The Silly Season again

It's the Silly Season again. For six weeks during the school holidays Port Alfred will try to emanate Myrtle Beach. Of course the small coastal town in South Africa's Eastern Cape will never, never be anything to rival South Carolina's Grand Strand, but in terms of population per square mile it must surely do so. This is the time of year, from early December to mid January, when the town is full of vehicles and their passengers from all places north. They have traveled here from Gauteng, the Free State and Natal and even from such far away places as Mpumalanga and Zimbabwe. My local Spar has filled its aisles with extra goodies to cope with the increased demand from out-of-towners. In a few days' time you will not be able to find dog food or dish washing powder on its shelves - not until they start delivering goods again in early January. It's the same every year, but most locals such as me have taken precautions against the dearth of goods that always occurs about now by stocking up beforehand.

This was to be my last Christmas in Africa - soon I will be sailing my boat to colder climes, but at least will eventually be reunited with my family. Speaking of which - to us old-timers seeing out the autumn of our years, the Internet has brought families much closer together. Yesterday, on separate occasions, I got to video-chat with Liz, my wife, with my daughter Julie and her three kids Grace, Owen and Luke, all in Pennsylvania,, and with my sister Suzane along with her three kids Nick, Anna and Lisa and her numerous grandchildren in the UK, something that could never have happened 40 years ago when I first came out to southern Africa. The only problem is that the Internet speed here on the farm is so appallingly slow. I am going to be so spoiled by the download speeds I experience in other countries in the near future.

We all make mistakes - I know that I have made many, but many of our mistakes eventually turn out to have been for the best. For example I sometimes wonder whether it was a mistake buying this farm, but where else in the world can you find such a small corner of paradise, where else can you sit outside after breakfast and have two lesser striped swallows chatting to each other and to their newly fledged offspring perched nonchalantly less than two meters away. This year a sunbird built a nest on the wire perch that the swallows use - not sure which species as the bird that made and now occupies it (see above) is a very dull color and obviously a female. The farm abounds with birds and in clement weather is a continual orchestral interlude during the daytime. At this time of year, when there is water in the farm's two dams, the orchestra's players change at nightfall, the birds being replaced by frogs that continually call to each other during the starlit hours.

Talking of starlit hours - I have lived in many homes and traveled the world over, from Hong Kong to Wellington, through Europe and the Mediterranean and as far west as the Great North Woods. Only here, in Martindale, have I regularly been able to see this corner of our galaxy in such detail. This small community is a paradise for star gazing, even through the naked eye. By the time that I take my leave I will have spent eight happy years here, but just cannot spend any more time trying to sell the place. When deciding between family and property, family has to be the winner. If I have to start from scratch all over again, so be it. At least I have the satisfaction of knowing that I have a small but sufficient passive income to fall back on during my pending long journey.

A few weeks ago I was thinking that this would be a fairly lonely Christmas, my being all by myself in Martindale. Actually, being a free thinker, I don't really celebrate Christmas - rather Yule. But that's another story. However that expected solitude was not to be. My good friend Alberto from Bologna in Italy, together with his protegé Jimmy, has been my house guest all week. It has been refreshing to have someone to talk with, and we have touched a wide variety of subjects. I know that I talk to Katie (my white shepherd) much of the time - but understandably that is a rather one-sided conversation, despite her being extremely intelligent and having a very sensitive nose. Katie will not be accompanying me on my pending voyage. My good friend and neighbor Wendell has offered to give her a good home - and I know he will. I just have to find a home now for my two inseparable cats. Any offers of a home to two neutered male cats that have been together for 8 years?

Weeping and passing Time

Today we mourn the passing of Madiba, and without any doubt the 1980's song Weeping by Bright Blue will be played many times over, both here in South Africa and in the rest of this world. I was fortunate enough to have met and shaken hands with Mr Mandela on the day that he addressed the school I was then working at. I remember the day as if it were yesterday - 20th June 1997. I was grabbed out of the milling crowd by one of the 'heavies' (complete with dark glasses and hearing aid) and taken to meet the great gentleman. Well, now he has crossed over to meet his ancestors. Like each of us, he was given a certain amount of time, and he stretched it out to last a fruitful 95 years. He has served his time on Earth and used it well. Which brings me to the subject of Time.

