Little Switzerland Easter 2011

Little Switzerland

Little Switzerland has many activities for old and young; horseriding, hiking, mountainbiking, gym, and so on if you are the energetic type. They have evening activities like darts, storytelling, and games.  The chalets have a fantastic view over the amphitheatre with Cathedral Peak, Cathkin Peak, the buttress, Mont-soux Sources and the rest of the Drakensberg mountains.

The wind blew as strong as any South Easter most of the time on the mountain.  We went down to the valley to escape it a bit.  The Ladysmith museum is very interesting with all the history of the different battles.

Spioenkop is a koppie where one of the historic battles took place and is an amazing place to visit. You have an exquisite 360 degree view. If you get real quiet you can feel the atmosphere and energy of the place. The photos don't do it justice. Imagine these views right round. Here Boer and Brit are buried side-by-side.

The Sterkfontein hydro-electric dam is close by and very interesting to go and see. Further South there are a gazillion stalls if you like shopping.  There is a lot of art and craft going on in the Midlands.

The trout in the rivers are being killed off because they compete with our local fish for food. A pity, 'cause its a lovely fish to eat.

I lived in the Midlands of Natal for 3 years (early 80's), in a place called Muden, near Wenen and worked in Greytown. I had to travel through the pass to get to work every day.  It took me about 50 minutes and was a scenic drive, so I loved it.  Muden is a tiny place with a post office, trading store, petrol pump and post office.  If you blink your eyes, you're through it.  Oh, I almost forgot, it also has a hotel and pub where we spent many happy evening playing darts and talking nonsense.

Somerset West

It was great to be in Somerset West again and see my friends there: Aneta Shaw, Elma Pollard of the Green Times, and Dorian Haarhof writer and storyteller par excellence. We usually get the best Nigerian coffee from Lucien of The Coffee Company at Lourensford Estate.

I haven't watched rugby for a long time, but did this weekend. I haven't missed much. I used to watch the international games in the early 80's. The guys still played rugby then. Now it is hurry up and wait.

Smoke across the water

Kleinmond fires causes grey-out in Kommetjie

Smoke across the water reminds me of some song from long ago, but not quite.  Usually we can see Table mountain and Houtbay, but we could see neither this weekend.  The fires must have been terrible. I can't imagine what it must have been like on the other side of the mountain, Simonstown side, if it was this bad on our side, not to mention Kleinmond and surrounding areas.

On my way home from art on Wednesday there was a fire on Ou-Kaapse weg. Someone must have chucked a stompie, 'cause it started right next to the road. I do wish smokers wouldn't do that.

Thanks a million to the firefighters and other emergency personnel. You guys (male and female) are fantastic!

Whales and Dolphins off Kommetjie

We saw a whole pod of dolphins in a feeding frenzy just off the coast this weekend. At one point three dolphins did somersaults, right out the water, at the same time.  It was spectacular.  They move really fast through the water when they are chasing fish.  Then less than 200 meters to the right of them two whales were bobbing and spouting every now and again.

It was quite strange.  When we started our walk it was so misty we could hardly see the lighthouse, then it cleared and we saw the dolphins.  Every day it is different.  The moods change as you can see on the photos. The mornings and evenings are different and there's always something happening.  If it isn't the dogs getting up to mischief, it is new seasonal flowers, or different birds at different times of the year. We even saw an otter one day.

Wilfrid Wilker passed away

My father, Wilfrid Wilker, passed away on the 23rd January 2011. He had cancer and deteriorated rapidly from a healthy-looking, vibrant man in September, to an old man by November,  emaciated and virtually bedridden by December, and dead in January. My parents have been married forever and my mum is devastated. 

I created a blog In Memoriam for him with some early pictures of him and a bit about his life.
http://wilkerfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/in-memory-of-wilfrid-wilker.html

He will be sorely missed by us all.

Dogs playing on Longbeach, Kommetjie, Jan 2011

Fantastic Weather on Longbeach today

The dogs are cavorting and people are having fun on the beach.

The black Great Dane came charging up to Hugh, barking, and then just before it reached him, veered away and went running back to "his" people.
It is wonderful to watch the dogs and how they run around with total joy and abandon. I love it when they've been in the water and you can see a shake coming on. It starts at the tip of the nose, then the ears flap, the rest of the body sort of rotates around itself and then the tail, right to the very tip. There is no consideration for anyone or anything that may be sprayed in the process. If you're within spraying distance, you will get a shower, unless you move out of the way.

