Charys vacated her room to accommodate us for the two nights we will spend here. This is Malcolm's last day of leave; Heather still has another week of leave left. We went into 'the village' with them to get a few things - Ned needed a cough mixture to ease his bronchitis. Right in the centre of the village is the old gaol - now a museum!
The village market was in full swing - plenty of stalls selling everything from fruit and veges to clothes, CD's, nick-nacks, and money-waters. Amazing this tendency to sell things on the street. They probably have their regular customers though - the market is here twice a week and moves around to other villages as well. Don't think that I would choose that way of making a living - obviously I haven't!
John and Jill Knight came over for supper - Jill and Heather being sisters.
Jill, Ned, charys, John, Heather, Malcolm
Ian, Allan and Paul have all passed through the Gibbs household on their travels to the UK - only Richard still needs to visit. It is good for the youngsters to renew contact. We spent time together when they were little - them visiting us in the Transkei; visiting each other when they lived in Klerksdorp and we had moved to Pretoria; and then meeting up at the same holiday venue when we were camp-parents on a Scripture Union camp and they were just on holiday at Barachel on the Hartebeespoort Dam. Their children ranged in age from 15 to 10 when they moved to the UK, so contact was only by irregular letters from our side! It is wonderful to have friends that, when you meet up after a long time, it is as if the intervening years were hardly there. Relationships are truly precious.
John will be leading a pilgrimage in a couple of week's time, in Spain. This entails walking 225miles in about 12 days over the Pyrenees. they walk about 20 miles per day, and sleep in rudimentary hostels each night. He keeps walking fit through the year by going for a 20mile walk each week. I cannot imagine myself doing anything like that. But then, I guess John never imagined it either until he actually went on the first one last year. Just goes to show - you never know!!
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