I Caught Ruby!

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Helga

Friday

Dear Elsie

Today was the day I went for an early morning walk and I caught Ruby! I don’t have any pictures, but Ruby was a very naughty little fluffy Maltese poodle who escaped from her house when her family were leaving for school! First she ran across the road and (because she’s so small) in through the bars of the neighbours gate and straight up the stairs. The neighbour was there with her dog on a leash and tch-tched. I continued my walk – after all the saga of trying to catch Ruby was none of my business. As I got further down the road, Ruby bolted past with her young owner bellowing from behind. How else did I know her  name! Ruby was so excited – so much to see – so far to run. She turned around right in front of me and I called to her and put  my hand out. She approached me and bam! I grabbed her around her podgy little tummy and victoriously handed her over to her grateful owner who came puffing and panting down the street. Ruby was safe again. Shortly after that, I climbed the 236 steps up Ravine steps and then who was puffing and panting?!

I walked along the road a short distance and then cut up this path which leads to the top of Contour way.

And this was the view.

Home, I have worked for 7 easy hours and in between I did a spot of sunbathing.

I’m trying to chill and remember it will not always be like this. David is still no better and today it is 2 months since he ‘hit the wall’ so to speak. That was when his serious exercise intolerance began and his crippling fatigue was at its worse. It has slowly improved, but not enough, yet, to enable him to walk freely and easily. Everything has to be super slow.  Adversity is on a spectrum….from some of the common difficulties of daily life to the dreadful stuff we see others have to deal with (think Madelaine McCann’s parents). And somewhere in between is where I feel we are. We trust this will not be for too much longer. One day at a time and each day, we look for the good.

An early blog because I did an early walk. And Ruby will sleep well tonight!

Psalm 99:5
Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His footstool; He is holy.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

Posted in Apartment living, Day to Day Blogs, Living on Fish Hoek mountainside | Tagged , , | Comments Off on I Caught Ruby!

Autumn Beauty

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Helga

Thursday

Dear Elsie

Today was the day we really experienced the beauty of autumn. The day was so still and the sea so calm. Looking across the bay I could see the buildings of the Strand. It’s always difficult to get a good photo on my cell phone, but here it is.

Looking across to Kalk Bay

After work, we went back to the Clovelly side and did the short walk from the bottom of Trappieskop steps to Clovelly golf course and back along the road. A beautiful evening.

Coming back along the road there were two huge peacocks sitting on a balustrade watching the world go by.

And the cherry on the top is a full moon.

Not every day will be good, but there’s good in every day.

Psalm 99:1
The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble;

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

 

Posted in Apartment living, Day to Day Blogs, Living on Fish Hoek mountainside | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Autumn Beauty

Early Morning Walk

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Helga

Wednesday

Dear Elsie,

Today I went for an early morning walk. It was great! I walked to the end of the road, then down Highway to Hillside and up Daisy Lane. The view from there is amazing…

Daisy lane is awash with beautiful bushes laden with purple flowers. They can’t really be fully appreciated in this photo…

Here they are close up…apparently they are known as Purple Princes

I came home along the mountain route & found some spoor of probably a little buck. I saw the same hoof prints behind our fence.

There are also signs of others plotting and planning where they will build…

On my way back in I stood on the gabion baskets for a few minutes admiring the morning. These are the gabion baskets…

And this is the view of the house from up there with Mike’s new portico over the front door.

This is the view of the mountain…

Mike made me laugh today. He’s trying to see how observant I am. Flowers have changed colour! (I found the yellow ones in his study!)

I worked for just under 7 hours and now am awaiting Julian’s arrival. He hasn’t been here for a month! Twil be good to see him again.

Psalm 98: 8-9
Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

 

Posted in Apartment living, Day to Day Blogs, Living on Fish Hoek mountainside | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Early Morning Walk

Remember the Flowers?

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Helga

Tuesday

Dear Elsie

Today was the day that I woke up with a confused thought. Remember the flowers?

Very pretty yellow flowers Mike got me for when I returned from Saint Helena Island? One of them was drooping slightly as sometimes they do. The stalk was slightly damaged and that would be the first to drop. I noticed that on 23rd April.

