Ballito

Thinking of Dad, Heidi and Braydon in Ballito, with all of our shared -- as well as our own -- memories of Mom.

Mom's vase

Dad, I thought you may like to see Mom's black vase now relocated in Melbourne. I like this photo because it has Mom's vase sitting beautifully on the table runner that Smuts and I bought a few weeks ago at the Rosebank Craft Market.

In the background you can also see our hanging elephant that we bought at a night market in Chiang Mai (northern Thailand), a watercolour of the Malay Quarter in Cape Town, another watercolour that we bought from an artist when we were walking on the Great Wall (Beijing, China), and a print of Jim Thomson's house in Bangkok, a historic building which has influenced our taste in furniture over the years. Lots and lots of lovely memories in this one picture. I think Mom would have enjoyed seeing her vase in its new environment!

PS You can't see them but the hippos are on a cabinet just to the left of this picture.

Boy Scout

Here is the record of Dad being a member of the Pfadfinderbund -- the Swiss equivalent of the Boy Scouts. I really like the photo of the young Marcel in Bern, 1935.

The rules for boy scouts (via Google Translate) are as follows:

1. The boy scout's word is true.
2. The boy scout is true.
3. The boy scout helps where he can.
4. The boy scout is a good friend.
5. The boy scout is courteous and chivalrous.
6. The boy scout protects animals and plants.
7. The boy scout obeys willingly.
8. The boy scout is brave and overcomes bad luck.
9. The boy scout is eager to work and frugal.
10. The boy scout is pure in thought, word and deed.

And excellent, timeless rules they are indeed. (The word 'frugal' is deservedly coming back into fashion.)

These sections of the card record the young Marcel attending some church and summer camps. He also passed a few scout exams, and -- most intriguingly -- was part of the troop that was given instruction by the 'cake master' (kuchenmeister).

Well, Dad, what do you remember most about being a boy scout?

Birding at Marievale

Leaving home this morning at 6.30 we set off with our binos and bird book for the Marievale Bird Sanctuary which is probably one of the most popular birding destinations for Gauteng birders. A large floodplain, the Marievale Bird Sanctuary, is just outside Nigel on the East Rand.

The marshes at Marievale lie within the Marievale Gold Mine, and the massive mine dumps are evident everywhere as they form a boundary effect.

Dad remembered this area well as he had worked on many of the mines in this area years ago.  

Robertson Family Lunch

With about 4 weeks to go before pregnant Angie gives birth to little Isabella, Tennille decided that the Robertson family should have a get together lunch.

From Left: Don, Jono, Heidi, Tennille, Gavin, Antoinette,David, Claire (David's wife ) Angie, Joern ( Angie's husband )





The two Robertson's who were not here for lunch were Mark who is in Italy and Dusty who is in Dubai  -missed you boys!! 

Lego

My girlfriend Suz and I connected with our inner children and splashed out on some Lego, which very much made me think of Christmas in Cape Town when the best gift Luke and I would get would be Lego from Granny and Gramps. This is the Black Pearl, Captain Jack Sparrow/Johnny Depp's ship from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

Flying first-class

Dad will have to tell us when this was taken -- I'd guess the early 1970s? Whenever it was, there's no doubt that these were the grand old days of flying: a souvenir photograph on board the plane! (Or perhaps one still gets a souvenir photo when one flies first-class ... I wouldn't know.)

It looks like a very comfortable armchair. And I'm very envious of that real china plate, too, after years of plastic trays.

Argus Cycle Tour 2012

Is rain worse than wind? Or is the wind the witch of the Argus Cycle Tour? The wind blew like mad on Saturday and I think all 35 000+ entrants crossed their fingers that it would drop...at least a little. Sunday dawned a peach of  a day! But would it last?
Of course it did and the witch of the day was the heat getting up to 40 degrees C!
  

You have to look closely to see Don and I. We are part of the corporate DSM team. 


A close up of Don and a colleague from Germany at the start.

 Unfortunately we had a late start time going off at 8.45 which really affected me by the time I got to Suikerbossie. Whew...it was so hot, so hard, so long, and so near the end..!! Don and I finished in a time of 4 hours and 50 minutes, a really good time for me and my personal best! My favourite section without a doubt is Misty Cliffs - cool sea breeze, white sand, turquoise water, magnificent views....! 

Phillip Island Classic Cars

On Saturday my friend Vin and I trundled off in my Peugeot to the Phillip Island Classic Car racing meet. The day was cloudy, but thankfully the rain stayed away. This annual race meet is well known across the world, and last year the Porsche Company sent three very rare Porsches specially for the event.

As this is your blog, Marcel, I have firstly included a pic of a 1972 Porsche 2.2T, which would be very similar to the one you owned way back.

The next pic is a yellow 1972 Porsche 2.2S, which races against 60s and 70s muscle cars, i.e Mustangs, Camaros, Corvettes, Pontiacs and the like. This a 'giant killer' of a car, as it comes 4th in a heat of 20+ cars, with its tiny engine.

Following on the Porsche theme comes the always good looking BMW 635i. This is a famous Aussie car raced by Bob Jane, who was a very successful racing driver. Do you remember taking me on the highway with your silver 635i when we hit 200 km/h, Marcel? Very exciting it was!

One of the oustanding cars at the meet was this Lancia Stratos, which has a V6 Ferrari motor, and won various world rally comps in its time. This car is one of Luke's and my all time favourite cars. What do you reckon?

So there you go. As soon as I win the lottery, we are going to be there. Hold thumbs for us!
Until next time, S.

Tina's plum tart

Here is my version of the plum tart that Grandma Tina Etter made when Heidi and I were young. It looks different every time I make it depending on the type and size of the plums, but I always make the same pastry and it's always draped in a vanilla custard topping.

Good steady work

In December 1940 Mom was eleven years old and in Std 4. She won a book prize for 'Good steady work'. And how jolly pleased I am that she did, because her book prize introduced me to the wonderful world of William.

I loved William when I was ten or eleven (as he is, forever) and I love him now. William roams about his 1930s English village, completely unfettered by social niceties. His older sister and brother are terrified by his endless capacity to embarrass them. His teachers try to subdue him but in true hero spirit, William overcomes all attempts to make him polite, clean or amenable.

The books still make me laugh out loud. Thanks, Mom.

Ducks for Daddy

Mom drew these duck pictures for her father, when she was not-quite-10. I found the pictures in one of her albums. I love the fact that Bop -- and she -- had kept them for all these years.

Now we're keeping the ducks digitally!

Hippo standoff

We and our new hippo are safely home. Our hippo from the Rosebank Craft Market is the one on the right; Lee's hippo that he bought in Zimbabwe in 2000 is on the left. Lee's hippo is very shiny because I have polished it frequently in the last ten years, but our hippo has had its first coat of furniture polish this morning. We'll monitor its shine index over time. Apart from shininess, the hippos are quite different, which is a lovely thing about handmade objects. I like our hippo's Buddha-like smile.