African Swansong - Chapter 3

 African Swansong - Chapter 3

Monday, March 25th, 2024

A provincial map of South Africa. Saint Francis
Bay, Port Elizabeth and East London are 
all in the Eastern Cape on the coast.

We are up today at the crack of dawn. Roxanne, our B’n B host, has agreed it is fine to do us a 6am breakfast, as our shuttle is picking us up at 7am.

Roxanne proves to be a genial host and as we chat, we find we have lots in common. Her kids are at Woodridge school where Doug and Kim’s kids have all gone and where Annie, their daughter, is still a weekly boarder. It turns out that one of her daughters probably knows Annie. Small world.

Our shuttle arrives a bit early. They have their full team on duty today – Francois, the owner, his lady friend, Cynthia and Claude the driver. Along for the ride is Lynette, a friend of Cynthia’s who is visiting and keeping them company for the day. At this point, the thirteen seater minivan, has only one paying passenger, Christa, who is on her way to visit her daughter in East London. Everyone is 70 or older I reckon. There is no baggage space in the van so our luggage needs to be loaded onto the back four seats. Cynthia, takes charge and sees to the loading. There was no room for more than one to do that job, and I was stuck outside, so couldn’t offer. I did wonder why Francois or Claude hadn’t offered to help, but there must be a reason. Finally, we are loaded up, introductions done, and we hit the road for East London, about a four hour drive east, mainly along a beautiful coastline. The bus now has three paying customers. 

PE has a long waterfront, which should be beautiful, but too much of it is taken up with disheveled, dirty equipment and dockside railway lines. At one point, we noticed what had once been a steel fence, which had only the upright cemented posts left standing. The rest of the steel fence had been stripped bare. The bad guys steal the metal and sell it for scrap.  Crista overheard us commenting and remarked, “That’s nothing. Nowadays, they are starting to steal the traffic lights”. This sounds unbelievable, but these types of stories abound. For a time, when Covid came around and the trains weren’t functioning because of lockdowns, scavengers came into rail stations and stripped them down to the concrete platforms. The materials are either sold for scrap or used for building materials for the squatter camps that spring up in the cities wherever there is a piece of unoccupied, unguarded land. Sad, but true. How can a country function with this kind of behavior going on?

Welcome to the 
Sunshine Coast

Cher and I had driven this coastal route many times. It is now referred to by the Tourist Board types as the “Sunshine Coast”. I really enjoyed being a passenger, as normally I am the designated driver. I could relax, look around and take it all in. Once we got clear of PE, the road gave way to lovely farmland. There has been a fair amount of rain, and the farms were looking good. Eventually we came to the Great Fish River. It was here in the late 1700s that the white Afrikaaner settlers, of Dutch origin, first came into contact with the dominant Xhosa tribes. This became the Border Area and was the scene of numerous skirmishes and mini conflicts over the decades. 4000 settlers were brought in from Britain in 1820 to try and settle this area to solidify settler control. My Mom’s side of the family dates back to this group. They were sent to create a buffer zone between the Xhosa tribes migrating south and westwards and the Afrikaaners, who were spreading north and eastwards.

Many of the town and river mouths, west of the Great Fish River have names that reflect their colonial heritage – Grahamstown, Alexandra, Kenton on Sea. There are also a fair share of Afrikaaner names, Boesmansriviermond (Bushman’s River Mouth), Kleinemond (Small Mouth) and so on.

Once we were east of the Great Fish River, we were into a part of the country that had never really fallen completely under colonial control. Under the apartheid years, this area was called the Ciskei and it was a separate country under the control of a Xhosa speaking government. The place and river names reflect the Xhosa influence. Now we had cool sounding names like Mgwalana, Mtati, Mpekweni and Birah. The Xhosa pronunciations are a treat to hear. They have some rather distinctive clicks which can be difficult to replicate.

A stop along the way at Boesmansriviermond
to pick up another paying custormer. 

Our halfway, washroom and coffee stop was in Port Alfred. Port Alfred sits astride the Cowie River. During my Scripture Union days in this part of the world in the 1980s, I once led a teenage canoe camp up this river. I had warned the teens to pack light as space was limited. Well of course they ignored my advice. We set off packed to the gunnels with barely three inches of canoe above the waterline. One should preferably plan one’s departure up the river for when the tide is coming in, so that the tide pushes one upriver. However, where the downcoming river meets the upgoing tide, there is potential for waves as the two competing forces meet. Well it took about five minutes and all of our canoes were under water. We spent half an hour recovering our various belongings which were floating downriver. Needless to say, it was a great icebreaker, and we had a great camp.

As we progressed, the land gave way to undeveloped bush. It was great to see miles of undisturbed African bushveld for some time. After a while, rural housing began to dominate. Thirty years ago, when we left SA, these houses were primarily built of mud or flattened metal drums. It was very basic. Nowadays most of the houses are upgraded and built with concrete bricks, and corrugated iron roofs. Many of the properties have one or two extra “houses”, on them, for an extra wife or two. There will also be a thornbush enclosure to shelter the goats and cows overnight.

South Africa has tradeitionally had a migratory labor system. Young men from the rural areas would head to the cities to find work and then send money home to the rural area where the wives and kids were engaged in subsistence living. The men would come home once a year to visit their wives and work on the next crop of kids. It isn’t unusual for a man to have a wife in the city and one back home in the rural area.  

Vote for Julius Malema of the 
Economic Freedom Fighters - a 
populist who appeals to the masses. 

We are starting to notice election posters. The next general election is in two months time.  The party of choice, since apartheid has been the ANC (African National Congress), the party of Nelson Mandela. Unfortunately since he has moved on the ANC has given way to serious and serial corruption causing great hardship to the country.  Unemployment is between 30-40%, the educations system is abysmal and the leaders grow richer and fatter. The competition is fierce, but some of the contenders are not very savory characters either. In North America, politics is fierce, but in Africa it tends to resemble a fight to the death. In South Africa's favor the press is still free and so far elections have been fair. 

Finally, we arrived in East London. I have always considered East London to be South Africa’s best kept secret. They have gorgeous beaches, excellent schools and it is a pretty little town. Unfortunately, the local municipality has not done a good job of keeping standards up and too often, there is garbage lying around, broken sidewalks and so on. I threaten to come back and stand for Mayor every time I visit. So far I’ve resisted the impulse. I am sure it could become the jewel in the crown of South Africa.

We were greeted by Lynne, Cher’s sister who took us back to her apartment in a wonderful Retirement Village complex. Lynne had baked me a slightly belated birthday cake for afternoon tea and invited a very good friend Alison Horsfall to join us. It was great catching up.

Lynne has made the decision to move to UK to live close to her son and family in Wales. She is leaving in a week’s time to spend six months in her new flat in Swansea seeing to renovations and beginning to settle into what will become her new community. It feels a bit strange for us all, to think that this chapter of our lives in Southern Africa is drawing to a close.

Tuesday March 26, 2024

Beach Break - a legend to those who know it

Today we were planning a visit to the Beach Break. This beachside restaurant is a closely guarded secret amongst East Londoners. It is in a space carved out of the thick tropical bush situated under the trees just behind the beach. It is shady and has an atmosphere that could not be replicated easily. Up until recently it was common to have monkeys in the trees. They would eye the various food choices below and then would occasionally launch a kamikaze attack on something they fancied. The African staff would come tearing out of the building with those large industrial size water pistols and fire at the monkeys who would then retire to the trees to enjoy their ill-gotten gains. It was great fun to observe when this happened, unless of course one was on the receiving end of an attack. I think someone must have finally “dealt with the monkeys” as I haven’t seen them for a while. I once saw a snake slithering along a branch a couple of feet above a man’s head. It gives me the heebies, just thinking about it.