Time is the one asset that we are each given for free. Make no mistake, Time is an extremely valuable asset. I remember that many years ago I purchased an expensive German dishwasher. I was separated from my then wife and lived in a flat sans servant. The mere fact that I now used a dishwasher saved me at least an hour every day. But that was some 15 years ago. I am still using that same dishwasher today, and have saved myself over the years about 5,500 hours, hours that I have been able to put to much better use than standing over a kitchen sink. Being in the Autumn of my years I am very conscious of time, and very aware that my remaining years could be snatched away from me with little or no warning. I am not a follower of any of Earth's accepted religions. I have my own beliefs. They are based on Quantum Theory and are spiritual without tying one down to the dogma of the world's currently practiced religions.

My message today is this. Be absolutely sure of making the best of the amount of Time that has been bequeathed to you. Do not waste it, do not procrastinate, use it wisely. Use your talents and do the things you enjoy doing. Read up about the Law of Attraction and take my word for it - it really works. This century will be one of exponential expansion in technology so stay in touch with the latest developments in nanotechnology, biotechnology, genetic engineering and anything remotely related to Quantum Physics. Finally, if any of my readers are thinking of investing in Madiba's Eastern Cape, visit this page of my blog.

RETR command failed - 4 billion emails in inbox

I always seem to get the interesting ones - sometimes I put this down to the abysmal Internet speed provided by my ISP, but this time I cannot. I use Thunderbird as my email client, and it has served me well over the years. However a few days back I started getting this message:

After carrying out some research through Google it became apparent that the problem was not a Thunderbird one, but the mail server, in my case hosted through GoDaddy. Several individuals had reported through various forums that they had solved the problem by logging into the mail server and clearing out junk files. In my case I found about 400 files in my inbox but the other boxes were empty. Anyway, I deleted all but one message, which would not delete.  I tried moving the message to the trash box - it would not move. Naturally I assumed this file to be the cause of the problem - not so.

On logging out of the server I sent a test file to myself and tried to download it - to no avail, and when I tried to log back into the mail server again I got this message:

Clearly this was going to be a case of summoning the technicians at GoDaddy, and I had Liz (now in New Hampshire while I am stuck back here in South Africa trying to sell the farm) contact the GoDaddy team to attempt to resolve the problem - and they did. They had Liz log into the mail server from the back end, and here's what she found in my inbox:

Yes, you saw it right - more than 4 billion files in my inbox !  4,294,967,295 files to be precise! Well to cut a long story short, they deleted the files - but I guess down in Phoenix they're still talking about how they got in there in the first place. My immediate thought was in the direction of a virus or similar. I would appreciate comments in this regard.

Anyway, the problem has now been solved and I am once more able to download my email messages and to log on to the mail server if needs be.

Please contact me for Internet content of any kind - you will not find better!

New New Hampshire website

It has been a while since I last posted here, mostly because I have been kept busy writing for clients here in South Africa and in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Most of my regular readers will know of my plans to relocate to North Carolina, and of how my wife Liz flew back to the States more than a year ago while I stayed behind in the Eastern Cape to finalize the sale of our smallholding. After spending a year staying with her daughter, circumstances forced Liz to move on from Louisiana, supposedly to NC. However, things have changed. I was not happy about Liz arriving in NC under the conditions that were forced upon her, and so I asked my daughter Julie in New England if she wouldn't mind Liz staying with her for a while, and this is why Liz is now firmly ensconced in the Granite State with Julie and my three grandchildren.

To cut a long story short, Liz is so happy in her new home that we have decided that it is to be our final relocation destination, and I can't wait to get there. These new circumstances have led me to creating a new website, which, at the time of writing is just partly finished, although coming along in leaps and bounds. The design is all there, and it is now just a matter of populating it with good content and then marketing it. We have based the design on our info-nc and info-sc websites, which have proved so popular in the past, and the pic for the header was taken by Liz a week or so ago.