Then two days ago Mike said to me, ‘the flowers are lasting a while.’ Absent-mindedly, I said, ‘yes they are.’ Nothing more was said. Then this morning I woke up and thought to myself, “I’m going to need to throw those flowers out soon.” But as soon as that thought passed through my brain, a lightbulb went on. They  hadn’t changed. They were as perfect as the day I got home. Mike was busy making coffee. I leapt out of bed and trotted across to the table. Touching them, I turned to him, ‘THEY’RE FAKE!’  Mike roared with laughter. “Yes, they are!” It had taken me 9 days to notice. I asked if David knew. He said ‘no one knew’. So when David came up, I told him and he too had a laugh. Chortle chortle! They will need dusting, but never watering. They look great!

Today I worked and after working 8 hours, we went for a walk. We walked to the start of Elsie’s Peak (yup! same name as you Elsie!)  and spotted some rocks…we scrambled up there…

And this was the view…

And at break of day, as the sun rose, the sky took on some amazing hues, part of which was reflected in the sea.

Psalm 98:7
Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

Posted in Apartment living, Day to Day Blogs, Living on Fish Hoek mountainside | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Remember the Flowers?

The Portico is Finished

Posted on May 1, 2023 by Helga

Monday

Dear Elsie

Today was the day the portico got finished. Next time you come you will get to see the lovely new entrance to our front door. Courage came in today to help finish it. He asked to come on this holiday so he can take another day off.  Putting in the roof sheeting…it had to be put in from beneath.

Courage doing the final painting…

And Mike really happy with how it has turned out. It looks fabulous. I love the roof.

For the rest of the day, the sad sinking feeling of adversity remained today as David had another day to struggle through. You are only as happy as your least happy child. I only found my spirit lifting a bit at the end of the day when we took dinner down to him (so he didn’t have to come up the stairs). He said he was feeling a little better. He’d rested and had a myprodol which put an end to a crushing headache. He also cancelled guitar lessons this afternoon and will not attempt getting to Johannesburg this week to get to the Chinese embassy. He’s realigned his expectations and is back to taking one day at a time.

Not every day will be good but there will be good in every day. I booked 2 nights in Swellendam so we can go and celebrate Elsie’s 5th birthday a little later in the month. That was good.

I worked for 5 hours. The internet gave me a bit of trouble, so I gave up in the end and had a little snooze on my rocking chair this afternoon.

Psalm 98:4

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

 

Posted in Apartment living, Day to Day Blogs, Living on Fish Hoek mountainside | Tagged | Comments Off on The Portico is Finished

Walking Above Clovelly

Posted on April 30, 2023 by Helga

Sunday

Dear Elsie

Today was the day we had quite a quiet day but I got out for a couple of walks and the second one took us above Clovelly.

Not every day may be good but there is good in every day. I walked down to the shops to buy something for lunch and noticed some workers working on the train pilons. Just look at that blue sky.

It was beautifully warm. Later in the day when it was cooler, we sent off for Clovelly. We parked at the bottom of the little path that goes to Trappieskop. Walking up that path, we turned immediately left behind the houses and followed the contour path round to above Clovelly Golf Course. It’s such an easy walk…looking back to Trappieskop..

The reward…

We came down by the golf course and walked through it for a bit, watching the Sunday afternoon players coming to the end of their rounds. We recalled the many Sunday afternoons we have walked these fairways enjoying the long shadows of the of the autumnal afternoons, as Mike took advantage of the after 4pm 9-hole special. Those days are past now. Mike has hung up his clubs. I am not sorry – the damage it did to his eye back then always worried me. It was November 2017 that he started having issues seemingly caused by the rapid head action when he hit the ball. He needed injections in his eye (I know it sounds gruesome) for quite a few months, until finally in July 2018, his eye was declared better. Eye injections are enough to put someone off golf. If it didn’t put Mike off the game, it certainly did me. Soon after the eye trauma, Mike started designing our house and that swallowed up all his time.

We enjoyed watching a few of the golfers hit their shots, smiling to each other as we saw them scrambling about the course looking for lost balls.

We got home to have a chat with David, who is still going to try to get to Johannesburg this week. He has not had a repeat of the good days he had more than a week ago, which has been disappointing. But we remind ourselves again, not every day will be good, but there will be good in every day.

Psalm 98:3
He has remembered His love and His faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

Posted in Apartment living, Day to Day Blogs, Living on Fish Hoek mountainside | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Walking Above Clovelly

Now That Was a Nice Day

Posted on April 29, 2023 by Helga

Saturday

Dear Elsie

Today was the day I got to speak to you! We haven’t chatted for a while and it was great to catch up and to hear what is happening in your life. So much going on. I am soon going to need to make an appointment with you!

