Myfanwy!!

Forgot to mention Pippits foal - born on 22nd December - another filly!

As Pippit had had a problem with the birth of Valentine we were on hand with the required medication. Johan mentioned that the afterbirth did not look complete - seemed only half sized - so we gave her a jab of stuff that would help expel anything that was left..... nothing happened. After 2 hours (always happens in the middle of the night) we tried phoning vets who said it would not harm to give her another jab and if possible to pull on the afterbirth gently... but there was nothing showing at all. Gave her another jab and waited - still nothing - then I asked to see the "semi" afterbirth - there it was, all complete so we had been worrying for nothing!

Goregous little filly but after 2 days Sarah came to look at her and mentioned the straight pasterns - was sure they had not looked like that when she was born - so called the vet and poor Pippit is on a strict diet - her milk is too rich and the bones were growing faster than the ligaments could keep up. Amazing - after 2 days she looks perfectly normal again!

Wallis the springbok

Well, our dog Wallis has a future as a springbok rugby player - as proved by flattening me!

On Sunday evening I was walking back from Plot 2 (after a stimulating day trying to resurrect curtain rails disposed of willy nilly by the builders) when WHUMP! I was suddenly flat on my stomach facing the opposit way with a grazed eyebrow, no left shoe and a very sore leg!! Wallis had come running flat out to catch up to me and misjudged the size of her body - and whammo into my leg - I wish someone had had a video! We eventually found my shoe over 25m away in the opposite direction! Whew.

Poor Wallis, I lifted my head from the ground to see her creeping and crawling around my head - obviously saying, sorry, sorry, sorry! Here she is wearing her christmas hat.

Poor lonely blog

Poor little blog - so often in my mind but never reaches the keyboard! Well, its time to ressurect!

A busy Christmas - I worked through and we had Johans mum to stay - shame, she gets so bored on the plot and we have so much to do and so little time in which to do it! Lovely to have friends over for a lovely Christmas lunch and then off the next day to our traditional boxing day lunch with Bobby and Ted.

The "wii" christmas present has been a great success and I have discovered that I have a talent for 10 pin bowling (the virtual version!) - it is amazing how lifelike you can make the little "mii's" - Sam has even created a Biggles! Rummikub has also been very well used and the new world Monopoly has put a new spin on an old game!

Apart from the Christmas rush etc we were also coping with the renovation of Plot 2 next door. The transfer came through on 15th December and then we had to wait for Eskom to connect us - the builders were there in force, unfortunately though, not the electrician and tiler so things went a bit cockeyed in terms of the order in which things were done. In the end we were so frustrated we sent the builders off until the tiler and electrican had finished - which should be anyday now. We have learnt a costly lesson - builders who say they can paint and that know plumbers and carpenters that they recommend .......... enough said, just know that you will be ripped off with a shoddy job.

It is just unbelievable how much paint they can go through - and coming home each night to be given yet another list of materials required was the absolute end - just when in my day am I meant to have time to go via paint shops, hardware shops etc - I took leave one day out of sheer frustration - but the lists keep coming!

So, we temporarily banished the builders, when they come back we will have a checklist of everything that is wrong and will go through it with them - the main reason that most things have gone so drastically wrong is that neither of us are there to supervise and builders have no respect for materials and cost. Even so, blemishes aside, the house has been TRANSFORMED and is really going to look great once it is finished! Now, if any tenant dare mess it up...... the wrath of Di will be on their heads!

Crash, bang, lights out!

The road works at Joe Slovo have a lot to answer for! The road is actually completely closed which means that 4 lanes of traffic have to divert into 2 - not to forget the 5th lane which is actually a left turn only lane which all these horrible people zoom down (past those law abiding citizens like myself) and then push in to the right turn at the bottom. Well, yeasterday evening on the way home such an incident happened and I was the one being pushed in front of - so I let the black car ahead of me turn but was determined that the bakkie behind him would not get in front of me too! So I kept very close to the horrible black car - but unfortunately TOO close and banged his right back tyre fender - I didn't even realise I'd hit him until the driver jumped out and started waving his arms around and yelling and cursing me in Afrikaans! I said I was sorry but on and on he ranted - very unpleasant. Anyway eventually we pulled out of the traffic so that we did not impede it anymore than it already was and he calmed down and we swopped information. There is a small scratch just below my headlight - not worth bothering about but we'll have to wait and see what he does about it!

So, on I went home - back door wide open but nobody around. Went to check on the alpacas and found Coco, Patricia and Dustin shut into the barn area with no water or food and the poor little baby on the other side of the gate all by himself in the field! FUME!!!

Sorted thatout and went into the house - power failure..... but everybody elses lights around us were on? Michael and his friend John arrived home and I sent them to check the fuse box. All the switches were down but pushing them up had no effect - then Michael found the little love letter than Eskom had sent us - disconnected due to non-payment! AAAARGH! Scrabbled through Johans non-filing system on his desk and luckily found an account - the whole system works on the account number and without that you are sunk. First of all I phoned to check what we owed - R0???? So then I got through to a person (lots of number pushing and menus for that to happen) who said that it had been a mistake...well, we are still waiting for it to come on again.....

So much for my thoughts of a glass or wine with my feet up watching James Herriott!

