Today we started our final weekend out here in Cape Town, and Azille had booked us for today, so we could join her, along with her husband and friends, on a wine tasting trip. Not being a big drinker of wine, wine tasting wasn't on my list of things to do. But, as it barely cost a fiver for both Martin and I to go, and as there was biltong available, as well as spending a decent day out with Azille, I was more than happy to come along.
It was a really good day. Really good. We met Azille at a garden centre near her house so we could follow her car to her house, where we met her husband, Ernie, and they're friends, Chantel and Fritz, who were another couple that they knew. When everything was all parked up, we all jumped in Ernie's bukkie, and headed for the wine tasting. After a short drive we stopped off at a place called Marianne Wine Estate, which was a small, hidden vineyard, with a tiny building, where we went into and sat at our table. Sun was shining, views were incredible, and the waitress started bringing out the wines. We tried 5 in total there, 4 reds, 1 white. The white wine was probably my favourite out of all of them. Although I'm not a big wine drinker, all the wines we tasted were really nice. They were only small samples which I guess made it easier, as I felt comfortable only taking small sips. The last 3 wines we had, we tried with biltong too, which was nice.
After we were done, we headed over to Dulheim, another little vineyard. This time we were indoors, sat down at a table, and were given a list of wines, where we could choose 6 to try. I cant remember which ones I had, but they were all really nice. A little bit tipsy, everyone started having more of a laugh, and there was less awkwardness than the first wine tasting, so that made it really nice and relaxed. After drinking our wines, and paying for everything, we headed to the final place, which was the place where Azille and Ernie got married. It was a beautiful little vineyard with a nice, country feel to it, and lots of outside area. After drinking 11 samples of wine, and knowing I had to drive home later, I sobered up with a can of coke and a cheeky BLT, which was absolutely amazing. After everyone finished eating, we headed back to Azilles.
At Azilles, we all chilled out infront of her indoor braai, which was quite nice. Her and Ernie made this South African dish, called a Potjie, pronounce Poikie. It's like a stew, with Springbok meat, with potatoes and veg, all put in an iron pot and cooked over a fire for 3 hours. Took a long time, but when it was served with rice it was really nice. It was nice to eat and just chill out with Azille and Chantel's 5 dogs. Azille and Ernie have 2, and Chantel and Fritz have 3. Safe to say it was an evening for dogs. They were cute though so it's okay.
After eating the stew, it was getting late, so we said our thanks to Azille and Ernie, and our farewells to Fritz and Chantel and headed home. More of a chilled out day tomorrow, saying goodbye to Selwyn, then going to see some Cheetahs!
Harry
Saturday, 11 April 2015
Friday, 10 April 2015
Day 79 - De Beers Football Club & Cape Town Childrens Hospital
Today was our last day of work out here in Cape Town! It's been extremely busy, and we've worked with so many different clubs, schools, creches and townships. Joe did the maths and adding up and worked out that we've coached and seen over 2000 kids. That was a few weeks ago, that figures probably reached around 2,500 kids now. Crazy! We've been really happy to be so busy, but it's nice that we're finally finished, and can look forward to a quality weekend, before we fly back home.
We had an early start today, as we had a long trip to Somerset West, where we were meeting the De Beers coaches, and putting on a little soccer clinic for 2 groups of their players, to give them some ideas for when they coach. 2 hours, 2 groups, an hour with each group, completely different sessions with both. I live for this stuff. Happy days.
Our first session was with the Under 8's, 9's and 10's. As they were quite a young bunch, we decided to do a couple of games of tag, followed by Domes and Dishes. They seemed to love it, and it went really well. They got really into it, and when we split them into teams, they got even more competitive, which made it even more fun. So that was nice to see. For the final 15 minutes, we got them into a match. At the end of every session its nice to get them into a match, so they can practice the skills they've developed from the session in a real match scenario. As we had 2 groups, Martin and I agreed that we'd do matches with them both, and the aggregate score winner will win the overall bet between us both as it was currently 5-5.
First game with the younger group ended 0-0. Good football, but no goals, so it was all on the second game with the older lot.
The second group we had were the older lot, under 11's, 12's and 13's. Instead of doing Domes and Dishes, we did Skills Corridor. Very similar to what we did with All Stars. Although I enjoyed doing Skills Corridor with this group a lot more, as they seemed a lot more focused, and did everything first time and did it well. We even got to the point where Martin and I were trying to hit their ball as they went across, and they'd lose their ball if we hit it. It was quite fun!
