Fine Art

Life is not all about adventures in the wild and fishing trips. I also indulge in the more cultural aspects of life as well, like going to the opening of this art exhibition with Sue on Friday night at EPSAC.

The Eastern Province Society of Arts and Crafts is situated in a historical building in Central, Port Elizabeth. Its 90th Anniversary will be celebrated next year with some exciting and relevant exhibitions already planned.



The artist whose exhibition was due to open on Friday evening flew in from an overseas trip and decided she was too tired and jet lagged to hang the exhibition. A call went out to some of the local artists to step in at the last minute and I think the result turned out to be a very succesful joint exhibition.

This abstract, "Wise men came from the East" was painted by my favourite artist. My home is full of her work, in different stages of completion. Sue gave up her interior design business earlier this year after much soul searching, to be a full time artist and has been doing some fantastic work.



The painting below called, "In war no one wins", is part of a series on the futility of war.

As explaned by Sue " This is a theme I have been exploring for a while, basically on the surface they are black and white abstracts, with red poppies. But if one cares to look deeper, there is a statement there about good versus evil and the chaos and futility of war, leading to such pointless loss of lives, symbolised by the poppies used to commemorate Flanders".
(My Wednesday ABC theme this week will also cover this subject)

See more of her work at arty-farty-musings



These paintings were done by Esme Goosen. Until recently she was an art teacher and has also become a full time artist. She has a distinctive style and a brilliant use of colour.



This is a striking work in mixed media by Bev de Lange. I cannot remember the title, but it struck me as being a statement on global warming.

Been fishing ... well kind of

For my birthday Ian and Cursty treated me to a deep sea fishing trip. It took a few weeks to get going, but today was the day. Of course my first question was, "Why have I not done this before, in the 29 years we have lived in Port Elizabeth". The answer to that question came about an hour later.
First question or should I rather make that a statement, asked by Steve the skipper was, "Do you get sea sick, because if you do there is no turning back". No problem Ian and I never get car sick or air sick, so that should not be a problem.

Waiting for a ship to enter the harbour, before we could leave


With twin 250 hp Evinrude motors propelling us through the sea at an exhilerating speed it did not take long to get to the fishing ground off Cape Receife.

Whenever I have watched the small fishing boats off shore I have never given it a thought. My way of doing it would be to go out and drop a line. Not these guys. They know exactly where they are going - it is all plotted on a GPS and with the depth finder they know the depth of the reef and the type of fish they will catch there.

This humpbacked whale was spotted at our first stop - I was immediately distracted from the fishing. In June they were rounding Cape Receife at a rate of 20 per day heading for their breeding grounds. Unfortunately I was not able to photograph the seals and penguins we saw. It was probably heading back to the Antarctic waters and did not give much of a display, so I reluctantly joined the fishermen.

Heine got the first catch of the day, a Red Roman. South Africa has strict legislation regulating the number and size of the fish that may be kept. My first and only catch a few minutes later was also a Red Roman, but as it was undersized I threw it back. There was a good reason why I caught no more fish

Heine with his fish and Ian getting baited up.

Ian with his first catch

I learnt something about fishing boats today - when they are speeding through the water they are great. When you stop and drop your anchor in a 3 metre swell the dynamics change. The forward motion ceases and now it rocks in at least four different directions at once - my system does not like that treatment. It did not take long for me to lose my breakfast. That was the end of my fishing for the day. I spent most of the day stretched out on a mattress in the front cabin - only getting up when there was forward motion.

Steve the skipper was quick of the mark with my camera catching me feeding the fishes.


By the way the boats name is .............

Not very apt. Believe you me there is no negotiation out there. The guys are there to fish, they are serious about it and while they are sympathetic, there is no turning back. The bed was comfortable though.

In case you have ever wondered about such mundane matters as how some South African fishermen keep their beers cool, which I am sure you haven't, let me enlighten you. If that doesn't get them puking, nothing will. I am obviously in a different league. (In case you are wondering that is the bait box)



One of many Antarctic Skuas following the boat waiting for a hand out. I may not have been able to wield a fishing rod, but was still handy with the camera.


The return trip was great I had recovered by then enough to eat some late lunch and join in the banter. I was then asked to take over the controls and steer to the harbour, while the rest of the guys cleaned their fish. I might not have caught any more fish, but I certainly enjoyed my stint at the controls.

This is why it is a good idea to let everyone else catch the fish


Oh land sweet land............back on terra firma at last.



The last question, (definitely not a statement) thrown at me was, "Will you be joining us again sometime?"

I smiled and said that after today I did not think it was a good idea.

I now know why I have never been deep sea fishing before and why I will probably not do it again. Instead I will content myself with fishing from river banks and the sea shore in future.

Neighbourhood Watch - Dikkop

The dikkop is found throughout Southern Africa. It is another bird that has adapted well to city lifeThis one was spotted in the neighbourhood early one morning.

