Goeie dag aan familie en vriende,

Hierdie week is Englels and dus moet julle maar bietjie verder lees om die nuus te kry. Hier gaan dit goed ..dit reen alweer, na soos hieronder beskryf ,3 pragtige dae van sonskyn, blou lug en geen wind nie!!

Verjaardae in my boekie is min, Martie in

Kempton verjaar 26ste en ons bid haar toe ‘n geseende jaar met susksesvolle studies!!!

Gerlof dra ons gelukwensinge oor aan Marie Janke… ‘nevermind’ die 4 B’s ek dink sy was uiters dapper om die jaar te herhaal !!



Ons het ook jou reis verhaal geniet, Gerlof en bly julle is veilig tuis.

Nine is alweer op pad en ons hoop sy geniet haar kuier in Natal.hessie hoop jy voel al heelwat beter! Haya werk jou gmail adres?Gerhard en Gerda in Mazibuku …moed hou met Afrika!

Bly Leopold is weer terug op die lug!

Ek werk hard en ten spyte van ‘n heerlike vakansie…geniet ek dit weer om die siekes en ellendiges te help.!

Sal graag wil weet wie skryf matriek eksamens of enige belangrike toets of prakties!

Baie groete

Ons





Monday 25 July 2008



Good day to all,



Just put away the ironing board…hoping to write a few lines before I have to go to bed again..the only thing about working night duty is that you seems to be more in bed than otherwise..Going back to work after nearly 3weeks of leisure and spoiling was not easy but within the hour the holiday was long forgotten. The hospital has been very busy at times .thing seems to be improving slightly recession and all.

I came home yesterday ,had a cup of tea , got ready and left for church, played the organ and had an excellent sermon sang to God’s glory and came home. With the closing of the Olympics I decided to stay and watch ..napped in between but saw most of it..played 2 games of scrabble and watched a movie went to bed after 32 marathon hours of being awake!!!!

After nearly 5 weeks of the most unsettled weather and plenty of rain and disasters of flooding we woke on the 20th with sun shining brightly, it was too good to be true!!

As the morning grew the weather forecast became brighter and brighter and soon we were on the road to another agricultural show , one of the biggest in this part of the country drove through spectacular scenery with lakes on both sides of the road and even mountains in the distance,

The show in Virginia(not the Free state) was held in the middle of town, unreal!!

Most difficult part was finding parking but with patience in hand we drove very slowly with the other 20 thousand visitors towards the allocated parking plot also in the middle of town. The usual stalls held by the travellers and the Pakistani’s were not allowed inside the grounds and filled both sides of the main road, quite festive with balloons and music blaring loud and clear.

Entry fee was cut because Barry boasts always that we came from SA to watch the show and I got in ½ price! Hundreds of horses cattle sheep and other 4 legged creatures were to be seen. One bull was so enormous his backside was the size of an elephant as black as the aces of night but beautiful!!! It took a while to get to the hall where the hobbies, food, flowers and vegetables were displayed and that was an education in itself. Carrots the size of walking sticks, parsnips not far shorter…the cabbage heads were 3ft(1meter) in diameter. There must have been 40 kinds of potatoes all cooked and cut because it is in the cooking and tasting that the prize lies.

Farm machinery beyond description, so enormous that you have to have a ladder to get into the tractor. The mechanism of the milking cows in working right in front of you a tanker for the milk parked next to the stalls and the milk going directly into the tanker via tubes etc. fascinating. while the cows could not be bothered. Being poked and washed and combed at the same time

Every possible instrument for making farming easier was there, remembering that the farmer in this country is usually one man operations, there are no labour force here.



As it was a special day I was treated to farm made ice-cream delicious..like velvet and as I long as I was licking I was thinking of Gerhardus,who LOVES icecream.



The Clydesdale horses was specially exhibited because of the part it played in the farming history of the country..they are so big but so good natured.



The poultry was also very well attended and we saw chickens we did not know existed. We were specially interested in geese as we have an idea of turning part of the lower field into free ranging 2 legged non flying bird enjoyment!



After 4 hours of intensive looking and admiring and listening to Irish country music we took to the main road. In a very smart hotel we had lunch..the whole works…garlic rolls, roast beef with roast potatoes and trifle with special coffee to end this celebration…we had to walk miles back to the car which was a good idea as I would have fallen asleep behind the wheel.

As was our habit we took a different route home which always turns out to be a delight. Well the sun shone and the day turned out to be the best we had in August in every way.



My vegetable garden has been mowed down as it seemed to be the best way of handling the situation of overgrown spinach eaten by slugs and weeds waist high. The only things left is the raspberries which is only starting to bear fruit now.

The flowers has had it in every way and with the weather deteriorating I am not going to venture into any thing new for the last weeks of autumn.



The good weather lasted 3 days and today has been grey and wet.!



I have been summoned to attend to lunch

Thank you for the letters and pictures I just love it all.



Hope you will take care of yourselves.



Irish regards

Barry & Christina( Stien etc….)