We then had the deciding match. I had 10 players, Martin had 9. Martin did have the better strikeforce though. We were both short of defenders. With me having to put 3 midfielders in defence and 1 midfielder in goal, and Martin having 2 keepers, 1 in goal 1 outfield, and 3 midfielders in defence, too. It was a really good game, with both teams having chances to score. Martins team were far more clinical though, and won 2-0. Which means I lost 6-5 overall. Gutted. Absolutely gutted.
After we wrapped everything up, we met Charles (one of the coaches) who took us to a local brewery. This brewery had a clever idea, where you can either buy 1 big pint of 1 beer, or have a pallet of 4 smaller beers, of 4 different types. Martin and I both did the latter, and selected our 4 options. Can't even remember what they were called but they were nice. We at some chicken nuggets and chips and had a bit of a chat before saying our goodbyes and parting.
We headed back to the Learning Centre to meet Joe and Azille, and headed to the Childrens Hospital of Cape Town, in Rondebosch. After talking to Vinolia last Sunday, and her mentioning that there was a burns ward, I pestered Joe to get us to visit them. Being a burns victim myself, it would've meant a lot to see the kids there, and try and put a smile on their faces. We got their and met with the lady that would take us round. We brought chocolates and sweets for the kids too, and every kid we saw seemed to cheer up a bit with the sweets.
It was tough. To see all these kids, most younger than 5, wrapped up in bandages as a result of serious burns hit me hard. After having countless operations, I was always the one in the bed seeing people walk around seeing the patients, but to be on the opposite side of it was quite difficult. One of the kids was the exact same age as I was when I got burnt, and had his whole right side of his body affected from scalding, similar to me. So it was quite nice to have a little chat with his dad, and hopefully I cheered him up a bit. A few of the children we saw had really serious burns, too, covering most of their body, including their face. It made me feel so lucky that it was just my arms that were affected, and felt horrible that they had to suffer while I was the one to only have arms affected.
Sadly, because the lady we were with had to get to meetings, we didnt stay long. Seeing the work that the hospital were doing was amazing. So it was nice to see them.
After that, we were done for the day, and we headed home. Got a busy weekend coming up, so keep posted on this blog, as it's not over yet!
Harry
We had an early start today, as we had a long trip to Somerset West, where we were meeting the De Beers coaches, and putting on a little soccer clinic for 2 groups of their players, to give them some ideas for when they coach. 2 hours, 2 groups, an hour with each group, completely different sessions with both. I live for this stuff. Happy days.
Our first session was with the Under 8's, 9's and 10's. As they were quite a young bunch, we decided to do a couple of games of tag, followed by Domes and Dishes. They seemed to love it, and it went really well. They got really into it, and when we split them into teams, they got even more competitive, which made it even more fun. So that was nice to see. For the final 15 minutes, we got them into a match. At the end of every session its nice to get them into a match, so they can practice the skills they've developed from the session in a real match scenario. As we had 2 groups, Martin and I agreed that we'd do matches with them both, and the aggregate score winner will win the overall bet between us both as it was currently 5-5.
First game with the younger group ended 0-0. Good football, but no goals, so it was all on the second game with the older lot.
The second group we had were the older lot, under 11's, 12's and 13's. Instead of doing Domes and Dishes, we did Skills Corridor. Very similar to what we did with All Stars. Although I enjoyed doing Skills Corridor with this group a lot more, as they seemed a lot more focused, and did everything first time and did it well. We even got to the point where Martin and I were trying to hit their ball as they went across, and they'd lose their ball if we hit it. It was quite fun!
We then had the deciding match. I had 10 players, Martin had 9. Martin did have the better strikeforce though. We were both short of defenders. With me having to put 3 midfielders in defence and 1 midfielder in goal, and Martin having 2 keepers, 1 in goal 1 outfield, and 3 midfielders in defence, too. It was a really good game, with both teams having chances to score. Martins team were far more clinical though, and won 2-0. Which means I lost 6-5 overall. Gutted. Absolutely gutted.
After we wrapped everything up, we met Charles (one of the coaches) who took us to a local brewery. This brewery had a clever idea, where you can either buy 1 big pint of 1 beer, or have a pallet of 4 smaller beers, of 4 different types. Martin and I both did the latter, and selected our 4 options. Can't even remember what they were called but they were nice. We at some chicken nuggets and chips and had a bit of a chat before saying our goodbyes and parting.