How's about that for a natural Jungle Jim? Our
grandkids have climbed in this space and 
thought they have died and gone to heaven. 

Unfortunately it was raining so we had to go to the Reef Café around the corner and up the hill. It is perched high above the sea and overlooks a 180-degree view of the coastline. On a good day, one can see forever. Lynne’s friend Barbara had joined us. She and Lynne normally walk the beach on a Tuesday morning and have breakfast at the Beach Break. Barbara has been a good friend to Lynne over the years. She got quite teary eyed when the discussion about Lynne leaving came around.  

Rob with Martin Tibbit

After breakfast Lynne and Cher were planning to work on dealing with decades worth of family mementos and making some drastic decisions. I decided I didn’t want to be part of the inevitable wailing and gnashing of teeth that would accompany this exercise. I decided to go and visit Martin Tibbit. He is the brother of my brother in law, Roy Tibbit in Peterborough, Ontario. Martin is 84 and lives in a retirement village. His wife passed away a year or two ago, so he lives alone. Like us, he grew up in Zambia. He and I chewed the fat and reminisced for a couple of hours over a cup of tea before I made my way home to Lynne and Cher to see how they were doing. I found them thoroughly engrossed in photos, letters and trying to decide what to do with piles of old photo albums. We can all identify. They took digital photos of  the final selections and then they did eventually face the inevitable. We piled a shopping trolley high with old photo albums and books and took them to the central garbage area for disposal. It was good to get that job done, but sad to see a lifetime of memories being so unceremoniously dumped

It had been another tough day in Africa. We watched a couple of episodes of Blue Bloods and headed for bed.

Wednesday, March 27th, 2024

Tyre service on the go. 

The Operation Mobilisation ship, the Logos Hope was in town, so we decided we needed to pay it a visit. Most things in Africa start early, so we figured if we got down there around 9ish that would work fine. When we got there, we were told it was only open from 11am. Lynne said we could kill a bit of time by going to see some of the houses she and her husband, Glenn, had lived in. 

We were just on our way, when Lynne’s car computer told her she was losing pressure in one of her tires. Lynne said she must have picked up a nail or screw and we headed off to go and have it seen to “the African way”. This was new for us. We took the car to a service station where one of the service attendants runs a puncture repair business on the side. He directed us to the back of the building, presumably out of sight of his boss. He quickly found the nail and extracted it with a pair of pliers. He then cleaned up the hole left by the nail, with a hand held tool and in short order inserted a rubber plug with another large needle. It was quite amazing to watch him work. The whole exercise took about 15 minutes and it cost R50, which is about $3 (Cdn).

East London has a large Mercedes plant. When
Nelson Mandela was released the workers made
him a personalised vehicle as a gift from them. 

We spent the next hour or so touring some of Lynne’s old houses. Outside one of Lynne’s ex homes she recounted how in the good ole days, they used to have milk delivered daily. One morning she happened to spot the milkman doing his delivery. She watched with horror as he unscrewed the lid of one of the bottles and took a swig before carefully returning the lid to its previous apparently pristine state. She bought her milk at the store from then on.

It was nice to re-live that bit of history. While en route we passed a church that I remember we had run a Scripture Union Holiday Club at. It was at that club that my daughter Julia won a prize for the “most enthusiastic singer”. She deserved it. We also passed George Randall Primary School and I was reminded of the schools that I used to visit in my role of Area Director for Scripture Union. In most schools I would have complete freedom to deliver biblical messages in the daily school assemblies. We had SU clubs in virtually all of the English speaking schools and were just getting going in the Xhosa speaking schools when we left South Africa in 1991.

Solar rules. 

While driving around, I was reminded by the panels on roofs, that solar power is really taking off here in SA. The power company, Eskom has the monopoly on production of electricity throughout the country. Eskom has excelled itself in its levels of corruption and ineptitude for decades now. The result has been that most of the country now has daily blackouts of up to 12 hours. The rich folks buy generators. The smart ones are putting in solar panels combined with a bank of storage batteries. Spare power is put back into the grid which Eskom pays a discounted amount for. We have met a number of people who tell us they are now free of blackouts as they live off the grid. This is a rare instance in which corruption and negligence are actually leading to a positive development for a country. 

The Logos hosts the
"largest bookfair in the world"

We were back at the Logos a bit early. While waiting for the ship to open up, I went and took some photos of the docks. The next thing I noticed a guy in a bright yellow reflective top approaching me on his quad bike. He informed me with a nice smile, that photos of the dock area are not allowed. I wasn’t surprised. This is quite common in African countries for them to be twitchy about security around their airports and ports. He was very pleasant and didn’t ask me to delete the photos I had taken. Just another reminder that we are in Africa. 

The Logos was interesting. They visit ports all over the world with volunteer young people who share the gospel with whoever will listen. They claim to have the “largest floating bookshop in the world”. It is large and they have an amazing assortment of books. We came away with some books in hand, despite having been determined that we wouldn’t be buying.

Guardians of Hope - a blessing to the hopeless
kids in the area. 

On our way back from the Logos we popped into Guardians of Hope (GOH) for Lynne to say goodbye. This is a home for babies and small children who have nowhere else to go. They have been abandoned, and often arrive damaged healthwise and mentally. They have no hope. GOH currently has about 28 kids who are being looked after. Guardians is run by a lady called Elaine and her husband Dirk who is a police officer in the canine unit. Elaine, who is in her forties, is well on her way to a well-deserved sainthood. She and Dirk have personally adopted four of the kids. Elaine has come from a very troubled background herself and seems determined to help these kids have as good a start as possible in life. She does her best to have the kids adopted out, with modest success. She struggles with cancer and is not in great health herself. GOH is completely self-financed, with no government support. Elaine somehow raises the necessary funds. She has recently upgraded the GOH building. Everything is now modern, state of the art and immaculate. These kids have the best that money and lots of love can provide. Lynne is the official “visiting nurse” who attends whenever needed, to help. I always leave GOH with a mix of feelings of guilt that I’m not doing more myself and awe that one person, with a mind to, can move mountains. Thank you, Lord, for people like Elaine. They are an inspiration.

 

Lynne with Elaine's four adopted  kids

We visited Boots, named, appropriately, for his large feet, and Ali Horsfall for afternoon tea. They are friends from when we lived here over 30 years ago. Our kids all used to attend Scripture Union camps and school clubs together. They are in the throes of trying to decide on their future. They have a grand old house with large rooms and a gorgeous garden complete with swimming pool. Their only daughter, Jen is now living in the USA having married Jeff from the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area. They have other family in Cape Town, so there is a natural tendency to gravitate there. The problem is that property is not selling in East London and the market is hot in Cape Town. It’s a bit like selling in Moncton and needing to buy in Toronto. It’s a tough call for them.

Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Nahoon Beach - a calm day at low tide. 

We had a slow start to the morning and then decided a walk at Nahoon Beach followed by a trip to the Beach Break was called for. Nahoon Beach was looking as pristine as ever. The tide was out a long way and there were not too many folks out enjoying it. As we got down towards the end, there are some rocks uncovered by the low tide. Lynne, who being a midwife, has witnessed many of the births in East London, bumped into one of her ex-customers. They were busy chatting when a young boy, of about 7 or 8 ran up carrying a brand-new fishing net. He approached us quite confidently and began to chatter about his new net and how he had discovered some rrred fish on the rrrocks. His emphatic rolling of his r’s told us he was from an Afrikaans background. He soon took off, happily jabbering away. It was a pleasant interlude.

