Saturday, July 24, 2010

Deaths


Clare experimented with the chocolate sauce on a bacon and banana pancake this evening. Hmm. She weilds a mean chainsaw, before you make that hasty comment.

It seems to be a day of hearing about sad deaths - farm murders back in Rosetta near Mooi River (near where we used to live) -- the mother of a friend back there, and the the sudden death wife of a bloke we've been diving with here. She and B were part of the Saveloy selling team at the cattle sale at which they laughed themselves into aching sides and stomachs. My heart goes out to my friends back in South Africa, living around there, and the sadness, fear and anger they will have to deal with. Here the community was saddened and shocked too. The fragility of life is quite hard to deal with when it is suddenly thrust in your face. I guess the message is to get around to saying those things and telling people how much they mean to you, while you can.

The borrowed printer is working as a minor piece of good news.

8 comments:

  1. Bacon and banana pancake? Y'a know, for some reason, I think you should add some peanut butter to the chocolate sauce...

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  2. Somehow that picture reminds me of a certain Virginia Shaw, character in umm some minor so-called humorous SF written by a couple of hack writers.

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  3. Hi Dave & Barbs.

    Rosetta, very ugly. Apparently the robbers (attackers) set a fire on the land to draw the owners and staff away from the farm house. The wife went back with 2 employees to fetch something and disturbed the robbers. All 3 were killed, the farmer's wife and the 2 employees. A botched robbery it seems, nothing more sinister.

    A blast from the past for you. Dr. Ron Uken came to lunch at the restaurant today. He wishes you well in your new adventure. He is a geologist and rock climber.

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  4. Mike - I'll suggest it (shudder) :-)

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  5. Francis the young lady in the picture then must prove that at least one of the hacks is startlingly precient, as she must have been about 9 when it was written. And B didn't her first chainsaw for another 3 years after RBV

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  6. Tantalus - B and I were just saying how sad this is for the way of life of the whole area (which had escaped the alarms, electric fences and armed response vehicles all over of much the rest of SA and had a relaxing charm as such) and hoping our various good friends there are not too affected. And wishing it would either be fixed (or majorly improved) or that you were all on our island. sigh. You guys are still always in our thoughts and prayers. We miss you, even if I don't miss the insecurity at all.

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  7. Hiya both.

    It’s not so bad. We have a rather tatty 2 foot high fence round the property to keep the dachshunds from roaming, apart from that nothing much. The bokkies continue to jump the fence and make friends with the dogs, sort of.

    A few of the diehard facists in the area choose to view this event as another racist attack, but I’m not convinced. Events could prove me wrong but in the mean time we continue to leverage the amazing success of the world cup and look to the future.

    I take a perverse delight in pointing out to the English ‘whenwes’, three generations down the track but still speaking with an exaggerated plum in the mouth (“Uncle Herbie bought his first Jagwaaaaah when he became colonel of the regiment”), that whilst we delivered about 7 world class stadiums on time England’s Wembley stadium was delivered over 2 years late and way over budget.

    Are we living in Noddy land ?

    We miss you both lots, and the writers group is not what it was when you sat there, eyes closed, absorbing every word and offering sage critique.

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  8. Experimenting is good. Bananas, bacon and chocolate is... less good.

    Commiserations on the attacks back in SA. It's hard to leave a community behind you, even when you know you're doing it for the best of reasons.

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