We headed back to the Learning Centre to meet Joe and Azille, and headed to the Childrens Hospital of Cape Town, in Rondebosch. After talking to Vinolia last Sunday, and her mentioning that there was a burns ward, I pestered Joe to get us to visit them. Being a burns victim myself, it would've meant a lot to see the kids there, and try and put a smile on their faces. We got their and met with the lady that would take us round. We brought chocolates and sweets for the kids too, and every kid we saw seemed to cheer up a bit with the sweets.
It was tough. To see all these kids, most younger than 5, wrapped up in bandages as a result of serious burns hit me hard. After having countless operations, I was always the one in the bed seeing people walk around seeing the patients, but to be on the opposite side of it was quite difficult. One of the kids was the exact same age as I was when I got burnt, and had his whole right side of his body affected from scalding, similar to me. So it was quite nice to have a little chat with his dad, and hopefully I cheered him up a bit. A few of the children we saw had really serious burns, too, covering most of their body, including their face. It made me feel so lucky that it was just my arms that were affected, and felt horrible that they had to suffer while I was the one to only have arms affected.
Sadly, because the lady we were with had to get to meetings, we didnt stay long. Seeing the work that the hospital were doing was amazing. So it was nice to see them.
After that, we were done for the day, and we headed home. Got a busy weekend coming up, so keep posted on this blog, as it's not over yet!
Harry
Thursday, 9 April 2015
Day 78 - Computer Workshop & Diep River Complex
Today we had our final computer workshop, and it was such a quick lesson. Today's lesson, setting up an email address and knowing how to use it.
Well, 3 out of the 4 people that turned up already had email addresses, and were fairly confident in using them, the last person, Martin sat with while I did the lesson, and he got her set up and caught up quite quickly. We got through all the other bits really quickly, and the lesson was over after only 45 minutes. Simples.
When we finished at the Learning Centre, we went to grab some Koeksisters. To my horror, they had none in stock, and would take 20 minutes to brew up a new batch. As good as they are, I was in no mood to wait another 20 minutes for a Koeksister, so decided to give them a miss for the day. We then headed back to the Learning Centre, had lunch, and went out to go to the Diep River complex to say our goodbyes! Last time we went to visit them, one of the residents got a little bit handsy with me. You can read all about it from Day 23 of my blog.
Thankfully, the same woman wasn't there today, so my bum cheek remained innocent. Diep River are such a lively bunch, though, and we kept asking Joe why we weren't put into that complex instead of staying at Berghof, where the residents go to be after lunch, and aren't seen again until lunch the next day. This lot were so funny, it was brilliant. After we greeted, them, we had a sit down and a chat with all the residents, one woman wanted Martin and I to give her the tops we were wearing, and asking us to pretty much strip off! This lot seemed to enjoy having young men around it seems! After having a chat, we played pool. Martin and I formed a pair, and Joe paired up with one of the residents. It was England vs South Africa. Thankfully, we won after Joe potted the black, with the white falling into a hole almost straight after.
After that, we said our goodbyes, and headed back to the Learning Centre, then onto Joe's. We had planned to go see Fast & Furious 7 with Yonick and Jodi. Jodi managed to get a free ticket from her mum, but Yonick couldn't. As its near the end of our journey, we're a bit low on cash, so couldn't pay for Yonick too, so it was only me, Martin and Jodi that went to see it. Yonick saw it on Wednesday to be fair, so we didn't feel as bad going without him.
It was a top film. Absolutely amazing. The tribute to Paul Walker was really touching, too. Jodi was left in tears and I was close, too. Really good film.
After dropping Jodi back we headed for home, have an early start tomorrow so don't intend on going to bed too late.
Before I end this post, I would just like to mention that on the way to the Diep River complex, I got an email from Steve, who manages all our placements and the course itself, saying that I would be going to Singapore with my good mate Dan Openshaw from 25th April. It won't be as long, only just over 3 weeks, but I will be doing a blog for that trip too, and will put up the website on Facebook, Twitter and here soon, so keep posted!
Harry
Well, 3 out of the 4 people that turned up already had email addresses, and were fairly confident in using them, the last person, Martin sat with while I did the lesson, and he got her set up and caught up quite quickly. We got through all the other bits really quickly, and the lesson was over after only 45 minutes. Simples.