Beach Break was it’s usual charming self. This outdoor restaurant is cut out of the thick bush, just off the beach. It is wonderful to sit outdoors, with lots of shade and enjoy a good coffee and an even better toasted sandwich as an early lunch. It’s difficult to visit the Beach Break without bumping into someone we know, but this time we managed it. Our plan had been to have brunch here with Boots and Ali on Saturday morning, but the owner let us know that she is closed for the whole Easter weekend. With shock, we realized this would be our final visit to this wonderful gem – another one of East London’s well-kept secrets. Long, may that be true. Once the mob discovers it, it’s charm will be overwhelmed.

In the afternoon, Lynne and Cher went to Lily Kirchman, next door. Lily K, as it’s known, is the mid care section of the retirement complex that Lynne lives in. Cher and Lynne’s Mom had lived here for 4-5 years before her passing last year, so they know a lot of the other residents. Cher and Lynne went to say goodbye to some of them. Cher came back a bit heartsore at these farewells. We are thankful that we will see many of these folks on the other side. Death, where is your sting? Swallowed up by the victory won by Jesus on the cross, which we celebrate this Easter. Thank you, Lord.

Stirling Presbyterian Church - built under
the leadership of our good friend and 
ex Pastor, George Anderson. 

We attended the Tenebrae service at our old church, Stirling Presbyterian, in the evening. We bumped into our long time friend Denver Stoltz. We have known Denver since our Scripture Union days in East London, almost 40 years ago. Denver was a very practical guy. He had recently come to the Lord and was always ready to volunteer for whatever needed doing. Twice a year Scripture Union ran two big mini camps which included about 120 kids and about 30 mainly teenage team members. We had to put up these big, heavy old army tents to sleep everyone. My back used to ache just thinking about it. Denver took charge of this and my back pain eased off a bit, for which I was grateful. Denver used to help our pastor George Anderson and Cheryl to run a Friday afternoon kids program, called Adventurers. Denver is still going strong. He now pastors the Presbyterian church on what’s called the West Bank of East London. This is a very economically deprived area. A person with a servant heart is needed for a job like this. Denver is the man. We won’t see him again. What a privilege to have worked alongside such a humble servant of the Lord.

A Tenebrae service is a wonderful way to begin the Easter season. The service begins with eight lit candles and included some washing of feet and communion. Its main content though was the solemn reading of eight passages telling the story of the last supper and Gethsemane. After each reading one of the candles was quenched, leaving the room almost completely dark by the end. Finally, the candle representing the hope of Jesus is lit and we all file out of the church in silence with the instruction that we do not stay to chat but rather remain in silence until we get home. That solemness is a wonderful way to enter into the seriousness of the Cross and prepare our hearts for the Good Friday commemoration.

Friday March 29, 2024

Cher in the remembrance cloister.
It has been lovingly kept

First order of this day, Good Friday, is the commemoration of the Cross. We arrived at church, once again in silence. Chris Moore, the pastor gave a very memorable message. At the end of the service, we spent a few moments at the wall of remembrance alongside the church, where the ashes of Cher’s and Lynnes parents and Glenn, Lynne’s husband are. The wall of remembrance is so well done. It is a cloistered area, which includes the wall and a lovely private garden. There are two benches decorated in beautiful tiles where one can sit and contemplate and remember one’s loved ones.

L-R from the top - Toby and Daphne Tobin
(Cher's parents), and
Glen Paterson (Lynne's husband) 

Back home for a late breakfast before Kerry and Russel arrived for a coffee. Kerry is Lynne’s daughter and Russel her husband. Russel has been the gym instructor/chaplin at a private school in Zambia. Kerry has an online job with an international HR company, so she can work from anywhere. They have been living in Zambia for a few years, but Russel’s job in Lusaka is drawing to a close, so they are now back in East London area until they figure out where to next in terms of Russel’s work.

Cher and Lynne, enjoying a quiet moment
by the bird hide in Lynne's back garden. 

In the afternoon we took a stroll to the bird hide at the bottom of the property. Lynne’s retirement village borders on a large chunk of virgin bush. Some of the residents have developed a bird hide on the edge of it. It is a lovely spot to sit and watch the rich bird life. Southern Africa has about 900 bird species versus North America’s 300, so bird watching is quite a rewarding exercise in this part of the world.

Saturday, March 30, 2024

Old friends. Many wonoderful shared memories
L-R Lynne, Ali, Cher, Boots

We had booked to have brunch with Boots and Ali at the Reef Café. It was a glorious morning. We had an “only in Africa” experience. Our waiter had delivered most of our food and we were just about to give thanks for the meal, holding hands of course. As the waiter arrived with the rest of the order, he noticed we were about to pray. Quite naturally he said, “Don't stop, I’ll join you” and promptly joined hands with Cher and Ali, whereupon we all gave thanks for the meal. That was a fun and refreshing first.  

We went for a walk on the boardwalk after brunch. The beauty is quite breathtaking. As we gathered at the end in the parking lot to say goodbye, we noted that tomorrow it will have been 34 years since two of Boots and Ali’s three kids, Diane and Peter, had been killed in a tragic car accident. Boots had nearly died too but had pulled through. It was a tearful moment and we decided to pray for one another. None of us have any clarity as to when we might see each other again. We said our goodbyes with heavy hearts. Lord, we all look forward to a gigantic reunion in heaven one day. Thank you for the assurance of that.

Cher, about to attend to
the best burger in town

In the afternoon, we popped in to see Peter and Penny, friends from when we lived here. They have also been part of the small group which we had started in our living room almost 40 years ago and is still running under Boots and Ali’s leadership. In the conversation it came out that Peter is suffering from pancreatic cancer and his chances are not great. He is quite matter of fact about it all and says he knows where he is going and that’s all there is to it. It was quite wonderful to witness such assurance in action. 

Sanook - a world beating burger formula. 
Only available in East London, SA

W

We had saved the best for last on this day – a trip to Sanook for dinner. Sanook offer the best burgers we have found, anywhere. Their menu includes about 30 different varieties of burger. If one wants to really go the whole hog, one must order the burger on a mushroom base instead of a bun. It was slightly off warm last night, so there was a fraction of a chill in the air. The waiter arrived and gave us each a blanket to put around ourselves. It is quite the experience and not to be missed, if in East London. It is a sad day thinking we may never do that again. 

Sunday March 31st, 2024

Today it is Easter Sunday and Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.

The church was full today as it should be on Easter Sunday. Lynne was given a bit of a mention today by Chris Moore because of her imminent departure for UK in two days’ time. She will be gone for six months to settle into her new apartment and then will be coming back to do a final pack up and leave by the end of the year. Lynne and her deceased husband, Glen, joined the church about 40 years ago, around the same time that we did. Glen passed away tragically in a small plane crash in Port Perry in 2008. Throughout their time there, they have both been key members in the life of the church. It was nice to see Lynne get that recognition. Chris gave a very good Easter message.

  

Russel and Kerry - they live in a lovely spot

After the service there was the mandatory celebration around Hot Cross Buns and tea and coffee. It was a chance for us to say our farewells to folk, many of whom we have known over all those decades. Life moves on and we have no doubt that if we don’t see them in the flesh again, we’ll see them on the other side.