We have a new addition - one peachick has hatched (guess the others all rolled off the roof!) and here are some pictures of little Byron!

Gorgeous Babies

Two gorgeous babies are now frolicing around our plot! The first to be born was Lass's foal - a lovely little cream filly - un-named as yet (Sam wants to call it Fudge, I want to call it Madrigal and Moose wants to call it Myfanwy!) - she is now 10 days old and very friendly and forward! Loves nibbling things - including humans! And then this morning Coco had a little white boy - who will be named Byron. baby animals are so beautiful!

Next on line should be Pippit and then Patricia. And hopefully there will be some peachicks as well - except that they laid their eggs on the roof and some keep rolling off!

Di what next - you didn't have to do this just to have some news for your blog!!!

Please note - I don't try to find things to write about in the blog - they just happen!

The above comment refers to my latest escapade! I am in the process of buying a new horse (despite having 9 at home there are none for me to ride!) and this horse belonged to a friend who needed to sell because she was going overseas. " Very quiet " "will give you lots of confidence" "can fall asleep lying down on his back when on outrides" etc etc. And he was a nice big boy, described as a "off white" - Sam got on and rode him around, although he spooked and cantered nothing weird happened and she did very well. So, on the premise that I was about to sell 2 alpacas so could afford him I said I would take him. He was also supposed to be percheron x boerperd but everybody horsey that I know thinks the percheron bit is wishfull thinking! Anyway he is big.

So the next week we went to collect him and on Sunday, Johan, Sam and I had out first outride together. None of the descriptions fit the horse I was riding, he lept sideways, danced around, zoomed off at a very fast trot with his head in the air - not quite what I expected! So I called my friend and we put him into the lunging arena - which he rushed wildy around trying to jump out of. She was astounded. We worked out that it must be the food. So for another 2 weeks he was on reduced rations (but still getting fatter all the time) and he actually changed colour - becoming a beautiful pale palomino. Anyway, he did calm down considerably so I had a lesson with the owner who taught me the way she had ridden him. Now, I have always been rather a couch potato and have had horses that just went without much effort. This one goes but if you do not control him with your legs then he is rather haphazard which was why he was so weird on the outride. She also showed me how to use my hands - tighten up at first and then when he drops his nose, bring the hands down and relax. So it all went very well - rather like sitting on a powder keg but at least I felt in control!

So, the next day, by myself, I decided to quickly saddle up and ride in the arena. Johan had gone to collect Michael from sword practice (which he is loving) so it was just sam and I. At first all went well and we walked around and then he stopped. I put my legs on and tightened up my hands (mistake) and he went backwards, not realising the message I was sending I did it again and he did a little hop. Did it again (I'm a bit slow on the uptake) and up he went, rearing up up and OVER on top of me.

Well, I was out for the count (don't mention the word "hat"!) and Sam took one look and ran screaming for John - who luckily arrived home just as it all happened. Fred (neighbour) lept over 2 6 ft fences to come and help (his son had the same kind of accident and broke his pelvis in 3 places). I woke up briefly when they were lifting me onto the top of the garden tables (dismantled from the legs) and then again as they pushed me into the back of the car and the paramedics arrived. Apparently I had been consious but talking double dutch and not remembering who Zorro (horse) was etc. So off we went to Union hospital with me esconsed on the garden table in the back of the car (Now I know the seats go down!) and off I went to casualty, X ray (no bones broken - miracle!) and a cat scan, then into the ward.

Hospitals are not restful places - the lights were on all night and they wake you up at 4 in the morning for blanket baths etc! Of course I did not have the required soap and face cloth etc but we made a plan. So the final opinion was that the muscles in my leg had snapped and I was very very badly bruised - very lucky.

On day 2 I actually managed a couple of shuffling steps with the zimmer frame - it is a very humbling experience to suddenly find yourself "old" and infirm. I had a regular visistor, Clayton from Plot 1 was in the same section (broken jaw) and so he would come to visit dragging his drip with him and I would shuffle up to him with zimmer and drip - made it more bearable having a pal on hand! So on Tuesday evening they said I could go home - they weren't going to stitch the muscles becauise "its not as though you are a comrades runner" (now I wonder what gave him that idea?)- so off I went home - still barely able to lift my foot to even put a slipper on and with a leg the size of an elephant, swollen and blue.

At home, we looked at it and really doubted that it was going to get better by itself so off to our GP the next day for his opinion - he took one look and phoned the orthopaedic surgeon in Mulbarton - off we went and he looked at it and booked me in to hospital the next day - to stitch the muscles (yay so I can run Comrades in the future!) and drain the fluid. If left, it could not possibly had reabsorbed that amount (they drained 1.5 litres) and would have got infected, septic = long time in hospital, lots of antibiotics etc etc etc. So another 2 days in hospital and then back home again with sexy white pressure stockings. Another week in bed - this time felt really lousy because I started to slur my words and not be able to focus properly - back to the GP - could be Post concussion syndrome or could have been a recation to the painkillers! So stopped the painkillers and vision and speech was restored! (Phew)

Another week in bed (poor Johan) and then was up and about again - thank goodness for automatic cars! I had to get up and going because Johan had had to take 3 weeks off work and the kids have to get to school for their exams - so I had to bite the bullet and get back into the swing of things again!

