I’m back…….

I’ve been getting a hankering to do a bit of blogging again, and all sorts of things kept coming into mind that may, or may not, be interesting. I leave you to decide.

Since I last blogged I’ve had a holiday in South Africa, that was at the end of July to middle of August. My sister, her husband and three children emigrated in 1956, and apart from a couple of returns from my sister when our parents died, and one visit from Thomas the oldest boy, I hadn’t seen them since. So when my niece [whom I got in touch with through Face Book] invited me over for a holiday I was happy to take her up on it, as my younger daughter and I had done the U.S last year I took Arlene my older girl.

The journey is long and tiring, we flew from Heathrow at 7.30 in the evening and arrived in Jo’burg next morning around 10.30 , we were met by Thomas and continued our journey to Durban I think around 5pm .

We split the holiday into three, with the first part spent with Margo, then 4 days with Ian and on to J’burg again to finish off with Thomas.

It was lovely meeting them, but sad that my sister and her hubby had died. I last saw the children when they were 8, 10 and 12. I used to look after them most weekends when they  all  lived in Scotland.

It was winter in S.A, but you could have fooled me as the temp was around 20 deg.

We visited a Nature reserve, and an Aqua centre where we watched dolphins perform, An interesting  day was spent at a Zulu betrothal ceremony, for the tourists obviously, but enjoyable. A day out at a jamboree and several visits to shops and eating places. The cost of living is so much cheaper I wish I’d had an empty suitcases to take advantage!

Much as though we enjoyed the experience I could not live there, we in this country are so used to a degree of freedom that is alien to the people where we were. Having to drive with windows closed for fear of muggers, electric barbed wire round your home with barred windows, and metal closing doors outside your exit and entrance, plus remote controlled gates, you just don’t get out of the car till the have closed behind you.  I didn’t like seeing the degree of poverty with beggars knocking on car windows, and groups living rough by the roadside.  There appeared to be a rather wide gap between the have’s and have not’s. but it’s not my country and feel I should keep strong feelings under wraps.

The driving is truly scary, with little or no rules either for car maintenance or road discipline.

It is a normal way of life to the people who live there, but I just longed to go for a nice long walk, which of course, I was not allowed to do. On saying all this my family couldn’t have been kinder and more welcoming.

I’m finishing this blog post here, as it went on longer than I intended and I want to go and mow the lawns, I’ve got more stuff to chat about, which will get lost if I put it on here.

African holiday 2013 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

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