Kerry, Lynne’s daughter, and husband Russell had invited us for lunch and the afternoon out to their house at a smallish beachside community called Sunrise on Sea, not far from East London. Kerry and Russel have recently returned to this area from Zambia and are figuring out what to do next. We had lunch and our mandatory Sunday afternoon nap and then popped over to Russel’s sisters house, nearby, for a cup of tea.

Cher and Lynne, out for the count

Russel’s sister is Kim and her husband is Pete. They have a charming house almost on the beach which they built and have lived in for 25 years. They are an interesting couple. They are both hard core adventurers. Pete has done some remarkable feats including rowing the Atlantic from South Aftica to the Caribbean, once single handed and once with a buddy. He has also done an expedition to the South Pole. He now makes a living doing 60 – 70 motivational speeches per year all over the world. He tells me he has one more big adventure up his sleeve and that is to do the Tropic of Capricorn, by whatever means he can devise, sail. Bike ride, run…the mind boggles. 

It was fun to be in the company of folks 
who live life differently. 

Russel’s sister Kim also gets up to some interesting exploits. I recently read her book which tells the story of her ride, run and paddle around the outer perimeter of South Africa, thousands of kilometres. It was quite a feat. When we started to compare notes, we found something in common – I had been the Scripture Union Director in this area, when Kim was on her high school SU committee. I would have visited her group and I probably met her. Small world.

In the evening we played Rummikub and Lynne put Cher and I in our place, leaving us in no doubt as to who carries the crown in this regard. Early to bed, as its been a full day.

Monday April 1st, 2024

We are preparing to leave tomorrow so we spent the morning doing laundry and catching our breath.

This iron wood man, from
Zambia weighs a ton. 
He comes with quite
a story. Lynne has inherited 
him, and planning to dispose of 
him, but rightfully he belongs
to me. I want him back but 
my wife won't let me have him. 

L-R Primrose, Busi, Lynne, Rob, Cheryl

At lunch time we took the two ladies, Busi and Primrose, who helped care for Cher’s Mom for a number of years, to lunch. This was as a thank you to them for the stirling job that they did. They would care for Mom every day from 6am to 6pm and would share the job three days on and two off. They were both very loving and we knew that Mom was safe in their hands. Primrose would always doll Mom up with make up and a fresh picked flower in her hair and then would take her on walkabout, in her wheel chair, to go and visit other residents. Neither of these ladies are very well educated but they excel in the things that matter. They both now work in the step down, recovery wing of the retirement home on a part time basis – no full time jobs available. They manage, but life is challenging.

Our time in East London is drawing to a close. It has been a poignant time. We have taken this part of the world so much for granted for so long and now it’s a done deal. We are grateful for the friends, family and experiences we have been part of in this part of the world, since 1985. Ah well, such is life. Time for a new chapter.

Tomorrow we fly to Cape Town, one of the world’s most beautiful spots. Stay tuned.

African Swansong - Chapter 2

Tuesday, March 19th (continued) 

Rob and Cher, enjoying their first
breakfast at Jan's house. 

Our 2 hour flight to PE was uneventful. We are now flying internally, within South Africa, so if you want a drink or snack on the planes you pay for it. My Scottish blood kicks in and I won’t pay for something that has been previously ordained as our natural right in the proper order of things. 

 We were met by our previously arranged shuttle. Our driver was a cheery fellow named Charl. He is the middle-aged son of the semi-retired owner of the shuttle business. When his Dad needs help he acts as a backup driver. Like so many of the white folk in SA and Zimbabwe, running one’s own business is often the easiest way to generate an income. Everyone makes a plan to keep the pennies coming in and somehow people survive. 

Charle and I chatted nonstop for the 90 kilometre trip to Saint Francis Bay, where we were to be staying with my niece Janine. He is about to move to East London, where we go next, to be with his fiancée and her daughter and to take up a new better-quality job. He told me his wife had just left him, unannounced, 3-4 years ago, taking his 18-month-old daughter with her. They have divorced now, but she has now gone underground, and he hasn’t seen either of them since then. He has tried tracing her with a private detective, but to no avail. Sad. 

It was a bit awkward when we arrived at our destination. Cher had got a clear quote that our shuttle cost was R1000 (one thousand Rand – about $70 Cnd) for both of us. Charl was under the impression that it was R1000 per person. Fortunately, my clever wife had a recording of the voice message, on WhatsApp, in which she had clearly been quoted R1000 for both of us. Charl left a bit dejected. I’m guessing he gets a percentage of whatever the price is. Thank goodness for my diligent wife. 

Jan on the left and Mau on the right, enjoying 
a moment at the Never Mind Cafe

We were staying with my niece Janine. She has just bought a five-bedroomed house with a spectacular view of the sea. She is in the throes of sorting furniture and household effects and getting some odd jobs done. She has been pleased to have our arrival as a deadline to force her to get much of the work done. In fact, as we arrived, a workman was busy exiting the house. It was good timing for us as he offered to carry our bags upstairs. Thank you, Lord, for the little things too. 

Jan’s son Daniel appeared to greet us. It was a surprise as we had been under the impression he was working on a cruise line somewhere as a photographer. Apparently, he has tried that and found it wanting as a lifestyle. He is now marking time while he waits for an ancestral visa to move to the UK where his dad will help him get going with a new life over there. 

L - R Kim, Mau and Doug, tucking in to the 
fatted calf meal they had laid on for us. 

We had no sooner arrived than we were whisked off to go and have supper with my nephew Doug, wife Kim, Jan, Daniel and Doug’s mom Maureen. My brother Neville passed away two years ago from melanoma, leaving Mau on her own in Johannesburg. Doug and Kim have opened their home to her in Saint Francis Bay, and Mau is now comfortably settled in this part of the world. Doug and Kim have a lovely home inside a gated golf community. They are perched atop a hill with a gorgeous view overlooking the interior, with a line of mountains on the horizon. Beautiful. 

L-R Jan, Cher, Doug, Kim, Mau and Daniel. 
Doug and Kim have two full length dining room 
tables. They believe in hospitality. 

Doug and Kim had laid on the fatted calf for supper. We had roast lamb and chicken along with all the extras to go with. It was great sitting around enjoying the comfortable familiarity of family swapping yarns and chewing the fat. It was a fitting end to a good day. 

Wednesday, March 20th 

Mau and Rob share a pensive moment
at Cape St. Francis

We had an easy morning at Jan’s house and then had arranged to go and have a coffee at the NeverMind restaurant alongside the lighthouse at the southernmost tip of South Africa at Cape St. Francis. The NeverMind restaurant was one of those upmarket places which charge twice as much money for a well decorated half plate of food. Never The Less we enjoyed our lunch and were soon headed home for a mandatory siesta, because it had been a stressful day. 

Jan and Cher sharing a beach time moment. 

Jan had a bee in her bonnet about going for a swim and in fact got quite insistent. Cher uncharacteristically was supportive of the idea. It was windy, felt chilly and I was resistant. Cher for some reason, became even more enthusiastic. I was bemused. I have known Cher since I was 14 and in all of those 58 years I have never found her to be insistent about swimming. Something was going on. I decided to persist in my reluctance and see what happened. Cher got keener. Finally, I agreed I would guard the towels while the two of them swam. I stood on the beach watching in amazement while Cher strode confidently into the water and the next thing she even ducked her head briefly under the water. What was she doing? Now she would have to wash her hair! I decided Cheryl had been abducted by aliens and her body invaded by a foreign being. Anyway, I now have a sneaking suspicion that all these years I have been too keen to encourage Cher waterwards. From here on, it will be “hard to get” all the way. At least I didn’t need to wash my hair that night. 