They usually hide during day light hours and come out at night. It is easy to miss them, as they stand still for long periods of time and blend in with the surroundings

We often seen them running about the park or down the streets at night or calling out with their very distinctive pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi

K for Karoo and Karmann Ghia

Karoo and Karmann Ghia might seem like an unlikely mix, but I am working on the assumption that some people like scenery and others like machines. But on the other hand some of us like me, love both.

The name Karoo comes from the Khoisan (Bushman) word meaning 'land of thirst' as the area is devoid of surface water, except when it rains. Temperatures range from way above 40 degrees Celsius to as low as -16 degrees Celsius (3.2F) at Sutherland

When it rains the coutry comes to life for a short spell. This scene was taken on the road between Matjiesfontein and Sutherland in the Northern Cape.

The Karoo is so big and there is just so much to see that I had great difficulty in choosing pictures, so for this post I have mostly chosen pictures that show the desolation and aridness of the place.

Looking back to the mountains of the Western Cape, this is a typical Karoo scene near Prince Alfred

It is situated on a plateau covering an area of about 400,000 square kilometres (slightly bigger than Germany), in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, and Northern Cape provinces of South Africa. Elevation ranges from 400m to 2,000m above sea level, with the greater part being at the 1,200m level.

The Karoo is dotted with koppies (hillocks) like this one. The country side is dotted with Karoo Bush.

The Karoo vegetation consists of assorted succulents and low scrub bushes spaced from one foot to several feet apart.

The Noors plant - a succulent with a milky sap taken near Jansenville, Eastern Cape.

At one time the Karoo was a massive lowland swamp with an abundance of wildlife. This is why the Karoo is rich in fossils, which provide an interesting record of prehistoric creatures from this part of the world.

Desolation of the Karoo between Steytlerville and Jansenville

The first inhabitants of this area were the hunter gatherer Khoisan. These days much of the region is devoted to sheep farming and eco tourism. There are some fantastic places to see, which will be featured in blogs to come.

Abandoned farm buildings near Prince Albert.

And now it's the turn of the........

The Karmann Ghia is an all time classic, built by Volkswagen from 1955–1974.

But let's foget the specs and enjoy the ride.

My love for the Karmann Ghia started with this one, named Olga. She belonged to my father in law and was his absolute pride and joy. When Sue and I got married he allowed us to use it as our going away car. This was the greatest privelege he could have bestowed on anyone - he is a car fanatic and did not allow anyone to drive his cars. He must have died a thousand deaths before it was returned.



This fine speciman can be seen at the Volswagen Auto Pavillion in Uitenhage, along with a stable of VW classics

Keeping the Karmann Ghia tradition alive in the family. This one belongs to my son, who from an early age decided he wanted one. Note "wanted" not "needed". .

She needs a lot of restoration, but I am sure that she will soon be strutting her stuff through the streets of Port Elizabeth

Book Review: The Diary of Iris Vaughan

And what I like most about blogging............

Sue discovered a second hand book shop recently and after doing some severe damage to the credit card, came home with some classics. One of them being the diary of Iris Vaughan. This has to be one of my all time favourites.

I am now reading it for the third time. The book comes complete with spelling mistakes and lack of punctuation – but that adds to the charm.

Iris Vaughan was the daughter an Eastern Cape Magistrate and started her diary at the age of eleven. Written at the time of the Anglo-Boer War, the diary gives a delightful account of life seen through the eyes of a child.

The reason her father gave her the diary is best explained by Iris……..

Every one should have a diery. Becos life is too hard with the things one must say to be perlite and the things one must not say to lie. This is something I can never get right. If I say you are an ugly old man, that is bad manners, and if I say you are not an ugly old man I am telling a lie and not speaking the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God. That is what the peopel say in the witness box when they are at a case in the courthouse. When they say this is a great sin to tell a lie. Pop says to the witness who is to speak about the prisoner what you are to say is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and the witness says so Help me God. Then he tells the truth and is not punished. But in our house it is not like that. The other day when Mr O. was eating with us he said You are my little sweetheart, and I said NO and he said Why not and I said So help me God becos you are such an ugly old man with hair on your face. For what I was sent to bed without any more dinner even jelly and had a good jawing about perliteness. All the time I said I was telling the truth Mom said Nonsense, you are just a rude little girl. So Pop said you have a diary and and write all the truth in it and when you cant speak the truth its better hold your tongue. That is why I am writing. Charles says it is all too much trubbel. Don’t ever talk and you wont be punished. But my tongue is an unruly member Pop says and will cause me to suffer much being a female.

The book is full of delightful anecdotes about the school choir, the arrival of the boer troops, and subjects such as the “Circus”, the “foto-taking man” and the “horse that escaped seizure in a female cell" .

Iris would probably have been a good blogger with her observations of life and delightful style of writing.

For me blogging is like keeping a journal of my life and writing about things that interest me. What I like about blogging David is that it is a personal journey, but one that can be shared. In the process I also get to meet a lot of interesting people – albeit in cyberspace. And unlike poor Iris I can tell the “the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth” and get away with it.