When we finished at the Learning Centre, we went to grab some Koeksisters. To my horror, they had none in stock, and would take 20 minutes to brew up a new batch. As good as they are, I was in no mood to wait another 20 minutes for a Koeksister, so decided to give them a miss for the day. We then headed back to the Learning Centre, had lunch, and went out to go to the Diep River complex to say our goodbyes! Last time we went to visit them, one of the residents got a little bit handsy with me. You can read all about it from Day 23 of my blog.
Thankfully, the same woman wasn't there today, so my bum cheek remained innocent. Diep River are such a lively bunch, though, and we kept asking Joe why we weren't put into that complex instead of staying at Berghof, where the residents go to be after lunch, and aren't seen again until lunch the next day. This lot were so funny, it was brilliant. After we greeted, them, we had a sit down and a chat with all the residents, one woman wanted Martin and I to give her the tops we were wearing, and asking us to pretty much strip off! This lot seemed to enjoy having young men around it seems! After having a chat, we played pool. Martin and I formed a pair, and Joe paired up with one of the residents. It was England vs South Africa. Thankfully, we won after Joe potted the black, with the white falling into a hole almost straight after.
After that, we said our goodbyes, and headed back to the Learning Centre, then onto Joe's. We had planned to go see Fast & Furious 7 with Yonick and Jodi. Jodi managed to get a free ticket from her mum, but Yonick couldn't. As its near the end of our journey, we're a bit low on cash, so couldn't pay for Yonick too, so it was only me, Martin and Jodi that went to see it. Yonick saw it on Wednesday to be fair, so we didn't feel as bad going without him.
It was a top film. Absolutely amazing. The tribute to Paul Walker was really touching, too. Jodi was left in tears and I was close, too. Really good film.
After dropping Jodi back we headed for home, have an early start tomorrow so don't intend on going to bed too late.
Before I end this post, I would just like to mention that on the way to the Diep River complex, I got an email from Steve, who manages all our placements and the course itself, saying that I would be going to Singapore with my good mate Dan Openshaw from 25th April. It won't be as long, only just over 3 weeks, but I will be doing a blog for that trip too, and will put up the website on Facebook, Twitter and here soon, so keep posted!
Harry
Day 77 - Drommedaris Easter Activity Morning & Drommedaris Girls
11 weeks done and completed! Blimey, only 5 days to go. Everytime I think about it, it feels stranger and stranger how quick time has flown by out here.
We started the day with our final Easter Activity session with the Drommedaris complex. After the nightmare that was Bothasig yesterday, we were hoping for the ever reliable Drommedaris group to put us in a better mood.
Nope.
We thought Bothasig were bad. They were angels compared to Drommedaris. After 10 minutes I was done. They just wouldn't listen to anything we said, and seemed to be so fidgety and restless, it was a nightmare. Joe managed to get the kids under control though, and stamped his authority on them. It was something to admire.
We quickly told the Easter story then got underway with activities. Same as before, Martin had games outside, I controlled egg painting, and Jodi assisted with colouring in.
The actual activities went quite well, it was just what happened but the kids just didn't want to do JUST the activity. At the painting station, kids were painiting eachothers faces, so I had to take their brushes of them, at the colouring station the kids were colouring in everything, not just their paper, and somehow a few of the kids absolutely destroyed the bathroom, leaving it in a terrible state. Safe to say it wasn't the best group of kids we've had.
Thankfully, after clearing everything up and feeding them, it was over, and the kids went off home. We were all tired, so drowned our sorrows eating the left over jelly tot sweets that we had.
Azille and Jodi headed off, and Joe went to get a few bits from the library so Martin and I played a bit of table tennis, using a small, square table as the court. It was a fun little game we played when we had some free time at Drommedaris, so it was a nice way to chill out as we waited for the others.
When Joe returned, we headed off. I headed to Berghof to have my haircut, and Martin dropped Joe off.
After my haircut, which resulted in a very stylish trim by the way, we headed over to the Italian Club, where we had our last session with Drommedaris girls.
We arrived there, and we had a mixture of boys and girls, so we got straight into a match, boys vs girls. Girls were a man down so I pitched in and helped. Couldn't stop the boys winning 3-0 though, they were all over us to be fair and could've scored more, so 3-0 wasn't a bad result.
After saying our last goodbyes to Drommedaris and AD their coach, we headed home, got changed, and headed straight out to meet Vinolia and Joe, who we were taking for dinner.