There seems to be no shortage of writing work on the other side of The Pond, unlike here in darkest Africa. Many of the domains ending with .co.za have been populated with content that leaves much to be desired, clearly having been written by someone not fluent in the English language, and of its subtle nuances and many idioms. This is just another sign of the times in South Africa, and is something that goes hand in hand with the neo-apartheid policies of the present government. The new upper class in South Africa is the reason for many of the setbacks experienced in the country. Much of the government and industry is corrupt, and the new leaders are filling their pockets at the expense of the poor. Why, only last week a local government official here in the Eastern Cape, after resigning from her position after only 5 months, was given a handshake of R2.5 million!  Only in Africa!

I will not miss this country one iota. I'm ready to leave - just need to sell the farm. Which brings me to one final point. A couple of days ago I received an email from some asinine idiot offering me R200,000 cash for the farm (I have just dropped the asking price to below R1 million). With the Rand crashing the way it is, I will consider any sensible offer, but I have only one reply to sheer stupidity - kma.

Recollections

I was driving from the farm into Port Alfred this morning, reminiscing, when I decided on the subject of this blog - recollections of some of the things I have achieved during my life, and of some of the mistakes I have made. I have reached that age where a person starts wondering how many more birthdays they are going to enjoy - if one can enjoy birthdays in this day and age. I am still told from time to time that I do not look my age, so maybe there's hope for me yet. So what can I brag about ? What can I tell my grandchildren? And what can I not  tell them?

I suppose that one achievement I can chalk up on the board would be my close to 300 each carrier catapult shots and deck landings. I spent 8 years flying off aircraft carriers, and during this time qualified as a 'top gun'. My flying career was not without incident, my having survived a mid-air collision between two Hawker Hunter jet fighters as well as a crash landing after an engine failure at 24,000 ft. The latter hit the headlines of the national press.

The one I walked away from

I had become very apprehensive with the complacency of the British people during my days as a naval aviator, and on their completion decided to 'emigrate' to Africa - to Rhodesia to be precise. The Fleet Air Arm and its carriers were being juggled about like  yo-yos by various politicians in those days. I had become a particular admirer of Enoch Powell, a Conservative politician whose predictions of Britain's future have proved so true. I also admired Ian Smith, the Rhodesian prime minister, whom I was to meet several times during my nine years in the country. It was in Rhodesia that I became heavily involved in the theater, serving on the Executive Committee of Salisbury Repertory Players and treading the boards in more than a dozen plays under the direction of their resident professional director.

The writer as Dronio in You must be Joking (Four plays for Coarse Actors)

After that joker Mugabe came into power and Rhodesia became Zimbabwe, I left the country with my new family for Britain, where I had been appointed Senior Air Traffic Controller at Biggin Hill Airport.  I slotted into the job very well, and was soon deputizing for the Airport Manager as well as running Air Traffic Control. Unfortunately the narrow minded politics of Britain's Civil Aviation Authority refused to recognize my Rhodesian ATC qualifications, in spite of my obvious experience, which is what brought me and my family to South Africa. I remained in ATC for a number of years before becoming involved in computers, and it was during this time that I was honored to have shaken hands with Nelson Mandela - I consider this, if not an achievement, at least something I can brag about.

In retrospect my first marriage was my first big mistake, although even from mistakes can come good. In this case in the shape of my daughter Julie and later my three grandchildren. They are very special to me and I just cannot wait to get to New Hampshire again to see them - and without doubt to spoil them. My first visit to sub-Saharan Africa had been to Mombasa whilst embarked on HMS Eagle. I had spent a week staying on a farm at Nyali Beach, the guest of Andy Pape and his two teenage daughters. This was to influence my original decision to move to Africa, and eventually to another achievement - to own a farm in Africa.

The main farmhouse and Katie

Martindale Farm is an 18 acre smallholding about 10 miles from Bathurst in South Africa's Eastern Cape. The village is home to South Africa's oldest pub, the Pig & Whistle. We bought the farm in 2005, and loved it and cherished it, but the time came to move on. I met Liz, my present wife, on the Internet, and we've been together for 15 years - 15 years without a single argument or fight.We are true soul mates. Liz has returned to America in 2012 and I followed her 2 years later. I am now able to coin the phrase "I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Kaprivier Hills".

