Well - its a New Year, and it almost seems like its Christmas again…………… time just flies on by and leaves us oldies staring into the future in amazement.
It was really good having all the kids here for Christmas ………. and the last minute drive-up from Cape Town on Christmas Day by Lee and Chavane really brought the whole celebration - and a late afternoon Christmas Dinner - together. What a super surprise! Would only that Stoddard , Nols and the kids could have been here as well.
We were so happy to see how well our children and Grandchildren slotted into the Bathurst lifestyle. Everyone quickly got to know the locals, and once again the amazing Mary Riley played a very special part (before her unfortunate accident), in getting the little ones together with the Al Pacas, Levi (her riding horse), the donkeys and the “Evil Bastard” as Pete Mosley so aptly calls Mary’s Shetland - Apache …….. though this time around he was really quite well behaved, inflicting no further scars on the faces of my grandchildren. Thanks Mary ………. the time with your animals made their holiday very special.
Unfortunately, hardly had the kids all left when Mary suffered a kick from Tori’s horse, Christmas, and had to go through to PE for (in her words), a ‘couple of screws’. Needless to say the WhatsApp comments did the full circle - but we are all happy to hear that she is on the road to recovery and currently mending at her son’s home in Grahamstown. Get well soon girl!
Our first Christmas and New Year here in the Village was a revelation in so many respects. For a few days the village was literally overrun by visitors from all over South Africa - and the world. A walk down the street from our house to the Pig would garner a great many comments from people amazed at the fact that they simply could not get a meal anywhere - every option was ‘chock a block’. I took the opportunity to steer a few up to the Ploughman in the hope that they would find Michelle and Patrick’s fare satisfactory (it always is!), and it seems that the visitor figures to the Agricultural Museum (and the Ploughman), may have benefitted a little from my suggestions ……….. let’s hope so!
There were some really great evenings of music - at the Pig with Centrefold - at the Bistro with (Centrefold again - unplugged), a fantastic Dylan set by Stan the Man, a somewhat nervous few numbers by Caradoc, and an even more nervous solo by granddaughter Sanchia ………… all capped by the song of the season by Barry and Annie - an extremely beautiful rendition of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” ……….. exquisite …………… you two should really be top of all the hit parades ………………. and please don’t forget that you have to sing that one at my wake one day.
Boxing Day saw us share a braai at John and Yvonne’s (The Blacksmith’s) place up on the Waters Meeting road …… a lovely afternoon with some great honky tonk piano by an 82 year-old legend in the district, Lorna Els, and a beautiful piece of opera done by John’s daughter with accompaniment by Lorna.
Old Year’s night was low key and most enjoyable ………….. spent playing (and teaching), a bit of of pool with Lee, Chavane and our two Granddaughters at the Pig ’n Whistle until the clock struck its magic hour. Relaxed, friendly and really fun.
The kids had all left by the time our respective birthdays rolled around so we just went with the flow - breakfast at the Bistro on Pat’s birthday and a braai in Port Alfred with some of the Davidson Clan on mine …………… followed by a few late-nite toots at the Pig courtesy of Gavin (the Proprietor), Carl (the Chef), and Tony and Callum behind the bar. Thanks guys ……. a most enjoyable little respite, and we didn’t even have to drive home …….. simply staggered across the road!
Doing a bit of work in the office on Pat’s birthday, I had occasion to go into the house for something, only to hear Jesse barking madly back in the office. I went to see what the problem was only to find her hysterically going at the corner where my desk drawers are. I figured there could only be a snake in there, so I removed her and went back to investigate with a piece of flat plastic that I was able to slide under the drawers ……. hissssssss - hisssssssss. Time to call in the Cavalry. Eric (Paroz) obliged as always and as we went in to the office he was able to grab the snake (a Night Adder), which had now moved, by the tail and plop it into his bucket for removal to the bush. This was the Paroz family’s third visit in as many weeks, with just a few days before a large Puff-adder which we found under the blue table on the grass having been removed by his dad, Etienne. The Puffy was dead - and we suspect that Chavane’s Pit-Bull Bruno may have killed it by whipping it and caused himself to be scratched in the eye by its fangs for which he had to receive treatment. Never a dull moment here at No.6 York Road.
Never a dull moment indeed! At 3am on the 29th of January some idiot decided to smash the rear window of Lee’s brand new Ford Everest right outside our bedroom. Stupid, stupid, stupid! The car’s alarm light was flashing - our verandah light was on, and 6 people were sleeping within about 6 meters of the vehicle. The first ‘bang’ woke both Chavane and myself - a split second later the car alarm went off - Jesse went crazy - we all burst out onto the verandah ………………. and the idiot thief could do nothing but take off into the dark. Stupid, wanton destruction - with no hope of gain. What makes these idiots tick?????
On the bright side ………….. a walk around our garden everyday brings new visions of color and elements of excitement as new plants and trees break into bloom ……… and they are as numerous as the birds: 45 species identified in our garden to date ……. and counting. Watching Momma Drongo educate her offspring into the niceties of hunting insects is a pleasure I shall never tire of watching. What an amazing mother she is - and what an attentive youngster he/she is ………. this really is one of the best shows in the world - so much better than anything you might hope to find on TV, and we are simply the luckiest people in the world to have it all playing out in front of us right here in our back yard.
The weather this whole holiday period has been amazing, and while we do somewhat desperately need rain, the beautiful days are very conducive to being back on site this past week, allowing us to happily get on with what we are there for.
This entry’s little bird is the African Dusky Flycatcher (Muscicapa adusta) …………… normally just another LBJ, but really quite beautiful.
African Dusky Flycatcher (Muscicapa adusta)
African Dusky Flycatcher (Muscicapa adusta)