In the meantime Zorro is still eating his head off in the stable......

Dance like a butterfly - sting like a bee! Ow!

Poor Sam, she had a hard time last week. It all started when we arrived at the school and she dicovered that her shoes and socks were not in the car..... disaster when you are 11 years old! I phoned the aftercare teacher and asked her to help Sam find a pair in lost property etc. So Sam crept in to the office (in tears and in my old blue stokies) and they took her to find some shoes. Unfortunately they could only find one that fit her - so she put it on and limped out with her other foot in the slipper - telling everyone that her other foot had been stung by a bee!

Whilst having tea with Elsie on Saturday afternoon - Sam came in and announced that she had been stung on the foot by a bee - we laughed and teased her about little white lies coming back to get her! But then... she started going dark red, throat started constricting and she was covered in weals - she had developed an allergic reaction! Luckily Elsie had some anti histamines so we gave her one and phoned our local Dr - he said get her to the emergency pharmacy at Mulbarton Clinic quickly. Well - I pushed my power button in the car - put on my hazards and zoomed along - past other traffic, through red robots and keeping an eye on Sam all the time. Very dramatic. We got to the pharmacy and they took one look and said get her into casualty immediately - onto a bed, connected to a drip and injected! Wow! Now she has to have an injection with her at all time - apparently the more times you get stung the worse the reaction is. At least now we know but it is a worry - there are lots of bees around in Spring!

Phew - busy week!

Wow - last week went by in a blur and it looks as though this week will be the same!

Sunday - went for the first ride on my new horse Zorro - touted as the most wonderful quiet horse, good for giving you confidence etc - well he hopped, skipped and jumped and trotted like a maniac and would not stop - not quite what I had envisaged. Have cut down on his concentrates to see if that makes a difference - will wait and see!

On Monday night - I went on my first neighbourhood watch patrol - I had forgotten about it until someone ding-donged at the gate to deliver the equipment - bullet proof vests, batons, lights etc. Boy those vests are heavy - once I had one on and was behind the wheel it would have needed a crane to move me! It is not very stimulating I must say. driving around in the dark - Paula and I chatted but there is a limit to how much one can say. Glad when it was 11 and time for the handover. The next session is from 2-5 in the morning so not looking forward to that!

On Thursday It was Elizes matric dance - and we loaded up the carriage and horsebox and drove to Vereeniging - luckily it didn't rain unrtil we were back at the box - having dropped her off at the red carpet! Wow, there were jags, limo's, a model T-ford and us! Womble was a bit hesitant about walking into the crowd of popping flashbulbs and people so Johan led him the last bit. At least Womble is sensible - doesn't leap around and run away - just stands and says " I'm not sure about this.... do I really have to walk on? " Sam dressed to match me and we looked very smart!

Then the next morning it was up with the larks and off to Graaf Reinet for the Alpaca Society AGM. What a really great weekend! Met others at the guesthouse and we all went out to dinner together - very nice place in the Chocolate art gallery - some really lovely pictures that I would have loved to have bought - and lovely food too!

The AGM took up the whole of the Saturday and we had 3 gueast speakers first - bit of a hitch when we could not find a screen but we got one in the end! Then the AGM went smoothly and we finished at 5.30 - a very long day! Lovely to see everybody again and the catering was good.

And then another lovely lovely dinner with fantastic food (and company) at the Kliphuis - highly recommended! A late night!

Sunday - we wento to visit a farm to watch alpacas herding sheep - unfortunately they were more interested in us rather than doing their job but it was interesting to see them anyway - the farms here are enormous - 5000 and 8000 hectares! Then off to see other alpacas on a historical farmstead and I fell in love with a little lamb. As we went into the field all these little bottlefed lambs rushed over to us and when you picked them up they just nestled under your chin and settled down - so sweet.... finally left at 1.30 - a long drive back and home at about 11.30 - but what a wonderful, full, friendly weekend it had been - I am so lucky to meet such people.

Then back to work this week - Lass looks at though she is about to foal at any minute so that is keeping me on my toes. I have my patrol on Thursday (actually Friday) from 2-5 and then Sam is going trick or treating on Friday night - we are a stop off point so we need to decorate the gate as well! Now what happened to that plastic skeleton with the light in its head.....

Look what I found - notes on Eygpt trip - day 1

Time to catch up on Egypt I think even though it seems like a dream now even though it was only 9 days ago! (written when I was in the UK and then lost memory stick)

It was very hard to work on that Thursday – who could concentrate when you were going to be going to Cairo! Off to the airport in 2 kombis, ours went via the back routes to avoid Gilooly’s but we all arrived at the same time. The others had a very interesting driver – he had umpteen wives – one of which was a deflowered nun!

Luckily there were no long queues at the airport so we were very quick through to the other side – apart from Buti – he had too many creams and lotions and potions in his hand luggage so they made him go back and check it in.

Over to our normal spot in the News Café – not the greatest place and the service is AWFUL but there really isn’t much choice, and then we all drifted around doing our final bits of shopping until we boarded the plane. Luckily it was not completely full so Brenda and I had 4 seats between the two of us so were able to get some sleep.

