Home On The Range

Well, after a brief but busy sojourn back to the 'mother country' over the Christmas break, we have arrived back in South Africa and hit the ground running for another busy year. Our speed has been somewhat hampered by the rather oppressive humidity at this time of year, but it's nothing that a few well placed air conditioners hasn't managed to fix.

Starting school on the 15th January was a bit of a shock to the system (for ALL of us), and our flight back here was quickly followed by the requisite checking of shoes, stationary orders and trip to the hairdresser for a tidy up.

William is learning Afrikaans at school this year so should soon be able to chat to the guy who runs the Haarkapper. In the meantime, he stresses out the lady who does his hair by insisting I time how long it takes from the donning of the apron to the final gel spike at the end - a cunning ploy I used years ago to get him in a barber's chair in the first place!

I must admit, she's getting quicker each visit, and to date hasn't caused any near death injuries in her attempt to better her times.  She's also still doing a pretty good job for $7.

School photos are taken on the second day back while the uniforms are new and the kids are still looking schmick.  After that, it's all down hill.

As for Simon, life goes on as per usual. There is much action afoot at Hillside as the process to shut down the 'sister' operation, Bayside gets underway. With good job opportunities a scarcity around here, there is much emotion that goes with big changes like this, and all sorts of warnings and counselling provided to staff at risk of losing their livelihoods.

As well as the usual advice against coming to work after drowning your sorrows and doing something stupid, there is also advice given against blowing generous redundancies on scam financial schemes that set up like tow trucks at an intersection on a rainy day.  For others, life is more on the edge, and the loss of a decent job like this is a huge blow to many families trying to make a go of things in this economy.  It's not pretty, but with any luck, one of the Bayside casualties will be able to move into Simon's role, which will then have us moving on…to who knows where?  Things move very slowly around here however, so we are not expecting our "move along" notice any time soon.

Which is just as well, as I have taken up my new role as the Grade 3 "Care Mom" (tee hee). Yes, around here, they are Moms and not Mums - very disconcerting, and as the first Australian in this important role, I think I should demand a spelling correction. Anyway, the Care Mom does much the same as a class mum anywhere - a few odd jobs for the teacher and organiser of cake stalls and social events for the class. The majority of our social life is already with families from the school, so it should be no stress.

I'm also back into the gym, running a lot, helping out at the school library, and having several coffees with friends during the week.

My mugg shot of 
the lovely Ntombovuyo Mglobola

Perhaps the biggest thing to happen in our lives since returning is the arrival of our maid. Yes, I have finally bitten the bullet and taken someone on to come in two days a week to straighten this place out.  Her name is Ntombovuyo Mglobola - Vuyo to her friends or Eunice if you can't get your mouth around the lingo.

At $15 a day, she is well overpaid compared to the local market (where the going rate is about $9) but for mine, she is an absolute Godsend.  Never in my life have I ever had ironed sheets…or tea towels…or an entire house cleaned (including the BBQ)…all in the same day. 




The more jaded locals have told me to beware, and that surely I've heard the saying "A new broom sweeps clean"?  True enough, but it's certainly better than the old broom, which wasn't sweeping at all!

William and Simon are not as impressed with the arrangement, as in addition to the cleaning, Vuyo also does a little bit of 'tidying'. It's been somewhat amusing to watch the two of them hunting high and low for things they have 'lost', only to discover that Vuyo has been busy putting things to rights.  On the upside, ANYTHING left lying around is washed, dried and ironed by days end, so for me, it works perfectly.


As she supports 2 families from the local village I figure it's money well spent. As anticipated, she often leaves our place with a few added bits and pieces, and I'm sure half the boys in the village are now walking around in hand me down clothes from William's wardrobe.

And so…

…after a slow start to the year, we now have 5 out of the next 6 weekends booked up with some exciting  adventures.  Stay tuned for some amazing wildlife shots (with any luck), some amusing anecdotes (with even more luck), some gut-wrenching physical feats and some glorious spots to relax, eat and stop and smell the roses in this amazing country.