Cape Favourites!

On Monday we took our friends to see some of The Cape Town favourite places.

One of the best known is The Waterfont, the harbour and port of Cape Town, which is still a working harbour, there was a cruise liner in port when we went, but the whole area has been developed to offer lots of shops and eating places, an auditorium for performers and there are lots of groups busking as well.

We had a lunch and some real ale at The Ferryman Tavern.

After lunch we drove across the Cape peninsular via Chapmans Peak, which allows some amazing views.

Then on to Simonstown, a historic naval town, and then on to Boulders Beach where there is a colony of jackass penguins, so called because although they are tiny they make a loud noise like a donkey braying. We hope you like the pictures.

Our visitors have arrived

Last night we went to the airport in Cape town to meet our friends Pat and Gordon, who are making their first visit to The Fair Cape. We expected them to be drooping after the long flight but they were very laid back about it and after a good nights sleep they are rarin' to go.



This is a picture of our street, as with UK, parking can be a problem




Love from
Di and Paul

It is summer holidays here!

Hello Folks,
It has been sunny, blue skies and a few seaside breezes and still very much in holiday mode.
The children do not go back to school until January 22nd, it is the long summer break and Christmas and New Year all rolled into one.





The big mall gets very crowded at this time of year, but the new local Waterstone village shopping is now open, and it is much quieter.











This is a picture of the entrance to our local "Tesco" .










The beaches are full of people having fun, we go most days in the late afternoon when it is not too hot, and we paddle along in the waters edge for an hours exercise, sometimes a big wave catches us out and we get our shorts wet as well.









It is particularly good to see people of every race enjoying the lovely beaches as when I was here in the early 80's I can remember signs that said "whites only".









Credit is due to the people of this country of all races, who have transformed it in 12 years.....

I will get Paul to add the pictures and then off to bed.
Love from
Di and Paul

No matter how many times we do it it is still a long way!!
We left Norwich at 6 20 on Friday am, arrived Amsterdam in 35 minutes then had a coffee and a bit of breakfast before we boarded the Cape Town flight which departed at 10 am (1 hr ahead of us in uk)settled down, had a bit of a doze , a drink then lunch, watched a film"Little Miss Sunshine"read a bit, oh it is still only 4 pm , another 5 plus hours to go. But it does go and we arrived safely got through immigration and customs , picked up our hire car and we were safely home and having a cup of tea 18 hours later.
Our neighbours are great , they keep a key and they had been in, switched on lights and got us milk and bread and butter in the fridge .
Guess what it's been raining !! some sunshine and blue skies but quite some heavy rain. So it hasn't been too hot!!
We have included a picture of the bougainvillea in our tiny garden , it is doing well especially considering how often it is ignored .
Every Blessing for 2007


Love from
Di and Paul

Getting ready to go!

It is now 20th of December and every one is looking forward to Christmas. We are also, but on 29th of December if all goes to plan we will be taking off from Norwich to Cape Town, South Africa and there we plan to stay until March 23rd. Before we go Paul is looking into setting up a web cam so we can still keep an eye on what our grand-children are up to!!! Please keep in touch via the blog and leave us your comments.
Love from
Di and Paul

Di and Paul Report

Di and Paul Report

Tereo Mission School

Friends of ours from Joburg, Wanda and Leo rented an apartment overlooking Strand Beach, with a beautiful view.



Then they came to see the house here in Chamonix, which is looking very smart now the garden has been fully paved.




We had a ride out to a very old wine farm called Muratie which was built in 1690 and enjoyed a tasting of their wines.



We learned at Church about a Mission School called Tereo, this started when one of the Home Groups were really concerned about the street children and after praying they felt that the children, who invariably came from bad homes, were receiving no education , they were possibly sent out to beg or the parents just didn't bother to send them to school and perhaps were unable to clothe them to go.

So in 1999 some of the home group members went out and picked up the children on the streets an took them back to the church, where they fed them, cared for them and taught them. From these humble beginnings the school started. The group became aware of more and more needy and abused kids and they continued to feed and teach them even when some did not have a roof over their heads, but they eventually got some premises in 2001 that they could turn into a school, they got some funding from the local council and today there are 50 children who are being schooled there. Because of their home conditions ,the normal schools in the area have not the provision to give the care and attention these children need as they can be be disruptive or figures of fun for the other kids.



Today Paul and I were shown around the school - it is marvellous to see what has been achieved, but there is a lot still to do.



Siemans the big conglomerate has now given finances to provide a home for children in need of protection and Tereo is now in process of purchasing a home where some of the children from the school can be housed and cared for.

There is a website and a blog it is www.tereo.org

Love from
Di and Paul