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Shoreham 2007
Shoreham Airshow 2007
Me looking brave before taking to the air (and the wing) of the plane. Wow, it was cold !! But the whole experience was totally exhilarating.
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Jan's Blog - 2009 - March
HEAVENLY WEDDING IN THE CLOUDS
14th March 2009
HEAVENLY WEDDING
This week I was a guest at the most beautiful wedding set amidst the most stunning scenery. I can't think of a more romantic setting than Clouds Wine Estate overlooking the beautiful Banhoek Valley and surrounded by the majestic Simonsberg and Drakenstein Mountain ranges.
It was a very intimate wedding. My friend Doreen - aided and abetted by Steve, her friend from Foreign Office days - organised a perfect function. Attention to detail was simply amazing from the co-ordinated colour scheme of the dining table - in Burgundy and Cream with a proliferation of small flower arrangements all down the table - to wonderfully romantic touches like the release of White Doves (a breed of white homing pigeon) just after the Happy Couple exchanged their rings and the bowls heaped with Fresh Rose Petals, thyme, rosemary and other herbs to throw over the bride and groom after they'd signed the register. And the Wedding Cake was superb. Simple and beautiful. I suppose I paid the highest compliment by asking it's creator if the roses were real - they were all created in Sugar.
On arrival, I walked out of our room onto a balcony overlooking the elevated area in which the Wedding was to take place. The sheer magnificence of the scenery took my breath away and it was all so magical, I could feel the tears pricking my eyes - incurable Old Romantic that I am.
The service itself was the most warm, loving and heartfelt that I've ever witnessed and I've been to a few Weddings (including my own before anyone else gets that one in!!) The 'Pastor' who officiated was from a United Church in Rondebosch. I was so impressed with his simple and heartfelt words that I'm considering going along to Robert Steiner's Church this Sunday.
Sejal, the bride, looked absolutely stunning in a fabulously understated gown which could have been designed by a top couturier. Her raven black hair was decorated with small white orchids and her Groom, Roy, walked along the cream carpet with the grin of a cat that had got the cream. They looked so radiant and happy and it was a joy to be sharing with them such a loving event.
There are only a few rooms at Clouds but they are superb. Much as Doreen and I like each other, we both declared that this really was a place for lovers to stay - well, who knows!!!!!!
Oh, and guess who caught the Bouquet - so you can imagine the ribald comments following my 'catch'.
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LATIN AMERICAN DANCE
Maybe it's got something to do with the glorious sunny weather and a sense of well-being, but I took another brave pill and went to a Dance Class Taster this morning.
I've always wanted to be able to execute dances like the Cha-Cha, Rumba, Salsa etc. so I inveigled some girlfriends to go with me and we had a great time. As always there were more woman than men, but I was extremely fortunate to find myself partnered with a charming young man who attends St. Josephs (by coincidence I also went to St. Josephs way back at the beginning of time). His name was Zukhanye Geza and he had a wonderfully natural rhythm. I got the feeling he'd like to Dance as a career but his parents want him to be an Accountant - still I suppose he can dance in his spare time. Even though I don't have two left feet and have a natural feel for rhythm, it was tremendously helpful to be partnered by a potentially very good dancer.
My son and friends arrive next Saturday and I can't wait to meet them off the plane.
Take care and remember 'Life is for Living' - this isn't a Rehearsal. Jan
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A NIGHT WITH DAME EDNA!!
11th March 2009
A NIGHT WITH DAME EDNA!!
My friend Doreen organized the booking of tickets for many shows before I got back here and I readily agreed to seeing Dame Edna - haven't seen Barry Humphries' Show for a couple of decades and remembered how much I'd enjoyed him in the past.
Then we discovered that it wasn't Barry Humphries but 'As Portrayed by Mr. Ceri Dupree' - hence the exclamation marks after the title, I suppose.
