4 x 4 / Heritage Day .... and visitors at last!

This past week has been one of Go, Go, Go …………… with Chavane, Lucille  and the kids arriving tomorrow it has been a race against time to get the third bedroom ready so that we can accommodate everyone. But - its done! The office is still a mess and crowded with boxes filled with stuff that we still haven’t found space for ……… but what the hell - we’ve got the rest of our lives.

Bathurst as always never ceases to amaze: last Saturday saw the Bathurst 4x4 day at the quarry - plenty of people, incredible vehicles (many of which were driven by unbelievably competent young ladies), and some really scary up and downhill tests inside the quarry itself. On a few occasions I honestly believed that some of them were going to flip over backwards on the uphill runs. It really was a great vibe with loads of enthusiasts egging the contestants on at all stages of the event. I believe that the prize giving at the Ploughman’s Pub was a hoot, with plenty of fun had by all. Amazing how proprietors Patrick and Michelle manage to keep up the pace with all of the events and evenings that they host there …………… and always cool, relaxed and friendly. Goodonya guys!

Heritage day saw a picnic at the historic Bradshaw’s Mill - a beautiful setting in the heart of Bathurst’s Commonage area made more so by the four or five contributing musicians that kept the picnickers entertained for the entire afternoon. A huge thanks too has to go to Tom and Allison Barrett who put the whole day together, and Maryna and Michelle who provided assistance with the raffle which was won by Peter Wood, a Bathurst newcomer. What an amazing basket ………. again, well done Allison.

Dales and Meryl Nesbitt arrived from Cape Town during the course of the afternoon and joined us at the picnic ………… and spent two nights with as at No. 6 …………. our first visitors, and what a pleasure it was to see them after these last 4 months and have them stay over with us. Plenty of good food, conversation, catching up, and lots and lots of wine.

Thursday night was quiz night at the Plough - loads of fun - and guess who won? Yup, yours truly in a team with Pat, Amy Muir and son Vaughn Jnr. whose joint musical acumen definitely won the evening.  Again, thanks to Michelle for a great load of General Knowledge, Musical and Character Sketch questions. They must have taken forever to put together girl - well done.

Thats all for now - still have a million bits and pieces to finish before the the rugby starts and the kids arrive tomorrow.

This weeks No.6 bird is the Hadeda Ibis (Bastrychia hagedash), of which we have a nesting pair up in our giant Coral tree ……….. their eggs have hatched and we look forward to a glimpse of the chicks.

Hadeda Ibis (Bastrychia hagedash)

Contemplating the drop

In a bit of a pickle

Check out what those wheels can do

The reticulation is amazing to watch

At the top

Crawling down

Getting to the bottom

Flippng over backwards was a distinct option

Olivia 

Bev Brunette and daughter

Lauren and Dave Brunette

Andre seeking attention

Its not only the youngsters who have cellphone obsession

Dales Nesbitt enjoying a beer on his first ever visit to Bathurst

Peter Wood with his great raffle win being presented by Allison Barrett (left) and Michelle Rowley

Andre, Steve, Wally,  David and Marion - all enjoying a lovely afternoon

FINALLY!

We finally moved into 6 York Road on the 30th August. Finally - Finally!

We will miss the cottage at Tiger Springs after what was a most pleasant 3-4 month sojourn there while we worked on the house. I already miss the magnificent sunrises and sunsets that the farm afforded us, and Jesse really misses her early morning and evening walks and the opportunity to simply run. The last time we arrived to collect the final box or two of our possessions there, the old donkey (Bunny Ears as I had named him), saw us coming and ran down behind the bakkie to the gate - I believe he had actually missed us and his almost daily walk with Jessie ………….. and of course the carrots which we always took out for him. I really never ever credited a Burro with so much emotion and intelligence - he has established a whole new consideration of what donkeys are all about in any future dealings I might have with them. We will also miss our infrequent - but always rewarding interactions with our very gracious hosts, Glenn and Anne McCreath, and really do recommend their cottage to anyone seeking accommodation in the area on a self-catering basis for any short or slightly extended stays in the the area. Thanks guys, we really enjoyed our time at Tiger Springs.