Today I am relocated in New England and the owner of several websites, and spend much of my time writing content for the Internet. My most successful personal sites are  info-nc and info-nh . My latest achievement is a website for a veterinary clinic in the Northeast Kingdom. I never thought of myself as a writer ten years ago, but since 2006 I have had more than 6,500 articles published on websites - this I do consider as an achievement. What's more the Internet has made it possible for me to continue writing wherever I am located.

African Drums

Another Saturday - the End of the World has come and gone, although here at the farm in South Africa's Eastern Cape it feels like it's just around the corner. Outside it's 104°F in the shade - that's 40°C, and inside the house (I don't have an air-conditioner)88.5°F or 31°C. On Wednesday I drove into Port Alfred and it was predictably full of Vaalies (for the uninitiated those are holiday makers from what used to be the Transvaal - Gauteng in today's new Apartheid era.). Most of the influx is from Gauteng (one can only tell by the vehicle registrations), although there is a smattering from the Free State, Natal - oops, sorry - KwaZulu-Natal - and the Western Cape. This is the Silly Season, and the time of year to avoid Port Alfred, especially when the temperature peaks to today's levels.

I write this post to the accompaniment of African tribal drums - no kidding! There are a handful of railway cottages occupied by farm workers a short distance away, and a funeral is in progress. Julia, who runs the local shabeen, is burying her young son, who died a week or so ago in a Grahamstown hospital - I am told of HIV, although that could have been pure speculation. I was given the news by Headman, a jack of all trades who does odd jobs for me from time to time. Apparently, when the railway was still running through Martindale, he was the local station master. He now rents the old station master's house from the railways for just R10 a month. Words from his own lips.

Christmas for me will be quiet. I am still awaiting a parcel from Liz - she says it cost her $60 to post so I'm looking forward to a few small goodies this year. She's now been gone for 7 months - thank Goodness for Skype. I have a little gizmo called MagicJack that comes with an USA telephone number and free calls to all other US numbers, but it stopped working on my Laptop so I'll have to try to install it on the old PII machine. At least we get to chat or live video just about every day - except when her work hours are non-conducive.

Meanderings of the Mind

It is Saturday in the Eastern Cape - 11.00 a.m. With no paying work expected until the New Year I am spending the next three weeks carrying out domestic maintenance, maintenance of my personal websites and adding a few extra pages and maybe a few illustrations to my autobiography, The Graceful Retirement of an English Gentleman. It is 90° F outside and the humidity way up at 86%, so I guess it’s rather like being in Louisiana in summertime. We had a rainstorm last evening – 10mm in an hour or so – the new guttering I put up last week appears to be working well – I went out to check it during the storm and water was gushing from its open end at about 2 liters a minute. Still some water getting into the bar though, and you can see from the splashes on the exterior wall where, somehow, the guttering is not quite doing its job.

While sweeping water out of the bar a couple of hours ago I noticed a familiar ‘shape and pattern’ under the drinks table – a 45cm night adder. I don’t revel in killing wild creatures but when a potentially dangerous one invades my home, I have to draw the line because of Katie and the two cats. We’ve never had a night adder in the house before – a couple of boomslangs (bright green tree snakes) in the past, and last year a Cape Cobra outside the scullery door.

My next-door neighbor, Wendell Muir, came to see me yesterday afternoon, bringing with him a dozen farm eggs and some rashers of home cured bacon. He stayed for tea and, as luck would have it, Liz called from WA just before 4 p.m., and so Wendell was able to chat with her face-to-face on Skype for ten minutes while I fed the animals. I always enjoy Wendell’s visits – they give me the opportunity of catching up on the neighborhood news. Apparently they have (at last after 2 years) now graded and fixed the Clumber route to Bathurst. I gave Wendell some of Liz’s marmalade and her special Carolina Marmalade. I guess these are some of the things I shall miss when I part from this country life for the new beginning on the other side of the Pond

A delicious farm breakfast was somewhat spoiled by the CNN news of that terrible elementary school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut – now is the opportunity for Obama to get something done about the gun laws in the States. I have nothing against individuals owning guns – indeed I have a Beretta 7.65 semi automatic (legal) myself – but this 20 year old entered the school with a assault rifle and 2 or 3 hand guns. No one outside the military or the police should be allowed to possess an assault rifle and it should be made a criminal offense to be found with in possession of one. I am stating that in my personal capacity and as a Veteran and retired instructor in air warfare and weapons. There has to be a limit drawn somewhere.