In Jan's lookout bar room, with a 180 degree
view of the sea. 

We had a Braai (short for braaivleis, which literally means “cook meat”) at Jan’s that night with the whole family. We sat in Jan’s bar area which sits perched at the top of the house with a magnificent outlook. As is traditional the men light the fire, cook the meat, and resolve the problems of the world. Doug and I made quite good progress on all fronts. The ladies wait patiently while this goes on and then we all feast until full to overflowing. Definitely one of life’s finer traditions. 

Thursday March 21st 

Cher, taking it easy on the deck outside
our  bedroom. Five star views. Wonderful. 

Cher and I had an easy morning, then a well-earned siesta after lunch. In the afternoon we took a stroll down to the beach and followed the path to the Port. It was high tide and almost a full moon that evening, so the water was very high. At times the waves were breaking close to our feet. It was a gorgeous day and a lovely walk, although parts of it were on ankle twisting terrain. The Port is home to quite a large chokka fishing fleet which supplies the local area. It is also quite picturesque, with lots of apartments and buildings overlooking the marina and Port. We stopped at a local pub for a cup of tea. It had the look of an authentic fisherman’s pub. I ordered my tea and was a bit perplexed when a cappuccino arrived. I realized that to the untrained ear a “cup of tea” and a “cappu cci no” don’t sound that different. South Africa really makes the best cappuccinos that I have ever come across. I was just happy for something to drink. 

Beautiful day. Beautiful coastline. Beautiful wife. 
Does life get any better? 

Jan, Doug and Kim had a church small group meeting that night at Jan’s house. We decided we would go and keep Mau company. We played “Golf” a card game that Cher and I had taught to the family a few years back. Mau, who had pretended not to remember the rules, craftily gave us the impression that she didn’t know what she was doing. We let our guard down, whereupon Mau leapt into action and wiped the floor with us. Just as well she hadn’t suggested we play for money. 

Friday, March 22nd 

Today is an all flags day. It’s my birthday, so all the stops are out. 

Rain, sleet or snow, these hardy folk dare to dip
every day. Amazing what people will do to
justify another cappuccino

Doug, Kim and Jan had been quite insistent about us joining them at the 7am Beach Cub which they are part of. The Club started about six months ago with a few brave souls. It happens in front of a coffee shop which is positioned right on the beach. There is a spot in front of the coffee shop where swimmers are sheltered from the breakers by rocks, and one can just get in the water, and bob up and down for the requisite 15 minutes. One can then emerge and legitimately claim that they have earned a cappuccino while taking in a beautiful early morning overlooking the sea. 

-

We did it. Duly initiated and cooking with gas. 

We were finally persuaded that seeing as it was my birthday we should participate. Once again Cher was showing perplexing signs of being keen to engage in this activity. I really must try and find out what they have done with the real Cher. Well, when we got there, we found at least forty people of all shapes, sizes and ages, preparing to risk life and limb and brave the cold waters. The power of peer pressure is immense. If all of these assorted characters could do it there were no ready excuses as to why we shouldn’t do likewise.

The reward. Sit in the sun and
enjoy the good life. 

We entered the water gingerly. It was freezing, but only until one’s nerve endings had given up the ghost, at which point, it started to feel quite comfortable. We bobbed with the best for the requisite 15 minutes and then headed out of the water for the club cappuccino. We were now fully initiated members of the inner circle. It was especially wonderful to spot a sea otter swimming in amongst the bobbers and even playing with them. That was special. 

My birthday was wonderful. I had all kinds of Facebook friends who sent their well wishes. We went to the Golf Club at Doug and Kim’s gated community for lunch. It was Fish Fryday, so we all tucked in. The dessert was a very large slice of cheesecake, which we decided to split seven ways. It proved difficult to cut one slice 7 ways. We then made the mistake of ordering a second slice, which we were too full to really enjoy. Ah. Such are the difficulties of life. 

Cape St. Francis to see the sun set. A long
standing tradition. 

Back home for another well-earned siesta. The final activity of the day was to watch the sun set over the point at Cape St. Francis. It was a gorgeous warm day and we arrived at our spot about half an hour ahead of sunset. We were just settling down with the cheese and crackers and breaking out a measure of wine, when there was a commotion alongside our vehicle. Someone had spotted a puff adder, an extremely venomous snake. They are lazy reptiles. They love to curl up and lie in the sun and keep warm. My snake phobia kicked in. It looked just like a dark brown cow turd. We had probably all walked right by it in getting out of our car. Ughhh! One of the other onlookers bravely picked it up on the end of a hiking pole and dropped it in the grass nearby. 

The sun sets on what had been a good day. 

By then, it was dark, fog had rolled in and the temperature had dropped by about 10 degrees. We packed up and were glad to get home to warm up and watch a movie to round off what had been a lovely birthday for me.

Saturday March 23rd 

Now that we are full fledged members of the 365 Beach Club. We decided to go and do it again at 7am. If once was good, twice is better. Right? Wrong!! This day, the temperature of the air was about the same, but the water had dropped down to about 13 degrees centigrade. Brisk would not be an adequate description. Doug’s advice was, “Get in up to your neck and stay there. After two minutes its’ great!” Well, I took his advice and plunged headlong in. Yazooka. Despite being a fully fledged member of the 365 Club I found it more than I could take. On seeing me head for shore, like a rocket, Cher decided discretion was the better part of valor and she never made it in. Doug and Kim both emerged after the requisite 15 minutes, although they were actually shaking uncontrollably. I felt my decision was wise and am taking comfort from that. The wise thing to do, considering my now advanced years. 

Puff Adder on a stick. Any takers??

 Doug and I had scheduled a Mano a Mano cup of coffee together without the ladies and duly connected at the Golf Club for the requisite cappuccino. We finished resolving the problems of the world we hadn’t dealt with at our braai two nights ago, so that was good. We then went to the local cycle shop and picked up Doug’s road bike which he has had converted to an exercise bike. It attaches to a clever base which does all the right stuff and then connects to the TV set on which one can emulate all of the famous bike rides around the world. Doug did an Iron Man triathlon race twelve years ago. The Iron Man consists of a 4km swim, 180km cycling and 42km running marathon. Now twelve years later, and closing in on 50, Doug is thinking about training for a Half Iron Man. The whippet thin guy at the cycle shop looked Doug up and down, sized him up and said, “A lot has happened in 12 years. Yes, I think you should start with the Half Iron Man”. All said with a straight face.

Mau and Rob trying to split one slice of 
cheesecake, seven ways

Cher is conducting a rusk making tutorial today for Jan and Mau. Cher learnt her rusk making technique on the internet, but since then she only shares this culinary secret on a “need to know” basis with inner core family members or best friends. She is developing quite a set of ardent followers, and limiting those “in the know” keeps standards up. 

In the evening we went over to Doug and Kim’s who were having some friends from their church small group over for a braai and to watch rugby. Once we arrived, we did the mandatory split – women to the left on the verandah and the men safely inside to watch the rugby undisturbed. We did eat together but of course men at the top of the table and the ladies in their own spots further down. Such is life lived back in the ex colonies. 