The first two weeks in the house have been strenuous in the extreme, trying to establish properly working living spaces with so much unfinished business around us - and so much to unpack and put away in as yet incomplete storage spaces and cupboards. In addition we have had the very real inconvenience of toilets that refused to properly seal and which have had to be broken out and replaced - shower finishes that have simply not performed as promised by the suppliers and which are now having to be completely stripped and re-applied - fortunately not at our expense but at the expense of the suppliers as I made quite clear to them when they were called out to assess the problems. We will get everything right - it is simply the inconvenience and  seemingly never-ending labour presence that gets me down and tries my patience to the limit.

While all this has been happening I received a call from Louise Gibson - the sister of my very old friend and Best Man at my wedding, Rob Pienaar, to tell me that Rob had passed away. An immense shock to say the least made somewhat worse by the nature of his passing. Making matters worse were the indicators that he had planned a surprise visit to us during the course of next week after attending the christening of his newly arrived Granddaughter in Stellenbosch. Rest in Peace Rob - the pain at least is gone, and you well knew that our considerations in respect of what might be necessary when it came to taking certain decisions in the face of what might be were, and still remain, very similar. I do so respect your courage  and determination - I hope that I am able to match these if and when I am put to the test……………..and so glad that I was able to make it up to Jo’burg for the Memorial service, meet your sons, and re-connect with Laura after all these years - my, but you really don’t seem to have aged at all woman! Really do hope that you get to visit us sooner rather than later. Of course the trip up would hardly have been possible without Peter Davidson’s help in fetching, carrying and accommodating - he, Rob and I were really the Three Musketeers as kids, and there have been more memories to plough through than one could ever imagine. In so many respects it really has been a good life.

Highlight of the week was of course the Bok’s splendid win over the All Blacks in Wellington on Saturday, (Rob would really have loved that), it certainly seems to have put a little spring back in the step of a great many South Africans who seem to have lost ‘moed’ in the face of more threatened petrol price increases, a seemingly never-ending spiral of corruption in Government, really frightening murder and crime statistics as reported to Parliament, land restitution without compensation, and a Rand so weak one wonders if it will ever recover ………… blah, blah, blah …….. so we can’t do anything about all these unfortunate situations other than make damn sure to vote down the ANC’s majority at the next election, but we can take heart from great little acts happening every day ………. like Stoddard’s first ever half marathon in the rain and hail in Sydney to raise funds for the Sanfelippo foundation this weekend: Well done Chum your efforts and commitment to helping these kids is a shining example to all of us. Very proud!

We are expecting our first visitors at No.6 York Road on Heritage day - just a week away. Dales and Meryl are taking the leap and popping in for a couple of nights, which means that this week will have to see some big strides in the completion process, as well as ridding ourselves of the never-ending stream of boxes currently cluttering our lives. Then on the 30th Chavane and the girls arrive with Lucille and her children for a part of the school Spring Break. Can’t wait! Got a great call from Leila yesterday enthusing about their planned visit - thank you my darling, you always manage to make my day and I can’t wait to see you all again.

I’m holding off on pics of the house until we have cleared most of the backlog of boxes and managed to get some of the pics up on the walls - they make a great difference to the warmth and ambience of the dwelling and we would like to give the right sense of Spirit of Place from the outset ……… so please bear with us in this respect. There really is just so much to show  - every day there are new flowers, blossoms and blooms - every day more and more gets finished as the house takes on its character and familiar old bits and pieces find themselves places to settle in the overall setup. This house is very special - we do so want to get it right, but it is very demanding, and time is going to be an essential part of its ultimate soul ………….  so we simply have to take as much time as is going to be necessary and hope that all who visit will appreciate this and enjoy the journey to completion with us.