They had chosen a seafood place called Bluefin, which was actually a really nice place. Joe and Vinolia both had this fish stir fry which looked quite nice. The restaurant also did Chinese so Martin had crispy duck with chow mein, while I had sweet and sour pork with egg fried rice. After finishing mine, I had to help Martin out and eat some of his because he was struggling, and then finished off Joe and Vinolias chips, as they were a tad too full too. 3 meals? Easy ;-)
We finished with hot chocolates and coffee, before dropping Joe and Vinolia back to their house. It was nice to take them out, as they've been so nice, welcoming and generous to us during our stay here, so it was only right to take them out at least once for a nice meal. They deserved it. It'll be hard saying goodbye to the Africa family. Although Vinolia wants to visit in 3 years time, so hopefully we can see them again, and show them round our country this time.
Harry
We started the day with our final Easter Activity session with the Drommedaris complex. After the nightmare that was Bothasig yesterday, we were hoping for the ever reliable Drommedaris group to put us in a better mood.
Nope.
We thought Bothasig were bad. They were angels compared to Drommedaris. After 10 minutes I was done. They just wouldn't listen to anything we said, and seemed to be so fidgety and restless, it was a nightmare. Joe managed to get the kids under control though, and stamped his authority on them. It was something to admire.
We quickly told the Easter story then got underway with activities. Same as before, Martin had games outside, I controlled egg painting, and Jodi assisted with colouring in.
The actual activities went quite well, it was just what happened but the kids just didn't want to do JUST the activity. At the painting station, kids were painiting eachothers faces, so I had to take their brushes of them, at the colouring station the kids were colouring in everything, not just their paper, and somehow a few of the kids absolutely destroyed the bathroom, leaving it in a terrible state. Safe to say it wasn't the best group of kids we've had.
Thankfully, after clearing everything up and feeding them, it was over, and the kids went off home. We were all tired, so drowned our sorrows eating the left over jelly tot sweets that we had.
Azille and Jodi headed off, and Joe went to get a few bits from the library so Martin and I played a bit of table tennis, using a small, square table as the court. It was a fun little game we played when we had some free time at Drommedaris, so it was a nice way to chill out as we waited for the others.
When Joe returned, we headed off. I headed to Berghof to have my haircut, and Martin dropped Joe off.
After my haircut, which resulted in a very stylish trim by the way, we headed over to the Italian Club, where we had our last session with Drommedaris girls.
We arrived there, and we had a mixture of boys and girls, so we got straight into a match, boys vs girls. Girls were a man down so I pitched in and helped. Couldn't stop the boys winning 3-0 though, they were all over us to be fair and could've scored more, so 3-0 wasn't a bad result.
After saying our last goodbyes to Drommedaris and AD their coach, we headed home, got changed, and headed straight out to meet Vinolia and Joe, who we were taking for dinner.
They had chosen a seafood place called Bluefin, which was actually a really nice place. Joe and Vinolia both had this fish stir fry which looked quite nice. The restaurant also did Chinese so Martin had crispy duck with chow mein, while I had sweet and sour pork with egg fried rice. After finishing mine, I had to help Martin out and eat some of his because he was struggling, and then finished off Joe and Vinolias chips, as they were a tad too full too. 3 meals? Easy ;-)
We finished with hot chocolates and coffee, before dropping Joe and Vinolia back to their house. It was nice to take them out, as they've been so nice, welcoming and generous to us during our stay here, so it was only right to take them out at least once for a nice meal. They deserved it. It'll be hard saying goodbye to the Africa family. Although Vinolia wants to visit in 3 years time, so hopefully we can see them again, and show them round our country this time.
Harry
Tuesday, 7 April 2015
Day 76 - Bothasig Gardens Easter Activity Morning
Today we entered our final 7 days of Cape Town life. Next Tuesday we start the long, 22 hour journey home. It's gone by unbelievably quick. I say it often in my blogs but it really has.
Today we just had one thing scheduled today, it was the Bothasig Gardens Easter Activity Morning.
Thankfully, the car was working, so we didn't have to get a train in, so we were allowed to leave a little bit later this morning. We got the Learning Centre, said our hellos, and started packing up the car with bits and bobs we had to take to the complex to do the Easter activities.
We had the same sort of thing as with Sunflower last week. Martin was outside doing ball games, I was inside doing the egg painting, and Azille assisted with the colouring in, with the groups rotating to a different area after a certain time period.
