Some good news...

Abigail 2y 4mnths

Paige 1y 4mnths

We just got back from Johannesburg. Not my favourite city but then I don't really have one! Gimme the bush or small places anytime! However the visit was to attend my son's wedding & to see both of my grand-daughters & all my kids at the same time!

A great time spent, too much food eaten & beer drunk, but what the hell! I met my in-laws for the first time & I think we hit it off quite well!

I also got to get close up & personal with a fully grown Cheetah, my favourite animal, & stood as Best Man for my son - possibly my greatest highlight yet! I can say that even though he subjected me to, what I can only call, a beauty session - hair cut, face massage, shave & something called 'threading' which entailed having my eyebrows (of which I am justly proud & quite attached to) - plucked out using a piece of fine string wielded by a grinning demon going by the name of Ahmed or some such!

The Wedding took place at Game rehabilitation farm called the Farm Inn - great setting with some truly stunning animals! As much as I dislike seeing any animal in a cage or behind wire, I was assured that all these animals were either being rehabilitated for eventual release back into the wild or for sustainable breeding programs - NOT for canned hunting safaris!

Meercats

Oldish Lion Male

   

Spending time with my kids & grand kids was great, seeing as we are separated by an average of 1000Km & contact is normally by Skype or cel phone! I also had time to contemplate my accomplishments - not much beyond three really great people that have shown me courage in the face of adversity, the ability to hold truth & honour above all else & true compassion. In a word, I am extremely proud of my three 'kids'! Unfortunately, kids no more but still held in my heart as my kids.
Next was a trip to a game farm that my son had previously held shares in (see, the genes kick in with the love of the bush! ;) ) where we stayed for a week with a friend of his from the UK. First time visit fro his wife & little girl (Millie or Amelia) who I hope enjoyed it as much as we did!

From L To R Claire,Martin, Millie, Russel, Paige & Jenni

Jan(et), Llew, Russel, Jenni & Paige - doing 'Village People'

'Kay, that's all for now, getting writers cramp in my one finger! Mebbe some more later!

'Cause it's another day for you and me in paradise

http://m.iol.co.za/article/view/s/11/a/304960

Durban - Two policemen were shot dead in Durban over a weekend in which ordinary citizens came under fire in a shopping centre, on the streets and in a takeaway restaurant.
On Sunday, an off-duty policeman was killed in KwaMashu, close to the area where a councillor was abducted and murdered on Friday.
News of his killing came as people from Pinetown and New Germany gathered outside a New Germany Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet to lay flowers and bid farewell to Detective Constable Ajith Krishinlall, who died after being hit several times in a shoot-out with robbers on Friday night.
His colleague, Detective Constable Jerome Ngoma was critically injured in the same robbery.
At 7am on Sunday, customers and staff in the Sunningdale Centre Spar in the northern suburbs escaped with their lives when 15 men stormed the shop with pistols and AK47s. They emptied the tills and robbed people of their wallets and cellphones. A shoot-out ensued and, it is understood that a Blue Security guard was injured, although this could not be officially confirmed.

A frustrated senior policeman, formerly of the Pinetown area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “our hands are being tied behind our backs”.
“On the one hand, the public says we’re not providing a service. On the other, we’re accused of brutality,” he said.
What has incensed the Pinetown and New Germany communities is that a third policeman, who also responded to the KFC robbery and who shot dead a robber, was subsequently charged with murder by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate.
The directorate were also accused of hijacking the crime scene and contaminating evidence, allegations which spokesman Moses Dlamini categorically rejected.
“It is a known fact that the directorate has upset a lot of policemen by arresting members of the infamous Cato Manor unit and that some of their friends and supporters will go out of their way to tarnish the name of the Ipid and its investigators,” Dlamini said.
He said the officer had not been arrested and was not to appear in court, but that the directorate had registered a murder docket, as was routine, when a person died as a result of police action.
But Jacques Stephen, a reservist who addressed the emotionally charged KFC gathering, said: “The SAPS are expected to love and hug because they’ve got rights… there are members who have lost the fight, who get charged and prosecuted. The police are taken off the streets for doing their jobs.”
Kohler Barnard, whose son Peter, 24, was hijacked outside their home a week ago, said: “If you hold a gun to someone’s head, any cop… has the right to take you out.”
Krishinlall’s family was suffering the same devastation as “many other families, whose relatives had died in the line of duty. “These are the people who put themselves between you and a bullet,” she said.
“If I find that destroyed forensic evidence, I will not let this matter drop, I assure you.”
The crowd released white balloons into the afternoon sky for the dead policeman.

The daughter of a policeman clutched a placard which read: “Is our dad next?”

No arrests have been made for the KFC killing, but a case of business robbery, murder and attempted murder is being pursued, SAPS spokesman Thulani Zwane said.
Another SAPS spokesman Jay Naicker, said the fatal shooting of the off-duty officer outside KwaMashu Hostel couldn’t be linked to tensions between members of the IFP and NFP.
The policeman, who was in civilian clothes, was on his way to a friend when he was shot repeatedly at 3pm.
No arrests had yet been made in that murder either.

In the Spar hold-up, witnesses said the robbers had herded them into the receiving bay when Blue Security arrived. The robbers then fired shots through the store’s windows at the guard.
Spar owner Garth Slater, said one customer was hit on the head and was taken to hospital, but was treated and released.
He said support from the Sunningdale community had been “amazing”. Twenty minutes after the incident police reservists, volunteers and a crisis team arrived to assist staff.

The Mercury, with additional reporting by Bongani Hans, Wendy Jasson da Costa and Andile Dube.

 

Apologies To Phil Collins

She calls out to the man on the street
"Sir, can you help me?
It's cold and I've nowhere to sleep,
Is there somewhere you can tell me?"

He walks on, doesn't look back
He pretends he can't hear her
Starts to whistle as he crosses the street
Seems embarrassed to be there

Oh
Think twice
'Cause it's another day for you and me in paradise
Oh
Think twice
'Cause it's another day for you
You and me in paradise

(Think about it)

That is how we are being treated by "our" government!
Our Politicians usually only show their faces when there is political mileage to be made out of someone else' loss or heartbreak. This, I feel is true of ALL our politicians! Hey, if you can count dancing, singing, driving behind racing blue light vehicles, graft, corruption etc, etc as being the job of a politician then we are really in excellent hands.
Never mind cry, the beloved country - we would be better off howling & screaming!
This not a good time to be writing - I am REALLY pissed off!