It was quite inspiring listening in to Doug and Kim’s lady friends. The local township consists mainly of a squatter camp. The conditions look bad. It has very weak educational standards. The government has not proved much good in this area as by and large the politicians are too busy lining their own nests with their ill-gotten gains. Some of the ladies were trying to figure out a way to improve the standard of the schooling. The level of motivation was high and the ideas were strong. This is how the church has changed the world in the last 2000 years, by being willing to go, and do, where no one else would.

Sunday March 24th 

Rob and Cher in front of the 
Cape St. Francis lighthouse. 

This is our last day in Saint Francis Bay. It has been great reconnecting with this side of the family. Cher and I accompanied Maureen to her united Anglican/Methodist church. We arrived 15 minutes early and the church was already almost full. It was sad to see so many grey heads filling the seats, but we were later pleasantly surprised to find about 15 kids who turned up in time to wave palm branches for the Palm Sunday celebration. The preacher was an old guy, who looked like he’d seen better days, but when he got up to lead and preach it turned out he had fire in his belly, and he delivered a good message. I needed to repent for sizing him up wrong. Sorry Lord. Never judge a book by its cover. How many times have I learned that? 

Jan had gone to Oxygen which is the church down the road for the trendy younger set. Who thinks of a name like that for a church? They too had a good crowd, but they also had a cool new coffee machine, so I guess that counts for something. 

After church, Doug and Kim came over to Jan’s house to say goodbye to us. We got the mandatory family photo done of course. Realizing we may not see them again for a while, things got a bit teary. I’m working on Doug and Kim to take on organizing a worldwide family reunion back in Saint Francis in the next couple of years. Our family is now spread between South Africa, Australia, UK, Canada and the USA. It’s quite an undertaking. So far Doug and Kim are not biting, but I’ve only just started my campaign.

Our shuttle driver, Charl arrived bright eyed and bushy tailed to pick us up. I had been planning to act like a customer and sit in the back seat and doze on the 1.5 hour trip into PE. However, his trunk was full of scuba diving gear belonging to his next customer and our luggage had to go on the back seat. Cher barely had room to squeeze in. I was back in the front seat, and I could see my plan for an afternoon snooze was on the endangered list. I put on my dark glasses and tried to pretend I was listening, but Charl was in full chat mode, and I had no choice but to make conversation. 

Cher at our restaurant before the show began

Charl dropped us at our overnight B ‘n B in Port Elizabeth. We walked down to a nearby restaurant for a bite to eat before it got dark and the bad guys come out. We had quite a chuckle at the restaurant. Two young women arrived all dressed up to the nines. Cher said, “don’t look”. Up until then I hadn’t even noticed them, but with an instruction like that, it was hard not to at least take a quick peek. They were popping out and bulging rather conspicuously in all directions. They proceeded to conduct a photo shoot of each other giving their best poses. Their food arrived and got cold while the show went on. I had grown bored by then and was busy memorizing the menu. 

And so ends the second chapter of our journey. Tomorrow our shuttle to East London arrives at 7am. We need an early night, so we can enjoy the company of our fellow travelers on the shuttle.

African Swansong - Chapter 1

 

African Swan Song - Chapter 1

Wednesday, March 13^th and Thursday, 14^th, 2024

Schipol Airport, Amsterdam at the giant teacup
restaurant,where one can pay $6-$7 
for a half size coffee!  

Cher and I left South Africa 33 years ago for the Great White North (Canada) in search of a new life. We were saying goodbye to the lands of our birth, South Africa (Rob), and Zambia (Cher), where we had enjoyed an idyllic life in the early days. In latter years we had witnessed the death throes of the great British Empire, on which the sun would never set, in Southern Africa.  Who would have imagined back then that Great Britain, which controlled 25% of the land surface of the earth at its zenith would go from greatest empire ever, to being a little blob off the west coast of Europe, within the space of one lifetime?

We had left our homeland with great sadness but felt that God was calling us to Canada. Our regret at leaving friends and family was offset by anticipation at the adventure that lay ahead. Well God is good and despite initially being poor missionaries we had somehow managed to return “home” every 2-3 years, and more recently every year, over the course of our 33 years.

Our ties to family in South Africa have remained strong, but as each decade has gone by various ones have passed on or moved on. Some have left SA for other parts of the world where opportunities have seemed more promising.  Last year Cher’s Mom died, leaving just her sister Lynne remaining of our parents and siblings. Lynne, who was her mom’s primary caregiver, looked around and realized that all of her kids have flown the coop and she was facing old age without any immediate family around. She has made the momentous decision to move to Wales where her son, Ian and wife Linda are pastoring.

This leaves Cher and I facing the realization that our key reason for visiting SA all these years, namely, family, is winding down. The trip we are currently embarking on has potential to be our last. It’s a sad thought, but if that’s the case we had better do some of the things we have always intended to, but never got to. It’s time to check off some Southern Africa bucket list items. Yiaa!

So, we are carping the diem and about to embark on what could easily be our Southern African swan song. Seven weeks of family, friends and furiously hitting the “been there, done that” button off or our bucket list.

Join us for the ride. It promises to be fun.

A five star breakfast at the City Lodge
set us up for the day of travel to Zimbabwe

It’s midnight on Thursday of the 14^th, our second day of travel. We have arrived safely at Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and are checked into our City Lodge hotel at the airport. We’re exhausted but our bodies are telling us it’s really only 6pm, so we are lying in bed waiting for sleep to come and pay us a visit. What a luxury, to settle down into clean sheets, soft pillows and a bed one can stretch out on. I can feel sleep knocking at the door….sigh!

Friday March 15^th 

It’s 1pm and we are in the waiting area for our connection to Zimbabwe. It’s already been a good day. Eight hours of sleep and we are bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready for our third day of travel to our first destination, namely Falcon College, near Bulawayo in Zimbabwe.

A colorful beadwork Zebra at OR
Tambo Airport in Johannesburg 
makes us feel right at home. 

Angels along the way - We were walking down the looong connecting passage from the hotel to the airport and we had three great encounters in the space of 15 minutes. A young lady dressed in a local airline uniform, walking fast, gave me a big smile. It is a large airport, so I took the opportunity to get clear directions to where we were heading. That saved us a bit of confusion when we reached the terminal and I was thankful for her ready helpfulness. We had been lugging our fairly heavy luggage with us as there were no trolleys at the hotel. Out of the blue an orange clad porter appeared with a trolley in hand. Tight fisted as ever, we were determined to continue lugging our own with our failing energies. He was just as determined that we would not. He said, “Don’t worry Sir, if you don’t have anything to give me for helping you, God will look after me”. Well who could resist a line like that? With that settled, I was happily watching him sprint off with our luggage, when I reached for my wallet in my fanny pack to find a tip for him. Horror of horrors, my wallet wasn’t there. I knew I had put it there, before leaving the hotel a few minutes earlier. No sooner had that awful realization begun to sink in that I was walletless, than I heard a shout from behind. A man in a yellow outfit came running up, brandishing my OHIP Health Card and ….my wallet. “Is this yours?”, he says. I nearly kissed him. He had found it some way back down the passageway and had come looking for its’ owner.

OR Tambo Airport is a mix of modern,  but with
a distinctly colourful African look. 

Fully walleted again. I was able to thank my orange and yellow angels with a good size tip each, and thank the Lord, for what was promising to be a good day.

Zimbabwe – it’s in our DNA

My Dad used to have a saying – “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away”.  Our experience so far in meeting folks living in Zimbabwe, is that life is tough, but people seem to make a plan and life keeps going. Meet some of our companions along the way.