It went well, kids weren't as well behaved as maybe we'd have liked, but we got by. Most of my time was spent trying to clear up spilled food colouring, which was an absolute chore, as there was so much of it spilled, and it's so annoying to get out. My hands, despite plenty of attempts washing them, are still blue from the food colouring stains.
When everything was done, we packed it all up, gave the kids sandwiches, sweets, and chocolates, and said our goodbyes. To be fair, that was probably the most difficult it's going to get for this week. As its our final week, all it really is is winding things down, visiting places for the final time and just getting things sorted to go home, so it's nice and chilled out, not too hectic.
We grabbed some lunch and headed back to the Learning Centre. That was us done for the day! By 2pm we were finished, it was a strange feeling. We were thinking of going to see Fast and Furious with Yonick and Jodi, but they had Youth Group so couldn't. Shame. We headed to Mike's Sports to pay for the kit that my girlfriends mum kindly donated money towards. We were told it will arrive in 2-4 weeks so hopefully should be able to get some pictures for you nearer then.
Tomorrow, off to Drommedaris for our final Easter Activity session, followed by a haircut for yours truly, then our final session with Drommedaris girls, then rounding off the night taking Joe and Vinolia out for dinner to say thank you for taking care of us and being so welcoming to us during our time out here. They're the nicest, most generous and caring couple I know, and have made life out here in South Africa so much easier for us, being pretty much like parents and good friends to us, without asking for anything in return, so they deserve to be treated!
Harry
Today we just had one thing scheduled today, it was the Bothasig Gardens Easter Activity Morning.
Thankfully, the car was working, so we didn't have to get a train in, so we were allowed to leave a little bit later this morning. We got the Learning Centre, said our hellos, and started packing up the car with bits and bobs we had to take to the complex to do the Easter activities.
We had the same sort of thing as with Sunflower last week. Martin was outside doing ball games, I was inside doing the egg painting, and Azille assisted with the colouring in, with the groups rotating to a different area after a certain time period.
It went well, kids weren't as well behaved as maybe we'd have liked, but we got by. Most of my time was spent trying to clear up spilled food colouring, which was an absolute chore, as there was so much of it spilled, and it's so annoying to get out. My hands, despite plenty of attempts washing them, are still blue from the food colouring stains.
When everything was done, we packed it all up, gave the kids sandwiches, sweets, and chocolates, and said our goodbyes. To be fair, that was probably the most difficult it's going to get for this week. As its our final week, all it really is is winding things down, visiting places for the final time and just getting things sorted to go home, so it's nice and chilled out, not too hectic.
We grabbed some lunch and headed back to the Learning Centre. That was us done for the day! By 2pm we were finished, it was a strange feeling. We were thinking of going to see Fast and Furious with Yonick and Jodi, but they had Youth Group so couldn't. Shame. We headed to Mike's Sports to pay for the kit that my girlfriends mum kindly donated money towards. We were told it will arrive in 2-4 weeks so hopefully should be able to get some pictures for you nearer then.
Tomorrow, off to Drommedaris for our final Easter Activity session, followed by a haircut for yours truly, then our final session with Drommedaris girls, then rounding off the night taking Joe and Vinolia out for dinner to say thank you for taking care of us and being so welcoming to us during our time out here. They're the nicest, most generous and caring couple I know, and have made life out here in South Africa so much easier for us, being pretty much like parents and good friends to us, without asking for anything in return, so they deserve to be treated!
Harry
Monday, 6 April 2015
Day 75 - Souvenir Shopping at Waterfront
After a very busy weekend, we made sure that today was kept as a nice, chilled day off, with a little trip down to the Waterfront shopping centre to grab some souvenirs before flying home early next week.
After waking up, I decided it was finally time to treat Martin to my family dish of Tuna Fish Crunch, that I explained about in a previous post. So after having a bath and getting ready, I headed downstairs, spoke to Anna (one of the main chefs) who said I could use the kitchen. I grabbed the ingredients and got underway. It took a while as it was a kitchen made for making large amounts of food, not a meal for 2, so it took a little longer than I thought, but soon enough, it was done. Didn't look too great, but then again, Tuna Fish Crunch generally doesn't. It's all about the taste. Now, I love Tuna Fish Crunch, and I thought I did a pretty decent job, and it tasted nice. Martin seemed a bit hesitant, though. He said that there was so many different flavours in there which was the only real criticism, other than the appearance, but overall it was a decent dish. Happy days.