For us, it was a really nice day. I woke up and decided to go to Freshstop and pick up little croissants and a newspaper. Home to make cappuccino and loaf about reading the paper.

Then Mike and I walked to Fish Hoek to browse through the antique shops. We passed by the beach and got ‘tuned’ by the locals for our recent absence. Ah we will return, but for now, life is busy, we meet David for breakfast every morning and Mike is building the portico. I am missing the swim, although the water looks chilly! I asked Peggy what the temperature of the water is right now and she said it was ‘lovely at 16 degrees!’.

It looked a perfect sea…

At lunchtime, our guests arrived. They drove from George to Cape Town for one night because the main guy who booked broke his arm yesterday (when they were due to arrive) and needs surgery on Monday (when they are due to leave). I asked if the surgery couldn’t be pushed back a day but his Mom said they didn’t want to mess with the timing. I feel so bad because Airbnb’s ‘extenuating circumstances’ policy doesn’t cover this kind of eventuality. I’ll see if they do leave tomorrow and have a word with them.

We enjoyed relaxing and enjoying our view, which we still do. There are little pockets of the house that I enjoy seeing. This is one of them.

We’ve been here 2 and a half years now and big news, we are considering getting curtains! We’ve got blinds but curtains will soften the rooms. We’ll see.

Tonight is burger night. David has ordered and I am hungry.

Psalm 98.2
The Lord has made His salvation known and revealed His righteousness to the nations.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

Posted in Day to Day Blogs, Living on Fish Hoek mountainside | Tagged , | Comments Off on Now That Was a Nice Day

Saint Helena Palpitations

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Helga

Friday

Dear Elsie

Today was a beautiful day in Cape Town. I worked, I did a bit of shopping for David’s supplements and I walked.

As I walked, I thought I must document the awful palpitations I had in Saint Helena. They left me rattled and feeling somewhat vulnerable because I was so far from home and the medical facilities on the island are so limited. I had been in a very deep sleep, when I woke up to go to the bathroom. I stumbled out of bed and when I started back from the loo, my heart started going crazy. I literally went into what felt like atrial fibrillation. My heart was racing in a complete irregular fashion. Not only did I feel my heart beating manically in my chest but I also felt the arrhythmia pounding down my abdominal aorta. It was so unnerving. There I was at 2.30am,  on my own, wondering if death was imminent. Should I go and wake up Julian? That would mean going outside and banging on his door. I got up and walked around taking deep breaths. I opened the door and went outside, gulping in the fresh night air. Nothing changed the erratic motion of my heart and arteries. The minutes ticked by with no change. I lay down on my right side. I then remembered I had my sport watch on and could see how fast my heart was beating. It was 130 beats per minute & I was lying in bed! What could be going on? Eventually, I got up again, went to the kitchen and boiled the kettle. I had bought ginger Rooibos with me, so I made myself a cup of tea and returned to bed. I sat in bed and did a codeword game. The distraction seemed to help and about half way thought the puzzle, I felt my heart return to a normal rhythm. It was still relatively quick considering I was resting, but it was under 100 and the beat was regular. It had last 30 disturbing minutes, but it was over. It was Tuesday 18th April. I went back to sleep again with a strange sensation over my heart but at least the beat was normal.

By morning, I was fine.

I told Julian but I didn’t dare tell Mike. I didn’t want him to worry. It left me a little nervous about overdoing it so when Thursday came and we climbed Jacob’s Ladder’s 699 very high steps in the heat of the day, I made sure to take it super easy. Julian beat me up by some minutes. I kept an eye on my heart rate. That night I hoped I hadn’t overdone it but my heart behaved and I’ve not had a repeat of that awful night. At least now I’m home, I’m close to my husband and close to private health care.

It’s good I keep a note, albeit an extended one!

The walk today was marvellous.

Back home round the back.

And now it’s weekend. The guests who were due in have been delayed. The guy who booked had a fall and now needs surgery in George to reset an elbow injury. They hope to come tomorrow. We’ll wait to see.

Tonight Mike and David are watching the snooker.

Grateful for a beautiful day.

Psalm 98:1
Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

Posted in Apartment living, Day to Day Blogs, Living on Fish Hoek mountainside | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Saint Helena Palpitations

A Semi Day Off

Posted on April 27, 2023 by Helga

Thursday

Dear Elsie,

Today is Freedom Day and I’m sure you are not at school. Exciting things are happening at your house and I’m sure you are enjoying seeing all the activity. For me today, I worked for about 5 or so hours.

