Unlike my post of 11/27/2011, which was written immediately before the South African banks let us down on the first of several occasions, we really have sold the farm this time. Papers are signed and the money's in the bank - not nearly as much as we would have liked, but enough to get significantly more personal possessions across the Pond. Liz will be reunited not just with myself, but with her collection of shoes, clothes, beads and beading, lighthouses and witches. I've been following the New Hampshire weather during their winter - I don't think I've seen the temperature rise above freezing for at least 2 months. I guess that if I miss Africa at all, which is unlikely, it will be at this time of the year. Still - I did spend 8 years living (off and on when not at sea) in the far North of Scotland, so I have been used to those conditions in the past, albeit many years ago. I guess I'll get used to it - I'll have to, won't I?
NH wild turkeys taken 30 minutes ago
What will I not miss about Africa in general, and South Africa in particular? Well, I never wanted to live in SA in the first place anyway, but was forced here by circumstances. Since democratization I have witnessed a country where reverse apartheid is blatantly being practiced - I'm not saying that BEE is a bad thing - far from it, but the way it has worked out in most cases has exposed corruption, nepotism and bad management at their worst. The poor in South Africa are still poor, whereas the well-off have lined their pockets and those of their cronies at the expense of the underprivileged. You only have to look around you at present. As many as 4 years ago the Mail & Guardian exposed the scandal behind the multi-million rand upgrades on Jacob Zuma's Nkandla home - upgrades carried out at the taxpayers' expense (for those who have never heard of him, Zuma is South Africa's multi-wife president). Today, 4 years later, the scandal lives on.
I will miss none of the above. What I will miss is the bush and the wildlife. The fragrance after that first rain shower after a period of drought. The ability to take a drive of less than an hour and be among a 30-strong herd of elephant, the bush buck that live on my farm, the monkeys that scatter when I drive to Bathurst, the sound of the jackals as they hunt at night, the call of the frogs from our small dam after the year's first rains, and the call of the fiery-necked nightjar - these I will never forget.
Yesterday I took my monthly drive into Grahamstown. The main street showed up mismanagement at its worst. Imagine taking a trash bin - well, probably taking dozens of trash bins - and emptying them along the sidewalk and gutters. The amount of trash just lying there was appalling. The thing is, the ANC have individuals all over the country in local government, mayors and councilors, who have no idea how to run a craft booth let alone a municipality. And they are all riding around in new Mercedes and BMWs. I'm not jealous - just sorry for the many individuals who cannot escape from the situation. Which makes me very glad of the decision I made when I first arrived in Africa - never to give up my British passport.
There is so much to get done during the next 58 or so days. Police Clearance Certificate, hand in Beretta, international driving permit, stop Eskom, stop Telkom, stop DStv, stop Post Box, change of address with various agencies, sell furniture, stop car insurance ... the list goes on. My clients will find my new telephone number on my main website, and I will still be available for work from South Africa. Just remember though, that if you call me the difference is 6 hours in SA winter and 7 in summer.
Many of my regular readers will have come to realize that I have a deep interest in the Quantum Theory – indeed the greater part of my present beliefs and thoughts regarding consciousness, paranormal phenomena, ESP, and other closely related subjects, are based on such related subjects as Quantum Entanglement. My interest was recently given a boost when researching a series of articles I had been commissioned to write. These included such subjects as Positive Thinking, Goal Setting and Law of Attraction. It was only recently that I came across the Science of Noetics, the study of how thought can influence happenings.
Quantum Mechanics has many skeptics – but then I am very skeptical about religion, and will never accept the dogma associated with it. That does not mean to say that I am not spiritual, for I am. But my beliefs are fashioned by science and in particular by the Quantum Theory. Yes, I believe in prayer, but in the sense that consciousness and positive thinking can and does influence events. All of those leadership courses, goal setting, team-building and so on are merely, in my mind, another manifestation or expansion of the theory.
I chat on Skype with Liz most evenings, except when she is working the morning shift at the other side of the Pond. I am amazed by the number of times that we have witnessed a quantum event. Actually, if truth be told, I used to be amazed but no longer am, for it has become common place for each of us to make the exact same remark and hit the send button simultaneously. So much so that when it happens these days, we immediately each type in ‘qqqqqqqq’ to signify to each other a quantum event. If I were to go back through the history of my messages, I could quote to you some of the instances, but you must just take my word for it.
