus with cameras aimed. "What a nice friendly local, let's take him home with us!" The driver, oblivious to all the commotion, headed north, to Cape Town, along the False Bay coastline.

What, we wondered, happened to the baboon? Was this the regular way the baboon population caught a lift up the Peninsula hopping off at the first or second or third traffic light?

Gareth & Naz in chilly London

At Richmond Park last weekend,-2C.

From one room to too many

Our move last week was pretty uneventful, but finding comfort in our new home has been a little confusing. There are so many rooms and often we can be found wandering around, looking for that 'thing' that was just there a minute ago, but in which room?

Here are a couple of pics of the front part of the house at sundowner time. The house photo is from the front garden with the kitchen on the right and the sitting room, dining room to the left, and you can see where our sundowner table nestles in the corner of the veranda.


Tim writes:-

It's sunny and we are beginning to settle in, and SA is easing its way into the summer/Xmas holidays where everything shuts down, and it's wonderfully quiet around town. We're going to a music club tonight, which we hope may help replace Sunday evenings at the Station House, where I gather the Rowan brothers convene today Sorry to be missing that one!

We're just back from a hike in an area down the Peninsula called Silvermine. We reached the top of a peak with gorgeous views of the valley below and a long stretch of beach on the Atlantic Ocean side called Noordhoek beach, almost always deserted because the water is cold and the tides are dangerous. It looked picture perfect from above. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera to show you!

We got down from the mountain at 2pm and were hardly able to find a bite to eat - all the restaurants and deli's were packed. The economy really swells when folks are on holiday.

Like the rest of South Africa, the Stanford Centre is also preparing to slow down, at least between Christmas and New Year. The students begin arriving on January 2nd. Two weeks today!

Less than a week til Christmas - hoping for peace and good times for all.

Two weeks showering in our kitchen

We’re looking forward to moving to our rental cottage on Wednesday where we have two bathrooms leading off our bedroom. A ‘His’ and a ‘Hers'. Very fancy and different to these past two weeks.

Since landing in Cape Town on December 3rd we have closeted ourselves away at a very nice and friendly B&B. But our quarters are small; semi self catering with a lovely outdoor patio. The bathroom doubles as a kitchen, with shower, sink, large counter-top, fridge, microwave and a cupboard full of crockery.

At least we have a separate loo!

It’s felt like a lull, this stay. Time has stood pretty still, although for Tim that has not been the case as he dashes off to “the office” every day. He writes:

“I hit the ground running once we arrived in Cape Town, as there is a huge amount of work to do to be ready for the students' arrival on January 3. My staff is in place and they are doing a great job getting the office set up. I think we'll make it!”

I stay behind sitting in the patio of our sanctuary suite thinking about dinner. Could we bear to heat up another microwave meal, or should I book at our favourite restaurant? The restaurant option has won out for the most part since there’s not much joy eating over salted and over cooked pre-packaged meals.

Roll on Wednesday. That’s about all we can think of at this stage!

Well, we do walk on the mountain on most mornings and the reason we chose to stay in the suburb of Newlands is proximity to the nearby mountain trails that take us through indigenous fynbos and forest.

The other joy has been seeing how the grandchildren have grown. And catching up with my daughter Nan, and her husband, Daniel. Here are Ayanda and Nathaniel on their school swing.

Landing in the Southern Hemisphere

The first thing that hit me getting off the plane at Cape Town International airport yesterday was the sun. It was so high! Instead of squinting into a glaring orb that barely rises above the horizon, suddenly the light was above me, feeling so warm.

The second thing Tim and I couldn’t help but notice was the lovely long day. The suddenness of the northern hemisphere winter after reverting to Standard time always takes me by surprise. How dare the sun disappear around 5pm, and by Christmas, at 4pm?

Tonight we'll be enjoying a cool glass of wine on our warm patio on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. There is no daylight saving in South Africa and at the moment, the sun rises at 5:30am and sets at 7:45pm.

Tim’s first day here was spent at the new Stanford Centre in Mowbray, getting connected with the people he has hired, and slowly working through the “to do” list for getting the centre up and running by the time the first students arrive and the quarter begins on January 4th.

I had a less complicated task. A walk to the shopping centre to get some groceries and a visit to our friend Pieter and the last of my Jack Russell terriers, Geronimo, who still recognizes me and jumps into my arms at age twelve and a half.

On the way to Cape Town I spent three nights in London with my son, Gareth and his girlfriend, Naz. We lunched with friends; Pieter's sister, Clare, on Sunday, joined by my nephew Will and his girlfriend, Jen. What a meal. Clare produced the most incredible Asian duck dish, with butternut squash and rice. Not to forget the fish starter and chocolate cake deluxe ending.

Monday Gareth took the day off and we had another super lunch with Anne and Steve James who live near Gareth in Wimbledon.

Tuesday I caught the tube to the Hyatt in Portman Square and had a very pleasant pub lunch with Mary Whitfield. Tim joined me off the San Francisco flight in the afternoon.

Another superb meal that evening with Gareth and Naz at the “Porte de las Indes” restaurant near the hotel. Rather sumptuous French/Indian food.

And a last day in London with Tim, walking in Hyde Park before the rain chased us under cover for a final pub lunch before heading to the airport.


Some of the Hyde Park wildlife!

A good start to our seven months away from home.