Bathurst never ceases to amaze us - the energy of many of the friends we have made in meeting deadlines for events and ensuring that everything runs smoothly is really worth comment - once we are done with the building I have no doubt that we will begin to assist…….please be patient. This coming weekend sees the Ultimate 4x4 Challenge at the quarry with vehicles of every conceivable design participating ………… then on Monday (Heritage Day), there is going to be a picnic at the historic Bradshaw’s Mill, with live music, raffles of all kinds, and the participation of all those whose heritage has roots of some kind in this amazing community and the area in general …………. this is Frontier Country indeed - and we are only just beginning to learn about it all……….but sooner rather than later I am sure we will register proper understanding of it all and hopefully make adequate contribution to its sustenance and continuity.

This entry’s bird is the humble Dark-Capped (Black-eyed) Bulbul (Pycnonotus tricolor), that finds its way daily into the Coral Tree and serenades us with its “sweet, sweet, sweet potato” birdsong - really worth taking notice of!

Dark-Capped Bulbul (Pycnonotus tricolor)

Just a reminder re where we are living

Our first flowering Clivia

The almost completed sidestairs that formed part of the stormwater damage repair

One of the regular visitors to our garden

ONE MORE WEEK

This entry is a difficult one ………….. we are so much closer to moving in to No 6, yet there seem to be so many little things that still need doing. They will get done I know - but things about us seem to contrive to slow the process down. Yesterday they came in to fumigate - part of the sales process ……….. borer was found so the seller had to do it, but it means two days lost. Two of the bathrooms are fully plumbed and operational, and hopefully by Saturday afternoon the other two will be complete - the external drainage as well. I plan to have both bedrooms complete as well by Saturday afternoon, which will mean that we can dedicate most of next week to touch-ups and getting a part-time kitchen in place …………. the finished units I can complete as we move forward, just so long as we can prep and cook. After the virtual camping that we have been doing over the past four months the new stove, washing machine, tumble dryer, dishwasher, microwaves, icemaker, mixers and blenders, double bowl sink, fridge and freezer  and various other bits and pieces one has managed without these past four months should make everything a doddle. Isn’t it simply amazing what we take for granted in our everyday homes, yet cope more than adequately without when forced to do so by circumstance?

Here and there we have to fix and finish spots that we have missed over the past 3 months with furniture and plastic stacked everywhere, but in real terms these items are minimal in respect of the overall picture, and as soon as they are all done we can concentrate on finishing certain outside aspects that need to be tackled to complete ………. the deck, deck roof and east side stairs - but we will get there sooner rather than later.

Having Peter (Davidson) down here for the last week has been a jol ……….. some great meals, mixers with new and old friends - and the odd piss-up that we somehow always manage to put together …………. sharing feelings, moments, when-we’s and everything that 67 years of friendship affords us and allows us to share. He goes back to the Big Smoke on Saturday - I will miss him - until next time.

Two days of good rain have managed to really muddy up Bathurst’s roads and one has to be pretty careful not to get stuck or to skid off in some unwanted direction - but it is all very welcome and the gardens and countryside are loving every drop. The birds too seem to come out in force in our garden and take advantage of the cleaning process that surrounds them. Olive Thrushes, Speckled Mousebirds, Sunbirds of many descriptions, Cape Weavers, White Eyes, Robins, Bul Buls and Ha Da Da’s are simply everywhere, with half a dozen Drongos trying all the time to exert their supremacy - but without much success …….. all of the others far too content within the ambit of their surrounds to give them too much notice.

On a slightly more ‘cultural’ note, we went last week to see “Two Blue Ticks” ……. a One Woman show by Bathurst local Corinne Willoughby. What a laugh - somewhat naughty and irreverent, her very humorous and thought provoking collection of skits and stories were really a breath of fresh air in every respect ……… well done Corinne! (It is on again this coming Sunday evening - the 26th August - at the Bistro at 5.30pm ………. don’t miss it if you haven’t seen it). We also went off to the movies on Sunday to see ‘The Guernsey Book Club and Potato Peel Pie Society’ - a really beautifully made and delightful movie that I would recommend to people of all ages.

