Sunday, July 29, 2012

Kool Aid


OK, I've cheered up and am back to my old self again. It was a good week.
Here are some of the things that made the difference:


We all need a little bit of Ab Fab in our lives

We watched the show on BBC last Tuesday which was so hysterical we had to send the kids off to bed as the brilliantly politically incorrectness was just confusing them.


Gracie goes for a run

This is Gracie's new trick. She runs full pelt up the mosquito screen door  and then swings from the top a bit before scuttling down again, like a spider. We get this daily show from our bed!




We actually got water this week in the Bakery. Still no electricity, however.  I'm now completely over trying to be calm and upbeat about this drama dragging on for 4 whole months.  Just give us the goddamn electricity, you $#heads. I want an OPEN bakery and a bank account with money in it again and REAL BREAD to eat, for f*%ck sake. I've officially run out of patience.


Beetle Slug Bug

This reminds me so much of Tyler's deeply chic little black & cream Bug he had in Joburg
(before it was stolen, that is).

We are picking Susie up at the airport in the Cat!

The floating Gin Palace has been booked and we are looking forward to sailing away on the 23rd August. We will be pottering around Anageda and the North Sound with Susan Gawith & Boys. We are all counting the days for our trailblazing friend to arrive!

I couldn't agree more






How cool was the Opening Ceremony?
Tyler had to sit holding 2 wires together as we had rigged the TV to watch BBC (ie NOT NBC!)

My brilliant nephew Myles and his beautiful wife Jane launched their amazing cook book:
The Surf Cafe Cook Book. Buy one on Amazon now!

Lettuce Turnip The Beet. Totally gratuitous cute picture which if it doesn't make you smile
means you are a completely cold, heartless bastard

And lastly: Happy Days. Flora is settling in as you can see!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

"What I miss about the BVI"


Harmony & Tyler on Tortola c1970 


My Mother-in-law, who lived on Tortola in the Sixties and Seventies, read my blog today and emailed me her list:

"Here's my list of misses:
  1. I miss the warm weather
  2. Wearing sandals all the time and being barefoot
  3. Just having summer clothing, no winter
  4. The warm sea
  5. Being a hippie
  6. The world passing by and not knowing it.
I know it has all changed, but I still miss it".

It was rather humbling to get this email and made me realise how grateful I am to my intrepid parents-in-law who came here in the first place and started this rolling family adventure. I'm completely in awe of my MOL Harmony, who was the island 'It' girl of her day and delivered 3 kids (all by Dr Robin Tatt, one during a hurricane) on Tortola and used to go shopping on the seaplane ("The Goose") to St Thomas.

I do love living here and it's been almost two years now. Our family is scattered around the world in outposts as far as Sligo, Melbourne, London, Cape Town, Rorkes Drift  and New Zealand as are many families. I just miss them all so much. Sometimes Facebook is not enough. I want to swop notes and things  with my nieces and ruffle my nephews hair and hug them all till they can't breathe. I miss chatting in my Mother's sitting room and I miss my friends so much that I zone it out.

I'll soon get over my sad patch and start planning new things. For now, it's comforting to see these old photos which provide some continuity to our lives here. They make me realise that this is really home for Tyler and it is a wonderful place for the boys to grow up.



Tyler, Tortola c1972 

Monday, July 23, 2012

Another List


Since I’m having such a grumpy Monday morning which hasn't been helped by beautiful photos of Plett, I’ve decided to have a good wallow and list all the things I really miss now that we live in Paradise:


Plettenberg Bay, South Africa: This place is hard-wired in my soul and today I'm missing it

So here we go: Apart from my friends, my family and Woolworths, I really miss:

1. Electricians and plumbers who actually turn-up within about a week of when they said they were going to and then actually do the job. As in finish it and get paid. Genuis

2. Lunch at Assagi on Friday’s

3. Walking the dogs at Delta Park on a winters Sunday afternoon

4. EFT’s and all those straight forward banky things that one takes for granted. They dont exist here

5. Sitting on Lookout Deck eating Mossel Bay wild oysters with a glass of Thelema Sauv Blanc

6. Saturday breakfast at the Woolies in Hyde Park Corner

7. Fynbos. All of it

8. Dunkeld Flowers. Oooh, I really-really miss those huge, gorgeous big bunches of flowers that I used to get for the house every Friday

9. Portuguese fish sellers. Also the bakery at Dunkeld which I can’t remember the name of (eeek)

10. Snuggling under a down duvet in Jojo’s house in Shepherds Bush, although last night I did wake up about 3am completely frozen as I’d fallen asleep directly in front of the AC turned on full blast on the coldest setting.