My maternal grandfather was an engineer, and in 1912 was in charge of the starboard engine room of HMS Thunderer, where he spent 18 months fitting out machinery. He later made a name for himself during WWII as the designer of the 12,000 lb blockbuster bomb, which earned him the title Blockbuster Brooks and an MBE from King George VI to boot. I did not learn about his connection with the Royal Navy until a couple of years ago, but now wonder whether there was some sort of influence from the other side that caused me to commission. I specialized as an Air Warfare Instructor flying off carriers in the Buccaneer strike aircraft. It was only after his passing that I inherited his scrap book, which is full of press cuttings about the brave exploits of RNAS and RFC aviators during WWI. Could this have been yet another quantum event, or was it just a coincidence? If any of my readers are interested I have published jpegs of some of those clippings in a previous post to this.
If all goes according to plan this will be one of my last posts from African soil. I have resided in southern Africa for 41 years, seen the transition and subsequent demise of Zimbabwe under the autocrat Mugabe, witnessed the first signs of failure in South Africa, where education, health care and local government, to name a few, are falling foul of mismanagement, corruption and reverse apartheid. I will shortly be joining my family in cooler climes, where the 32 kbs/sec download speed I am paying through the teeth for will be replaced by one of 12 mbs/sec., where guinea fowl are replaced by wild turkeys, and where the wild animals are bears, elk, whitetail deer and moose. It will be a totally new environment for my writing, and one that I can’t wait to tackle.
In my next post I will be referring to a number of press clippings kept by my maternal grandfather during WW1. For the most part these articles refer to the 'daring deeds' of the pilots and observers of the Royal Naval Air Service and of the Royal Flying Corps. Some of these clippings are set out below and may be downloaded if not clearly visible in this post.
Ever since I upgraded Skype after the Microsoft takeover I have been plagued by bad video. I chat nightly with my wife, Liz, who is several thousands of miles from me. I can usually see her - all-be-it very pixelly - but I battle to get my video camera working. I sometimes have to recycle the built-in web cam dozens of times before there is a see-able picture, and even then the connection is frequently dropped. I did some research through Google and came up with a solution on the Skype Community website. You will need to completely uninstall your current version of Skype (don't worry - you won't lose your settings - well I didn't anyway). There is a special version of Skype that solves the problem. I have only (so far) used it a couple of times, but each time the video worked immediately - in fact Liz says that she has never seen a better picture - no pixels, she can even see the time on the wall clock behind me.
Completely uninstall your present version - I used Wise Program Uninstaller.
Once your present version is uninstalled, install the special version
That's it - simple. As I said earlier, I have been battling for months but this special version seems to have done the trick - for me anyway, although there are a few comments that say the procedure did not work for them.
BTW I'm using a Lenovo G550 laptop with built in webcam.
It has been 41°C (105°F) in the shade here in Martindale today. Many of the immigrants from out of province who have been here during the silly season have left and are making their ways home. I thought that it was about time that I published another of my recipes. Last week my good friend from Bologna in Italy (is there another one?) was staying with me and treated us to his version of this well known sauce. However, the following recipe is my own, and you will find it is delicious. Obviously the sauce is best served with pasta, however I have to admit that I am not a pasta aficionado, so although I will happily make this and serve with pasta, I personally use the sauce with mashed potatoes and green beans or Brussels sprouts.
This pic is to cool you down - Liz took it yesterday
The Ingredients
450g Lean Beef Mince
1 medium to large onion
3 large cloves of garlic (actually I use more as I love the sauce to be garlicky)
2 - 3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tin (410g) Tomato Puree
½ tin chopped peeled tomatoes
1 tsp each of dried Basil, Marjoram, Thyme (fresh is better if available)
3 Bay leaves
Ground black pepper
½ Cup red wine
salt to taste.
Optional: 4 or 5 mushrooms sliced and cooked in butter.
Method
Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan until nearly smoking. Remove from the heat.
Chop the onion finely, crush the garlic and add to the oil. Return the pan to a medium/low heat and cook the onions until nearly transparent. Add the herbs and black pepper, stir and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the beef mince, stirring and breaking up any lumps. Cook until the mince is browned right through.
Add the wine, tomato puree and tomatoes, bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for ¾ hour.
At this stage I frequently add the cooked mushrooms and stir in.
Add salt to taste
As a variation you can also add a little Cayenne Pepper or Chilli Powder with the herbs.
Tip. The above will easily serve four, but if you happen to be single or living alone, divide the sauce up into containers (I use old plastic margarine containers) and freeze. The sauce will keep well and can be defrosted and used at a later date.