One of the three donkeys on the farm where we have been living while re-furbing the house has become a good, if somewhat cheeky, friend of mine and Pat’s - and also of Jesse’s. He walks with us occasionally and him and Jesse have conversations and interactions of sorts that make me wonder if they really do have a mutual understanding. He comes regularly to beg a carrot at the garden gate, and if the gate isn’t hooked pushes his way into the garden from whence he has to be really pushed out again with force. Upon occasion he gets slap bang in front of the car, and no amount of hooting or edging forward will displace him - he has to be conned around to the drivers window with the promise of a tit-bit, and only then can you make your way. However he behaves though, he always provides a pleasant diversion that makes the day that little bit better.

This weeks No. 6 York Road bird is the Greater Double-Collared Sunbird (Cinnyris afer), of which we have far more than we can ever hope to identify as individuals ….. or ever hope to photograph individually …………….. but you never, ever know!!!!!

Greater Double-Collared Sunbird (Cinnyris afer) in the large Coral Tree

THE BATHURST COUNTRY AFFAIR

What a great weekend! 

Thursday (Womens’ Day), was the most beautiful day - and perfectly suited to everything that the Village had to offer the visitors. 

Friday was an entirely different story - all in all about 70mm or more of hard rain the entire day. By the end of it all we were considering naming the house “A River Runs Through It”. Unfortunately until the York Road stormwater drainage system is revised, or we revise it at our own expense, No. 6 bears the brunt of literally thousands of litres of stormwater that have to go somewhere, and the eastern side of our property is where it all pours through.

Saturday dawned as clear as could possibly be and Bathurst once again became the centre of the universe - there were fetes, tractors tripping through the town ……….. it is after all a drinking Village with a farming problem ……… there were vintage cars and some really exciting vintage Motor Cross bike racing ………… all the bikes being pre-1990 and seemingly as fast as anything out there today judging by the speeds they were doing. There were Bokdrol Spoeg competitions, Artisan Milkshakes,  Stalls of every conceivable kind …………. and the highlight of the day on the Pig ’n Whistle Pool Patio - a Cook-off Competition between four Local Chefs. It was all done by “Draw”, with each chef getting what he drew out of the hat …….. Fish, Steak, Venison or Pork ……….. they were each then given a mystery box of ingredients and a mix and match selection of other ingredients plus two hours to create their dish. 

There was plenty of wine and beer on sale and a festive atmosphere worthy of Christmas. When the food was ready it was duly judged and plates then sold to the public for the princely sum of R35.00 a helping ………… all of it fantastic.

Sunday dawned almost as beautiful as Saturday - but at a somewhat slower pace, with most of the revellers having to cope with hangovers I am sure. Even the regular Sunday Farmer’s Market seemed to be considerably quieter than usual ………… but so much fun inevitably comes at a price.

Here are a few pics for those of you not lucky enough to have been here to share it all with us. ENJOY!

But first - This week's No. 6 Bird of the week

Black-Collared Barbet

No explanation necessary

Mary Riley with her two Al Paca's

Simply gorgeous

Patrick Rowley from The Ploughman's Pub at the helm of the Tractor Bus

John Peters giving me a finger of sorts

Pre -1990 Motor Cross

1938 MG T.A. in spotless condition

Beautiful!

A bit of history

Brian and Sandy Thomas hawking their wares

Steak waiting to be prepared at the Cook-off

Kirsten, Calem and Kristen handling the wine sales

The Town Crier (One of them!)

Lucille Came (Owner of the Pig 'n Whistle)

Craig Handley (Erstwhile owner of the Pig) and Steve

The Cook-off Judges at work

FRUSTRATIONS AND SATISFACTIONS

A week of frustrations and satisfactions indeed. Plenty went wrong (but quite a bit went right as well)………… primarily as a result of individuals not listening when given instructions and barreling ahead without taking my idiosyncrasies into account: things must be straight - they must be level - they must balance ……………. there is simply no room for compromise, and if you don’t do it the way I instruct you to it is going to have to be done again.  Despite all of this - and despite having to do virtually everything we tackled during the week twice - significant progress has been made and the end of this coming week should see the house pretty damn close to liveable. The Solar Water Heating frame worked out well and is in position on the kitchen roof with the geyser plumbed and mounted in place. Monday should see the Solar Panel fitted and plumbed in  - and ‘Voila’ - we will have hot water.  We should also have the kitchen and bathroom ceilings in and all of the fittings in the guest toilet and guest en-suite bathroom installed…….. and with a bit of luck, the main en-suite as well. 