11. Lovely ladies in matching Johnson doeks and aprons. Black and white ones for dinner parties (I think I may weep now)

12. Sloane Square. Kings Road. My London spiritual home.

13. The view of the Thames from Victoria Bridge on the train

14. Ille le Pain in Knysna. The lunch tasting plate with those pork rillettes & cornichons on wood-fired sourdough.....

15. The Saturday Organic Market on the Plett-Knysna Road

16. All the little shops along Fourth Avenue Parkhurst. And Parkview. And Greenside

17. Driving through the Ttstiskama

18. The whole of the Winelands and all the wine

19. Driving through the Karoo. But not Colesburg

20. Driving back from Hermanus - the view of Cape Point from Hangklip

21. The view of Joburg driving from the airport. I've always coveted the Karl Becker painting of this

22. The Jacarandas on Pallinghurst Road, Westcliff

23. The Ridge

24. Martini’s at the Polo Lounge

25. The Bush. All of it

26. The view from my brothers Rorkes Drift farm stoep looking out over towards Isandlwana

27. The fountain in the middle of Zoo Lake

28. The view from the Ambassador Hotel, Bantry Bay. Seagulls, crashing waves, seaweed.

29. 44 Stanley. Not the parking

30. Salome Hurwitz

31. Garden Centres: Lifestyle, Craighall Park and Parktown North Keith Kirsten. Oh golly golly I miss those places so much. Three of my vases were broken last week. Heartbreaking because probably wont replace them now

32. The War Memorial view down Saxonwold Drive

33. Sportsmans Warehouse. Can you imagine howmuch sports clobber we are going to have to buy on the Internet for 3 boys?

34. Ribbons, goedetjies and Akhalwhayha’s at Oriental Plaza.

35. Weylands on Thesen island…

Actually I’m now thoroughly depressed, so I’d better stop. It’s not that bad here.


Read the top line carefully

Summer Fact Sheet

Tired Boss, Dog, Child

Sometimes I struggle to throw a blog together. So tonight (Sunday) as I'm feeling so tired, crabby and otherwise, I've decided to just make a list of everything that's happened in the past week. Bit like the last blog really:
  1. Monday: The Boys did wonderful things with Kathy, like build forts.
  2. Monday: the Plumber arrived at the Bakery. We all got very excited thinking that he would connect the water after FOUR MONTHS OF WAITING but after about 5 minutes he left, saying he needed "earth moving equipment" and never re-appeared for the rest of the week.
  3. Tuesday: Kathy is fantastic: The Boys are having a ball. Summer continues.
  4. Also on Tuesday: The Gas Man arrived  at the Bakery, but since we are missing electricity (the Electrician was there on & off, mainly off) and a concrete slab, he just plonked his exceptionally large gas tank with Medusa-like connections down and that was it. So w now  have gas, But we don't.
  5. What happened on Wednesday? Please remind me. I think we cooked until about 2:30am in the morning or something silly like that.
  6. Thursday morning: I was so tired I could weep as I still had to get up at 5am.
  7. Thursday Night: We did the Maples 'Summer Party' at Old Government House. Hectic beyond words. 137 pax.  It was a very ambitious menu, but we all got to live another day. I was on the Pass, so think menopausal Gordon Ramsay.  
  8. On Friday, I was so tired  I felt my age.
  9. Friday: We took Kathy & the kids to Bananakeet  for sundowners and supper. It was a very pleasant evening,
  10. Friday night: We slept like the dead.
  11. Saturday. Did as little as possible. Read my Kindle and tidied the kitchen
  12. Sunday: Spot of Spiritual Duty for some. Others stayed in bed and read the New York Times on their Kindles. Then the same person cooked until she dropped. And then we all went off to Wells Bay for lunch and a swim.
  13. Sunday: Of course we came home and watched the final day of the Tour de France. Nothing more exhilarating watching cool dudes in Lycra whizzing down the Champs Elysee's. I actually perked up. 
  14. So did Bradley Wiggins. God Bless Sky. As he had won, we had to share a bottle of Chablis in the Colonies. Also Ernie Els won the Open. Another half bottle. And the Cricket.
  15. OMG the Olympics start on Friday.
  16. Business may suffer for the next month.
  17. As may I.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Adjustments & occupations


Saturday Sundowners (photo by Jenny Mc.)

It's been a week of adjustments as the family started getting into the long Summer holidays and  Kathy, Flora, Gracie & whatever the hamsters are called (I'm boycotting them) settled into Carrot Bay life. Kathy has already played touch rugby, raced mountain bikes and visited the Willy T. In the brief time I saw her this morning, she still looked a bit shell-shocked after the latter  experience, which is not for the faint-hearted and involves racing around on dinghies to a marooned ship with various inebriated northern nations who give good impressions of being pirates and castaways.


Last week we also had our first little tweek of the hurricane season as a tropical wave went over us and we finally had some rain after about 3 months of nothing. Jasmine (the parrot) is pleased that the Croakie is back.

My new cushion covers
We had various farewell parties - a sad factor of island life at this time of the year, and most ex-pat families have already left for the Summer holidays. Everything is starting to close down and the island goes into hibernation mode. This really is my favourite time of the year here, apart from Christmas. 


The rest of the week was pretty uneventful, apart from having sundowners on our balcony on Saturday evening as I wanted to show off my new cushion covers.

We are still waiting for electricity and water in the bakery. Since it is now beyond a joke, Tyler is going to Occupy the Bakery as from today as we really cannot waste another week.  Maybe we can get Avaaz.Com to send out an email and drum up on some international support? I'll keep you posted.




Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Carrot Bay House

Some quick photos of our work in progress. We still have a way to go, but the house already feels like home and we are very happy here.


The Longest Week

Kathy, Boys & Flora
A lot happened last week: In fact Tuesday already felt like a Friday and by Friday we were practically into next year, except it was the first official day of the Summer Holidays.

So in quick descending order of appearance:

1. Flora the potcake arrived on Monday. She is already an 'inside' dog - something of a novelty in our house. She's also a very picky eater. In fact she doesn't like any form of dog food (a true progeny of the Foodie Blake household) and she's clearly a gourmet - except we don't seem yet to have discovered of what precisely.

2. On Tuesday Kathy arrived after the requisite marathon 30 hour flight. We must have forgotten to mention that it's now Summer here which means 100% humidity and about 36 C, so she did unfortunately succumb the first day or so to both the overwhelming beauty and heat. You can see however (picture left) that she is already beginning to recover. 

3. On Wednesday William finished up Kindergaarten, which means the Dawson Family is now done with Kindy forever. No more 'the cat sat on the mat' or squiggly paintings of indeterminate subjects with titles like " whales go for a picnic in the sun", which seems a pretty significant family milestone from where I sit. William still likes to watch Charlie & Lola and has Octonaut 'fests'  (when his brothers aren't around) but otherwise he's working quite hard on becoming a rock star. 

4. On Thursday we had another significant family educational milestone as James finished up primary school.  He has done very well academically and really is an all round Fabulous Boy.

5. Georgie finished up Grade 3 on a high note after a good year. He has become a Gymnastics God in one term and also got to bring the class hamsters home for the summer holidays, who then promptly had babies the next day. I've refused to become a grandmother and won't even visit them. I'm not sure if it's easy to spot a pregnant hamster, but I will have something to say to Mr B next year. 

On Thursday evening we had lovely farewell class drinks at Nanny Cay where we screeched 'congratulations' and 'well done' and fantastic' a lot which is a bit of an in-joke, so I wont even begin to explain (as we live on an island, remember. I know that's a boring excuse, but I actually have to live here so am not going to give up the quiet life for your entertainment just yet. Maybe when we have our second home in a few years time).

The Rugby Hero is on the left hand side, still smiling

6. On Friday Tyler had a mini mid-life crisis (it's the stress of the bakery not opening) and played RUGBY for the first time in 22 years. I almost couldn't watch although the Barbarians won and Tyler didn't completely embarrass us. He even managed a few hard tackles (it hasn't rained here for about 6 weeks) and was a Bakkie-Os-type in the scrums (he played prop). He was then replaced in the second half by 'Fats' Fatiafola, (which he was inordinately proud of) and despite three dislocated fingers and his subsequent inability to move, seems rather too keen to carry on. Lawd have mercy on my seoul.  (Memo To Self: Check medical insurance for middle-aged stupidity). On the same evening we were also having drinks with good friends who are leaving the island and we also had to fit in a spot of rugby cup glory at the local sports pub. I think Kathy may think this is how every weekend is, which is only partly true.

7. Saturday was an interesting day: We were very lucky to 'inherit' the entire contents of the Blakes pantry, fridges and freezers. My Soccer Mom car was packed to the gunnel's with the most amazing food imaginable such as Confit de Canard, cavair, 4 different types of fish sauce, Poulet de Bresse, fermented mustard greens, screwpine flavoured paste, fresh wild crab, sorghum syrup (Abigail is a Southern Gal) and enough hot sauces and tins of clams to keep this household very happy for a long, long time. It was so extensive, I actually wrote out a full list - mainly as I had  to look up half the things on the Internet.  It's a sad gift but I now feel we have a bountiful larder and can continue to cook in honour of Abigail and Bones.
Shannon, James & Georgie

Oracle 2010 Americas Cup

 On Saturday evening we had a fundraising evening with the (hottie) Antiguan Americas Cup sailor, Shannon Falcone at the Yacht Club. Shannon races with the Oracle Team, who are ranked # One. James races with his brother Rocco in Opti Blue Fleet and it was altogether a fascinating evening. The Americas Cup is becoming the Formula One or Tour de France (which we are now glued to every night!) of sailing.  He was a lovely chap and answered endless Little Boy Sailor questions patiently. Tyler cooked very nice Fish & Chips for everyone (so if all else fails we could always open a Chippy). 

On Sunday we had friends around for a braai and a Saffa commuting friend to stay for the night. As if this wasn't a busy enough week, James also had the FIFA U12 Finals to play on Sunday afternoon, which went on to a penalty shoot out and extended play. The boys finally got home about 8pm.

Luckily for all involved Monday was a public holiday, although I had forgotten to switch off my blackberry which promptly woke me up at 4:45 thinking it was a normal weekday. We had a lazy breakfast and an even lazier day, although Tyler did take Kathy for a Tortollan driving lesson, which then required Sundowners at Sopers Hole - for both celebratory and medicinal reasons.


We all felt like this by the end of the week!