It’s just turned midday, the wind has sprung up and, predictably, the first rumbles of thunder can be heard on the North side of the house. I have no doubt the rain will follow a little later on. A break here for a G & T and to watch a little football. No Not soccer – at a risk of offending some of my readers I don’t think I have watched a single soccer game over the last 20 years – maybe 40!! No, I have been watching “my team” the New England Patriots play against the Houston Texans. The Patriots were 21 – 0 up after 2 minutes of the 2^nd Quarter. Tomorrow they’re on Sunday Night Football (I just love Faith Hill !!) I believe playing the 49ers. I took a short break just now to watch the remainder of the 1^st Quarter. Great game and Tom Brady is playing a blinder! Go Patriots!

Freeing the mind

Workwise I have had an extremely illuminating time recently. I have been writing the content for a number of mini-websites - so far about 60-odd with hopefully more to come. Writing web content can be both interesting and didactic, especially when researching a completely new subject – new in the sense that one previously has known little or nothing about it. As an example, about a year ago I was contracted to rewrite the content for an Orthotics &Prosthetics Practice website. Where, beforehand, there was a void in my knowledge, there is now enough understanding to hold at least a brief conversation on the subject, and at the same time a lot of sympathy for the unfortunates who have to make use of these artifacts.

Recently my writing has been around motivation, and has included such subjects as life coaching, investing, trading, property investment, motivational speaking and the like. Since I was involved in Jaycees (or Junior Chamber) many years ago I have always maintained a keen interest in motivation, although I am ashamed to admit that I have frequently lapsed in the past. This present assignment has re-awakened my mind, and taught me how it is possible to completely change one’s life around for the better by positively controlling the mind. Now I may be getting a little ancient for that right now, and living where I do prevents me from attending any of the local seminars anyway, but I am deeply grateful to CL for giving me the opportunity of doing the work for him.

Our smallholding remains unsold. As I write there are three or four glossy starlings chattering away to each other in the wild plum tree by the gate. The largest of our four cycads has been carrying two huge cones for several months, and only during the last few days have they started to split open, revealing the fleshy red fruit inside. Some species of cycad are indigenous to this part of the Eastern Cape, and one species, Encephalartos latifrons, is close to extinct. Cycads are known to have been around for more than 250 million years, one of the oldest of all plant families.

Last night I managed to have a lengthy telephone conversation with Liz, who is now awaiting her first Christmas with her daughter and grandchildren in Washington State. This will be our first Christmas away from each other in the ten years we have been together. If it were not for Katie I think I would have gone crazy months ago. She is my constant companion and guards the property on my infrequent trips to either Grahamstown or Port Alfred. Since the new shopping mall opened at Rosehill a couple of years back I have been avoiding trips to G’town, and only venture there once a month to pick up my prescription. Shopping at the Rosehill Super Spar is a far more pleasant experience anyway.

Update

I've been very lax about keeping my blog up to date over the past couple of months - I think mostly because I have been kept extremely busy - have written content for some 60 or 70 mini websites during that time, as well as content for a South Carolina holiday resort company. I must say that writing for the local company has gotten me very motivated as well as opening my eyes to wealth creation methods that I didn't think were open to the likes of me.

Liz has been back in the States for 6 months now - we chat either on Skype or the telephone just about every day. She now has a job, working for the DoD no she's not joined the Marines! - something to keep her occupied and bring in a few dollars locally until I can get this farm sold and join her. The farm sometimes feels as though it is an albatross around my neck. Liz has gotten over the culture shock of returning from a third world country (let's face it - we may as well be!) to what is technologically the greatest country in the world. She has rediscovered what it's like to be up to date with the latest tech. She's been busy too - a presidential election, a hurricane, the extreme heat of the Louisianna summer and now the advent of winter.

