We left for home really early this morning and drove up to our house after an hour of winding our way through Cape Town traffic. Two quick hours from Swellendam to Somerset West and 1 gruelling hour from Somerset West to Sun Valley. We would have got home half an hour earlier if Baden Powell Drive hadn’t been closed. We had to backtrack and go all the way to the N2. As we drove into the city, I was very aware of the pleasantness of Swellendam. Population 17 000. A brief 3 minute drive to the N2 and you’re on your way to where you want to go.
It has a lot to recommend it. A quiet little nook of South Africa where crime rates are low, sirens are few and country sounds are the music of the morning. Birds tweet and screech, frogs croak and other animals of the mountains chortle or squeak…there were many sounds at 4am I could not identify. They were just ‘countryish!’ There are other quirks in this fabulous little town…
As we drove into town yesterday morning, there was a Grassny sign. I imagined completely English folk driving in and saying, “Huh? Grassny. What on earth can that be?” Maybe the men cutting the grass would have been a clue, but if they didn’t notice for having their full concentration on Grassny, they would look baffled. Grassny indeed. A wonderful quirk of these little towns – signs of a bygone era! Much simpler than saying, “Grass cutters ahead!”
There is definitely something to be said for living in a small town. You are away from the maddening crowd. The messy politics of the land don’t seem to be quite in your face there. People smile and greet.
And then there’s the heat. Nestled in the shadow of the Langeberg mountains, inland from the sea, the summers are reminiscent of the highveld. Warm, languid, windless. The Koornlands river provides a wonderful water source and vegetation grows in leaps and bounds in rich fertile soil. Large lush gardens are tended with care, while tall proud Jacaranda’s deposit carpets that remind me of my childhood.
Ah, yes. There is good reason to retire to the country. I think my husband would love it. The serenity certainly seeped into my soul.
Talking of towns and cities, it’s good to remember this one is not our forever home…Hebrews 13:14
For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
That’s going to be the best one of all!
Back to now! Tomorrow I go to Jo’burg for 3 nights. This is actually a business trip, so who knows how my blog will turn out.
Talking of which, I think I will continue blogging next year. BUT, I think I will very much lessen my Facebook presence. Off Facebook altogether? I don’t think so, but I think I’ll leave my personal profile dormant and only post the blog to Helga’s Daily Blog Facebook page.
Keep the smile going!
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