Visit to Granny & a Trip to the Castle…

Yesterday, we went into see Granny. She has been moved to frail care. Although, she had been very low in the morning, by the time we got there she was more awake and responded well when I spoke to her. I read to her and sat with her for a while.  She is being fed now with a syringe and she is taking in small amounts. I sat her up a bit and she drank a little water from a cup, which was encouraging. She kissed me goodbye and we left to go to the Castle.

It’s been years since I visited the Castle and Julian has never been.  It was a magnificent day. We were able to park inside the Castle grounds and approached the entrance from that side…

This is the entrance…

The front door is imposing and spiked!

Above the entrance is the Bell Tower which has a long and illustrious history….

It was built hundreds of years ago…

When we went up to the top of the Castle, we saw it close up…

And could even walk inside…

There was  sign that said, ‘Please do not ring the bell!’ Someone had scratched out the ‘not’!

The view from up there is amazing…here’s the Bell Tower with Lion’s Head and the City…

Our visit took us through the courtyard to the museum which has historical artifacts of Cape Town and the Boer War. This is the view from the museum window…

Visiting these historical sites takes you back to an era one can only imagine. Bringing history up close and personal…

LoL! I just don’t have a family member who is  ‘recalcitrant!’ I looked it up..

re·cal·ci·trant
/riˈkalsətrənt/
Adjective
Having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority.
Noun
A person with such an attitude.

This was the entrance to the dungeons…which were dark and damp…

We walked around the top and looked out over the entrance towards the Grand Parade – it was widely used in those days for gathering the troops…

In days gone by, the sea came  very close to the Castle..hence ‘Strand Street.’  What is amazing is that the reclamation process began in 1937 and continued until completion in 1945 (right throughout the second world war).  This is the view over Cape Town station & that’s the Civic Centre on the Foreshore…both built on land that was once sea!

And my personal favourite view…this is taken from the Oranje lookout post…

Ah, The Castle. The oldest building in South Africa. Absolutely worth a visit. A couple of things – Sundays you get in for R5 cheaper than the rest of the week (R25 instead of R30). But, no tours available on a Sunday. Also, the coffee shop is closed on a Sunday. It was wonderfully quiet. One other note, with spring having sprung, it can get quite hot and sunny walking around the top of the wall, so make sure you have a hat and sunblock. You may also want to take a little picnic backpack and sit on the lawn at one of the lookout points and enjoy the views.  There’s no shade up there though, so bear that in mind if you are planning to go on a warm day.

The Castle is hundreds of years old and has certainly stood the test of time. What is every more amazing is the soundness and security of the Word of God, which doesn’t just go back hundreds of years, but thousands. God has a much bigger picture. I remember being in my final year at high school. I didn’t do all that well at school. I wasn’t a top achiever. I wasn’t popular and I certainly wasn’t sporty. Actually, I had nothing really to recommend me! In the first week of my final year, I went with my English teacher to help her carry some books. We had a brief conversation, which ended with her saying, ‘where have you been all these years?’ She had never noticed me before, yet suddenly she saw potential that no one else had seen. God sees potential in all of us. In His time He will bring  to fruition all that He has in mind for us.

Isaiah 60:22 “The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.”

There is a bigger picture. Wait on God’s timing. You will find it to be perfect.

God bless you!

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