Meanwhile, back at the farm, the swallows have returned for their third year. They broke their nest again and have just completed rebuilding it with a third entrance tunnel, having blocked off the first two, which are still there attached to the roof of the patio. Back in October we had 400ml of rain in three or four days - the worse I have seen here in Martindale during the seven years we've been at the farm. So much rain that the water table was higher than some of the rooms, and there was an inch of water in two of the bedrooms, the lighthouse room and my office. Fortunately all but the office are tiled, so not too much damage. I was forced to move my office into the lighthouse room, which is where I am now.  I'm getting a regular trickle of people interested in the farm, but no actual offers since those first two I shook hands on a year ago. I shall endeavor to be a little more active in writing this blog in future.

Martindale Make and Mend

Today I decided to give myself the day off; after all, this government has its Women’s Day and its Youth Day and a number of other totally unnecessary local holidays, so I decided that today, here in Martindale, it would be My Day. Yes, today I awarded myself a Make and Mend. Now many of you will not be familiar with the term, so let me explain. It is a term that is used to this day in the Royal Navy to designate an ‘afternoon off’ – however in my case I decided to take the whole day off. The term goes back to the times of the old sailing ships when sailors would be given time off to ‘make and mend’ their uniforms. Since Liz has been back in the States for nearly three months, leaving me to stay behind and get the farm sold, I decided to carry out a little necessary maintenance. My “favorite” tracksuit trousers have been coming apart along some of the seams, so I have carried out the necessary work, having found Liz’s stash of needles and thread in the storage room.

Once my work was complete I decided, for a change, to sit outside in the sun. The temperature was up in the seventies, unusual for this time of year in the Eastern Cape. But here on the farm it is peaceful, and today you could see the sea from right where I am now sitting. The Coral trees (we have eight of them) are a mass of color, and I armed myself with a pair of binoculars and the Book of South African Birds to try to identify some of their visitors. Although you cannot see all of them, the air is filled with the constant sound of songbirds. Up in the Coral trees a pair of weavers were competing with each other for the sweetest blossoms, and for the first time I witnessed two  Black Sunbirds with their wonderful long curved beaks feasting on the sweet nectar found deep in the heart of the Coral blossoms.

A Fiscal Shrike had staked its claim in our Wild Plum near to the front gate, and from time to time would sweep down to pick up a bug it had spotted, sometimes landing just a few feet from away from me. Most of the birds I saw today were common local residents – species such as the Redwinged Starling, the Glossy Starling and the Drongo. I did get to see a few not-so-common visitors, notable of which were a Blackcollared Barbet and a trio of Trumpeter Hornbills, which had taken up positions in our huge Rubber Tree, and were taking it in turns to announce their presence.

I have been in Southern Africa for nigh on forty years now, but the time has come to move on, which is why the farm is up for sale. I shall miss the peace of Martindale and the friendliness of the local farmers. But while I am still here, waiting for that elusive offer, I will make the best of the peace and tranquility that this farm has to offer.

Thinking of Relocating

Thinking of escaping from the big city? This is the ideal property to escape to, with 7.3 Hectares of peace and tranquility. The traffic consists of a few farmers' bakkies that pass by each day, and maybe a couple of cattle or pineapple trucks. When you do want to get to town it's a quicker drive than that daily commute in the city. We came here 7 years ago, and have not regretted a minute. The time has come to sell so as to be closer to our grandchildren across the Pond.

The property consists of:

425 m² mainhouse with 13 rooms and tiled throughout. There's a Jetmaster fireplace in the lounge and enough wood on the property to last for years.

300 m² Steel constructed shed with single phase electricity and large inner lockable workshop/storeroom 

75 m² Cottage - could be converted to quarters or to tack room & stable or just keep it as a cottage 

Land consists 2 sweet-veldt camps, 2 dams (both full), 1540 l/hr borehole with the sweetest water within 50 kms, a guava orchard, nartjie trees, and close to the house are 8 Coral Trees, a huge shade rubber tree and 4 Cycads, the former full of sunbirds at this time of year. Security is excellent.

View our website http://martindalefarm.weebly.com for a full photo gallery and a short 2 min video of the property. All reasonable offers will be considered

The price has just been reduced for immediate sale. We are relocating overseas so as to be closer to family. If you are interested, please contact me and I will be happy to show you around the property at 24hrs notice.

