Africa revisited...

I am glad that you enjoyed the trip to the Game reserve when we were in South Africa.   Mary and I do enjoy South Africa very much and another holiday we had was one when we stayed in Cape Town. This really is a lovely city which is dominated by the famous Table Mountain, take the cable car to the top,  where there are stunning 360degree views across Table Bay, the Cape Flats and back across the chain of mountains making up Table Mountain. We then descended and drove through city, the tour guide pointing sites of historical and architectural significance, including the oldest building in South Africa, built in 1666, the Castle of Good Hope. We then continue to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens which are famous for winning flower shows around the world. These gardens are especially lovely and they also had a very good place to eat....most important !!.... as usual there was a very tempting shop as well  !

Later we head down to Hout Bay for a boat trip to view Cape Fur seals on Duiker Island. The seals I must say are a rather smelly bunch !!  we had an opportunity to visit Robin Island where Nelson Mandela was help prisoner for so many years but we decided to give that a miss.

No visit to Cape Town is complete without a visit to the Cape of Good Hope Reserve down the Peninsula, which the famous navigator Drake said it was "the most beautiful Cape in whole circumference of the world", stopping at the Penguin colony in False Bay and also at Cape Point in the reserve, where we take a funicular ride to the Old Lighthouse, built in 1860. We return via the famous Chapman's Peak Drive,  which curves around the edge of the mountain carved out where granite and sandstone meet. This is a breathtaking experience of mountain and sea-scape's. There are many wild goats, sheep etc in the reserve as well as the baboons...they are a real pest if anyone gives them half a chance they are off with your handbag, wallet, whatever ...I did not stop long enough to be accosted by them !!!.

Another day a visit to the winelands area of Stellenbosch which is synonymous with South African wine industry, was on our "to do list"   Franschhoek and Paarl were the first two areas we stopped at for a wine taste then it was on to. Stellenbosch it houses the largest Uni. in the Cape being the second area to be established after Cape Town, back in 1679. It has saved most of its original architecture and we visit the Period House museum with antiques of each period and style of house dating from 1690 - 1850's. We stopped again for wine tastings as well in each town/village... It was a VERY MERRY trip !!! 

So there you have it two different views of South Africa...

We have had a good week here in Box. The snow came last weekend and although it kept us in over the weekend by Monday it had all gone and my pal Pam was able to get over for her usual weekly visit. and in the afternoon we had our Wesley Guild meeting and despite the cold we had a good many members turn up. This week we had an elderly couple come to give us an update on charity work that their daughter does on the small island of Dominica (not to be confused with the other Dominica the large island in the Caribbean)

with the help of some of our guild members and many more people they are able to send much needed things over there by ship. The gueest Banana boat company have been very good at transporting things for us for many years now..

Wednesday Mary and I went into Bath to the theatre we had vouchers and money gifts at Xmas and we used them to book a few shows. This week it was  The Calender Girls...perhaps my US friends might not know of the Calender Girls they were a group of ladies belonging to an organisation called The Woman's Institute who had to think up ways of raising money for charity,,,they came up with the ...for them...shocking idea of doing a nude calender. Of course it had to be all done with the utmost discretion...and despite a great deal of opposition they did it.  Having written that down it gives no real clue to the hilarious play that it was, the acting was wonderful I had tears running down my cheeks with laughter !!!  (The actual Calender Girls has been made into a film as well as the stage play if you ever get the chance to see it please do)

Now this morning we awoke to another fall of snow, again it is not lying to thickly indeed by this afternoon it has almost gone and certainly the roads are clear, our only fear now is if we get the hard frost forecast any wet on the roads will freeze so it will be icy in the morning.  We will wait and see...

So there we are friends another glance at what Mary and I get up to both here and abroad !!

Remember  to  LOVE ONE ANOTHER.