The black scotty, I didn't check whether it is a he or a she, had his tongue hanging out. It looked very cute the pink on black and the shadow was also interesting.

The bloodhound, I think it is a bloodhound was running like mad, running rings around the other dogs.

I am not going to comment on the tail picture for fear of compromising someone. Make your own deductions, conclusions or assumptions. The picture says it all, doesn't it?

Isn't it sad they allow the vehicles on the beach?

Longbeach Jan 2011

Click on the image above to go to my web album to see the rest of the photos.

Escape Adultitis Article in Cosmpolitan Magazine

'Escaping Adultitis'

Escaping Adultitis is all about rediscovering the carefree fun, wide-eyed excitement and intense curiosity of childhood, and incorporating it into your adult life.

Glynis Horning wrote:
When last did you laugh – really laugh, from your tummy, till your eyes watered and you almost peed? Children laugh on average 400 times a day; adults, 15 – and in a much more restrained way. It’s a discovery that prompted US cartoonist Jason Kotecki to produce a book, a website and a movement to prevent and treat what he terms ‘adultitis’.


Kotecki defines adultitis as a silent epidemic that slowly erodes our inborn childlike spirit, killing our dreams, curiosity, happiness and hope. As he and his coauthor (now wife) Kim explain in The Escape Plan: A 40-Day Plan To Annihilate The Adultitis In Your Life (JBird Ink), adultitis usually sets in after the age of 21, when you’re weighed down by a job, bills and responsibilities. You catch it by associating with others who have it, ignoring your dreams, caring too much what society thinks, constantly chasing the ‘next big thing’, trying to keep up with the Khumalos, and taking yourself too seriously.


The symptoms are essentially those of stress and depression (see ‘Are you afflicted?’). Left unchecked, these can kill – they increase your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, cirrhosis (from alcohol abuse), substance-fuelled accidents and suicide, says Durban psychologist Rakhi Beekrum.

I wrote:

When you observe a young child, what do you see?
Moment-by-moment experience of what’s unfolding.
Curiosity; they explore their surroundings with total focus, abandon, using all their senses.
Express their wants and desires without any consideration for others.

What are our primary or basic assumptions as adults?
“Life is hard, a struggle, full of problems, and then we die”. “Adulthood is about responsibilities, sacrifice, pressures, hard work and a denial of pleasure”. To the degree you believe these assumptions to be true, to that degree your mind will try to prove you right, and find evidence to support your assumptions.

Where’s your focus?
“What’s wrong with the world?” or “What’s right with the world?”

I believe balance is the answer. If you don’t look at what you need and just allow things to happen, you can eventually be treated like a doormat, or even worse, a slave. On the other extreme, you can become totally self absorbed and self-indulgent. If you only look at what’s right and ‘good’, you can be in denial about what’s really happening. Someone in your family or team at work will have to play the ‘bad guy’ even if that’s not their natural modus operandi, just to bring things back into balance, and make you ‘see’ the other side.


Steps to finding your way back to honouring ‘the child within”
1. Define what ‘fun’ and ‘pleasure’ means for you. If you don’t know what it is, you won’t recognise it even if it bites you in the… you know what.
[One aspect of this for me would be the surprise element, or something that ‘tickles’ me, whether it is a breathtaking sunset, a quirky comment, paragliding, a beautifully crafted object, an unexpected gift, caress, or hug without ulterior motives, learning to snake-board and falling off a lot, reading up about something that I’m really interested in, or anything that makes me laugh from the centre of my being. In essence this has to do with something ‘new, different, creative’, allowing me to see something in a way I haven’t before. Another aspect would be antici….pation; something to look forward to.]

2. Make time for this and be non-negotiable about it. This does not mean not being flexible as to when you do it, but just about making sure it happens. You owe it to yourself and your family. Proviso; “as long as this is not harmful or life-threatening to yourself and others”, and I’m not talking about extreme sports here, if that’s what gives you ‘kicks’ then “go for it!” (Any form of abusive behaviour is not on this list; drugs, gambling, etc.).

3. Acknowledge yourself for doing it, and enjoy it as your ‘treat’ when you do engage with it. If you do this you will be adding to your ‘me, me inner child’ bank balance, which will give you much more patience, tolerance, and everything else for the rest of your interactions with others, be they kids, family, clan, parents, etc. If this should become a habit and you do not acknowledge it as a ‘treat’, it will no longer have the same value.

4. Don’t knock yourself and others out if you don’t do it. Learn from your experience and find a creative way to get your needs met, as well as the needs of others in your life.

These were the notes I gave her to complete the article.