While I tidied up the garden today and spent a good couple of hours cutting the grass, Petrus did a sterling job sealing, jointing and prepping both the guest toilet and the en-suite bathroom panels for painting on Monday. Once I had finished cutting the grass I strolled across to the Cafe and bought myself a bottle of cold Dry White. Bumping into Carl Penn, the Pig ’n Whistle Chef on my way back I invited him to join me in the garden for a tipple …………… what an absolutely pleasant experience for both of us: the peace in the garden was palpable - punctuated only by the Tsh tsh tsh ….. brrrrr - brrrrr - brrrr of the sprinkler and myriad birdsong from at least five or six different species as we sat there. My favourite little Chorister Robin-Chat hung about as we chatted, having perched himself on the handlebar of the mower while I was busy cutting earlier …………. seemingly determined to garner my attention at every possible chance. Our breeding pair of Ha Da Da’s that have their nest high above the lawn in the Coral Tree also simply sat and contemplated us there way below them. Sunbirds, Drongos, and Black-Headed Bul-Buls flitted back and forth, and a black-headed Oriole with its loud, liquid “Kleeeeeuuuu” also parked off above us in the Coral Tree. Four or five crowned Hornbills made a brief - if somewhat noisy - stopover high above us before zooming off to greener pastures elsewhere. Quite simply a very special afternoon - my first real sojourn in this garden that I fell in love with the first time I saw it, and one that I know is going to bring us a great many very happy hours in the future.

Bernard, Hartson and Luke left from Grahamstown for Cape Town last week Saturday by Intercity bus. Their parting was bittersweet in many ways…………they would have loved to have stayed on if work here was guaranteed, but I couldn’t make them that promise, and they weren’t prepared to take the risk of having to live with the very low daily wages here compared with what I have been paying them these past few years, and what they are able to earn in Cape Town - even if it is somewhat less than what I pay them. Petrus on the other hand loves it up here and is prepared to take his chances with me, believing that we will find the work to keep the ship afloat. Goodonya Petrus …….. lets hope that it all works out for the good and that we can get the other guys back sooner rather than later.

We did complete our first contract in Port Alfred around the middle of last week to the absolute satisfaction of the client ………… and we do have a few more tenders out - all we can do now is keep on punting our services and hold thumbs that everything comes together. We don’t take shortcuts, which is one of the virtues that has kept us happily busy in Newlands and Cape Town generally these past 20 odd years …………… So - if you are reading this and are in the Bathurst / Port Alfred / Kenton / Grahamstown  / Southwell general area and are in need of having some work done - then please - take a chance on us ……… we won’t let you down.

This coming week sees the Bathurst Country Affair taking place from the 9th - 12th August, and it looks like it is going to be a real humdinger. There is plenty planned, and a BCA Times has also been published around the event with coverage of everything that can be expected. If you happen to be anywhere close by be sure to pop in and make the most of what promises to be a Village Event to remember.

This week's York Road Bird - our little Chorister Robin on the lawnmower handlebars

Next week's up and coming Bathurst events

Some more of next weekend's events

Some of Chef Carl's Saturday morning market fare

The Pig 'n Whistle's 1st Saturday of the month Food Market

Chef Carl during set-up at the market

Dry walling complete and ready for painting

More Dry Walling complete

The Hot Water Cylinder on its newly constructed frame atop the scullery roof

Accidents happen!

This week’s York Road bird is the Fork Tailed Drongo. We have a number of them on the property, but there are a couple that have ingratiated themselves with us despite their questionable reputation. They are always there - just beyond physical reach, watching everything we do, from cutting fibre-cement boards with an angle grinder, to watering or raking the ground. On the farm I watch how four or five of them will apparently spend a few minutes attacking a cow ……………. but on closer inspection they are literally diving for  ticks or other parasites on the cow with such deftness one would believe that each and every trajectory is pre-planned and not simply the shortest distance between the bird and the insect. Goodonya Drongo!