On the bus on the way to catch our plane we were left sitting on the tarmac for a few minutes. I  struck up a conversation with the lady alongside me, named Nicky.  She and her husband have lived in the Bulawayo area all of their lives. I asked her how  they managed with all of Zimbabwe’s economic woes. She and her husband sell commercial and residential real estate and he runs a couple of cattle ranches on the side, “But the  taxes have just been upped on most enterprises which will put most of us out of business”. She sighed, “but somehow, we always manage”.

The road to Falcon College wasn't really  wide
enough for two vehicles side by side. 

We left  Bulawayo in our shiny, new looking, rented, Toyota Corolla.  I had been a bit puzzled as to why the young guy delivering the car to us had gone to such great lengths to show me where the spare tire and jack were. It became obvious later. The mileometer read 92000 kilometres, but it felt like it was probably more like 392000. The 40km drive to Falcon College gave us a clue as to why. At one point the car in front of us was meandering across on the wrong side of the road and zig zagging hopelessly from side to side. We were puzzled, until we finally figured he was dodging potholes. 10 km from the school we turned off the main road and directly into the bush onto the paved road. The road was really only one car width wide, with a significant drop onto the gravel shoulder on either side. We drove down the middle of the road until an oncoming vehicle forced each of us to drop one set of tires down the lip onto the shoulder. Coming back up into the middle one just held one’s breath and hoped the tires wouldn’t rip with the jump back onto the tarmac. They say rental cars handle these kind of conditions so much better than one’s own vehicles so we were fine.

Entering this gate 60 years ago had always left
me with a sick feeling at the beginning of 
a new term. 

We were heading to my old boarding school, Falcon College, where I started at the tender age of 11, 60 years ago. They are celebrating their 70^th anniversary this year. We had notified them early enough that we were coming, that we got allocated to stay at the Headmaster’s house. We arrived in time to catch the tail end of a Board Meeting and got to meet a bunch of the Board members. They are an interesting bunch.

One them, Andy, was also a Falcon Old Boy, who left the school a year ahead of me. We chatted a bit. He is an amazing guy. He has run a security firm, which is big business over here, for many years, and at one point was employing over 1000 people, but he is now retired. He is into helping local Zimbabweans, who are struggling. His current project is that he has recently bought 1000 mango trees and his aim is to bless 1000 families with a mango tree alongside their house, so that they can enjoy some fresh fruit. He bemoaned the fact that he iDas old now and running out of time. His next project is to do with creating a self perpetuating bio digestor which breaks down compostable material, feeds fish, generatesfresh water and all kinds of other good things.

Dave van Wyk, the Headmaster on the left
and his ex Chair of the Board, Andrew. 

Dave van Wyk is  the Headmaster of the school. With close on 200 staff and 550 students he is the equivalent of a small town mayor. Dave’s mother, Thelma,  was visiting for the weekend. Her connection to Falcon is strong. Her grandfather had originally donated the farm that Falcon is now on, to be used for developing the school. Her father who I knew as Twick, had been a teacher during my time, and then Thelma, Twick’s daughter, had herself taught there for 13 years. Following her, is her son Dave, who is now the current Headmaster. Dave and his wife, Brenda, are leaving Falcon in three weeks’ time to take over the headship of a large private school in Germany. So this weekend is actually, the closing of an era for this family. They will all be bidding farewell to this school which their family has been involved in for four generations.

In all of my six years at Falcon, the Headmaster's
house was a place shroiuded in mystery. Now I 
was privy to its inner workings. 

Our accommodation whilst at Falcon is in the cottage at the Headmaster’s house. We have our own ensuite bathroom and even tea and coffee on demand. We are breathing African air and the sights and sounds of Africa are all around. We feel like royalty. God is good.

Saturday March 16^th

This was to be a big day at Falcon, called Founders Day.  This is the annual interhouse athletics day. Each house, which accommodates 70-80 teens, will have bragging rights for the next year, a keenly sought honor. A new tradition which has sprung up since my time has been that each house will vie to put on the best lunch feast that money and effort can provide. My house is George Grey and our color is yellow. We popped in to see what they were planning. We were warmly received and invited to join them for their pork and/or beef off the spit lunch. The front lawn was gaily decked out in a large marquee tent complete with bright yellow plastic chairs.

Our morning was spent taking in the atmosphere of tents, flags and being waited on hand and foot with tea, coffee and drinks of our choice. It was quite something. The athletics was going on in the background and I did my best to ignore the fact that George Grey was muddling along, a distant third in the rankings. Sadly, they never recovered from that spot.

The George Grey House - the front lawn all 
decked out in its festive colours. 

When lunch arrived, we made our way to the George Grey tent, and found we were late arrivals. There’s obviously a bit of local knowledge involved in getting a good seat. We were treated with something approaching awe. It seems that for anyone to have lived long enough to have attended the school sixty years ago, we must be special. We got a special mention in the inevitable speeches and lo and behold at the end we were presented with a bunch of George Grey loot, which I will treasure as long as these old bones keep moving.

An interesting fact is that many of the athletes were participating in their events barefoot. I managed to persuade four of the girls at the George Grey tent, to pose for a photo.

Shoeless George Grey girls - competing 
with the best. 

In the afternoon, we bumped into a group of guys from the Class of 68, meaning they left in 1968. They were my brother Alan’s contemporaries. Even though I was from the Class of 69, and normally Class of 68ers would not deign to speak to such a lowling, we did in fact chat quite amiably.

After the sports were over, the Falconians (Old Boys and Girls) were invited to a historical lecture about the local history in the area. It was indeed fascinating, and I, who love history, learnt a great deal that I had previously no knowledge of.

Class of 68 chit chatting chatting amiably 
with myself, a lowly Class of 69er. - that's me. 

When the Class of 68  and 69 attended Falcon we were a boys only school. We were stuck out in the bush for six years with our only options being to study and play sport. We were spared the trauma of having to figure out the ways of women. That was fine and dandy, but it did mean, that for most of us, when we left school at 17 or 18 we really had no clue what makes women tick. The Class of 68 and I agreed, that most of us are still trying to figure it out.

 Clearly this was a gap in what had otherwise been considered quite a good education. Since our time, some enlightened souls have decided it might be helpful if the Falcon boys could actually observe these strange creatures from a safe distance, and so for the last 20 years or so girls have been attending the school in ever increasing numbers. Definitely a good idea in my opinion.

Rob with the full Class of 68

In recognition of our honored Old Boy status we were given a guided tour of the girls dormitories. We were advised that if the sight of lines of hand washed panties hanging up on washlines would upset us, we should just avert our eyes.  It was good to see that old sense of Falconian gallantry was not yet dead. 

I guess it make sense that the most recently built house for students would be the best, but the girls definitely have very nice quarters. Hopefully the boys, who are banned from the girl’s house, never find out about it, otherwise there would be a riot. 

We ended our evening with a lovely outdoor meal on the deck of the new to us, Aquatic Center, under a brilliant African sky. Oh my goodness, how special can things get?

Sunday March 17^th

All the excitement is over. The visitors have gone home and we are having a quiet day with Dave and Brenda van Wyk and Thelma, Dave’s mom.

It turns out that Dave, amongst his other accomplishments is quite the cook. What you are seeing here is a typical "braai" aka "BBQ set up, with a grill which rotates over the fire, along with Dave cooking on a "skottle" 

L-R, Thelma, Cheryl, Brenda, Dave - eating a 
freshly cooked brunch in the African Bush

Another amazing development at Falcon, since my time, has been the conversion of much of the original old donated farm, into a private game reserve called Quiet Waters, It is kept solely for the benefit of students, staff, parents and Falconians, like me. The place has giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, hyena, impala and even a leopard  family. On weekends students can go and camp in groups of three or more. What school has that kind of fringe benefit? Go Falcon. 