We have guests coming this evening and more to the cottage tomorrow, so we spent some time being prepared for them. The guests haven’t arrived yet, but they should be here in the next few hours.

Riana came in the afternoon with her sweet granddaughter. A promise was made for a ride on the rocking chair. Emmy is 3 and Meggy joined for the ride.

While it rained this evening, it has been a windless afternoon with a few boats about.

It’s a been a half-holiday – a semi day off. And while tomorrow most of South Africa also takes a day off, I’ll do a little work, but also enjoy some down time. Monday is a bank holiday in the UK, so I may do less work on that day.

Guests have arrived & settled in. Mike and David are watching Mandalorian  and there is great amusement coming from the lounge.

This is a good day.

Psalm 97:11
Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

Posted in Apartment living, Day to Day Blogs, Living on Fish Hoek mountainside | Tagged , | Comments Off on A Semi Day Off

What I Came Home To

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Helga

Wednesday

Dear Elsie

Today was the day I worked and got the Seaview apartment ready for guests who arrive tomorrow. I changed out the duvet as we’ve had the summer one on the bed and it’s much cooler now, so I’ve swapped it out for the down duvet.

I also took some photos because when I was away last week, Mike was not idle! He may have spent the evenings watching snooker with David. By day he was busy. I came home to part of the portico built, fresh pawpaws & cream in the fridge. But there was more. On the plane, as we sat on the runway before taking off from Johannesburg  to St Helena, I got a phone call from a stranger. After ditching the call twice, it suddenly occurred to me it could be Takealot. Our purchase was due on the Monday after we left and they bought it forward to Saturday. I quickly phoned back and it was indeed Takealot. I rushed a message off to Mike to say the Takealot delivery had arrived. When I got back, he had ensured the old was out and the new was in. A new headboard!

He also had got a new matching base cover which really makes a difference as well.

But there was even more. There were a few new pot plants.

And he had got a new table cloth & runner for the dining room table, plus I got a vase of beautiful flowers.

He picked me up from the airport, bought me home and presented me (and David) with a three course meal.  He’s a keeper.

Talking of David, he is making slow progress. Last week he had 5 really good days. Then he had a few hard days, but he is gradually getting stronger and gaining some energy. We hope he will be able to get to the Chinese embassy in Johannesburg next week. We’ll see.

Psalm 97:1

The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;   let the distant shores rejoice.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

 

Posted in Apartment living, Day to Day Blogs, Living on Fish Hoek mountainside | Tagged , , | Comments Off on What I Came Home To

Portico Under Construction

Posted on April 25, 2023 by Helga

Tuesday

Dear Elsie

Today was the day that dawned with a beautiful sunrise, no wind and a good day for an early morning walk. I did a 30 minute loop and came back along daisy lane. What a sunrise. This is the thing with autumn, it brings with it some majestic early morning scenes.

I came home to work which I did for the morning. Meanwhile, there is portico construction going on outside the front door.

Mike hopes to finish by Thursday because there is rain coming, along with guests!

This afternoon, I slipped away for an hour or so to say goodbye to Jo who is heading to the UK for several months. Back in November.

It helps when I break up the day and get out half way through it. At least I can get away from sitting at my desk for a while.

Dinner is now done and darkness has descended with loadshedding adding to the outdoor inkiness.

Mike and David are watching snooker. There are some exclamations: ‘what!?’, ‘oh my gosh’, ‘that’s ridiculous’ all feature. Ok, snooker off and Mandalorian is on.

From my side, I’m just grateful for the success of this month.

Psalm 96:12
Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

Posted in Day to Day Blogs, Living on Fish Hoek mountainside | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Portico Under Construction

Back to Work Day

Posted on April 24, 2023 by Helga

Monday

Dear Elsie,

Today was a back to work day. It’s been cold and rainy in Cape Town and there was a little more of it this morning, but then finally the clouds parted and the sun shone and I was even able to get some washing done. This was this evening…

I went back to work and started slogging through the 100+ emails that needed attention. I have got through most of it, but still have quite a lot to go tomorrow. I think it’s going to take me through to Thursday to get on top of things.

The blessing of the day was sitting at m y desk and seeing the sea. It’s refreshing going away and then coming back to this view. I woke up way too early this morning (4am) and worked for about an hour before Mike woke up and made coffee. I’m going to get to bed early tonight, I think. Meanwhile David and Mike are watching some SciFi on TV. They have had a lot of TV time over the week I was away and it’s not a bad thing that it continues.

