Bonny

Meet Bonny, on the left - our 'adopted' Husky-cross-SPCA-special. She joined us yesterday (Saturday) after being spayed, vaccinated, dewormed, and 'tagged'. At about 8 months old she is bigger than Bess (our bull-terrier cross on the right), but will not grow too much bigger. Bess was rather subdued when Bonny arrived - not too sure how to respond. But today they are almost playing together. Rumble (our 15year old Labrador/ Dalmation) wisely keeps out of the way. She is too stiff and senile to take much notice of the other two anyway. Hopefully Bess and Bonny will be good companions for the next 12-15 years, or however long they live!

Customer Care

I am amazed. It is generally well-known that customer service in South Africa leaves much to be desired. Service doesn't seem to be a common word in any of our languages. I phoned a College at 10h30, and got a message on the answering machine: "We are having our tea break and cannot answer your call right now. Your call is important to us. Please leave your name and number.....". I put down the phone before the sentence was completed. I was pretty much dumb-struck!

Then a bit later our Youth Pastor, Kyle, phoned a camping venue to enquire about bookings for a weekend youth camp, to be told: "Yes we do have place that month. But I can't help you now coz I'm watching the cricket on TV. Please phone back later". He too was pretty dumb-struck!

What is it with our nation? Is it plain arrogance? or couldn't really care? or is it a case of 'I'm occupying a post and get paid anyway - so why should I put myself out for anyone?'. This kind of attitude does not bode well for our country, especially if we are trying to build the economy. Maybe we should hand over officially to the immigrants. They have come here to work and find a better life for themselves - lets give the country to them.

First Book

I am in print!
"There is at least one book in every person" - that's what I have been told. It has also been said to me on more than one occasion that I should WRITE. I never intended to - really don't like writing! However, for my birthday, my son Richard had my blog put in print - and here is the result. Surprised? - I certainly was!

Isn't it Beautiful?!

Ian and Juliette gave me this butterfly orchid for my birthday. It has continued to bloom. Stunning!

Overheard

I overheard the following conversation:
Question:"My thought for the day is to ask you whether you are still going to vote for Jacob Zuma?"
Reply: 'Why not? Who else? He's the best that the ANC can offer. And he only faces 738 charges of corruption, tax evasion and racketeering.
After some further thought: 10 other reasons to support Zuma
1. He now has 4 wives, 1 ex-wife (Nkososana) and a wife who committed suicide in 2000. Does he have 4,5, or 6 mothers-in-law? Whatever the count, he is a brave man. We need a brave man to lead RSA
2. He has 18 children that he can account for, possibly more. He needs the money (Pres' salary + perks as well as other kick-backs) to support these guys so they can support him when he's older. That's planning. We need a leader who looks to the future. We also need a leader who sets examples by being highly productive.
3. He was found 'not guilty' of rape. He was not found innocent. We need a leader who has lawyers who know the finer points of the law. JZ is our man.
4. He's facing 738 charges of racketeering, tax evasion and fraud, and he doesn't seem fazed. We need a leader who can face all the stresses that come with being an African leader without folding under the pressure.
5. He has said he wants his day in court, and has spent so much energy to keep his face out of court. He says and does what is expedient at the time. He's a good politician and worthy to lead us.
6. He says he is innocent of charges, but has done all he could to make sure that the diary which could incriminate him in the arms deal was not released to the NPA. (If he was innocent, why would he not say:"Go ahead. Look for whatever you want in the diary"? Maybe he is protecting other powerful people in the ANC.) What a hero. We need heroes.
7. He says he encourages debate, but has refused to take part in a public debate with opposition leaders. [Can you see JZ debating with Helen Zille and Patricia de Lille? It would be fun, but not for him]. We need a leader who recognises his strengths and does not want to expose his weaknesses.
8. He is a natural source of material for cartoons from the likes of Zapiro. Zapiro needs to make a living too.
9. He has shown the people of RSA that, despite a lack of education or intellectual capacity, he has made it to the top. We need more people like JZ to give credence to the oft-repeated statement:"If I truly believe I can get to anywhere I want to, I can". It doesn't matter whether or not you have the capability. Pass one, pass all.
10. Ma's Boys need another bass. But since they don't sing Mshimi wam (and he seems to know no other song), he should not be invited to join.

Mugabe's achievements

Yes - Mugabe has made it big-time with great achievements, as follows:
- world record for the highest rate of inflation ever, at 41,900,000,000,000,000,000%
- expertise in the fields of Economic Ineptness and Arrogant Stupidity - in his own words: "no one could have done it better" (apart from maybe Idi Amin)
- single-minded diligence in the torture, murder & beatings of unarmed taxpayers
- excellence in the following fields of political under-achievement:
*world's lowers life expectancy of just 35 years
*world's highest unemployment rate at 95%
*world's highest displaced population outside of a war-zone
Valued contributions to his work have been made by his fans and coaches, namely: Thabo Mbeki, Gidoen Gono, Constantin Chiwenga, Augustine Chihuri, Emerson Mnangagwa, Patrick Chinamasa.
It is probably more economical to use this piece of paper than a piece of toilet paper when you visit the loo.

Double Scrabble

We have taken to playing scrabble with two boards adjacent to each other and two sets of letters. It makes the game more interesting, and we have played easily with 8 players.
There were only three of us for this game - Paul won.

Christmas 2008

We got round to cutting the Christmas cake on the Sunday after Christmas. Here we are, preparing to enjoy it with ice-cream. We were all together as a family this year - something that will happen less and less as our sons spread themselves more around the country and the world. Unfortunately, by sunday, Allan had already returned to Somerset West - hence his absence from the photo. The table cloth is one that I brought back from Mexico - a wonderful, cheerful, celebratory splash of colour!
Seater around the table in an anti-clockwise direction are Ian, Paul, Devan (Richard's friend who lives in Canada), Richard, Liesel (his girlfriend), Beryl (me), Ned. Juliette is taking the photo - you'll see her behind the lens.. On the bookcase behind Devan/ Richard, note the Lesotho hat - brought back by Richard after spending a month with the missionaries who run the orphanage at Semonkong.
Juliette is now included in the photo with ian, Paul and
Devan. Note the clock on the wall - it is permanently set at '5 to 11' - time for a liitle something. Those who know about Winnie the Pooh will know all about that. The clock has been set there for about 20 years now - we have never gotten around to replacing the 'works' inside.

Bearded varieties

Paul, the lesser bearded variety - not because of the quantity of beard, but because he is younger than his brother Allan - the greater bearded variety.
Paul only grew his beard during the Varsity holiday, from October to January. He is now of the beardless variety.
Allan, the greater bearded variety. His hair is currently much longer than shown here.
Both of them handsome young men, don't you think? I do, but then, I am their mother!

Consequences

We have had very good rains this season so far - second only to the rains we had 12 years ago. Of course, when it rains, the grass grows and needs to be mowed. Sometimes it rains so much and the grass grows so fast, that we cannot get round to mowing it fast enough. Here is Ned - trying to deal with one week's growth in November.
We have experienced the 11-12 year sunspot cycle affecting the rainfall - drought - rainfall cycle in our neck of the woods. Why is it that the 'powers that be' refuse to include the sunspot cycle in their reckoning of what is currently happening on our planet? It is not just human reckless activity that is the cause of the ice-melts - the issue is far more complex than that. But I suppose if one wants to make political and economic capital, one does what one can to push one side of a question and so create a power niche for oneself. Ah, the human condition. Thank God for redemption and continuing transformation towards a perfect universe.