COLIGNY

Happy New Year all! 2010 is the big year for South Africa as it will host the world cup (football, that is – they actually call it soccer here!)…..roads have been constructed or widened; a rail link to Joburg airport is almost complete; huge new stadiums have been built in the some 10 venues all over the country. The country is waiting with baited breath to prove to the world that it can pull off such an event. The entire school year, which starts in January, has been rearranged, to the chagrin of the teachers.

This morning, Ray took me on a drive around some of the new farms that have been added since I was last here. I loved the new Afrikaner cattle - the calves gamboled to the fence to greet us – Afrikaner cattle are the indigenous cattle of the Khoikhoi (Buhma cattle. The Boers also used them for meat and milk, but bred a stronger type to haul their wagons in the great Voortrek. Aren’t they beautiful?. We also caught a glimpse of some Duiker and Steenbuck, which are among the smallest of the antelopes and are indigenous to the open veldt as opposed to the bush. Here is a photo of steenbuck. Also saw some meerkats, but they were too quick for a photo.

For lunch we went to Ray’s middle son David for a braai…Wayne and family joined us there. Another wonderful spread (and I am spreading!!!) of meat raised and butchered on the farm.

Then it was home to watch the first part of the Royal Variety Performance (an annual event attended by the Queen and Prince Philip, this time in Blackpool, Lancashire, where I used to go as a child, but which fell on very hard times. It used to be THE place for middle class summer holidays and the variety shows there were the best. The compere was from Yorkshire – and he was very broad! Lulu, Shaka Khan and another from that era sang; Michael Buble was not at his best to my mind; some great comedians and a fantastic ventriloquist; singers I’d never heard of. Lady Gaga was just that – gaga – sheesh. But then there was the finale: the divine Miss Bette Midler. Always wonderful.