Accidents happen!!!!!! …… They certainly do - and I was the victim of something very unexpected on Monday, which could, but for the space of literally two inches, have been fatal. I was handed an angle grinder which had been switched on but not been active because of a faulty plug. The person who handed me the grinder did not switch it off, and I, in a fairly dicey position on a ladder simply took the grinder from him, expecting to switch it on to do the cut I intended when I was ready. He then adjusted the plug and the grinder bucked into action throwing itself out of my hand and down towards my torso where the blade first grabbed my shirt and ripped into it before continuing on its downward trajectory  from my breastbone down to my waist. The sensation I felt was is if it was cutting right into my body as I struggled to get it under control ………….. fortunately the shirt worked to slow down the revolutions and protect my body from deep penetration by the blade, even though it exacerbated the width of the cut by allowing the material to rip the skin well wide of the blade width.  When it was switched off it was totally entangled in the ripped shirt and I had no sense of how deep the cut might be - all I could see was blood, and could only surmise as to the extent of the injury as we worked to cut the shirt away from the blade. 

My relief was huge as it became obvious that the cut was only skin deep, even though the width of the wound did worry me. I called Pat and she arrived within 15 minutes with the first-aid box and began by washing the wound with dettol before helping me change clothes and driving through to the Port Alfred hospital with me where I requested a Tetanus shot, feeling pretty sure that stitches weren’t necessary.

It was only after waking in the early hours of Tuesday morning and giving some detailed thought to what had happened that I really came to terms with how lucky I had been, and how close I had come to that age old comment, “Goodnight Nurse”. My very good friend and erstwhile educator, Brother Donald Kennedy, felt sure after viewing the picture of the cut I sent him that it was a case of Divine intervention and Whatsapped me his thoughts. The following morning however he Whatsapped again to say that he had done a reassessment of his considerations and decided that it was rather a question of “The Devil taking care of his own”. I’m not sure where this leaves me, or what the ‘designation’ of my guardian angel might be, but there definitely seems to be one of sorts hanging about as I tackle these things I do each day, quietly saying to myself as I tackle each new one, “I really am getting too old for all this shit”.

This little village continues to intrigue us - each day there are new people to meet - people doing uncalled for things within the community in consideration of their neighbours and fellow villagers ………… not in search of thanks or recognition, but simply because it is the right thing to do. I like that! Hopefully, sooner rather than later, we will find somewhere to slot in and also make our mark. I don’t believe that it is something one premeditates ………….. but rather something that one is invited into purely by accident if the mind is open and receptive to the suggestion.

Jesse continues to live the life of a spoiled child, literally going everywhere with us - which she loves. The cows and the donkeys are becoming more and more acceptable to her, and she has even begun striking up a relationship of sorts with ‘Bunny Ears’ the friendly donkey, and now allows ‘Bunny Ears’ to join us on our walks. Her attacks on the cattle too have dwindled to an unenthusiastic charge, quickly abandoned as she realises that they have little or no interest in her whatsoever. She has even stopped chasing the Roosters across the road at the Bistro, happier it seems to be accepted by the proprietors Liz and Anne and their occasional helper Maritza for what she is ……….. a really cute, sneaky, little Jack Russell cross that very quickly creeps into your heart (and your premises in search of titbits), however badly she might behave upon occasion.

Liz yesterday gave me the lowdown on the upcoming Bathurst Country Affair ………… its history, and what can be expected now that the various proprietors have been given the responsibilty of making their side of the event work rather than having an event manager. We are looking forward with interest and anticipation to this, our first experience of the event, and will post the programme here as soon as it becomes available.

Tonight a bunch of us are meeting for Tjop 'n Dop at Sally's to check out the Lunar Eclipse .......... let's hope the clouds dissipate.

The Fork-Tailed Drongo