So, 2019 is just about done ............ two decades of the new millennium already gone. Remember the eve of the 21st Century? It seemed we were in for a disaster - a huge BANG .............. instead there was barely a whimper...............and here we are, trundling along in a world beset by doubt with very real concerns about where it is all going to end.............but happily, with a fairly large smile on our collective face.
Getting anything done since loadshedding started on about December 3rd and our server RAIN going down as a result has been a bit of a pain here in Bathurst - with us getting access again only on the 21st after spending a couple of days down in Plettenberg Bay. Fortunately a great many things began happening around us that made for a far more exciting December than we had anticipated, and lack of access to WI-FI really became very secondary.
The first ‘event’ was our slide into the 52nd year of our marriage on the 7th December ………… our 51st Anniversary. Certainly less eventful than last year’s shindig at No.6 York Road, it was nevertheless quietly enjoyed in the company of a few of our Bathurst friends - a lovely evening. Then on Wednesday the 11th my first cousins, Lynda Gilfillan and Sean Lance took the time out of their respective busy schedules to come and spend a night with us here at the Centre of the Universe. Lynda and husband Robin really went out of their way to slot us in during what was a quite short, and I know, very busy visit to SA from their newly adopted city of Brisbane in OZ. They were able to manage it due largely to the fact that they were also visiting with Sean and his wife Pat in Plett for a couple of nights, so they all jumped into Sean's car and flew up here for the night. A very important gathering I think in the bigger scheme of things. Who knows when - or if - we will all ever be together again. Just five years ago I convened a braai at my sister-in-law Maureen’s house in Pretoria for a few good friends and family, fearful that I might not get the opportunity to spend time in their collective company again. Thank goodness we did all get together ………….. since then Brother Donald Kennedy, my cousin Tony Lance, my Best Man Rob Pienaar and good friend Leon De Pradines have all passed on. Rather grab the opportunity to be with those you love at every opportunity that presents itself than run the risk of regret.
Hardly had the cousins left when we were suddenly inundated with bookings for rooms, including bookings for Wendy Oldfield and Joe Van Den Linde on the night of Sunday the 15th after their gig at the Bistro across the road …………… a great evening by the way that followed an equally great evening of music there on the evening of Friday the 13th when we were treated to some really great original and cover blues by a duo from Pretoria that go by the name Hollowbody. They really do deserve to be better known than they are. Saturday night the 14th saw Jesse Clegg at the Pig and Whistle, and by all accounts this too was an amazing evening of music which we unfortunately couldn’t attend due to a prior commitment. So! ……………. as you can see Bathurst is really not the quiet little village the rest of the country seems to think it is.
On a lighter note - the Cape Whiteyes seem to have followed the family up, making their first appearance on the same day
With Cape Town friends Dales and Meryl Nesbitt deciding to stay on with us through until the morning of the 22nd when our entire tribe were arriving from Cape Town, Pat and I took the opportunity of roping them into looking after the house and Jesse the dog while we stormed down to Plett for two nights at cousin Sean and his beautiful wife Pat’s stunning abode, and the opportunity to catch up with my late cousin Jimmy’s widow, Lorna, who also has a house down there that she visits at this time of year from Johannesburg. Sean and Pat are the ultimate hosts and laid on a really great dinner for us, Lorna, and her son Greg who was down with her - then just to embarrass us even more, did exactly the same thing again on Friday evening when Sean’s son Charlie and his really lovely family spent the evening there with them.
On Saturday morning I had invited Lorna, Greg, Sean and Pat all to have breakfast on us at a venue of their choice as a mild form of thanks for their hospitality. What started out reasonably well turned into a comedy of errors ………… suffice to say that half of us left with no breakfast at all, and Pat and Lorna with a rather disappointing version of what they had ordered. The Manager was reasonable enough to forego payment for what was had ………….. but I suspect it will not be the last he hears of what transpired.
Then Pat did it all over again - took us home and plied us with the most beautiful smoked salmon and magically moist scrambled eggs - just to make sure we didn’t leave hungry. She really is the “hostess with the mostest”. Thank you so much Pat.
Then a leisurely drive back to Bathurst to get the house ready for the arrival of the ‘Tribe’, who all arrived safely late afternoon …………… just in time to pop across to the Bistro for a packed Sunday evening’s Open Mike of really cool music and some wonderful pizzas. Then Christmas day - and a fantastic meal prepared by all and sundry, and shared with Peter and Rosemary Davidson, (quite simply our oldest friends), who came through from Port Alfred to join us. A really super day - missing only Stoddard and Noleen and their children Isabella and Benjamin in the flesh (Skype had to suffice unfortunately), but who knows ………….. maybe next year we can ALL be together.
Leila and Lee having one of those private moments they so regularly share
The usual excess at the foot of the tree
Merry Christmas to all those of you who read this blog ………….. and also a New Year that rises to your expectations: To those of you who live in South Africa, all I can say is, “We live in really exciting times - we really do not know what is likely to happen next, and can only hope for something slightly better than total disaster on a daily basis”.