Day 1 : Friday 30th April 2008-06-12

Arrived in Cairo and there was a chap waiting to escort us through immigration and out through the airport – he wasn’t very good as he lost half of us along the way but we all ended up at the right place in the end. Then we met our guide Hashim who escorted us onto the bus, loaded the baggage through the window and then off we ventured into Egyptian traffic. No traffic lights and no lines on the road but because they are not aggressive and give way to each other there are very few accidents. Sounded like Louis Botha – beep beeping all the time from everyone.

We arrived at the Hilton Ramses which unfortunately we could not check into immediately so we sat in the foyer for a while and then went to have breakfast in the Terrace dining room – most amazing chef who could flip omlettes and eggs in a most spectacular fashion!


Then still had time to waste so off we went for a walk along the Nile – necessitated crossing some roads – a frightening task that required nerves of steel and must have given Hashim some worrying moments about his little flock! Then we walked up the road – could not believe where we were!

The buildings in Egypt are quite unique – mostly unpainted and incomplete – apparently if they are complete and painted then they have to pay tax so…. a city full of unfinished buildings (predominantly cement square frames and brick fill).

Hashim was able to get rooms for us at 10:30 and due to people arriving back in the foyer LATE we no longer had time to go to the Mosque and Citadel (due to it being Friday things closed earlier than usual) so all plans changed and we were off to Siddara and Memphis (no Elvis only Ramses II!).


Siddara is one of the oldest pyramids – a step pyramid with a well excavated surrounding, must have been fantastic when it was complete. Very hot and the sand is quite rocky and whitish.


As you can see from my rosy cheeks – it was hot and look at the sandy shoes – originally brown.

The cobras are for security – always shown on the headdresses of the Pharaohs so that they could strike and kill any enemies.

From Siddara one could look across and see the Giza pyramids in the distance, really magical and we saw our first camel.


What was also remarkable was the sudden transition from the date palms to the desert – just a complete cutoff from one to the other.


The we were on the way to Memphis, via a small village which specialised in carpets. Aha, time for me to suss out camel blankets! First of all we watched young girls knot the rugs (I had a go and didn’t do too badly!) and then looked at large looms – beautiful complicated pictures being woven) then upstairs for s complimentary glass of hibiscus tea and we all had to sit and listen to the sales spiel with beautiful silk carpets flashing before our eyes. There was a glorious large silken carpet – only $75 000!



Then it my time for the camel blankets – asking price 3000 EP – I offered 500 – came down to 2000 – still too much so no sale!

Off to Memphis which had an enormous statue of Ramses II, a smaller one, some lionesses and other statues. How on earth did they carve such large perfect statues!


We were all starting to flag a bit by then and so back to the bus and off to lunch – a lovely outdoor restaurant called Andrea’s – beautiful fluffy pitas that we saw being cooked in an outside oven and lots of lovely hummus, tahina and great roasted chicken – also seen on spits outside. Our guide (name) sat with us but did not eat – she has patches on her head – supposed to help her diet a la acupuncture! She is incredibly knowledgeable about Eygptian history.


(And I’m off to the hospital restaurant – tomato soup, roll and an apple – the Executive Athlete team should be proud of me!) Thankfully my debit card allowed me to draw money – was in rather a twizz about it as my credit card was declined at Avis at the airport and I would have been stuck – had to borrow £10 from Dorothy over the road this morning to buy milk!

After lunch – off to a Papyrus factory … a demo of how it was made and then of course the sales talk starts… and of course I fell for it – but only at 200 EP less than they first asked! Will look lovely above our bed.

Back to the hotel for a quick shower and change and Brenda and I went for a quick walk along the bridge – there was a film shoot and we sot involved so some Eygptian TV show will have us strolling along!

Lovely – no crime and no bothersome people – in fact the opposite – all very friendly and welcoming.


Then back to the hotel and up to the 36th floor which has a restaurant with fabulous views of the city.

Then at 6.30 - off to the Sound & Light show at the Pyramids – heralded in by an Eygptian band playing….. bagpipes!

Absolutely magical!

And still not time for bed – off to dinner sailing the Nile in a felucca!

And then it was the end of Day 1 – Wow! We dropped like stones when we finally got to bed – and had an early start planned for the next day!


Day 2 – Alexandria

Up early for a quick breakfast – next casualty – Abraham has a funny tummy – oops! Sonia had been the first and so she now had all the medication as well as Geraldine so we dosed him up and off we went – 200 odd kms off to Alexandria.

Its quite developed along the road – first a techno park and then farming estates – need a lot of money to do that because it takes a lot of time and water before the desert becomes established. Lots of dovecotes and an arab stud – very interesting.

And now I'll have to scratch my brain for the rest of it!

Living rough!

My cousin Julia, in the UK is buying a remote cottage in Scotland - and they are going up there for a weekend:


We are off to Scotland next weekend,Alans brothers(3 of them) are coming also as "working party" to help us cut the grass etc.They wont be doing that much as they have all decided they are going fishing on the Sunday(no stamina these men!) I will be chief cook,that should be interesting as there is only a sink in the kitchen, we are taking a fold up table, microwave and gas burner, should be fun. There is only a coal fire, no central heating so thermal undies required. I am not really one for roughing it so the whole thing sounds a nightmare to me.
We are going to take Mums bed with us on the trailer,if Alan can get it up and running for then- it was a "bargain" but Im not so sure as we have spent loads on new suspension, wheels and various other bits and pieces.
This house buying lark is very stressfull isnt it? the seller in your case
sounds charming. We didnt have to worry about fixtures etc as there werent
any!!