After eating, we walked down to the Waterfront, where we spent a few hours walking round the shops, getting various Africanny goods to take home. I managed to get all my souvenir shopping done, so I'm a happy bunny. Just need to find a way to pack it all in my suitcase, now. Shouldn't be too hard, though.
After finishing our shopping trip, we headed on home. Again, walking back. As it was a bank holiday, we couldn't be bothered to deal with the hassle that the buses out here will cause. It wasn't too far a walk either, and it was a nice day too, which made it even more appealing.
After getting back we ended the evening just chilling out, watching Man City crumble against Palace, and leave us in 2nd in the league! Happy days again!
Midway through the evening, Joe called up saying that he managed to get our car working. He drove it here, and Martin drove him home to try and help recharge the battery. Apparently so far so good. That saves us getting up at the crack of dawn tomorrow, which is nice. So thank you so much Joe!
Tomorrow back to work, with another Easter activity day, this time with the Bothasig complex. Should be good!
Harry
After waking up, I decided it was finally time to treat Martin to my family dish of Tuna Fish Crunch, that I explained about in a previous post. So after having a bath and getting ready, I headed downstairs, spoke to Anna (one of the main chefs) who said I could use the kitchen. I grabbed the ingredients and got underway. It took a while as it was a kitchen made for making large amounts of food, not a meal for 2, so it took a little longer than I thought, but soon enough, it was done. Didn't look too great, but then again, Tuna Fish Crunch generally doesn't. It's all about the taste. Now, I love Tuna Fish Crunch, and I thought I did a pretty decent job, and it tasted nice. Martin seemed a bit hesitant, though. He said that there was so many different flavours in there which was the only real criticism, other than the appearance, but overall it was a decent dish. Happy days.
After eating, we walked down to the Waterfront, where we spent a few hours walking round the shops, getting various Africanny goods to take home. I managed to get all my souvenir shopping done, so I'm a happy bunny. Just need to find a way to pack it all in my suitcase, now. Shouldn't be too hard, though.
After finishing our shopping trip, we headed on home. Again, walking back. As it was a bank holiday, we couldn't be bothered to deal with the hassle that the buses out here will cause. It wasn't too far a walk either, and it was a nice day too, which made it even more appealing.
After getting back we ended the evening just chilling out, watching Man City crumble against Palace, and leave us in 2nd in the league! Happy days again!
Midway through the evening, Joe called up saying that he managed to get our car working. He drove it here, and Martin drove him home to try and help recharge the battery. Apparently so far so good. That saves us getting up at the crack of dawn tomorrow, which is nice. So thank you so much Joe!
Tomorrow back to work, with another Easter activity day, this time with the Bothasig complex. Should be good!
Harry
Sunday, 5 April 2015
Day 74 - Easter Service at Victory Outreach Church
Happy Easter!!!
Joe had invited us to his church, to see the Easter Sunday service, which Martin and I both thought would be really good to see. Christianity and other forms of religion seem to be really big in South Africa, a lot bigger than in the UK, so it would be cool to see what their church services are like.
After our car broke down last night, we had to drive Densels car to his house, where we had a cup of tea, and waited for them to get ready. When everyone was ready we all fit into Densels car. There was 8 of us, stuffed into a 5 seater car. Martin was the only passenger not to have a kid on their lap it was that full.
We got there, and all emptied out the car. We entered the church room and it was packed. There was so many people there it was crazy. Music was blasting out, you could hear it from the car park. We saw Joe near the front and headed towards him, he saved us 2 seats which was nice. We got there and started to watch the service.
It was really good. There were a few songs, then a long drama about the effects of drug abuse and why you shouldn't argue and fall out with your parents and other various life lessons, before ending on showing that the Victory Outreach group is there to help you get your life together, which was pretty cool. We saw first hand the work Victory Outreach do on our first working day out here, so it was nice to finally see what kind of stuff they do outside of the recovery home.
After the service was over, we said our hellos to various reverends and church-goers, and headed out with Joe. The church is right above that cafe that sells the Koeksisters, so between us, me and Joe bought 20 of them, to be shared out between us and the rest of the family.
When we got back to Joes, after a quick game of cards, Jaden and I headed to the shops to grab some bits for a braai, while Martin and Joe set up the barbecue for the meat. When we get back they were already cooking. Knowing that i'd just get in the way of the 2 of them, I headed inside and chatted to Vinolia while she cooked a cheesecake, which was nice and chilled out.