These blog entries I’m afraid are going to return to the normal mundane events of each day. None of the fun and games that came with visiting St. Helena. But they will long be remembered.

I think I’m off to shower and hit the hay!

Psalm 96:11
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

Posted in Day to Day Blogs, Living on Fish Hoek mountainside | Tagged | Comments Off on Back to Work Day

Home is Where my Heart is!

Posted on April 23, 2023 by Helga

Sunday

Dear Elsie,

Today I flew back to Cape Town and arrived home. Wow! Fish Hoek is a beautiful place and here is where my heart is. I arrived home on a very wet day. I thought it was possible our flight would be delayed due to the cold front sweeping over Cape Town, but we took off on time and landed in cool rainy weather. The landing was perfect. We descended through thick cloud and then about a minute before touching down we broke through the clouds, swept in over the N2 and landed smoothly on the run way.

I was off the plane quickly and Mike arrived to pick me up. How wonderful to see him! 9 nights apart is a super long time for us. So grateful to arrive home.

David was around too. He has had 5 exceptionally good days with the hope that the worst of this long Covid is behind him. Today however, was not as good as the previous days, but we  hope tomorrow, he’ll pick up where he left off yesterday.

We had a hearty lunch and then I spent the rest of the afternoon resting and enjoying my happy place.

Back to work tomorrow, but I have had a great week off. Amazing memories made and places seen. It’s 3667km from Johannesburg to Saint Helena and 1226km from Johannesburg to Cape Town – so nearly 10000km return.

Just to wrap up a couple of the things that happened on the day we left. We were all in the departure lounge – a pretty small place but just enough space to squash all the passengers in at one time. There was a very smartly dressed and well presented “Saint’ who came in and ordered tea. She stood out from the regular Saints by being particularly nicely done up and she stood out in her well tailored blue jacket. A short while later, we noticed 2 security guards and two Saint Helena policemen come in. We were all the plane side of security, so it was unusual to see the police. They walked around a bit, and then finally made their way to this particular passenger. The policewoman had a calm and quiet conversation with her and then we saw here pick up all her hand luggage and leave the lounge with them. Whoa! We wondered what was going on. It was all very calmly done. About 15 minutes later, she reappeared and not long after that, it was time to board and off we went. In Johannesburg, the same passenger ended up right next to us at the luggage carousel. Julian couldn’t resist asking her what had happened. She explained she’s had a car accident the night before. Now, every car accident on the island has to be investigated even if no other car is involved and there are no injuries. This lady seems to have had her car hit something. She said she thought she had ‘got away with it’ when she got through security, but the police caught  up with her to complete their investigation. She said she now lived in Scotland and wouldn’t be back for quite some time. In 2002 all the Saints got British citizenship and a lot of them left the island for the UK. She was one who made her home abroad.

The other thing we noticed after the incoming plane landed was after all the luggage and cargo was taken off, a hearse appeared, reversed up to the plane’s luggage conveyor belt and a temporary coffin was rolled out of the plane and into the hearse. Some Saint Helena ladies were sitting next to us and they said, ‘oh that must be DB – he went overseas for medical treatment and didn’t make it.’  Then the hearse drove right past the departure lounge and one of the ladies waved vociferously to try get the driver’s attention, as she knew him. That’s the thing when there are only 4000 people on an island. You get to know most people.

One of the best takeaways from my island experience is I can reduce the amount of screen time I have out of office hours. I don’t need to look incessantly at my cell phone or be on social media.  Also, I enjoyed our siesta at lunch time. Just stopping activities and taking a break is a good option to try do in the weeks ahead. And, if possible, to try to schedule more mountain walks. Some of our highlights were the walks. Trying to get out into the mountains more will be wonderful. The big difference of course between Saint Helena and South Africa is safety. On the island, crime is close to non existent so you have no fear hiking in the mountains no matter how isolated or rural.

Thank you Julian for a wonderful week away. I’ll leave you with the video of us landing on Saint Helena Island on 15th April 2023. Voices from passengers around us.

Psalm 95:6-7

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

 

Posted in Apartment living, Day to Day Blogs, Living on Fish Hoek mountainside | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Home is Where my Heart is!

Saint Helena Island – Heading Home

Posted on April 22, 2023 by Helga

Saturday

Dear Elsie

Today is the day we head home. Right now we are sitting at Saint Helena Airport. This morning dawned with the first rain we have had all week. It made me nervous. We cleaned up, packed up and bid a fond farewell to our hosts Donald and Gay. Then we went to Jamestown to sit on the balcony of the Consulate Hotel. We also stopped by the Market and found Jane who stays on for another week.