This made me think of our honeymoon!

We went to a cottage on a very remote bit of the Wild Coast - no electricity and an outside loo - had to fish for our food - and boil water to sit in a tin bath - but it was lovely.

Then we went to visit our bestman who had a cottage in Kei Mouth.
Unfortunately he had let it out, so he had a room in the house and we were sleeping in the kombi on thefront lawn. Well, one night we came back having caught a lo vely big brass bream -which Deon announced to the woman of the house and her family that Di would cook and they were invited to dinner.
Having said that he and Johan disappeared to the pub!

Well, this poor womoan kept making helpful suggestions as I nervously slaved away - cursing under my breath, the cherry on the top came when I switiched on the stove forgetting it was gas and then lit it with a tremendous whoosh that took off my eyebrows! Everybody made polite comments about how good the dinner was but I was fuming! (And it really wasn't half as good as it should have been!)

Then we went to the kombi to find that the dogs had been sick all over the bed, we tried to wake Deon by throwing stones at his window and climbing the drain pipe but with no success so had to sleep on the front lawn!

Not the most comfortable and indulgent of honeymoons!

Spring is here!

Our first batch of ducklings were hatched on Sunday morning so Spring is definitely here!

Now, to carry on from my last posting - sounds morbid but please plan your funerals and make sure everybody knows what you want them to do with you once you are gone! Cremated, buried? Hymns to be sung, readings to be read? It would really help if we all had a funeral plan as well as a will! having said which I have not done one yet either!

Well, the funeral was 10 days after Mums death, Johan and the kids arrived late on Saturday and the funeral was the following Monday. Funerals in England are a lot more solemn and serious than they are here. Curtains are closed for the entire morning until the hearse arrives and parks outside the house so that the neighbours can show their respect - their curtains are sometimes closed too. As the funeral cortege moves to the church people bow their heads as you pass and old men doff their cap - it all makes it very very sad and respectful. At the church the family were instructed to walk in behind the coffin - that set me off, I cried and sobbed the whole way through thinking of my little mum in that box - it was horrible. David gave a short speech about how we loved out mum and then we went outside to view the flowers. Both mum and dad had had their ashes scattered at Walton Lea which has beautiful gardens.

After the funeral we all went to have tea at the church hall in Great Budworth - Mum used to liove there when she was a child. Well, the caterers did us proud - there was so much food and it was so good it was amazing! The only potential problem was the cousins that hate each others guts (they are sisters) - however they each sat at a different end of the hall and behaved themselves and I made a point of sitting for a while with each. BUT little did I know that Johan and the kids spent more time with one than the other and I was taken to task about this in later days!

After that, it was a matter of putting the house on the market, selling the furniture, packing the clothes in bags for Oxfam etc. In between times we had day trips with the kids - Alton Towers theme park, Artley Hall Spring festival, Blackpool etc so we tried to make it as holidayish as possible - plus we had lots of people to see.

A very special occassion for me was going out to lunch with 3 of Mums friends, they had been friends since they were about 17 and they are all active bright ladies and I got on so well with them - it really brought home to me how horrible and debilitating diabetes is, if it wasn't for that my mum would have had such a better quality of life!

The end

Back at the hospital, I thought Mum was asleep so sat next to her and worked on my laptop for a while, also getting to know all the other ladies in the ward – Alice, (x2) Beatrice, Nora and Mavis – a lovely chatty bunch.

I went to speak to one of the doctors to ask whether I could take Mum home – he was an absolute sod, had no interest in the matter, kept flipping though the file which had had aboviously not read and asked what would happen when I went home in 5 weeks time – totally useless and off hand – very unlike the other doctors I had spoken to on previous visists. Anyway – went back and sat at the bedside – the nrsing staff were great – Ian (Mr Ice cream man), and all the others made sure I had lots of tea etc. Mums breathing became heavier and raspy and she still didn’t wake. At lunch time my cousin Linda came in and we went for lunch in the canteen and then she sat with us a while – she had been a tower of strength in all these visits and such a help. She mentioned that on the day her father (my Unclue Eric) had died his breathing had also been very laboured. Sat there a while longer, talking to mum and the other ladies and then at about 6 pm the nurses called me aside to say it was time for the “final pathway” – this meant that all drips etc would be removed, no more medication would be given and death would be imminent. The curtains were drawn around the bed and I sat there holding her hand. At about 8 I had put my head down on the bed and was crying when John Grundy came in and touched me on the shoulder. He had come to see if I wanted a break – he would sit with mum while I went home for a bath – but I said no thanks, I’d stay but we went for some tea together and then he sat with me for at least an hour – such a loving kind person. As he said, nothing can prepare you for this,
.