When the food was all cooked, salad was ready, we packed our bags and headed out in Densels bukkie to go down to Greenpoint Park, where Victory Outreach invited everyone down to have a big picnic. A bukkie is basically like a mini van, and with Joe and Vinolia sat in in the front seats, 10 of us filled up the back of it, which was a different experience to sitting in a car seat!
There were so many people at Greenpoint Park it was amazing. People were chilling out, playing football, American football, cricket, dodgeball, bubble football. Whatever you can think of that you can play at the park, there was someone doing it. It was a really fun day. I started off playing football with Martin, Jodi, Cassidy and Jordyn, with Martin and Jodi on a team against us, in a possession game. Then we moved on to cricket for a bit, before I took Cassidy and Chloe (Densels daughters, aged 9&11) to the park. They completely wore me out. They wanted to play on EVERYTHING. It was so tiring. Before I knew it, Martin came and found us to tell us we were heading home now. Saved by Martin. We all jumped into the back of the bukkie, and Joe dropped us off at Berghof.
I was so tired I managed a nap when we got in, which was quite nice to be honest. Then I went downstairs and skyped the family, and relaxed for a chilled evening in.
Tomorrow, after 2 days of very early starts, I'm aiming for a good lie in tomorrow, before we head down to the Waterfront to finish our souvenir shopping!
Harry
Joe had invited us to his church, to see the Easter Sunday service, which Martin and I both thought would be really good to see. Christianity and other forms of religion seem to be really big in South Africa, a lot bigger than in the UK, so it would be cool to see what their church services are like.
After our car broke down last night, we had to drive Densels car to his house, where we had a cup of tea, and waited for them to get ready. When everyone was ready we all fit into Densels car. There was 8 of us, stuffed into a 5 seater car. Martin was the only passenger not to have a kid on their lap it was that full.
We got there, and all emptied out the car. We entered the church room and it was packed. There was so many people there it was crazy. Music was blasting out, you could hear it from the car park. We saw Joe near the front and headed towards him, he saved us 2 seats which was nice. We got there and started to watch the service.
It was really good. There were a few songs, then a long drama about the effects of drug abuse and why you shouldn't argue and fall out with your parents and other various life lessons, before ending on showing that the Victory Outreach group is there to help you get your life together, which was pretty cool. We saw first hand the work Victory Outreach do on our first working day out here, so it was nice to finally see what kind of stuff they do outside of the recovery home.
After the service was over, we said our hellos to various reverends and church-goers, and headed out with Joe. The church is right above that cafe that sells the Koeksisters, so between us, me and Joe bought 20 of them, to be shared out between us and the rest of the family.
When we got back to Joes, after a quick game of cards, Jaden and I headed to the shops to grab some bits for a braai, while Martin and Joe set up the barbecue for the meat. When we get back they were already cooking. Knowing that i'd just get in the way of the 2 of them, I headed inside and chatted to Vinolia while she cooked a cheesecake, which was nice and chilled out.
When the food was all cooked, salad was ready, we packed our bags and headed out in Densels bukkie to go down to Greenpoint Park, where Victory Outreach invited everyone down to have a big picnic. A bukkie is basically like a mini van, and with Joe and Vinolia sat in in the front seats, 10 of us filled up the back of it, which was a different experience to sitting in a car seat!
There were so many people at Greenpoint Park it was amazing. People were chilling out, playing football, American football, cricket, dodgeball, bubble football. Whatever you can think of that you can play at the park, there was someone doing it. It was a really fun day. I started off playing football with Martin, Jodi, Cassidy and Jordyn, with Martin and Jodi on a team against us, in a possession game. Then we moved on to cricket for a bit, before I took Cassidy and Chloe (Densels daughters, aged 9&11) to the park. They completely wore me out. They wanted to play on EVERYTHING. It was so tiring. Before I knew it, Martin came and found us to tell us we were heading home now. Saved by Martin. We all jumped into the back of the bukkie, and Joe dropped us off at Berghof.
I was so tired I managed a nap when we got in, which was quite nice to be honest. Then I went downstairs and skyped the family, and relaxed for a chilled evening in.
Tomorrow, after 2 days of very early starts, I'm aiming for a good lie in tomorrow, before we head down to the Waterfront to finish our souvenir shopping!
Harry
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