I Made It!

Well, I survived two flights! And, although I didn't actually enjoy either, I have to admit that for the most part they were turbulence-free, even the descending through cloud part when I arrived in Durban, and climbing through cloud when I left on Sunday lunchtime. And, apart from the child who sat in front crying and the child who sat behind kicking my seat the whole way, they were really stress-free! I must admit that I kept an eye on the wing though, as my sister said, 'just make sure that the rivets don't pop out!'

Dopey, making sure that I packed properly for my holiday!

But, how quickly a holiday goes. It seemed to stretch in front of us forever, but the days flew by. A visit to the dentist seems to last for hours, even days, but a holiday goes before you have time to unpack! As soon as we got home, thanks to Shirley who was our very competent driver, we cracked open a bottle of bubbly (the first of many actually!). Boscombe, their very large dog who is as soft as butter, howled as soon as the bottle was brought out of the 'fridge, he knew that there would be a cork for him to retrieve from the garden.


Now, because Pietermaritzburg is so far East, the sun rises there in the middle of the night, well, 04.30 to be precise, and the minute dawn approaches, the 'Hardy Boys' (the Hadadah Ibis) begin their chorus. The Hallelujah Chorus it is not, but it lasts for a good half an hour with brief silences in between that lull you into thinking that they have all fallen out of the trees and gone away! No such luck!

And so our days began! Early! We enjoyed each and every one, we celebrated her birthday, we ate out, we had coffee (thanks Norman) when we went shopping, we went to 'Butterflies For Africa' for lunch, where I bought some little goodies for Mateo and Emma, we visited old friends, and we laughed! A lot!

The birthday lunch, most enjoyable!

I went with Diz to the SPCA to help her to sort books and I was 'In Charge' of the money at the Book Sale on Saturday, where we took more than R6000. It was great fun and now I can visualise what she does and where she goes and the cats that have become a part of the book room too.

The entrance to the SPCA.

There is Monkey, a beautiful tabby with white patches, Thor, a large pale grey tabby, and dear little Em, a small, one-eyed dark tabby who just wanted someone to love.

The Book Room, books from floor to ceiling!

And then a small torty female appeared out of the blue, and was bundled off to be spayed. She will be the fourth Book Room cat and I suggested that her name should be something bookish like Binchy or Enid or Trollope, but no-one seemed too keen!

And so, back to Cape Town after a wonderful holiday. Rob and Alfie were there to meet me, and yes, Alfie was pleased to see me.................I think!!