While we sat there behind the curtains the other ladies prepared to sleep – lots of “night nights” “sleep tight” etc. Then little Alice in the bed next to mum said “why is there a naked man under the radiogram?” the others all chirped up, never mind Alice, we’re here Alice, sleep tight Alice everything is alright” ands she just kept asking why there was a naked man under the radiogram! John and I had a giggle about that! He left at about 11 and I sat there – the night nurse was a lovely person called Sarah who kept popping in to check on me – ask if I’d like tea etc. She was really great and very supportive. At about 3.25 in the morning Mum died, there was the death rattle and after another few minutes her breathing stopped. I sat there and then went to find the nurses to confirm it. After checking and then “laying her out” I sat there for about another hour and then said good night to everyone and went home Mavis in the bed opposite looked so scared when I came out of the curtains – it makes one realise ones mortality and the fragility of life – it was very hard. All the things you wanted to say and hadn’t all the questions you had – now too late. I miss my mum so much and it was so very hard and terrible to sit there.

After a short sleep I started to phone people and let them know, phone the funeral directors, the solicitors, the vicar etc and arrange everyting. Then I drove back to the hospital to collect mums things and say goodbye to all the ladies in the ward and thank the nurses. The horrible doctor was sitting at the desk and did not even look up, say anything to me at all – what a pig!

England

Right - I need to start catching up on everything!

As I may or may not have said before, we were planning to go to the UK for the July school holidays and we were planning to take my mum to the james herriot MUseum etc. However, after my previous trip to find a nursing home, Mum just kind of gave up on life. She didn't want to eat and just wouldn't (she had always had an extremely small appetite anyhow) - as a result this threw her diabetes into disorder to nothing was going well and her physical condition was going from bad to worse. On Tuesday 10th June the hospital phoned me to say that she was deteriorating fast. Now I had previously tried to bring my trip a bit forward but the travel agent in the UK assured me that there was no way to change my ticket. So I phoned Flight Connections and asked them to check it out for me. Of course there was no such restriction - I would just have to pay an adjustment fee - they had phoned the agent in the UK who refused to deal with them. So... I phoned her and she told me that she knew more about the conditions of my ticket than I did and it could not be changed. Well, I blew a fuse and all of a sudden, after consulting her manager and the carrier, it could miraculously be changed! However, all the faffing around took time so I had only a couple of hours to rush home, get the kids sorted and pack for myself - no tiem to take Sam to a friend that would be able to take her to school - so she got a couple of days off! Then off I went, dropped my car at Lee's and then off to the airport. Shades of 2005 when dad died and I took the night flight the same day. It is very distressing.

I wandered around Dubai and sat in my favourite spot in the hotel and had a massage and then off to Manchester. Panic when I got there - my credit card payment for the car would not go through! Sorted it out eventually and then off to Leighton Hospital and arrived there at 9 in the evening. Mun looked dreadful, the last time I had seen her she was skinny, but now shes was skeletal and she could not speak legibly but at least she recognised that I was there and tried to communicate with me. Very unsettling was the fact that she could not blink. I sat there until after midnight and then went home to sleep.

The next morning I waited for Bruce to come around as he wanted to speak to me and then off to Leighton again. (will carry on later)

Writers Blog

So many things keep happening and I keep on saying to myself - must update my blog ... but seem to have writers block! So instead of feeling overwhelmed by all the stuff I haven't written - I'll start with the small stuff and try to get back into the swing of things!

Most pressing problem at the moment is THE CAR - yes, the steering rack has collapsed for the third time in 5 weeks and yet again I am driving a courtesy car (thank goodness I have one!) but still. Of course this has never happened before in the history of Subaru - only ever to my car! I have obviously missed my niche in life - should have become a car tester - nothing can withstand my tender care!

Then there are the animals.

Dogs & Cats - Jenny had an op at the beginning of the month to remove some tumours on her neck and thigh and then Quidditch had a blocked bowel and had to have an emergency operation. He came home after a week with a bucket on his head and a bare shaved bottom. Notwithstanding the awkwardness of the bucket he managed to disappear for the whole of Friday and we announced his disappearnace on our 8 o'clock radio phone in - only to have him stroll into the kitchen immediately afterwards! Phew. But somehow he managed to pop his stitches so had to go back for repairs to his nether end. The vet we had used for the op had gone away to Cape Town so we had to take him to other vets - yes, the ones I had yelled and screamed at and accused of being incompetent when Shakespeare died - talk about humble pie!

Our collection has also been increased by 3 baby bunnies (Bubble & Squeak + Scrabble) - some surburban rabbits have escaped and are breeding all over the place so Hilarys sister grabs the babies whenever she can so that they don't get run over and they need a home...... so they come to us - so cute! Sam asked why did I name one Scrabble - was it because he was so knowledgeable!

Our trunks arrived form the UK with much drama on my part. The original invoice had said 140 GBP ALL INCLUSIVE but when they got here we had to pay the SA side of the operation another R1300 plus pay a shipping agent. It all boiled up because until that point everything had gone marvellously but when it got to Durban then the wheels fell off. The shipping world have a vocabulary and code of conduct known only to them and woe betide the outsider who doesn't know what to do. Apparently once I received the arrival notice that the ship had docked I was meant to spring into action and organise a clearing agent - as nobody told me this I didn't and when I finally phoned to find out what had happened to my trunks they were already accumulating storage fees. So, the moral fo the story is - don't ever beleieve "all inclusive" and read the small print in your b/l (bill of lading) (if they give you one which in my case they didn't!)

