Monday, January 28, 2008

Litter


It was back to work today after a six week break. First assignment was to travel to the city of Pietermaritzburg to find out why half of the three thousand participants in the worlds biggest canoe race became ill after and during the race. Seems like the city's sewer system can no longer cope with the rapidly expanding population and semi treated sewerage is entering the famous Umzinduzi river. As one of our erstwhile ministers commented recently on the power outages " We are victims of our own success". Does this mean citizens will be asked to restrict their visits to the loo in future? As I stood next to the river I wondered why it was that many South Africans are unable to use the ample bins provided and prefer to throw their rubbish outside these receptacles.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Poms Revisited


Durban's NSA Art Gallery was purpose built for the trendy art set in town. The architects thoughtfully included an open garden area where people could sit and take in the great summer evenings. At the last members exhibition opening I had the chance to hear the South Jersy Pom Poms again. This time I could hear them and take a few pix. The waffle brigade were suitable spread out on the open lawns and the music lovers amongst us gravitated towards the band who were in fine form.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Praying Mantis



My last week of leave so lots more time (especially during the power cuts) to observe the strange creatures I find in my garden. This Praying Mantis reminded me of some prehistoric monster. Imagine being ripped apart by those fearsome claws.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Poms and waffle


It's been a while since I attended a CD launch. I think the last one was Scooters Union at the Bat centre some years ago. Anyhow the South Jersey Pom Poms had a nice ring to it so I braved the Durban Beachfront by night and paid the twenty bucks to get in to the venue. The Blue Waters Hotel was an ideal setting for this mellow group of musos who hark back to a bygone era. There were a few tables and chairs and I was pleased to see the audience was for the most part a mature one ( I thought). After an hour or so the band ambled onto the stage and after a brief intro they launched into some of their songs. The Pom Poms are almost an acoustic band with singer Eva Jackson from the Francois Hardy singing school. No yelling or shouting. By now the audience had swelled considerably and many appeared to be there to chat and waffle to their mates. Some didn't even bother looking at the band but proceeded to catch up on all their festive antics. The sound system was no match for these waffle machines. At the first break I ran off into the steamy night clutching the CD I had bought on entering and popped it into my car system. What bliss as the smooth mellow sounds gently lulled me home. Still beats me that their fans could be so insensitive on this special occasion.

Old Wrecks


Spent New Years near the Berg at a guest farm. Just outside the village of Bulwer we came across this wreck in the veld. I wondered what stories this car could tell. We then ambled through the local grave yard attached to a quaint Yellowood church and tried to match some of the 100 year old names to the car. Who knows?