On the Jamestown Main Rd we encountered a couple of fellow travellers, one of whom had heard via the street grapevine that the incoming plane was getting in early.  It had skipped the technical stop at Walvis Bay, so we left for the airport with a couple of others who hitched a ride with us. Julian has driven brilliantly. Patrick the car hire guy was at the airport to meet us. All was well.

Yay! We are homeward bound.

I’ll post this now and look forward to catching up with more tomorrow.

Psalm 95:4& 5

In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.

We saw it all.

The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran  xx 🙂

 

 

Posted in Day to Day Blogs | Tagged , | Comments Off on Saint Helena Island – Heading Home

Saint Helena Island Day 6

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Helga

Friday

Dear Elsie

Today was our last proper sight-seeing day on the island. We are winding down after an interesting week – it’s been amazing visiting this out-of-the-way place.

For today, we started off around 7am with a drive to Jamestown and the plan to walk to Munden’s Fort.

We had a great view of James Bay, the wharf, the ladder and the town.

The ladder is being  enjoyed by anyone fit enough to go up. A couple of our fellow tourists had also heard it wouldn’t open before we all left and so on Wednesday while it was still closed, they took a chance and rushed up it just after 4pm, meeting a friend at the top. But, as you can see from the photo, you are very visible from far away when on the ladder & someone called the police! Yes they did! And so this couple were enjoying refreshments at the top when the coppers arrived to investigate their climbing the ladder while it was still closed. They asked if they were given permission by anyone, to which they said no. They asked if there was anyone else coming up with them – another no and then they simply wanted to know if they were okay or if there were any injuries. Negative to all, the police asked their times and then said they had both seen Jacob’s Ladder and the Saint Helena police.

A sign is busy being put up at the bottom of the ladder….apparently said Lord paid a whopping GBP300000 (three hundred thousand) for its repair – that’s GPB429 per stair!

The other sign is smaller and captures more important details…

But I digress. Initially our walk this morning took us along a path with a lot of expensive fencing protecting us from rockfalls. They have been a problem over centuries and had become more worrisome over the last few decades. Millions of pounds was spent on fencing and protective layers of chickenwire to prevent rockfalls.

Our walk took us further than anticipated as Julian suggested we keep walking, so we entered an area that had once been safe and walkable but now has extensive signs of rockfalls and no protection above. While Julian was enjoying it as a highlight, I was tiptoeing behind him, gingerly hoping for no rocks to hear us and start pounding down the mountainside.

Views were spectacular. We looked right over Rupert’s Bay. Apparently this is where the cargo ships docked bring material for the airport.

Munden’s Fort was a great place to mooch about. Looks like a ruin in Italy…

On our return, we went to the St Helena cafe for coffee and cake and then hung around until it was time for our 10am appointment at Briar’s Pavilion. This is where Napoleon lived after arriving on the island. He was here for a couple of months from October to December 1815. It literally was one room for him and his entourage.

Inside…

View…

Apparently, Napoleon met here, a French speaking slave named Toby who he could speak to.

Toby lived in a hut which will soon be restored.

Napoleon was then moved to Longwood, a sizeable suburb on Saint Helena and now made famous by Longwood House. This was our last sight-seeing visit. No inside photography allowed, but but it was interesting to see where Napoleon lived and died.

While leaving, we met a lady who has been a nurse at the local hospital for the last 6 months. It was interesting to hear her perspective of the hospital administration and the general health of the people on the island.

And so now, here we are. The eve of returning to our normal world. It has been a dichotomy for me. A place of peace and safety with little to no crime, where you can walk freely with no worries of being mugged. But on the other hand, the price for this is a lack of extensive health care, very little connection with the outside world and no way of leaving from one week to the next. The cost of the airfare is astronomical considering the distance covered. Locals have their ways and the way it’s done is the way it’s done. Change doesn’t come easy or rapidly, but it has come. There is a functioning airport after all and there is talk of fibre, so possible more Western things will reach this unusual, sometimes backward, place.

It’s been a treat. Tomorrow, I hope to possibly post a blog from the airport or maybe only after we arrive back in Johannesburg late tomorrow night.

Psalm 95:3

The Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

 

Posted in Day to Day Blogs | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Saint Helena Island Day 6