Then we are still waiting for the Insurance to settle the car amount. Our insurance has been great - they paid the amount for which they were liable but then there was the balance ("top up") which was meant to be covered by Hollard in conjunction with Wesbank - to date (5 weeks after the accident) they are still faffing around with paperwork and seem an extremely useless lot! What really irritatetd me was that the account number required by Wesbank in order to tell me how things were going in nowhere to be found on any of the documentation so when one of the call centre people drawled "yes, your wesbank account number...!" I just let rip and told her not to speak to me like that - if they didn't put the correct inofmration in their policy documents it was their own fault.

So between the shipping agents and Wesbank/Hollard I have been having a very traumatic time - not good for my blood pressure!

Johan on the way home

Well, after 3 days of imaging Johan lost in the Sahara, being ravaged by rabid camels and such like, he finally phoned home again - from the capital. All well and everybody acting as usual and ignoring the coup completely. Obviously one should not read too much into news reports!

On the home front we have had quite an eventful week - my car came back from having its service (including reconditioning the steering rack) and has been back twice again and I am still driving the courtesy car....remember I had bought THE car that does not break... well my personal car jinx is still alive and well!

It went in for a service on Monday (time to pick up kids - will have to finish later!)

Mauritania continues to make the news

Well Johan is still in the desert and they were totally unaware of the coup (US has now imposed sanctions) but now one of their tents has burnt down. There was a tremendous wind storm last night and the pilot flame on the gas fridge burnt high and the whole tent plus supplies caught fire. So they will be heading back a bit earlier than expected! It happened at 1 o'clock in the morning so luckily nobody was hurt - just all suffering a bit from smoke inhalation! As this is his first international contract I wonder if they are all so eventful?

On the home front we now have a 2-way radio, this is so that we can hear what is going on and if we need help our call is broadcast to the area as a whole and the patrol can come to our aid. Must say it makes me feel better about leaving the kids in the evenings when I go to my stained glass classes etc. So we had it on last night and it is a bit irritating when watching TV to have this thing crackle and pop and voices saying "there's a car circling plot 72, Over", "come in Barend" etc etc so I think we'd rather be unaware of whats going on and just have it as a call out mechanism! Am starting to feel like we are back in the Rhodesia war when we had terrorist drill at boarding school! What with the radio and the paint gun in the bedroom - feel like Annie Oakley! After 8 years of almost nothing happening in the area things have suddenly erupted! Hope it calms down soon.

Anyway, the patrols have so far caught 3 burglars and several cable theives so they are doing a good job but they can't carry on doing it for ever - these people are all volunteers driving around at 2 in the morning with jobs to go to so am sure it is an initial reaction - hopefully enough to make the baddies go away and not come back so that we can go back to normal!

However, some people are really enjoying it - look at this "over-the-top" email we got last week:


"We have to start implementing a more "organised" plan of action in the event of an emergency!
The implementation of these "stopper groups" is to prevent the criminals escaping through our fingers and MOST IMPORTANTLY keeping the reaction team members from getting injured by "friendly fire"!!
We will start building blockades for the intersections where we can......the other intersections will be blocked by vehicles. Each stopper group will have their "duties" and functions explained to them in detail.
We will need to start rehearsing these Immediate Action Drills as soon as our blockades are manufactured and are in place......however....until such time, if an emergency does arise I would expect residents to go to their respective blockade points and block them with vehicles.
If an emergency comes over the radio.....I will announce the following:
- Code DELTA.....
- All Stopper groups to their positions
- Reaction Team Members meet at intersection......?????
PLEASE do NOT hog the channel....allow the resident who called the initial emergency to speak, as reaction team members need to KNOW what the threat is....this will determine how reaction teams will approach the plot where the emergency has taken place!!
Stopper groups MUST stay within their designated areas until informed to "stand down"
If a stopper group notices a suspect...THEN ONLY do they use the radios!!"

Sounds like the A-Team is on the doorstep - but they are doing a great job and we stayathomes owe them a lot for their time and efforts!

Let's hope they "unseal" it before the 16th!

Yesterday, leaders of Mauritania’s presidential guard took power from recently-elected leader, President Sidi Mohamed Ould Abdallahi and Prime Minister Yahya Ould Ahmed Waghf. The presidential palace and the PM’s office were reportedly surrounded by members of the military; both Abdallahi and Waghf were seized. The whereabouts of the president are not yet clear, although it is reported that the PM is being held hostage in army barracks close to the presidential palace. There are also unconfirmed reports that the former interior minister and two other ministers close to Abdallahi have also been seized. While soldiers patrolled the streets of the capital of Nouakchott in armoured vehicles, brandishing machine guns, the mood in the country was said to be calm, with no reports of violence or unrest, apart from one incident in which a group of some 50 supporters of Abdallahi were dispersed by the police with tear gas. However, the military sealed off the international airport in Nouakchott and state television and radio stations were shut down.

Coup in Mauritania

Oh Dear!