Seventeen of us were going - too many to organize into a meal before the show so it was - see you all there. Well, no one had turned up by 7.50 so I phoned Doreen. Stupid Me - I was at the wrong theatre (having booked tickets at the Baxter for Peter-Dirk Uys I had it in my head that Dame Edna was also at the Baxter). Could I make it across Capetown to Artscape in time. Well I would have done but having gone into town on a route different from my normal dead-easy trip into the Artscape, I ended up in a bit of Capetown that I didn't know. I went round in a few circles and thought ' Damn it, I'll just go home - it's not Barry Humphries anyway' and then, miraculously I found the Theatre. And I'm so glad I did. Ceri Dupree was superb. Apparently he's from Wales and has been on the circuit for a long time but I'd never seen him.
One of the critiques on the Hand-out bill declared 'His Dame Edna is even more caustic than the real thing'. I laughed so much my face ached. Fortunately he's on till March 29th so I shall try and book seats for my son and his friends when they come out. And I shall certainly be looking out for Mr. Ceri Dupree when I get back to the UK. And I could have torn the last 'frock' off his back - a stunning number in bright yellow - mind you I'd have unpicked the purple gladdies attached to the slits up the side.
So all in all - YET ANOTHER FABULOUS DAY IN CAPETOWN. I'm so lucky to be here.
And for those of you who won't visit because of the Crime stories - you know how the press exaggerate. Yes there's crime and the statistics aren't nice but then I wouldn't travel into the centre of Manchester, Bradford, Birmingham, Leeds, Norwich, certain parts of London, in fact most big cities in the UK, at night on my own. I urge you to come to this wonderful country where the people are friendly, the scenery stupendous and the food and wine delicious and inexpensive. There's so much to see and do, you need to stay for at least a month.
Think about it. Bye for now - with fond wishes, Jan
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WONDERFUL CAPE TOWN
10th March 2009
WONDERFUL CAPETOWN
If only they could sort out the politics, poverty, crime and give jobs to all, Capetown would be a veritable Paradise.
Today a friend took me on a train from Kennilworth to Muizenberg - didn't ever think I'd travel on public transport here - their trains are on a par with our older underground trains.
Getting out at Muizenberg we were totally assailed by the salinity - the sea had a sort of light early morning mist on the waves - it was almost surreal. Our walk alongside the Railway was partly on paths, partly on rocks and part on the beach. We dunked ourselves in the sea at Danger Beach - it had a pretty rough surf but the water was surprisingly acceptable temperature-wise. It would have to be for me to venture in. Apparently there's quite a rip tide there and over a hundred years ago two sisters drowned there - hence it's name. But it certainly didn't look anything other than deliciously inviting this morning. We sat on the rocks to dry and continued our walk to Kalk Bay where we had a Parisian breakfast of coffee and croissants. It was such bliss I almost felt as though I'd died and gone to Paradise.
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LUNCH WITH A TORTOISE
1st March 2009
LUNCH WITH A TORTOISE
You've heard of Tea with Mussolini, well the other day I had lunch with a Tortoise!
Friends from the UK collected me to go for lunch with their friends at Camps Bay. There in the garden was a Leopard Tortoise, about the same size as the small one at The Vineyard Hotel. If you've not been there, the tortoise is about one and a half feet in length. approximately a foot wide and in height about a foot.
We were having a prelunch drink inside when we heard the patter of tiny feet - Speedy had tiptoed into the house. Our host picked him up - all 15 kgs and placed him back in the garden. Not long after while we were lunching on the Stoep, there was a load crash - our inquisitive creature had gone inside again, banged into a chair causing all the magazines to fall to the floor. Whether he was super intelligent or not, he remained there - had he moved any further the chair would have toppled over onto him. I found him really quite endearing. I wished I'd brought my camera but with 4,500 photos on my Laptop, I now resist the temptation to photograph all the beauty here in the Cape. Everywhere you go you see subjects worthy of a photo and cataloguing is not my strong point so I'm finding it increasingly difficult to keep track of what I've got.
I now believe that the Vineyard Tortoises do get into the building, wander down the corridors and make visits if any bedroom doors are open.
It's been a very hot week and has felt even hotter because of the lack of wind. Today there's a definite smell of smoke in the air. The Hottentots Hollands are invisible and there's a thick 'mist' over everything which I think must be the smoke from the fires out near Somerset West. Thank goodness, I don't think there have been any fatalities but acres and acres of Vines have gone up in smoke.
Bye for now, Jan
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