Property can be sold with all appliances & furniture.

Nature and wildlife are abundant along with peace, quiet and serenity - a truly small corner of paradise, with numerous private game farms in the surrounding region. Some of the birds I have personally seen on the property may be seen on my blog.

By the way, adjacent to the property are 212 Ha of land that are available for purchase from a separate owner, which together would make a perfect private game farm.

Bathurst 18km, Port Alfred 30km, Grahamstown 30km

Click on Location link at bottom of blog to see a Google Map of the location of this property

GPS: -33.3745 +26.8325

Contact me through the link in the sidebar or at (+27)046 636 2505

An External Facelift

The New Look

It's now a couple of months since Liz returned to the States to stay with her daughter - I will follow just as soon as I have sold the farm. Speaking of which, I decided to carry out a bit of a face lift on its exterior. I had been quoted R23,000  by a traveling decorator from Natal a couple of years ago - no doubt a quote today would be far more. Well, I hired a local man (actually he also doubles as the local preacher ) , who gave me a quote for the complete job for R750 (labor only). I supplied the materials and hardware and Headman got to work at the end of last month - he finished the job yesterday, and as a result what was a dirty pink color that had been untouched for more than 20 years is now a pristine white with a gray trim. Total cost R1,150 for materials and R1,000 for labor (I gave him a bonus of R250), one tenth of what was originally quoted. The sole object of this exercise is to try to get the farm sold a little quicker.

The Old Look

If by chance you're interested in more details you can see them here. I'm very happy with the results.

Reflections

It has been quite chilly of late, especially early in the morning, which is to be expected in May in South Africa, since the Sun is already 6 weeks into the Northern hemisphere. Today is quite unusual - 87°F (that's 30°C) here in Martindale. The farm is looking good after the 2 inches of rain we had during a thunderstorm about a week ago. The lawn is green but has just about gotten into its winter hibernation program. This is the time of year when molehills start appearing, but so far there are just scattered examples - warnings of things to come. 

The farm is still for sale (and will remain so until sold). One prospect who looked over the place 3 weeks ago took 2 weeks to let me know it was too far from Grahamstown and lacking in security. How little they know, this must be one of the most secure farms in the area - not one incursion in the six years we've been here, other than the locals collecting firewood, which I have no objection to. I have enough wood here to build a couple of houses and to keep the stove hot for several years. A German couple turned up with Philip, an old friend, on Saturday to look over the place. They are interested but have to sell their property in Deutschland. They did enjoy the Guavas though, and carried of a few handfuls. I'm glad someone likes them - I personally cant stand them, and I have 14 guava trees (4 pink and 10 white) on the property, as well as nartjes. A local farmer phoned a few minutes ago and has taken the details of the farm. He seems fairly interested so will join the list of hopefuls.

 Headman, who is the local preacher and "odd job man" had his last remaining teeth removed yesterday - presumably at the government hospital in Grahamstown. He was told, and I find this odd, to expect his false teeth to be ready for a fitting in December - 7 months? I guess that's yet another sign of the way things are going in this country. I think everyone (except for HRH Robert Mugabe) knows how Zimbabwe became a god forsaken country. It seems as if South Africa is going the same way - a little more slowly perhaps, but the signs are all there. Even today there was an extensive item on CNN investigating the gradual failure of democracy in the country.

 Liz  has now been back in the US of A for 2 weeks - how time flies, and yet the days are very long when she's not here. We chat either on the phone (MagicJack) or Skype every afternoon or evening for a good 30 minutes or so. She looks very happy, and clearly enjoys being with Dena and the kids. Come on someone - buy this little corner of Paradise so that I can fly myself and Katie across the Pond to be with her. What I need is some keen philanthropist who wants to set up a small home industry school, or some other project, for the local Martindale community. At present they just exist, and there will be few opportunities for the 14 kids who attend the farm school in the future, unless someone steps in. This place would make an ideal base for such a project. Indeed, one of my prospective purchasers (who was turned down by the banks) had such a project in mind, had the sale gone through.