Dave and Brenda decided to take us to Quiet Waters for an outdoor brunch. It was wonderful to get out into the bush, smell the smoke of an African woodfire and take it all in.

Cheryl anThelma chilling under the thatched shelter

We are now taking a siesta. Jet lag is still tugging at us, so a nap feels like the right thing for a few hours off.

Our afternoon was interrupted by Dave announcing that he had been summoned to one of the retired teachers’ homes to “remove a snake” which was terrorizing their cat. I considered offering to help, but not for long. I have a phobia about snakes. In my opinion the only good snake is a dead one. Dave returned some time later to announce that he had captured it, identified it as harmless and released it in his garden. I began to sweat. How many poisonous snakes had he previously released in his garden and were there any inhabiting our room? Ugh. I shuddered at the thought.

When I attended Falcon 60 years ago, it was a bit of a spiritual wasteland. We had lots of religion, but finding a relationship with God in amongst the tradition and ritual was a nonstarter, certainly as far as I was concerned. I had heard that, since my departure, a brave teacher, who I worked with later in life at Scripture Union, had started a Scripture Union group which was quite well attended. Sadly it had now fallen into decay.

Cheryl sitting in our family pew, purchased
by my brother Alan. 

Now that I was visiting Falcon in person, I thought it would be wonderful if I could address the students in one of their chapel services. I asked the Headmaster, what might be possible. It turns out that these days, they only have one voluntary chapel service on a Sunday evening, normally attended by about a quarter of the school. I was fine with that. They have recently done an addition to the chapel and Alan and I had both donated pews as part of the fundraising for the extension. Even if the students didn’t listen, I could initiate the new pews personally, with a good soaking of biblical perspective.

One of Alan's many accomplishments was to 
President of the Falconian Society
(Old Boys and Girls). 

The teacher in charge of chapel services agreed for me to speak quite happily. As it turned out, for some reason, about half of the school decided to attend that evening. Dave van Wyk said, he thought it might have something to do with the fact that at chapel the boys and girls are allowed to sit next to each other. Ah well….c’est la vie. A means to and end. I was happy to have a larger than normal audience.

The students were in charge of the service. At the beginning, the leadership team and Cher and I gathered around with arms around each other, and I was asked to pray. We then sang some very old choruses and it was over to me to speak. I was allocated 12 minutes for my slot, but “got caught up in the Spirit” and spoke for about 20  minutes. I shared my testimony briefly and then encouraged them from Proverbs 3.5-6, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths”. 

Rob, addressing Falcon College students, 60 
years after his first Chapel Service. Been
there, done that, check. 

It was hard to gauge the response from the students. Mostly they just sat there, politely listening. They didn’t obviously seem to catch on to the jokes I cracked or the wise words I had to share. At the end the Head Girl of the school and one student came and thanked me. Dave van Wyk, the principal told me that I was “spot on” and had spoken the perfect length of time.  He probably tells all the visiting speakers that. The Housemaster for George Grey had come especially to hear me speak and he was encouraging. 

Well that was that. Been there, done that Check. I was very thankful for the opportunity to speak in that place and also to find signs of spiritual life amongst the students which had been sorely lacking in my day.  

Even the bus with all the luggage on top didn't 
phase us. I dd have to drive on the "wrong" side
of the road for a while to get the right angle. 

Monday, March 18^th

Today is a travel day. We were up earlyish, had a brief breakfast, said our farewells and hit the road. Our drive back into Bulawayo was more relaxed than our drive to the school the previous Friday. Less traffic and apparently  even less potholes. Maybe I’m getting acclimatized back into Africa with its more laissez faire attitudes.

We had allowed a half hour to do some vital shopping in Bulawayo. Ten years ago, I had attended the Falcon College 60^th anniversary celebrations with my two brothers and brother in law. I had noticed that the students were wearing these cool navy blue floppy cricket hats sporting an impressive Falcon crest. There were none on sale anywhere. I asked one of the students how much I could buy his hat for. This Falcon boy, alert as to an entrepreneurial opportunity, looked me in the eye, summed me up as somewhere between keen and desperate, took a deep breath and said, “$50”. I wasn’t that desperate and turned down his offer.

Fast forward ten years and I was determined that this trip I was going to acquire one of those cool hats. Unfortunately, despite the array of Falcon related trinkets and paraphernalia on sale on the sports day, the cricket hats were still not available. I was advised I could buy them at the school uniform shop in Bulawayo. We dutifully navigated our way there en route to the airport. The helpful shop assistant promptly produced a smart looking navy blue Falcon floppy cricket hat. Perfect – my ten year quest was over. Until I tried it on. Too small. “Sorry”, says the helpful lady, “this is the only size we have”. My heart sank. I had thought my much anticipated quest was over, only to have my hopes dashed. Seeing my crestfallen look, she said, “but what about a white one?” Beggars can’t be choosers. I left the shop, an almost fully satisfied customer. The clincher was they were selling for $9. The ten year wait had proved worthwhile. Slow and steady wins the race.

We noticed an interesting security feature at the Bulawayo airport. We checked our baggage as normal and then proceeded through security into the departure lounge. After a while a couple of trolleys with our baggage on board was wheeled up to the door of the departure lounge. We then had to go outside and identify our baggage, which was then marked with a chalk cross and re-loaded onto the trolley for loading onto the plane. I was puzzled by this, but then realized that if I was a potential plane bomber and didn’t want to go down with the ship/plane, I could have checked my bags with bombs on them and then left the airport and skipped the flight.  By implementing this low tech approach, any unchalked baggage just wouldn’t fly. If one wants to be a plane bomber, one must be committed enough to go down with the plane. Quite clever.

On our flight from Bulawayo to Johannesburg, we got chatting to a well-dressed looking lady who had lived in Zimbabwe all her life. She said, life is hard, but most of her children still live there, so that’s what counts. It turns out she is 84 years old. She leaned over conspiratorially and confided. “I have a boyfriend who lives in Harare, the capital city, We don’t live together.  I don’t believe in that, but we do go away and have holidays together”. It was quite sweet.

L-R Heather, Rob, Rob, Cheryl on the verandah
of their upscale Retirement Village. 

We were met at the airport by our good friends Rob and Heather Lewis, who took us to their home in Pretoria. Rob and I attended university together and were very involved in the Christian work on our campus and we attended the same church. We go back a long way. We had a very pleasant evening refreshing our friendship over a lovely meal, sitting on their back verandah on a perfect African evening. The evening was ended with a massive lightning storm and some good rain.

Tuesday March 19^th

Rob and Heather live in a Retirement Village to die for. It is set around a lake which was originally an old quarry. It has cottages, apartments and frail care. It has gorgeous restaurants and a lovely deck overlooking the lake. We had breakfast there and continued with the effortless conversation which are a by product of a life long friendship. It was sad to think, this may be one of the last times we would get to do this together.

Today is a travel day. We are heading for Gquebera, formally Port Elizabeth. The new name is unpronounceable for many so its commonly known as PE. We are headed for Saint Francis Bay to visit my sister-in-law Maureen and two of her children, Janine and Doug. This will be our fifth flight in less than a week and so far nothing has gone wrong Hold thumbs.