Museums and Moneyboxes!

Today we were out for lunch!

Our friends from Malmesbury phoned yesterday to say that they were going to be in the area today, so it linked beautifully with meeting up for a bite to eat! Actually, most things link up beautifully with a bite to eat, so it's never a chore! As they were going to be in Piketberg, we made plans to meet in Velddrif. I know that sounds confusing, but stay with me!

We left home early as Rob had a couple of things to do in town, so, after promising Alfie that we wouldn't be long,we set off. Of course, because we had allowed two hours to get things done, it only took twenty minutes. (That is the Law of Sod.) This had a ripple effect because then we were too early for our lunch date. So, we decided to see if the Maritime Museum in Laaiplek was open. We have been there several times but have never managed to arrive when the doors are open, so we weren't too hopeful today either.

The Museum entrance.

But it was open and we trundled in.

What an amazing place! Read on:

'The SA Fisheries Museum is unique in that it highlights the history of fishing on the West Coast from the whaling history to pelagic fishing and rock lobster catching.  It also celebrates local history, nostalgically interweaving fishing from the past to the present along the coast.
The Museum is housed in a building that dates back to the late 1800s. It represents a time when Johan Carel Stephan of St Helena Bay owned Laaiplek. He established and oversaw his lucrative trading empire at “Rooibaai” right in front of this building near the mouth of the Berg River.  
Looking out over this picturesque area today, one can easily imagine the scene  when Johan Carel’s cotter of more than 60 boats sailed up and down the Berg River to trade with the Moorreesburg farmers for their grain in return for dried and salted fish. 
In Rooibaai the grain was transferred onto the bigger Stephan boats waiting in the bay and then transported to CapeTown, where it was received to the folk song “Daar kom die Alabama”.
The exhibits in the South African Fisheries Museum include a unique collection of artifacts, photo exhibits, processing methods, models of trawlers, as well as interesting tales of the sea and the intrepid seamen who sail on her.' (Thanks to Velddrif Tourism.)


There, amongst other fascinating artefacts, we saw pieces of blue and white Delft porcelain recovered from ships that were wrecked in the area and I am convinced that the bits I found near our beach here, are from a similar time. I must take my bits and ask someone. Unfortunately there were signs prohibiting people from taking photos, so sadly I am not able to share any interesting exhibits, but we spent a happy time meandering through.

For me, the highlight was making moneyboxes from tins!

The machine, the expert, and me!

For R5 a tin, I was able (with a lot of help from the man working there) to use one of the first type of machines that sealed the lids onto the tins! A little like a meat mincer that my mum used so often, as the handle is turned, the lid gets crimped on to the tin. The first tins dented unfortunately, but once that was sorted it was easy and I made three for my grandchildren!

Before......

After.

I chose pilchard labels as St Helena Bay has a huge pilchard canning factory that belts out a smell all of its own.......

Ready to save money!

By the time the labels had been stuck on, it was time to leave, so we set off to meet our friends who took a lot longer to get to Velddrif than they had anticipated, thanks to the STOP/GO road works.
And sadly when we got to the Vishuis it was full so we had to come up with Plan B.

We decided to try the Riviera Hotel right on the Berg River. None of us had eaten there before although Rob and I had bought a bottle of wine from the Bottle Store when we first arrived in the area...........in the shape of a fish! The wine was fairly hideous, so it was with some trepidation that we ventured in.

Beautifully prepared and cooked prawns!

And were we glad we had!

The food was fantastic.

And so was the wine I might add.