Johan phoned me yesterday afternoon, he is living in a tent in a place called A'in bin cilli - when you look at it with Google earth it just shows dark orange - he is right in the middle of the desert. He says every 50 kms or so they might see a camel pottering around but that's all. They are camped near a solitary tree next to the skeleton of a camel... the only water they have is what they could take with them for drinking, it is very hot, over 43 degrees and wind storms come up frequently. Sounds delightful!

And now there has been a coup in the capital, Nouakchott!!!

" This is the second coup which has occurred in Mauritania in the space of three years and is the first coup attempt made during the term of the democratically elected President Abdallahi. He was the first democratically elected leader since independence in 1960, thus the situation threatens the country’s nascent democracy. It is reported that both the president and the prime minister have been held hostage in the vicinity of the presidential palace, but exactly what happens from here is unclear. Those staging this coup are not novices at this game: Aziz was instrumental in bringing down long-time dictator Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya in 2005 and the coup leaders have already formed a "military state council" plus cancelling the nominations made by the president this morning."

Hopefully it will all have resolved itself by the time they come out of the desert in a weeks or so's time!

Eish! "johanscarinditchhithorse"

Just the thing for a peacful Sunday evening - an SMS saying your husband is upside down in a ditch!

Johan had left home at about 6.30 (already dark) to go to Meyerton to collect take-aways for supper (lazy wife obviously). On the main road he had suddenly run into 3 horses on the orad - he tried to avoid them by driving onto the verge but right at that particular spot the verge was very narrow and the car rolled sideways over and over down into a steep gully.

Rob & Beth found him - saw a dead horse on the side of the road stopped to look and saw Johan crawling out of the back window of the bakkie (door wedged against a tree trunk and difficult to open when upside down!) - but another person had also seen the horse so then there was Monica come to see what could be done, then the neighbourhood watch people and the police and the owners of the horses and then finally me - with a peppering of other residents who stopped to see what was going on! Johan was completeley fine - just cut his had from the windscreen glass when he opened his safety belt! An absolute miracle.

The owners had recently had their gate repaired but apparently it kept opening and closing of its own accord (electric gate) - need I state the obvious - why were they keeping their horses in the area with a faulty gate? Huh, huh?

Then is was all waiting for the horse to be winched away, waiting for the tow truck etc - and the car is a complete write off so now Johan is back to the old white truck, cardboard window replacement tied on with bright orange baler twine, exhaust has holes in so it sounds like a tractor - Michael is going to be extremely embarrassed when that pitches up to collect him from school! And then there is the form filling in etc etc etc. Yikes.

Johan jetted off to Mauretania last night so at least he doens't need a car for the immediate future while it is all being sorted out!

I'm back!

Hi Everyone

Many thanks for the condolences received from "my readers"

Back in sunny SA with so much news to catch up on I don't know where to start!
Egypt, UK etc but I think I'd better start with everyday life and recap when I can, otherwise I'll be stymied and never get going again!

Well, we got back on Mon 14th July after an exhausting trip - we hit the first snag at Manchester airport - all our luggage was overweight and we had too much and too heavy hand luggage - crisis! We were sitting on the floor opening suitcases, chucking stuff into the dustbin and trundling back and forth weighing, weighing and reweighing! Still too much, whatever we did!

In the end I asked Johan to go to the Emirates Customer service desk and ask whether we could leave a bag there for a friend to pick up - no problem - in fact there is a desk specifically for that where you pay 5 gbp and they keep it for someone to collect - why didn't they tell us that at checkin so that we could have avoided all this trauma!!

So, we arranegd for John to collect it the next day and then we will get it some day! So off we went - still straining at the shoulders with the hand luggage but it was allowed! The only really bad effect of the repacking was a stained glass lamp (which had been very carefully packed originally ) but got squashed in the resultant scramble and ended up very badly cracked - Emirates - you owe me!

The Emirates flights are very good - excellent entertainment channels but it just drags the whole journey out for so long - almost 8 hours to Dubai, sit around there for 5 hours and then another 8 hours to Joburg - very draining so one has to consider whether the money saving is really worth it when you end up as a limp rag at the end of it!

Good to be home but we have arrived to find a war situation in our area. There were 3 housebreakings just before we arrived home and then 2 days after we were there (Johan away again already) there were 3 break- ins in one night - and one involved the shooting of my neighbour! The night before the dogs had barked incessantly and I had phoned Fred and Clay, got the armed response people out and finally the police - who went to Plot 7 and told them to shut their dogs up! In hindsight it seems as though the baddies may have been "casing the joint"
Anyway, some men broke in to Plot 2 at 11.30 in the evening and shot L. She was shot through the liver and the bullet went out of her back. V phoned me to ask me to phone the police and an ambulance which I did - as did C at plot 1. So in the end they had 3 ambulances arrive - but better 3 than none! As I said on the same night there were 3 incidences so we really are in a state of war and the neighbourhood is mobilising patrols etc. The night after the shooting we had a 24 hour guard at Plot 2, 6 plain clothed policemen lurking in the field opposite and when C went home he was followed by a car with 2 guys with machine guns who wanted to know who he was and what he was doing - so lets hope the baddies run away (although we would rather they got caught!)!

So, its been very exciting since we got back! Will fill you in on all the rest as I get a chance!

Bye for now

Di